Insulation is going in.

We got our inspection passed early last week. It involved getting drawings for how exterior insulation is supposed to be installed. Because seeing it in person wasn't good enough. That was supplied by our environmental consultant for $250. Another unnecessary expense thanks to the city.

 With the inspection passed, they started insulation. Over the weekend, MrDinks and I were on site working on a few things, and the insulation guys were there working on the loft ceiling. They didn't realize that we had the lights hooked up. And MrDinks didn't realize they'd tucked a lightbulb up under the plastic vapour barrier. He turned on the light, and a few minutes later the insulators started freaking out. The bulb was heating up and had already started to melt some insulation. Fortunately they cut it out before it became a major incident.

On Tuesday night, I came to the house and walked up the stairs and discovered that they'd insulated all around the ensuite bathroom. MrDinks had wanted the wall between the shower and bedroom insulated because there was supposed to be plumbing in that wall. The plumbing got moved, but he left the insulation request in. And somehow they misunderstood and insulated the whole bathroom. It makes me laugh every time I walk up the stairs.

The kitchen still isn't ordered. But the design is finalized. I am just waiting now on sample doors of my custom colour, and final pricing. I am also waiting on the pricing of the bathroom, mudroom and window seat cabinets.

I have ordered tile for one of the bathrooms. It should be in in a couple of weeks.

We are also working on stair details. I have requested a new quote from the original stair company. Their first quote of $125,000 doesn't seem unreasonable now that the framing is done and we realize that Ryan had designed them to have floating landings. We've built the landings, and attached them to the walls, so the rest of the stairs should be much cheaper now. Plus, we bought a Direct Buy membership to save money on the kitchen cabinets, and the stair company offers a Direct Buy discount. So that should bring the price down to reasonable.

Also, one of the women I am working with has a husband that's a welder. His work building oil rigs has slowed down, so he is interested in building the stairs for us. I've also gotten quotes for the steel material, and unless the stair company comes in with really good price, having the welder build them on site looks like the best option.

We've gone through the building code with a fine tooth comb, and come to the decision that aircraft cable that's parallel to the stringers is completely acceptable. The stair companies won't build it, but welder guy will. The code specifically says the railings can't "encourage climbing." When I told Welder that, he suggested that if we electrify the railing, it won't encourage climbing. He and MrDinks may become very good friends.

If welder guy builds the stairs, we'll need to source the stair treads elsewhere. I've had that quoted by our 2 potential hardwood flooring guys. The first one wants $350 per stair. We have 46 stairs, so that's over $16k. Um, no. The other guy wants $110 for the wood, reclaimed fir, plus $100 to have him finish them. So that I can do myself and save close to $5k. But we're looking into other sources for the wood. I've discovered we can get a planer for ~$500. I've wanted a planer for a long time. And buying raw wood from various lumber sources comes in around $35 per tread. So, just need to decide on what material I want to use. And that's going to depend on what we decide for the rest of the flooring. 

First inspection

We had our first major inspection on Friday. So far, the city has inspected our foundation, our "groundworks" and the temporary power pole. This is the first time they've inspected the house itself, namely framing, mechanical, electrical and plumbing. We failed for some of the most ridiculous stuff ever.

Number 1, we don't have the fireplace installed yet. I assumed we needed drywall in first. But no, they want it done before drywall. So of course, I hadn't ordered it in time. I actually had yet another conversation with the city checking on the approval status of a potential installer. This time, the company in question has applied, but doesn't have a master gasfitter on staff, so they aren't approved. I also got a lecture about putting a company on my building permit application without already having a fireplace installer under contract. We needed the house framed before they could come out to give us a quote, but we need to have them under contract before we're allowed to break ground? Well, we shouldn't have had a fireplace on the plans if we hadn't decided who we were buying it from. We should have deleted it from the plans and added it later? So, I've bought the fireplace from the company that told me to leave their store. But it's coming this week. It wasn't in when the inspector came.

Number 2, he refused to go up to the second floor because we only had a railing on one side of the stairs. He claimed it was a safety risk.

Number 3, despite the engineered drawings showing how the house is built, the inspector wants extra framing in the corners, preventing us from having insulation in the corners.

Number 4, we didn't have the stamped drawings from the city on site. They were in my car, but I was in Toronto, so MrDinks couldn't find them. He had given BIL the garage drawings instead.

Number 5, we need documentation from the Canadian Association of Building Materials about some composite decking. Apparently Ryan put on the drawings that our green roof will have composite decking on it. It's called a green roof because the city won't allow us to have a deck up there. I suspect that the reference to the composite decking was on there because Ryan copied and pasted something from a different project. And because of that, the city wants us to provide some documentation. In order to get this document, we have to have a subscription to some government database. The city has access to it, and could easily look up whatever they need. But they won't. And we can't get it unless we're a big developer. Or pay a big developer to get it for us. So we have to have the drawings changed to show that we're not putting a deck on the surface we're not allowed to use as a deck anyway.

Number 6, we need resilient channels in our bedroom walls. WTF? It turns out we're in the AVPA (Airport Vicinity Protection Area). An apparently top secret zone the city has declared that basically means we're under the flight path. Someone did a contour map showing the areas that would be the loudest. And then someone else drew lines on the city streets surrounding the contours. We're outside the contour area. and inside the city street lines. That means that we are legally required to have soundproofing in the exterior walls where someone might be sleeping. And the city inspectors, for their own convenience, have decided that means resilient channels. MrDinks called the city and asked if we still need them given that we have the rigid foam insulation on the outside, which provides more sound deadening than the channels. Sure, we just need to provide a report from an acoustical engineer certifying that our walls are at least as sound proof as they would be if we had resilient channels. Nevermind, the channels are cheaper and faster than hiring an engineer.

However, they need to go on after the insulation and vapour barrier, just before drywall. But the inspector wants to see them on before we're allowed to insulate and vapour barrier. So, we essentially need to install them, pass inspection, and then remove them to finish the house.

In further ridiculousness, apparently nobody at the city noticed that we were planning to put exterior insulation around the house. And now that MrDinks has mentioned it to the inspection department, they have asked for an engineer's calculation of the thermal properties of our insulation system. When he told me this, I assumed they thought we were doing the exterior insulation INSTEAD of the usual insulation, not in addition to. But apparently there's some concern about the exterior insulation being more than 30% of the thickness of the interior insulation. So MrDinks did the math himself and sent it in. We're waiting to hear back on whether we still need an engineer to stamp that math, or if it's simple enough for even a city employee to understand it. Regardless, in the research on this, MrDinks has realized that all the stucco houses that the city planning department loves are completely breaking this regulation, because they have foam outside, and don't have the proper ratio of interior to exterior insulation.