Well and Septic

Hi Folks,

It's been a while since my last update (Oct. 15), however the truth of the matter is, there wasn't a lot to report on until the last week. When I left off we were still waiting for our well, septic and heat. Fortunately, we've had an exceptional fall, no snow yet and not a lot of heavy frost. Here's a shot of the house from the river looking up, which gives a good perspective on the hill we're on over looking the river. I'm actually standing alongside the dug well. The well is about 30 feet from the river. We hit water at 10 feet, went another 2 feet and dropped in 6 cement crocks. The well promptly filled up with 4 feet of water. A high pressure pump, run for 2 hours, failed to draw down the water level even an inch. Lots of water, now we wait for the water quality test. We used a witcher to locate a water vein and he was bang on.

A dug well is much preferred to a drilled well in our area. Cheaper to install, more water and better quality. The distance to the house was just over 200 feet. We installed a submersible pump and ran the line around 5 feet deep to avoid frost. In the basement we installed a large, fiberglass, cold water tank, 35 gallons vs 20 galleons. The larger the tank the less wear and tear on the pump, and in the long run we felt the extra 200 bucks would be well worth the extra cost. So the well is ready to go and today the lads installed the electric furnace and a 60 gallon hot water tank. Tomorrow we'll crank up the in floor hot water system and see what happens. This is big deal, we've been waiting for heat for a while, and until the system is up and running we were unable to finish the dry walling or apply the 2 coats of varathane. We sanded the complete interior, stair well and all. Like the outside we used 40 and 60 grit to removed dirt and lighten up the pine. After the first coat we'll use a much finer grit before applying the finshing coat. It's now starting to get pretty chilly over night and we have to get control of the humidity. Bring on the heat.

Septic System

The septic system is also installed and ready for all interior hook ups. We had plenty of options for locating the bed, and the soil was rated as C1, the top choice for soil drainage. Our basement is a living area, meaning it has a full bath room and laundry, and a rough in for a sink. Although we could have selected a bed location in front of the house and avoided a basement pump out, we opted to place the bed off to one side. This will allow us to leave many of the trees in place between the house the river, which otherwise would have to be cut down to make room for the 85' x 5' bed.

Fireplace Installation

The gas (propane) fireplace was installed last week. We chose a Napolean fireplace, 35,000 BTU. The hearth and boxed in area will be finished with cultured, river stone from floor to ceiling which will be about 14 feet high when completed. The mantle (6' x 1') will be cut from left over stair threads (4 x 12 pine). To support the mantle we'll use the butt ends from 2 of the 8" stair casing posts. The stone was purchased from Captured Stone Impressions. These folks were great, having built their own log home some 25 years ago. Check out their web site. http://www.capturedstone.ca/.

The power service was also completed this week and we're no longer on temporary service. All electrical and phone lines were buried and run under the driveway. The lines are buried 3 feet deep, surrounded by sand and a cautionary strip placed over the top.

Where the line enters the basement you'll also see the propane tank and the ventilation (HRV)vents. The vent furthest from the tank (15 feet+) is the intake and both have code restrictions in relation to the propane and electrical service.

As I said earlier, the furnace is now installed and we'll see what tomorrow brings. It'll take several days to get the system up to a comforable, operating temperature. You can't rush in floor start up, it needs to be gradual. The heat will be nice and we can start the varathane on the week end.

Later,

Tip of the week: Patience. If you're going to do your own general contracting, you'll need lots of patience. Dealing with all the different trades will be a challenge, however the return in personal satisfaction is well worth effort.