Innovative insulation

Work to insulate our house began this week, and continues today. We chose a really neat product called HEATLOK, which is a soy-based, spray-in foam insulation. Made from vegetable oils and recycled plastics, it has a very high insulation value, provides a complete air barrier, and contains a built-in vapour barrier. It expands in place to fill all those little gaps around windows and doors, which are the real energy suckers in a home.

Plus, it's really cool. It looks like the surface of the moon.

Moving along, with a few hiccups along the way

After a week of rain, our bricklayer has returned to the site and completed the southwest wall of our house today. It looks like the brickwork will be completed this week, which will free up space at the front of the house for work on the front porch to begin.

We also had a nice-looking wall installed between our office and the bedroom on the first floor. Unfortunately, it was installed prematurely. We want to keep the option of removing that wall in the future, so the floor needs to be finished under it. Right now, all that is there is raw DaroTopp (lightweight cement), which would leave a pretty unsightly stripe of bare concrete if the wall were removed.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Our fixtures were installed today in our first-floor and third-floor bathrooms. The first-floor bathroom (left-hand photo) has a one-piece shower and tub unit, and the third-floor bathroom (right-hand photo) has a separate tub and shower. The shower fixture on the third floor will come after the shower is built. John and I have big plans to tile it ourselves, as well as the bathtub surround and wall. Yep, you read that right. Uh, oh. That's what I said, too.

It took us some time to find fixtures we liked at a reasonable price ($1,000 for a tap? Who pays that?), but we like the ones we chose. Have you ever seen those fixtures that look like shiny chrome phones? Those seem pretty popular, but they're just not for us. We also saw some crazy gold Donald Trump fixtures at one of the bathroom specialty stores. It's harder than you might think to find a simple tap set that doesn't look like you should drive it, dial it, or put it in a safety deposit box.

The missing piece on the left of the tub in the right-hand photo is for the rinsing wand (or whatever that thing is called). We probably wouldn't have chosen such a thing, but we bought the tub on sale and the holes were pre-drilled.

Thanks again, Dad and Allison, for letting us store the tub at your place. It's almost ready for us to draw you a bath!

Christmas in June

Today was a big day chez Boucher-Thurston, to say the least. Our second flight of stairs -- the long run that extends from the second to the third floor -- was installed today! Amazingly, the stairs fit perfectly. They are absolutely stunning, and they don't even have railings or treads on them yet. They are the height of excellent design, engineering and craftsmanship. If stairs could say "I do," I'd marry them. They are gorgeous.

We also had the pleasure of meeting some of our new neighbours today (and yesterday, too), who told us they think the house looks great and welcomed us to the neighbourhood. We were very encouraged by their welcome. It was great to put names to some of the faces we will see on Crichton Street in the days and years to come.

Concrete complications

Here is a picture of the dry concrete floor. It looks like it's light grey in the photo, but under the grey dusty layer is a light brown cement. Ultimately, the floor will be a medium-toned brown.

Once the concrete was set, some problems became obvious. In several locations, the cement leaked through the floors above, creating many small craters in the concrete. It can be fixed, but we are concerned about whether the variances in the colour of the concrete patches will show. Our fingers are crossed.

Countdown to more stairs

John and I met with our stair builder, our architect, and our general contractor at lunch today to work on a redesign of the stair railings surrounding the stairwell. We think the new design will be attractive. The railings will be delivered in one piece (!), either at the end of next week or early the following week.

Alan, our stair builder, confirmed that he will install the run of stairs from the second story to the third story tomorrow. The installation of these stairs, which weigh in at about 800 lbs, is a complex manoevre and a courageous leap of faith. In a nutshell, they will be rolled in on wheels from the truck, and hoisted and bolted into place.

How is a person supposed to sleep at night knowing that stairs are being installed the very next day?

Pigeon says, "I was here"

John and I went over to the house today to check out the progress, and lo and behold, our home's first resident has immortalized herself in what she must have thought was the Pigeon Walk of Fame. Check out the pigeon prints in the cement!

The guys closed in the front of the house last week, and moved her nest downstairs to the garage. Undeterred, she has built a new nest on the second floor, perhaps a cottage home for her and the young'uns. Soon, they will have to go for good.

Concrete floors poured

The DaroTopp guys poured our concrete floors today! (I've used more exclamation marks this week than I have in my whole life!)

