Snow Comes to Central Alberta

WE HAVE SNOW!

This past Saturday Peter and I prepared both our "homes" for the anticipated snow arrival on Sunday. "Anticipated" gives you the feeling we wanted it to come. Not! I still struggle to believe winter is well on it's way! Saturday bright and early we went to the "station home" and tidied up the yard and parking lot. After a number of hours of tossing junk into the back of the truck and bagging what would probably blow away in the wind, we hauled two pick-up loads of stuff to the dump. When we were done there we came to our "sleeping home" and cleaned out the flower beds and mowed up the leaves for one last time. When all was said and done, we warmed up (!), showered and went out for the evening. What a treat!

There are bits and pieces that need finishing up on the outside of the building. Concrete sills, a bit more "siding" and tyvek and batten boards for the upstairs walls and our soffit (upstairs only) and fascia are all that remains on the building. Roofing is all done! We just found out this morning though the parking lot will NOT be paved this year. We are believing (or trying to believe right now) there is a blessing in this delay. I think I was more prepared for this than Peter.

Inside? We are all prepped to pour the slab! If all goes well (we pray it does!) and some temporary heat goes in, Thursday is slab pouring day! Then coring (making cut marks so we minimize cracking) next week and framing inside starts. Then heating systems and plumbing! We have the insulation and drywall company all lined up! Again, keeping on top of the sub-trades that are still overworked!

Soon we need to go over to the paint shop and pick out the stain for the timber beams upstairs and some other finishes. As well we need to get some wall/ceiling paint for upstairs. Peter needs to put together a finishing package. We need to make an appointment to make some final decisions on flooring. We need to check out a few cabinet companies for the small "lunch counters" in each suite. And yes! We need to put together our lighting package! Those are the fun decisions!

A gentleman in Tim Horton's yesterday asked us if our building was almost done. We are just starting to move into the next phase!

Teamwork

JULY 12, 2006




OCTOBER 25, 2006


In three and a half short, but extremely busy, months we have come this far. And only by God's goodness! It's beneficial to take time to reflect on where you've come from, but it is also important to keep moving forward. We have a long way to go yet! We will get there!

Teamwork! Why a title like this? I have seen some incredible displays of people working alongside other people in the last number of weeks and days. I know not all do it because of faith in a Higher Being, but as a believer in this Higher Being, it's cool to watch from a different perspective!

The Siding Fellows and the Bricklayers had to co-ordinate their spaces around the building for the last number of weeks. (We have siding AND brick all the way around!) When the tradesmen pulled onto the site a number of weeks ago to set up I could see some potential clashes! Oh no! Time to pray! Even though we haven't been there the whole time to watch how things played out, no one walked off the job!! Then to add to the mix we built a sidewalk all the way across the front of the building that had to be poured then stayed off of! Teamwork.

Two fellows have been doing the siding. One stays up on the scaffolding with the nailer calling out measurements and the other fellow cuts and passes up the pieces of siding. They've worked that way the whole time! And it seems to work well. Teamwork.

The full-time bricklayer on site hurt his back a few days ago moving the mortar mixer thingy. Now the crew's been down to the owner (he did our own house many years ago!) and a young apprentice/laborer. I knew the full time fellow had little patience at first for this young guy just helping out. It's been amazing though now to see Jim (owner) working quietly with this young fellow teaching and instructing him with a much kinder and gentler tone than the absent injuried bricklayer! Teamwork.

Last night while Peter and I were stripping the sidewalk forms, the concrete fellow and his crew were working inside the building prepping the slab. The owner, Kevin, had his wife there as well working with the crew of guys hauling in long lengths of re-bar. What a trooper she is! His business will go places with such a cheery supportive wife! What teamwork!

It's good to see the growth of the building, but also the relationships between workers and tradesmen! There is a bigger picture here than just the ones you see at the beginning of this posting!

Brief Interlude

I suppose I had better get at things here and do another posting. It's not like something hasn't been happening on the site, other than last week! We understand the weather was not great here in Lacombe. We were on the warm side of the Rockies with my brother and sister-in-law enjoying a week away that was booked a year ago. We struggled deciding if we should go or not, but we went and I believe it was a needed break from the hectic pace here in Lacombe. Time in the East Kootenay Valley with the deep green spruce and warm golden Larch trees was a feast for the eyes! We usually get to Fairmont when snow has moved into the valley for the winter! This pic shows us on our way up into the hills! The next day I dared not say "Let's do something!" Again, I am thankful for our red pick-up four wheel drive truck!



Peter and Lorraine



Ron and Bev



The road goes on - we didn't!

