Gull Lake Ranch: Insulation progressing well

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Insulation progressing well

We have been working hard installing the insulation over the last few days. We have all the main and upper floor walls, the 2nd floor ceiling and some of the big main floor vaulted ceiling complete - about 75% of the job done. The basement has barely been touched, but we still need to get the wiring done down there and inspected so we can cover it up. It will be a challenge to coordinate the insulation/vapour barrier inspection so we can go ahead and start drywalling. The main floor bath tub goes on sale today so we will be picking that up. We have the moisture and mould resistant drywall for the bathrooms at home already and will be pushing to get that in right away. We have Superior Propane scheduled for Monday. They are bringing the 500 gallon "submarine" tank to install behind the house and will be providing and installing the water heater and gas lines for the stove and dryer. That will be great news! Hot water and a working stove/oven will be a wonderful luxury after the last few weeks. We hired Eric Chipperfield's crew to come out and dig the trenches for the gas line and the generator wiring so we'll be ready for Monday's gas install.

I have been energizing a few of the simple circuits on the main electrical panel to try and reduce the number of extension cords we have snaking around the place. Everything is going well on that front. Over the last weekend we managed to bring the satellite tv and cell booster equipment from the Knutsford house so we have our TV and internet connections up and running. The place is starting to feel a bit more like "home".
We received a call from Home Depot that our kitchen cabinets will be ready on November 4th - yikes! Oh well, another couple of weeks without cabinets is the least of our worries.
We are hoping that we can have the insulation and vapour barrier finished up this weekend.
The 10kW diesel generator from Aurora Generators arrived on Tuesday. Brian, our neighbour, came out with his big tractor and unloaded it from the back of our pickup - it weighs 1,300 lbs. We have set it up just behind and to the side of the house so we can access it easily from the back door. After installing the antifreeze coolant, engine oil and fuel we are ready to start testing it. Roll on the shorter, darker winter days!

Ben, enjoying the warm spot in front of the fire.

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Chapter 2, High Country Living

After finding the perfect piece of property, we are now in the final stages of building our house. Not just any house, mind you. After much looking around (on the internet and on foot) we decided against a modular or mobile home and instead built a Kingsbury II, from Linwood Homes.
We have overcome many challenges along the way - no utility power supply; no septic system or well; and choosing to live in a relatively remote location more than 1,000 metres above sea level.
We acted as our own General Contractor and performed almost all the work on the home ourselves, once our builder did the basement and erected the house to "lock up".
All our efforts are paying off. With the siding and exterior trim almost complete, the house is starting to look like the image we had in our minds when we started.
Our journey has not been without a few bumps along the way as you will find out when you read through this chronicle. If you are considering a similar project we hope that this blog can help you avoid some of the challenges we faced.
With construction winding down we feel it's time to shift the focus of our writing toward our day-to-day lives. We hope you'll continue to follow us as we live off-grid in the high country of the interior of British Columbia, Canada.