Day 46

DH and I were getting — not anxious — but a little thoughtful.  When we saw Laurel and Ang three weeks ago, Ang told us that framing on the laneway house would begin the following week, that is two weeks ago.  Yet, although there was clearly action at the site, there was no framing.

So we talked about it and wondered about it and finally contacted Laurel to ask why.  It turned out that the city wanted them to install a clean out function for the plumbing and it had to be completed and inspected before they could proceed.  That was done before they met with us on Thursday evening for our regular meeting.  So all was well, and there would be framing beginning toute suite.

Things we have to think about:  electrical plan, where we will put the TV, plumbing features in the bathroom (is it still a bathroom if there’s no bathtub, just a shower?), the predominant colours in the live roof (our roof is being grown just for us).

I’ve been watching decorating shows for many years now (remember when Debbie Travis did The Painted House?) and I realize now that they have been leading me down the garden path.  You don’t think about the floor and walls first, then the appliances and the fixtures.  In a bathroom the fixtures have to come first — so the plumber can install the necessaries.  The windows and doors have to be ordered before the foundation is poured so they will be ready when the framing is finished.  The cabinets are not something you fit into a finished kitchen — you build the room around them.

Things we will have to think about soon: the built-in vacuum and the security system, the appliances. Also the lights we will be installing.

We will be driving out to Port Moody tomorrow to check out a back-lit mirror for the bathroom.

Knowing that the framing would begin today, I rushed over after work today to see the progress.  And I saw this:

This part of the framing is setting the plates — the horizontal boards that the studs will be connected to — very accurately and securely on the top of the foundation. See how the plates are a different colour?  That means they are pressure treated to resist moisture.

It will be a little while until we see the shape of the home but everyone is quite confident that the project will proceed according to the schedule.

Find out more about the framework of a home here.