Monday, 20 August 2012

Powered up

Most of the electrical wiring has been installed.  The meter is on a post 30 feet from the road.  The power lines run 100 feet underground to the cottage.  This avoids overhead lines and a mast on the roof.

Plugs and switches in the library and bedroom.  Every bedroom gets a hard wired smoke detector, seen here near the ceiling.

Looking down to the crawlspace through a trapdoor located in the laundry room floor.  The sump cover is seen here.  We have not needed a sump pump because the overflow pipe trenched 60 feet outside has been carrying away all of the rain water.  During several recent cloud bursts we watched rivers of water run down the drive-way that swirled against the foundation and dumped into the weeping tile.  None of it came into the crawlspace because the overflow pipe effectively drained it all away.

The crawlspace will be a useful storage area.  The raised wood platform is 20 x 8 feet.  The little white box to the left is a dehumidifier.  It is working hard to get rid of the moisture in the sand that remains from the snow in winter and the rain that seeped in before the roof was finished.  It is winning the battle as you can see from the dry white peaks in the sand.
Water pump that will draw water from the cistern in winter.



The northeast deck between the main cottage and the guest cottage is finished.  These white oak planks are a full inch thick and 5 1/2 inches wide.

Carefully cut around the oak tree post.  The deck is fastened using screws designed for composite decking.  When they are driven in they bore small holes eliminating the need to pre-drill pilot holes.  The torx heads are also very small and diminutive in appearance.

Monday, 13 August 2012

Windows

Windows and doors arrived from Kolbe in Wisconsin.  They were supplied and installed by GNT Distributors of Winnipeg.  The glass is opaque because they are covered with a protective plastic film inside and out.

Livingroom.  Each pane is approximately 5x6 feet.  We hope the decals of hawk silhouettes will keep birds from barnstorming.

Master bedroom.

Guest bedroom,

Door on the deck.

Guest cottage door and workshop solid door.  Blueskin completes the seal to the house wrap.


The dining room window is the largest unit.

Closeup of the white oak frame of the dining room window.

Same window, now finished with a clear penetrating oil.