Structural and HVAC Inspections

Our friendly neighbourhood building inspector swung by today to go over the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) rough-in and extraction inspection and the structural framing inspection.

It's always nice to catch up with Mohammed - he's a very nice guy and I always get the sense that he appreciates seeing a face he knows.  In this super hot real estate market, there are so many new "builders" and DIYers that demand a lot of the inspector's time (yet, they pay the same amount for their permit that is supposed to cover the costs of the inspections), and I think the feeling is mutual that it's nice to see a familiar face in this business.

Meanwhile, Bob and Simone have been narrowing in on their plumbing selections (I have issued a few late slips :-)), but the order was finally placed today.  In other news, the stairs should be in next week.  That means we have the plumbing rough-ins to do when they arrive, a day of rough-in carpentry after that's done and we're good to insulate and drywall.

HRV Installed

Since we have a wood burning fireplace, installing an HRV was a requirement.  An HRV, as this article explains, is a simple device that keeps heat in while moving stale air out.  It's a good idea regardless of whether you have a wood burning fireplace or not, but like everything else in construction, it comes at a cost.

One of the difficult things in our environment is that we have to plan for temperatures ranging from minus forty to plus forty... so we go nuts with insulation requirements and sealing the house up as tight as can be.  This is great for energy efficiency and comfort, but it can lead to more stale air in the house (the furnace does not run as much as it used to!) and sometimes moisture build up in bathrooms (the moist air can't simply disappear through uninsulated walls anymore).  That's why I always recommend running bathroom fans an excessive amount of time in new homes (30 minutes per shower, and that's with a good fan) and that's why many mechanical engineers are adding HRVs to the mix.

Building is not getting cheaper... sigh.

Cold wall plumbing

One of the worst things you see when doing demo on an old house that has experienced many iterations of minor and major renovations, is the way they sometimes sneak plumbing into the cold wall with no insulation.  Usually, this is a ticking time bomb in our climate - eventually, those pipes will freeze and cause a major problem. 

Even in new house construction, people try and fudge it by putting the pipes "really close" to the face of the wall and sneaking some insulation in behind.  The reason?  It's a bit of pain in the ass to do it properly... adding insulation, drywall (water resistant!) and another framed partition in front of the cold wall means doing things a little out of sequence.  Luckily, I have Mick or Juvee - guys I can call who can competently do small jobs like this on very short notice.

Central Vac

Bob wasn't too keen on installing central vac.  I urged him to at least consider roughing it in (ie putting all the pipes in the walls, in case he wanted it later)... but he decided it was a "no"!  Later that night, I got a message from Bob - "my mom insists we install a central vac, so... you win!".  Too funny.

So George from AIM Security arrived today to install not only the alarm rough in, but the central vacuum pipes as well!  It really is a great system for a new house.  Not only does central vac have much greater power than most conventional vacuums, but I love the floor sweeps in dirty areas like the kitchen and mudroom.  Thanks Bob's Mom... can I get your number for future decisions? :-)

No overhead wires!

Owen was moving from site to site today, burying conduit from the back of the yard to the furnace room here so we don't have overhead service wires from Bell or Rogers.

Electrical continues...

Kevin finished roughing in the kitchen today, and he's now moved down to start the basement.

Gas

Singh from Pinewood was in today to run all of the gas lines to the various areas of the house, including the main gas service at the front side.

And... the rough-ins continue!

We had all three major interior rough-in trades working in harmony again today.... plumbing and HVAC in the basement while electrical continued on the main floor.

Rough-ins continue...

Pot lights in the attic and ducts in the basement... the rough-in continues....

HVAC Progress

Pinewood was in again, continuing the basement rough-in.  There's a lot of work to be done there, with quite a bit of consultation on how to run things to minimize (but not eliminate!) boxes in the ceiling to cover duct work and venting.

We also got a surprise delivery of brick and limestone.  The rep misread an email, and sent it in, even though we're three weeks away from starting brick.  Oh well, it can keep the front of the house company.

Doors installed

We are officially closed in!  John from A&J Windows was in this morning to install the 4 entry/cold room doors.  Just in time too, as the inspector from the financier was in to check that we were closed off.... we sure are!