Blog

Last week Steve and Matt from Dovetail Carpentry started installing the fascia and the soffit around the house. The front of the house is finished and I think it really tidies up the roofline. We are going to have three potlights above our front step where those holes are cut out. We decided to go with white soffit and fascia to provide some contrast with the black tin roof, as well as to match the windows. The house will have grey stone, and grey siding, so the white will really contrast ... continue reading...

We had a lot going on last week of our new home construction, including plumbing and electrical.  The furnace was brought in, and the ductwork for the furnace and HRV was started. Nothing is finished completely, but here are some progress pictures. Here is the chimney for the furnace. We bought a wood furnace with propane backup, so we needed to have a chimney to vent outside. You can also see the pipe for the propane hookup. We hired Harbers Sheet Metal from Chesterville, ON do to ... continue reading...

I always felt like by the time we got the roof on and the windows and doors in we could relax a little bit. The thought of water getting into the house and on all that lumber is a little unnerving. Fortunately for us, it's been a dry summer so we haven't had to worry about too much rain getting into the house. But at about three months into building this house, we have the house closed in and waterproofed. It feels great to reach this milestone! People keep asking us whether we are on ... continue reading...

For the last 12 weeks we have been building our own house, acting as our own general contractors. Last week our contractors finished pouring the concrete slab in the basement. Before that was done though there was quite a bit of prep work, which included dumping more gravel into the basement, and leveling it off. Amvic Insulated Panel Then we laid down Styrofoam insulation on top of the gravel. We used the Amvic insulated panel for radiant heating. All the foam pieces link together to make a ... continue reading...

The last two weeks of our new home construction have been a mix of a lot of different things. The main tasks completed included the interior framing as well as the plumbing rough in. Our main contractors did all the interior framing over the last two weeks. We hired a plumber from Chesterville, ON to do all the plumbing rough-ins, and he will also install the furnace and air conditioner when we're ready for them. *This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if ... continue reading...

Are you building your own house? Do you want to know how to install a metal roof yourself? We have been working at building our own house for the last 9 weeks. Here's just a quick update of what was done last week. The metal roof on the house is finished, other than where the tin needs to be cut at the end of the roof. Check out the completed house, and more amazing tips for owner builders! Our contractors finished installing the ladders and strapping on the garage. They nearly completed ... continue reading...

This is now week 8 of our new home construction! We are building a raised bungalow on 30 acres of land in the country, acting as our own general contractors. Last week we finished up the house framing, and this week was the roof trusses and the tin roof.   New home Roof Trusses Last week Monday we started putting up the trusses. We rented a crane for the day to get the trusses up there. It also ended up being kind of cold for the middle of June, and very windy! The trusses were flying ... continue reading...

Tony and I bought 30 acres of land in a small community south of Ottawa, ON, and we started building our forever home in April 2016. We have been planning our dream home for a few years, and this year we decided to build our house and act as our own general contractors. We are seven weeks in, and continuing with the framing. Last week the house framing for the exterior wall was pretty much finished. Our contractors finished the front wall of the garage, and the wall for the front lobby. They ... continue reading...