DaroTopp is a product that is relatively new to North America. It is a semi-lightweight synthetic concrete -- up to 18 per cent lighter than regular concrete, says the brochure. The synthetic binder in DaroTopp is manufactured as a by-product of brown coal plants; cleaning the plant smoke uses about 75 per cent less energy than is used to produce regular concrete. The binding agent is mixed with local aggregates, so there are no emissions associated with trucking in sand from far away. It contains no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and there is no off-gassing during the installation. Using DaroTopp is worth green points under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

One of the key features for us is DaroTopp's excellent conductivity. Its thermal transfer properties will make our radiant floor heating system more efficient, heating the slab faster and more evenly. We'll appreciate this during our long, cold winters. It also offers fire protection (it's rated as a non-combustible material), which gives me a bit of peace of mind. Finally, it's more flexible than regular concrete, which we hope will make it easier on the knees, and it's supposed to provide good sound insulation, too.

We can't walk on the floors for about 48 hours, but it will be set by the end of the weekend. The colour you're seeing in the photos will darken significantly when it is finished. A different company is coming in to grind the floors down and coat them with two coats of urethane and one coat of epoxy. The final result should be a medium-toned brown with little sand flecks in it. We will put in a few area rugs here and there, but for the most part, this will be our finished floor throughout the house.

Tubs in!

Both of our tubs were installed today. The photo on the left shows the tub and shower enclosure in the first-floor bathroom. We were sure that it wouldn't fit (the unit specifications said it was 85 inches high, and the space available was measured at 84 inches), but somehow it worked. Because of the size of that bathroom, it was difficult to get a good photo of it, but you can kind of make it out through the door opening. The photo on the right shows our larger tub in the third-floor bathroom. The separate shower enclosure is on the right, outside of the image. We got this tub at a steal: on sale for $189, down from $981. It had been previously installed in another home, and the owners decided they didn't want it for whatever reason (colour, fit, etc.) and returned it. It's six feet long by 3.5 feet wide; big enough for two, if you were so inclined.

For those of you who might be wondering, I braved the ladder (a different one, this time from the second-floor deck to the third-floor balcony) to check out the progress upstairs. As mentioned earlier, Alan, our stair builder, is working hard to put my ladder days behind me.

Front bricks complete!

In other exciting news, the front brickwork is now complete! We love it, and are looking forward to seeing how it integrates with the front porch. Bricks on the sides have also begun, and with the help of some tight-fitting scaffolding, will continue tomorrow. Good job, Tony!

STAIRS!

Alan Gustafson, our talented stair builder, installed the stairs to the second floor today (with a little assistance from some helpful mechanical suppliers and his dad). It is difficult to express just how excited we are about this milestone. The stairs are one of the most dramatic features of our home, and they are turning out even better than we had hoped. The stairs will have steel railings on the right-hand side, finished off with a maple handrail. The treads will also be maple, as I mentioned yesterday, and will extend about two inches off of each side of the stairs. John and I both took a test climb, and they are solid as a rock. We love the gradual incline, too, which gives the impression that you're floating upwards instead of climbing. They are truly amazing. The small run of three stairs from the landing to the second story are also in, but the photo was taken after dark and isn't too clear.

Alan thinks that he will install the stairs from the second to the third story next Tuesday, once the concrete floors have cured. More pics to come soon!

And more bricks!

The brickwork is almost complete on the front of the house. It will be completely finished tomorrow, and then the guys will move on to the sides. We're anxious to see the house without the scaffolding in front of it, and to get the front porch started.

Setting the stage

The house was a hub of activity today in preparation for two major milestones: installing the stairs and pouring the concrete floor.

After a lot of discussion and calculations, the original landing between the first and second floors was taken apart and rebuilt on a smaller scale. The photo on the left shows the new landing. The first run of stairs will end at the top of the landing, and the second shorter run will run from the landing to the second floor. (There is no landing from the second to the third floor; it is one continuous run of stairs.) Our stair builder was on-site yesterday to do some final preparations, and we happened to catch him during his visit. It was great to meet him, and we're confident that the stairs will be a sight to behold. He will install the stringer (middle part that supports the stairs) and the steel holders for the treads tomorrow, but not the treads themselves. Those will be maple, and will be put in closer to our move-in date to avoid damaging them during the construction.

All of the floors were cleared to make way for the insulation, which is shown in the second photo at right. Tomorrow the piping for our radiant heating system will be laid; on Friday, the concrete floor will be poured over top. The concrete floor warrants its own blog entry, that's for sure. More to come.

Most of the electrical work is also complete, although we have some minor corrections to make before it's final. Patric, our architect, joined us on-site today to determine the exact location of the pendant light over our dining room table, the pendant lights in the kitchen, and other small items. If all goes according to plan, we will have electricity on Monday!

Meet the boys — Botan Construction

When it came time to find a contractor, we narrowed it down to four contenders. The two most professional bids left us with a difficult choice. One was from one of Ottawa's most established and respected construction companies, an award-winning builder whose work we had admired in person. The other was from a young firm whose owner was a passionate advocate for green construction. The prices were comparable. What to do? We invited Patrick Reardon, owner of the young green firm, Botan Construction, to our tiny apartment to go over the bid in person. His commitment and enthusiasm overwhelmed us. When he left, we knew he would be building our house. We never looked back.

