Hodge podge day!

Luckily, Mick likes the electrician and plumber, or I'm not sure he would allow them in the house today.  Tony's crew was working on showers, toilets and the hot water heater; Kevin was working on pot lights and plugs and Mick did the first coat of varathane on the stairs that were stained black on Friday - beautiful!

Last minute items...

We had a few last minute items to check off the list before we foam insulate everything - after that, things get a little more difficult.  Tony was in to do some final preparations on the rough-in plumbing, and George had to put some vapour barriers in and do a final check on the tech side of things.

Inspection day!

We had the city HVAC and plumbing inspectors in today.  Tony walked through the water and drains and passed with flying colours, and Wayne from Pinewood went through the HVAC and all seemed good.... until - the inspector said he would look at the basement rough in during the insulation inspection.  This made no sense to me so I will have to investigate further [that is, once the insulation has been done, that would mean all of the boxing in of HVAC services in the basement will have been completed... a little late to change things at that point!].

Plumbing rough in complete

Tony and the guys made quick work of the water service.  We now have the majority of the work done for the plumbing rough in (some will have to wait a bit until the rest of the carpentry rough in ....can you say chicken and egg?).

Water service work begins

Tony and the crew were in to start the water service today.  With HVAC primarily done (just some gas and venting left), we are getting ready to rough in the entire plumbing system before we can continue to electrical.

Sangria Street here we come!

A lot of activity at the house again today (HVAC, plumbing, roof, concrete, deliveries...), but the most important part for Karen was the beginning of Sangria street...the concrete (then later, flagstone) front porch that will be a year-long hangout spot! 

Wrapping up

The boys were at it again today.  Tony and his team finished their drains rough-in and will be back to do the water services when the HVAC guys are done.   Meanwhile, Junior was in to expertly apply housewrap to the exposed wood areas of the house.  That will protect us over the few winter months so we can continue to work inside.

Moving along

Ted was in early to weld the various steel connections.  This was a much needed step for Miguel to progress on some of the front framing.  

Meanwhile, Tony slipped in to do some more rough in work.  He had Rui and Mario with him all day so he was able to get a ton of work done.

Mid-morning, the HVAC guys arrived and started prepping their layout. We did a great walk-through and headed off some issues that were sure to arise... I'm sure there will be more next week - with HVAC, there always are!

Busy rain day

Rain?  B'ah!  That doesn't stop a guy like Thom from BHM Exteriors spending the day forming the front and back concrete porch areas.  We should be able to pour those slabs early next week.

Meanwhile, Miguel and his team were working in the relative warmth of the basement, prepping the floor for hardwood and continuing some of the demo that could now take place with proper supports in place.

Mid morning, Tony showed up like it was Friday the 13th with his chainsaw in hand!  Plumbing has started folks!

Drain installation

Tony was in with his two trusted assistants, and man, did they have a hot day.  Even though we had done all of the channeling, they still had a lot of digging to get all of the drains in place and primed, and all of the stacks set up and connected to the floor drain pipes.  We now have a back water valve which is a nice bonus for this old house.

Drain channeling

On 1940's/50's basement slab, we often find 2 or 3" max of concrete on the basement slab - pretty easy to cut and channel for new drains.  We have elected to replace the entire drain system, as what we had to work with was simply not up to snuff.  However, the concrete is 4"-5" thick, and takes quite a lot of work.  Rocco has been cutting channels for almost two days, and we're now smashing and chipping our way before the plumbers arrive.  

Drains and footings

When the city came out and ran a dye test yesterday, we confirmed that the clean out just outside the house did run to the front of the road.  However, they didn't run the test from inside the house, and Tony was confused by their result as he'd found a lot of buildup in the sewer pipe.  Well, today we figured out that even though they ran the new line down the side of the house, they never connected it.

That's ok, we did that ourselves, and that's the best way to do things - we'll essentially have brand new drains throughout the house, with plenty of slope to the main drain.  Here you can see where Tony connected the new line to the outside drain:

The backwater valve and cleanout will be just inside Dave's panic room (we'll have to disguise it a bit, in case he tries to escape through the valve!):

Then Tony marked the locations of the remaining new drains and clean outs.  Tom's guys will cut channels, labour will remove the concrete, Tony will run the drains, then we'll fill it all back up and wait for the framers.

We started forming the footings in the late afternoon.

Foundation work starts

Tom from BHM was in today, laying the groundwork for the mostly landscaping features that encapsulate the front of the house.  It's a pretty big excavation, even though these are for non-structural patio walls... they won't be moving any time soon!

I had Tony in today to do camera inspections of the drains, and we were left wondering if the house uses an old septic system or not.  With some investigation with the very helpful Peel region building department, they are coming out to do a dye test tomorrow to confirm whether the collapsed/full sewage drain is draining to the city main or not... stay tuned!

Water meter prep

Tony was in going over the plumbing plan, and I had him put an extension on the existing incoming water line so that Peel Region can come and install the new water meter...we'll need it next week!  Scott from Ridley windows was in to meet John from A&J Windows who will be our installer.  We talked logistics and went over some of the problematic areas in order to avoid...well...problems :-)