In our travels during the week we also went to a service station just outside of Fort Steele and picked up a CP caboose (van) pot bellied stove we saw earlier in May. This little - but heavy - treasure will end up in our new office waiting room area. Or that is the plan at this point. We debate where to put it - but I have discovered the spot I want to see it finally rest. Whatever the case - it will be in the station!



The "waiting" caboose pot-bellied stove

BEFORE we left, our sidewalks were poured. In anticipation of the cold weather we had every poured concrete surface covered with insulated tarps. As well, Peter and I installed our "heavy" steel mechanical room door. This guaranteed the lockability (is this a real word?) of the building while we were gone.



Long line of orange tarps



In goes the door!

Today is a sunny day so I should be able to go over later and take some pics of the almost completed segments of our exterior! But that is a whole new story!

Lots happening all over the site!

Today was another busy day at 4892 - 46th Street! The weather wasn't really clearing up - but it certainly was warmer today than for the last two days! We were up early - one of us earlier than the other one and down in the office working - and the day started a bit foggy. As long as the sky doesn't clear we will stay warmer at night. Right now this is crucial for our sidewalks to cure the best. Sidewalks cure you know!

The roofer couldn't make it - he has three guys sick with the flu! Yuck! But our siding guys were back and so were our bricklayers. And this afternoon Kevin Braun was here with his crew pouring the sidewalk up by our building. Tonight Peter and I will go over and check on it yet. There was some problems with the concrete setting up (low air temperature) so we will very, very carefully lay some tarps over the sidewalk. Hopefully tomorrow they will be able to pour the front city sidewalk. We have the tarps for a week.

By the way, the 15 insulated tarps needed sure know how to fill up the back of a pick-up. Good thing they are light and poofy! A couple of tie down ropes managed to "suck them in" for the trip home from Red Deer after lunch!



View out the back window!




Kevin (far left) and his crew!
Waiting for last of the concrete to arrive!




Peter talking with Paul (siding fellow)!
What a bea-u-ti-ful color!




Jim (very back left) and his crew of Bricklayers!


They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I just gave you four thousand!

P.S. Kevin and his fellows had everything covered before we got there tonight! So glad they were able to do it!

Let it Shine, Let it Shine!

Saturday Morning's Crew



Monday's Crew

I was not too smart to use the title for the last posting that I did. Today, Wednesday, it wants to snow or threaten to snow! We are waiting for it to clear and warm up enough to pour sidewalks. Over the Thanksgiving weekend on Saturday and Monday our front parking area was a beehive of activity with people running here and there and everywhere getting the sidewalks prepared for this week to pour. Now we sit and wait out the weather! We should be taking a deep breath and enjoying a bit of a breather here, but we aren't! Next week Peter and I are supposedly going on a bit of a holiday (planned a year ago - who knew!) but somehow the pressure of getting all enclosed and prepared for those winter blizzards is not encouraging us to "just go!"

On Saturday, once Eric and Becky arrived, Eric and Kev worked on getting some communication wires pulled in our suite. Hopefully we are not too premature in this - the shingles are still sitting in their bundles on the roof. Our roofer is to come tomorrow! While they were busy running wires through walls and in the floor system, Eric and Becky's new (but not so little anymore) puppy Keira was tied up digging to her heart's content in a sandpile created by our plumber and electrician a number of weeks ago. She had to be confined while Becky and I stained the last of the smart wood under cover and away from our nightly frost. Outside were Peter, Matt Archibald, Tyrone Mamchur and Gordie Scott (all three friends of Kev's from high school) moving around gravel and pit run and laying out forms for sidewalks.

On Monday Brent and Kirstin were here and Eric and Becky were heading home to Calgary. Brent and Kev helped along with the crew from Saturday to finish up most of the sidewalk prep. Brent sure knows his stuff and was a real asset to the task at hand! Kirstin and I cleaned out upstairs and generally moved around what we could for the guys. We looked useful at all the right times! Or tried to! Most of the work was completed with the expertise of Brent and the brute strength of the former football players on site.

Now we wait! Even the siding fellows and the bricklayers quit early yesterday because of the continual drizzle of rain dripping down through the overhang boards on them and their work. Don't blame them!

Once again we are being tested on just how well we have learned the lesson of patience. As tough as it is to be at a standstill at such a crucial time of year - there is nothing we can do about the weather. We know it is in His hands. God knows what we need, when we need it and we will have those things in His good timing. We can still count blessings in our anxious moments. We have someone to watch over the constuction site while we are hopefully away next week. What a blessing! We've managed to snag onto some insulated tarps - which will be in high demand soon! What a blessing! We are heading into a somewhat slower time in the office and not our busiest season. What a blessing! Even the phone in the office is ringing less (time of year and weather) which makes for better productivity there. What a blessing! We have three healthy sons and two wonderful daughter-in-laws to help and encourage us along. What a blessing!

