For the upcoming 5 minute drain inspection, we had to install temporary stairs to the basement (that's right before they are ripped out by the concrete guys!). Luckily I always seem to have some stair segments laying around, so it wasn't a huge investment :-).
Tony, Mario and Rui were in today to start the drain system. Hopefully we can finish up tomorrow.
Miguel gave new meaning to the "Just In Time" business process mantra by successfully delivering the completed first floor floor late today (complete with the coolest little sliding access hatch to keep the weather out!).
The telltale arrival of the black trailer means Miguel and the boys have arrived to start the first floor floor. Miguel leaves for vacation back to Portugal this Sunday, so timing will be tight!
The guys (all guys, sadly) really came through for me today.... it was magic. The waterproofers (predicatably missing yesterday after getting slighted on Wednesday), showed up around 9am to start and complete the installation of bitumen, membrane, and weeping tile....
... then Mohammed, the City Inspector, showed up and passed the waterproofing, pending some photos of gravel to be shot later in the day to protect the weeping tile. 10 minutes later, George and the gang arrived to start backfilling, though we were still waiting for the stone. However, the outside wall of the garage was a place to start while we waited...
.... then the stone slinger guy from Rock Concrete showed up and expertly shot 12" or so of gravel around the house to protect the weepers.
...Finally, George was back at it working on the backfill. Don't try this at home - this was a busy, complicated day, but it has worked out really well!
There's a time to compress the schedule, and a time to leave breathing room. I've compressed this week, for a number of reasons. I've been lucky enough to build some good relationships with key trades that can sometimes delay things for some time - today, CoXCo, the City subcontractor, was nice enough to jump a huge queue in order to do my sewer/water upgrade on site.
Doing this meant I was potentially pissing off the waterproofing guy, and subsequently everyone else (even the crane guy to remove the forms...which should have been done yesterday). To make a long story short, the day worked out ok, though now I've put even more pressure on the schedule for the rest of the week. Fingers crossed!
Fred's crew from Rock Concrete was in today to remove all of the forms. Unfortunately the crane broke down so we couldn't get them removed...which should make tomorrow interesting - more on that....tomorrow!
As promised, Rock Concrete was here early this morning to start the foundation wall pour. If the weather is decent, we'll be able to strip the forms tomorrow, waterproof Wednesday and start to back fill as early as Thursday. Sweet!
We are ready for concrete, and even though the weather is good today, we've been reshuffled and will not be pouring until Monday. However, the weather looks good, and with the way I've got things scheduled, we should be good to get things closed up soon.
The weather has been funny lately... rather then those cool, crisp late fall/early winter days, we are getting mildish wet weather that has caused a few delays with the walls.
However, Kevin, the lead hand from one of the Rock Concrete crews, was in today during a blowing mist, to get things started on the walls. Hopefully we'll be able to pour on Friday, but it will depend on this unpredictable weather.
Tom Senkus was in today to repin the wall locations on the footings. This step is sometimes not done by some builders, which can lead to big problems - once the walls are poured and if they are found to be in the wrong location it can have very serious implications. With the footings accurately nailed with the wall locations, we eliminate a lot of potential problems.
Before the next step, forming the walls, the strippings need to be stripped of any "organic" material. We got in there and cleaned things up this morning. We now wait for the surveyor to come repin the wall locations on to the footings, which should be done by Thursday.
Rock concrete was in today to clean and pour the footings. The soil conditions are unbelievably good for the winter - no signs of water and lots of clean sand.
Muhammed from Haddad Geotechnical was in today to provide a report on the safety of the excavation for workers to work at the bottom of the pit, as well as to check the floor of the hole for a minimum soil bearing pressure. This beach is perfect for building a house on.
We installed shoring along both sides of the excavation today, installed tarps where necessary and by the end of the day, Tom had staked out the footings. Looking good!
George finished the dig by the end of the day today. Tom Senkus is scheduled in to do the pin locates for the footings tomorrow, so before that happens George will have to start putting in some protective shoring along both sides of the hole.
Nothing to see here... the demo of the house was very emotional for the family. I even had one of my other customers come by with his kids on the way to school and give the owner of the house a big hug. Sorry!
Count down to demolition.... we've been asked by the Ministry of Labour for a DSR (Dangerous Substances Report), so we had a lab tech come take samples today. We'll find out in a couple of days if we'll need to have someone clean it up before demo.
Kevin was in, installing a temporary power plug (well, permanent for the neighbour!) at Ed's house next door - what a great guy this neighbour is!
And just in time, we had Enbridge come by and disconnect the gas! Check, check, check!
We just got word from the City of Toronto that the permits have been issued. We are still waiting on Enbridge to cut off the existing gas service, then we can schedule the demolition of the old bungalow.
Welcome to the 81 Ambleside Boulevard project site by TPM Custom Homes. This winter, we will be building a brand new, 2 storey home on the edge of Norseman Heights near Norseman and Islington.
