Basement slab pour and truss preparation

With a favourable forecast we were able to schedule in the crew to pour both basement slabs and rear patios.  Without a shingled roof on the duplex, finishing flatwork concrete in the spring can be a risky situation.  Rain (or in our case more likely snow or frost) could cause serious damage to the curing concrete surface.  Fortunately the day was mild and the evening clear of storm clouds.  Use of a line pump and a series of concrete delivery trucks ready to go in the alley make the large area of pour proceed quickly.

Now that the slabs are poured and material ordered for basement framing, the framers can get started on the interior walls as soon as possible.  If bad weather is encountered, they may frame the basement walls before the roof is complete.  The crane also arrived to lift the trusses.  With the backyard clear of debris, access was good, with the exception of some low voltage lines that were quite close to top of the crane.  Fortunately the crane was able to safely back under the power lines and position itself far enough inside the property to access the roof.

power trowelling is ongoing inside the basement at this late stage of the pour

the sunken patio area after 24 hours to dry

The crane has arrived to lift the trusses to the roof

View of the rear prior to truss loading

The decks are sheated in fir plywood to allow future install of the membrane surface

In floor heating and basement slab preparation

With the basement plumbing approved the next step is backfilling the under slab area with gravel, covering that with insulation, and eventually rebar and the piping to carry the heated water to warm the basement slab.  All of this requires the orchestration of multiple crews, in this case the gravel slinger crew, insulation and rebar crew, and the plumber to put in the tubes.  Once installed, the City inspector is called to review the installation and check the pressure test on the lines.  Fortunately our tubing maintained an 80 psi rating over 24 hours, and the engineered drawings for the heating loops was satisfactory.  Now the only remaining step is the actual pouring of the concrete slab.  Once again we are fighting the weather.  Without a shingled roof, we can't proceed with pouring the slab unless we are confident it will not rain (or in our case, snow).

Once again the gravel slinger arrives on site with many loads of  gravel.  The gravel is bucketed around the basement and then tamped to form a compact surface

The sump pump is connected by the plumber to the weeping tile and the exterior patio drain

insulation is applied to the gravel surface

Rebar and tubes are complete

Lines are pressurized to ensure there is no leak in the network

Pre-cast install

In Calgary the use of pre-cast, or concrete prefabricated stairs and window wells is fairly common.  The benefit of the concrete step, landing and window well is durability compared to a wood installation.  No painting or maintenance is needed for these concrete products.  The precast does require some advance planning to ensure the concrete structure is supported.  This is done by utilizing 'wing walls' and 'sonotubes', and in the case of window wells, just brackets drilled in to the foundation.  The concrete window well is far superior, and much more costly than a typical metal window well.

Key to this job site is often ensuring the cars are not blocking access for the deliveries.  With a crane on the back of the truck the delivery is very quick.  Another benefit, the driver has 20 years of install experience and doesn't need much supervision

The first window well is lowered into place. The units look massive prior to  backfill

Installation of the material is very quick, about two hours to get four items craned off the truck and positioned on the front of the building.  Of course, this required significant planning by the builder, such as making sure the window wells were excavated to the appropriate depth, garbage on site was managed, and no lumber pile or obstruction would prevent access  of the delivery truck.  In this instance the process was very efficient and we are now left with safe and durable entry stairs and window wells.

dirt is shovelled back in and we have complete window well install, these should last many years

The concrete sidewalk can eventually be poured up to the precast stair.  The window well should be a good barrier for shrubs and plantings later this fall

Selecting finishes

Finish selection is a difficult task as the options are endless and the budget can expand out of control.  Use of an interior design company is one option, though for this project our intention is to customize one house to our particular liking (given we will be moving in we best understand our taste in finishes) and from there we can adjust the side that is planned to be sold.  By finishing our side first, we can also use this to show the 'as built' plan to future customers for our next project, a similar sized lot located in Rosscarrock, about 15 blocks north of our killarney location.

For the killarney duplex we are bounded by a few parameters, first, we don't want to exceed the ceiling of what other builders in the area are offering very often.  Each time on a project of this nature the builder upgrades too far 'beyond the norm' it may eventually accumulate into a overbuilt scenario, where the market value of the home is exceeded by the cost to construct it. Given the variability in finish price and quality, it is far too easy to 'talk yourself' into justification of any and every possible upgrade, even considering our extremely comprehensive standard specification as a starting point.  Yet we want to distinguish our product from others found in a super competitive market, so a few additional luxury items, when carefully considered, go a long way to achieving this.

We use a common strategy to narrow the scope of our options by refining selections based on our design theme, a contemporary family home containing authentic natural finishes to create a casual but sophisticated atmosphere.  In addition to the natural material that has an organic feel, texture and innate durability, we want to blend in some 'man made' elements, like a pigmented concrete floor, open tread stairs with a slight industrial feel to the exposed structural elements, and metal hand railings.