Weather? This too shall pass!

When the Winter Blizzards Blow ....

It's exciting to watch the station come closer to the place of being snug and dry when those inevitable prairie blizzards do blow!

Today was hectic on the site! So many people stopped by either to work, prepare to do their work next week or drop off some supplies. To complete the picture - the town was out doing prep work for re-paving what they tore up a few months ago to provide us with water and sewer to our property. That prevented one driveway from being used and they are working on getting the curb redone for the other driveway. Good thing there is an empty lot to the south for supply trucks to come in, or trucks to bring in workers. I realized today that almost everyone who works on site uses a pick-up truck! Glad we have ours! We would feel so out of place. Actually our truck has seen a lot of action for hauling in - hauling away - moving around supplies - picking up supplies! We couldn't have done without it!

Today we received on site the brick for the building. We also got re-bar delivered for the slab and sidewalks. The "fencer" stopped by briefly, the siding fellows started prep work, our bricklayer came to go over a few details with us, even a drywaller stopped by briefly to check if we had that lined up yet. We do. And a T.V. station in Red Deer stopped by to do an interview with us about the building. We finally made it back home after lunch to do the work that makes the money right now! So here we are tonight, working in the office. Actually Peter has the work to keep up with, I'm keeping up with the blog!

The windows are all installed now! The large opening on the east side for the scissor lift is now sealed up! Even our electrician stopped by to do some layout upstairs! There - another person who stopped by! The only exterior element to take care of to complete the "lock-up" is the mechanical room door! We will probably bring it home to paint before installing it. And if someone is brave enough (or stupid enough) they could crawl up to the roof and still get in the openings for the skylights. Those have to be installed yet. Tonight they are just gaping holes! Stargazing - that's what they are good for tonight!

I think this week we both feel like we have lived a million lifetimes already - and it is only Thursday! This weekend will be busy too - depending on the weather. We pray for acceptable conditions for working outside and in!



Main Floor windows in!



Ta da! Upstairs too!



Signs of an electrician coming around!



My office towards Peter's office!



The fence is coming along!
(Note the opening for a lockable gate!)

Ah - yes - I almost forgot. Speaking of fence posts, the emergency services for Central AB did a mock disaster just south of the station yesterday afternoon! They did it in conjuction with a "disaster" out at the Joffre plant to see if everyone could respond as they were supposed to. They found our fence posts quite handy for blocking off the "disaster" area! Our framer tried pretending to need help - they ignored him since he wasn't in the "cast" of "disaster victims"!

Closer every day!

Over the weekend we got a number of things stained (but not with blueberries or raspberries) to bring the exterior of the station closer to being ready for the bricklayer and siding fellow. Kev was home so he helped me on the ground with the smart wood. (If it was really smart it would take care of getting itself to the color we want it - but it isn't that smart I guess!) The smart wood is being used as the trim for the corners of the building - around the doors and windows - and as the decorative trim in the stucco gable on the second floor. While Kev and I stayed planted firmly on the ground Peter wandered around the edge of the roof system to finish staining the brackets on top, stain the ledger that holds the rafters next to the building, and stain the corners stick framed the day before.



Numerous times during the day Kev or I had to go around the building moving the ladder for Peter so he could get down! Except once he did crawl through a second floor window on the track side of the building to come down and visit with some friends that stopped by to see how things were going. Actually, we had a number of people stop by Saturday to check things out. The day was a bea-u-ti-ful day, so I don't blame them one bit to be out and about!

Today, Monday, the framer is back at it. There is a threat of rain tonight - but the sun is trying valiantly to warm things up after a cool day yesterday. Today Leon, Todd and one other young fellow are installing the tongue and groove which we stained way way back in the begining of August.



The overhang goes on!



The overhang from the underside!

I think we will have to wait until spring to second coat all these elements that make up the roof overhang including the brackets. We need to make the building available for other things right now - like bricks and siding and a concrete sidewalk. I'm sure the work will still be there for us in the new year!

While we were upstairs this morning going through the electrical for our suite with Lorne, our windows came from Red Deer. They have been sitting in the Co-op warehouse for a while, and today they shipped them out! They are well wrapped so we can't have a closer peek at them. We can tell though they are the right color metal cladding on the outside. Whew! In the picture you can see just how big they are when Peter stands beside them checking them over - as much as he can at this point!



They ARE well wrapped!



They ARE tall windows!

Wonder who will get to wash them??