Patrick would make an excellent teacher. He explains everything to us very clearly, and answers all of our questions. He knows his stuff, and can communicate it to others. He's patient, knowledgeable, mathematical and dedicated to doing a good job. Plus, we like him. It's a great bonus.

Of course Patrick isn't building our house alone; he has a great crew. Some have come and gone, but Mike and Joe are still making it all happen. We owe them a lot.

Keep it up, boys!

Meet the boys — Vert Design

Credit: Jean Levac, Ottawa Citizen

It's about time we introduce you to the guys that made this all happen. Patric Langevin and Chris Straka (shown left to right) are co-owners of Vert Design, an Ottawa-based green design and planning firm. Our first meeting with Vert was on June 1, 2007, just over one year ago. Thanks to them, our design process was very smooth. More than that, it was collaborative, educational and fun.

Chris and Patric are very creative, attentive to detail, and flexible. If you have a vision, they can propose more than one way to realize it. For budget-conscious clients like us, this is a key skill. They expertly balance aesthetic considerations with functionality, and have a very strong sense of space and flow. In terms of green construction, they are extremely knowledgeable. With green design, there is no single way to go; they present the pros and cons of various options very well, and leave the ultimate decision making to you. They are continually investigating new products and can present the benefits and trade-offs clearly.

Value for money is definitely an A+. If you are ever in the market for a talented, committed and creative design firm, I would not hesitate to go with Vert. We are thrilled that we did.

And more bricks

The brickwork is moving quickly, and looks great. Every day, more bricks. It's a wonderful thing. Our house's first residents are doing excellent quality control from above (right photo).

The guys have been hard at work on the inside, too, building the landing for our stairs. Bricks have pushed me to the edge of excitement; next week, stairs might put me in a coma.

More bricks

More progress was made today on our brickwork, which was very exciting to see. The little flecks of grey on the bricks and on the doorframe are just mortar and will come off. Looking good!

Have a seat

While we don't plan to replace all of our furniture when we move, we decided that we wanted to buy a new couch. Seven stores later, we decided on this one. It was on sale, which meant we had to move more quickly than we normally would like to on such a big purchase. Tonight, we took the big leap and bought it. I have dreamed of a sectional as long as I knew such things existed, and this one is perfect. We love the colour, it's leather (read: durable and easy to clean) and it even has a queen-sized sofa bed in it. Perfect! It will be ready for delivery to our new place when we are.

Brickwork begins

The bricklayer began laying our bricks today, and we love how they look so far. Actual bricks! On our house! I can hardly stand it.

One brick at a time

People say, "What is the sense of our small effort?" They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. - Dorothy Day

Two bricks made their way onto our front wall today. They're not attached yet, but will be soon. The concrete mixer is now on-site to mix the mortar, and the bricks are ready to go.

The house is becoming a hive of activity these days. Our meter has been installed, and the electrician is starting tomorrow. If everything goes as planned, we should have hydro running to the house by the end of this week. This is great news for our builder, who can then stop renting the generator for the crew's tools, and it's better for the environment, which isn't crazy about emissions from generators. Our mechanical system will be installed this week too, in preparation for our concrete floors next week. Once the electrical is in, the floor is insulated and the piping for the radiant heating is laid, the yogurt-like DaroTopp light-weight concrete floor will be poured.

Sista on tha ladda

This is my lovely sister, Lynn, braving the ladder to the third floor. My mom and sister came over on Saturday to check the place out. My mom even made it up the ladder to the second floor -- brave ladies!

First stairs

We were really happy to see the first stairs to our house put in today. These stairs descend from the second-floor deck to the ground (they don't quite make it to the ground yet, but they will).

We spent a lot of time shopping over the weekend. We looked for bendable, rectangular trim, a product we've decided is purely mythical. We also looked for a replacement sink and tub/shower unit for our first-floor bathroom, since the ones our gracious friends in Kingston gave us won't fit with the curved wall and piping, respectively. (We will still find a home for them in the basement apartment, but we were really hoping to use them ourselves.) We also checked out some couches at a couple of stores and think we might have found the one we've been looking for. It's a very nice sectional with a sofa bed. We were worried it would be too big for the living room, but we measured the space and it looks like it might work out. We're planning on visiting at least one more store before we decide.

Finally, we bought our interior doors yesterday. They are all clear pine doors with five rectangular "lights" (glass panes) of translucent glass. They will be stained to coordinate with the other woods in the house. We expect to receive them in about four to six weeks.