We have decided to start with cabinetry due to its permanence and custom nature.  Following cabinetry, it makes flooring, countertop, tile and paint more focussed (in that particular order).  Right now options include a flat front veneer or solid hickory or walnut door for the cabinets.  We likely intend to choose veneer wood material due to the lack of humidity in Calgary that tends to warp solid woods.  For the floor we want a wide plank, oiled matte finished engineered hardwood that offers the character and durability to suit our lifestyle.  With use of a darker stained cabinet, a contrasting lighter oak floor seems to work well, and likely a very light quartz counter will be chosen.  Here are a few images of the likely selections to date:

The Hakwood Sierra line, possibly the nicest and most expensive  European wide plank flooring.  Unfortunately not in the budget this time.

This sample from woodline parquetry appears extremely compatible with our design theme and offers a nice contrast with the cabinetry sample.  

transforming beams this large into a finished open tread staircase is quite a process.  Fortunately we have done this before with great success, and now we are working with an extremely capable fabrication shop east of Calgary. The stringers are likely to be 3.5 x 14 inch material, and the treads 3.5 x 11 7/8.  The man made beams are left out in the lumber yard exposed to the elements.  Doesn't make finishing them any easier! 

Top floor party wall

With the upper level now sheeted, the ICF crew has arrived and installed the forms for the top floor party wall. This will be poured on monday and the framers will begin installing the nine foot high exterior walls and preparing for the roof.

The plan for next week is to have the basements prepped with gravel, insulation, rebar and the tubing needed for the in floor heating system.  Once inspected we can pour this and the framers can install the basement walls.

Framing second floor structure

The framers completed the sheeting of the second level on the left side house.  This work, plus the installation of temporary stairs allows easy access to the upper floor, and an apportunity to see the downtown view to the east.  Between the neighbours trees the tallest downtown building (the bow) can be seen from the master bedroom along with some of the city skyline.

The temporary stairs provide a safe and convenient way to get up and down, they will remain in place until we are ready to install the finished staircase material.  A set of stairs was also installed into each basement, and not just for safety.  The plumbing inspector visited the site today to look at and eventually approve the under slab plumbing pipe network.  City inspectors don't go down ladders, so the just in time delivery of the stairs was extremely fortuitous. With the groundworks approved, and the weather warming nicely, we can proceed with the preparation for our hydronic heating system installation, planned to begin at the end of next week once the gravel, insulation and rebar are in place.

Before we do this, our ICF crew will be returning to do the last party wall installation.  By friday, the final section of middle wall should be in place and poured, allowing the framers to finish the second floor exterior walls next week.

the first sheeted upper floor on the left side house is complete.  This is the west view out the front

Extremely convenient safety stairs and railing allowing easy access up top

Clear view of the Bow building and the bulk of the downtown offices

Most of the joists are installed on the remaining house.  This will be done by the end of the week

Basement plumbing

Installation of the basement plumbing is a multi step process.  First we need to deliver a load of gravel into each basement to bed the pipes.  Fortunately this was done with the gravel slinger truck a few weeks prior.  The sanitary and water line to the property line was also installed and inspected previously, as this must exit the building below the footing so is done at the time of the basement excavation.

We also had to source the various pipes, fittings, back flow protection valve, floor drain and sump pump.  The sump pump is necessary as any water that collects around the building and drains into the weeping tile or sunken patio must be collected and pumped toward the alley (considerably lower than the basement) so it can drain over land, not into the city sewer system.  Complicating the plumbing install was the frozen solid condition of the ground.  Due to recent cold weather, the clay-type soil was extremely hard and frost penetrated.  To chip this away we used a large hilti hammer drill.  Another option would have been to heat the entire basement and wait until the ground melted.  In this case the chipping  away of the frozen clay was a simpler option.

In this photo our plumbers Kirk and Jeremy glue in the last of the ABS four inch pipes plus the smaller pipe for the shower, bar drain, and vanity.  Substantial gravel shovelling and frozen clay chipping was needed

Framing progress

Finally some warm spring weather and the framers were able to make considerable progress.  With the melt the site has become extremely muddy and slippery.  Tomorrow the second floor joist package is delivered, so the framers will spend approximately one week assembling the floor structure, stairwell opening, and cantilevers.  Once sheated, it will be interesting to see the view out the back, as it seems likely an eastern view of downtown office buildings should be visible from the master bedroom at the rear of the house.

view of the rear of the house

Main floor concrete wall pour

Despite the ongoing snow and unseasonably cold conditions, the main floor party wall was braced and supported, and the pour took place in the late afternoon.  Due to the height of the wall, over 11 ft,  the pumper truck was an essential tool to delivery the concrete.  Fortunately the styrofoam walls insulate the concrete so it can dry properly, even in cold conditions.