Still trying to finish the wiring for the heating system.  It is very picky work and Brian is the only one who can do it with me helping when he needs it.
The house is pretty warm though and it will be interesting to see how warm it is once we get a cold snap.

John and a crew from Quinte Aluminum are here to put up the eaves and downspouts.  They are working very quickly and in one day have almost finished the job and should be done tomorrow.
I guess that is the difference between by the hour and by the job.  They worked from 9am till 2:30 and finished 80% of the work.  Not bad.

E/B

I'll try to get a better shot of their work once they are done.

We have the hot tub in place it is so nice just to have it here.  I am hoping we get it hooked up soon since it is the one thing I miss about moving here and that is giving up our hot tub, and friends of course.

St Lawrence Pools, who be bought from, have been very patient with us since we put the downpayment and ordered it over a year ago have never really pressured us into taking it before we were ready.  Although they had to move it from the warehouse into the showroom for the last four months.
When they were ready to deliver the tub we were told to have a few guys handy because it is very large and had to go four feet up to the window and then two feet down into the sunroom.  So we had Tim and his uncle lined up to help which made four of us and the two guys that would deliver it.
We had asked for a late morning delivery but they showed up at 8 am which was a bit early for retired people.  They decided to wait until the other crew were finished and have them help us as they did not think we could manage the four foot lift and if they helped the other crew they would get them done faster.
Long story short seven guys showed up.  It went in very easily with that kind of crew and I love just sitting in it and having coffee even if there is no water in it yet.  I can dream.

E/B

These guys are very efficient. 

This was the easy part.

And there are still more guys inside.  They put cut pvc pipe on the window ledge to roll it on then had steel pipes for the floor.

Well today we had to call Tim back because there was a leak in one of the pipes.
It did not take him long to fix that but he had a friend come over to give Brian a quote on doing the electrical work for the boiler.
As is the norm with the County two guys walk in and off to the basement to look at the job and confer with each other.  End of the discussion was they could take it on next week sometime but it would require two of them and two full days at $80.00 and hour.  Really?  Really guys???
Just before they arrived Brian had been explaining to Tim about the system and how to wire it because Brian has been studying the books that came with it and looking online.  Tim had just told him that it looked pretty simple and why didn't Brian just do it himself.
But these two guys will take two days to do that job.
E/B

So Brian and I decided it was time to install the fan over the stove.
Another adventure in frustration but we got it done with some ingenuity and patience.

The fan is incredibly heavy and has to be worked in sections so Brian gets the plug into the top of the stack and we put together the steel cover.  But to plug the fan in I have to hold up the steel covers while Brian reaches through the top to access the plug but the steel covers won't stay together so we have to take them down and try again. After doing it twice I suggest we use that lovely silver tape to hold the sides together and that works very well.

So we get the thing up and realize we forgot the glass cover that goes on the hood.  ARGHH!!!! so we take it down and take it apart to install the glass and realize there is no way I can hold it up while Brian screws it on and he can't hold it up while I screw it on.  That glass is really heavy.
Another suggestion is made, lets stack boxes and various items so we can lever it up into place.  Yes a great idea so we get boxes and plywood and whatever else we can find until we can use a jack to get it the rest of the way.

And the hood is up without anyone wrecking their backs in the process.

E/B

Looks odd but it worked.

There's no way we could hold that up.

It looks great but I keep bumping my head on it. Lucky we can fix that when we build the cabinets. 

Well Tim and Brian are done with the piping and plumbing.  It has been quite a project.
It is not installed often here and we have had people lining up at the door to come and see the system.
Tim is promoting it as an alternative and I think some guys just want to see the whole thing installed.
One guy showed up with two bottles of wine, I like that kind of viewing payment.

I think we should name it.

So many pipes all over the basement.

The hallway I had wanted as a wine cellar is now a utility hallway.

We are still not getting heat out of it because Dave has to come and hook up the gas and Brian will need some electrical help to run all the lines to and from the machine.

I think I am going to buy some pretty stickers and add some bling to the beast when it is done.
There is still a lot of clean up to be done but at least we will have our evenings back.

E/B

I think we are almost finished the boiler install.
At least Tim's part, we still need to call Dave and have him come and do the gas hook-up.

Tim has proved to be a very good worker and is here till 11pm some nights to try and get it done.  He has also bringing people in to see the system as I don't think boiler systems are that common.

Once Tim is gone we can also start doing more work since Brian is still working with him so not much else is getting done.

More copper pipe.

The new hot water tank.

Valves for garage.

Valves for workshop.

E/B

Another week of trying to set up the boiler and all the pumps and pipes.
It is a massive system and will never be able to be serviced by us.
This will require the attention of someone who installs these so Tim has a job for life servicing this monstrosity.

I really feel we were not led down the right path with this and our designer and the HVAC designer should have stopped and explained that this system is way over the top for a house built of concrete.

We really just need a simple furnace and air-conditioning for this place.  As it is now this will be the most expensive part of the build and we are not done yet.  Now there is a new hot water heater to be hooked up to the boiler as well.

So disappointed with this job not angry just feeling like it is never ending.

E/B

To be installed yet.

It is even bigger now.

This is another time consuming job.  The pipes running to and from the boiler are numerous and takes a lot of thinking from both Brian and Tim.

Tim has been here late every day since he started on Wednesday.  He is one of these guys who works through lunch and dinner and does not want anything we offer.  He must be very hungry by the time he gets home.

The house smells of soldering and is smokey which is setting off the smoke alarms.  It is nice to know they work and they are the new ones that have a voice that tells you there is a fire.

And yes I am still moving boxes.

E/B

More sheets of plywood to cut up and hang pipes from.

This is turning into quite the mechanical storage basement.

The up-sized boiler that seems monstrous. 

Siding is finally almost finished.  The guys did a super job and I would recommend Ely to anyone who needed work done.  He is such an honest person who takes pride in his work.
We were pleased with the caulking they used to finish the doors and windows.  It is Exact Color.  The paint you are trying to match is injected into the tube and then an activator is put in and you have a perfect match.
There is still a little cleanup to do but we have had rain or big winds.  Like today I'm hoping none of the old trees lose branches.

Next are the gutters and piping to the boiler.

I am of course still moving boxes.

E/B