Atco gas install

In order to avoid having to use a directional drill to connect the gas line from the alley to the houses (at an additional cost of $70 per meter) we had left a two inch plastic conduit in a trench and back filled it while we were digging in the garage foundation.  An early gas connection will allow us to hook up the furnace and this is a bonus as even in summer the basement can be too cool to properly dry the drywall compound.  With the gas standpipe in place, the actual meter can be connected and the plumber can fire up the furnace and any other gas appliance in the house.

This is the natural gas standpipe and the penetration through the wall left previously by the  plumber

                                

Drywall delivery

Now that the house is passed the structural, plumbing and electrical inspections, drywall can begin.  Due to the house having three levels and the overall enormous weight of the material, the drywall delivery company uses a built in crane to load all the wall board one lift at a time through a door or window.  From there the board is wheeled into each room in predetermined quantities.

drywall is on its way to the upper level

Rear grading

Since our wheeled skid steer can't get the job of backfilling the garage done because the gravel ramp is too unsafe and unstable, we had to come up with a better option. Fortunately our contractor, Harold, had a tracked machine at his other job site.  With the smaller and lighter machine delivered to site, we were able to get the garage backfilled and ready for framing.

With the machinery gone, garage framing can begin.  Yard is prepped for landscaping as well.

Garage foundation and backfill

With the garage pad set much lower than the backyard grade, we had to pour a four foot concrete wall at the back of the garage, and stepped down walls along the side and middle. This allows us to have two different heights of the garage pad to account for alley slope, and it retains the earth in the backyard so it can be flatter than it otherwise would be.  Backfilling and grading of the rear lot now becomes a problem as machine access is very limited.  We will have to resort to plan B the next day to complete the grading

garage walls are stripped and now form an exceptionally strong base for the walls to be framed. Note that the walls themselves are flat but the pad will be poured to slope toward the alley

Excess dirt is left in the yard to allow for backfill of the trench surrounding the walls

With space behind the wall, adding a weeping tile in a fabric sock is possible to ensure water that accumulates behind the garage can escape

with a gravel ramp built, the wheeled skid steer can't safely make it over the wall

garage footing and excavation

With the sloping rear lot, we must excavate the garage pad much lower than grade in order to have a gentle apron on the garage to provide smooth access to cars, yet ensure the garage is well above the often wet and snow filled alley.

Generally in Calgary construction the garage is a four or possibly six inch thick slab poured basically right on the ground and it is subject to frost heaving and penetration by rain.  Sometimes the edge is thickened to improve the structure, and rebar is added.  In our case we have put in a new footing, similar to what would support a house, and an eight inch concrete perimeter wall.  This should make for a far more robust garage structure.

garage excavation is underway 

Footing is prepped to pour.  We had earlier surveyed the garage and selected the actual height of the slab based on the height of the alley

Garage footing is poured 

Utility conduit installation part 2

With the gas conduit safely buried the next task was to get the conduit in for electricity.  The electrical main is also in the alley, but like most inner city locations is above ground.  The general practice here is to run the electricity connection through the roof of the rear garage panel, and then underground to the house to the sub-panel.  At this point, the garage is not even started so we just stub the pipe up into the approximate location where we want the garage meter.

The electrical conduit is ready for burial at the house.  We select a location next to the mechanical room so it will be very easy for the electricians to install the power

Utility conduit installation part 1

A challenging aspect on any inner city build is reconnection of the three key services that are needed to make the building function, natural gas, electricity and water/sewer.

Atco is the installation company in Alberta that controls natural gas connection. Generally the gas main is located in the alley so the gas meter must be connected to the lane via an underground pipe, generally 40 inches buried.  The problem with laned properties is the detached rear garage.  Once the rear garage is built, there is no room left to trench in the gas line.  A builder has two options, directional drill the gas line in at a cost of 70$ per metre, or put in a conduit that allows the gas line to be pulled through.

Since we had to excavate our garage anyway, we decided to go with the cost saving option and lay the conduit ourselves, thus allowing Atco a much easier install job.  The photo shows the trench dug with the conduit for gas and electrical at the bottom.  We used two 1.25 inch pipes for power and data connections, and a 2 inch line for the gas.

With no room for our tracked digging machine, we have to resort to hand digging the last few feet of trench.  Not an easy job in the mud!

Stair install part 3

With both sets of stairs delivered to site, installation was able to take place over a short period thanks to a few very experienced framers.  The left unit features a conventional integral landing stair and the right unit features the parallam beam open tread stair.  Both will look extremely good once we get to the finishing stage.

Use of the hoist is necessary to raise the heavy sections

Ready to install safety railings

Parallam stair lower section landings installed

Looking at the structure from below

Stair are ready for finishing