Let the building begin!

I can't believe it was the 2nd week of July when I last posted. A lot of life has happened since then, but not a lot of building. Until now!

We were hoping to be well into the project by this point, with not-so-distant visions of enjoying Turtle Falls in something other than a mobile mouse house. Poor Priscilla! She was neglected so much this summer that the vermin vacationed there more than we did. Why such neglectful behaviour towards our beloved Priscilla, you ask? The Reader's Digest version goes something like this....

Ras with her new, but gently-used, water toy.

On the very same day we were madly in the midst of buying a boat by text message...yes, we really bought a boat using only our opposable digits...a call came in from the hospital in the city to inform us that Ras's dad had taken a bad fall while out-and-about. The bad news...broken hip. They forgot to mention the unicorn horn growing on his forehead, the first point of impact during his fall. Fast forward to the partial hip replacement surgery, then a second surgery 5 days later, as a complication of the first surgery...oh, and did I mention Ras's dad, Lou, is 88. Anyway, he healed up pretty fast during his 2 months in the hospital and is now doing very well in his new long-term-care digs out near Turtle Falls. Needless to say, it was a hectic time (3 months in all) of hospital visits, organising 24-hour home care after the hospital stay, visiting and choosing long term care facilities, packing and moving Lou to his new place and clearing out his previous apartment. And hence, the reason Priscilla was left to fend for herself against the menacing mob of mice for the majority of the summer.

But why the delay in the building, you ask?

Let's just say that we lost the race against time to have Contractor Mark start our house before he had to start the next house in his queue. It all worked out as it should have though. The delayed start date for us gave us the chance to help Lou through his recovery and get him established in his new location. Lou loves his new joint...ha...I meant his new place, but I'm sure he probably loves his new and improved hip joint too!

Onward and upward...passive house Casa Tortuga is finally underway! It all started with one little truck loaded with high density geofoam for the sub-slab insulation. Then 2 more truck loads followed the next day. Smaller trucks are the only option for the winding driveway into Turtle Falls.

Here's what the excitement of the last few days looks like.

The first load of foam arrives at 4pm on Thursday.

Two more loads arrive mid-afternoon on Friday. And then we had a
weekend of high winds that lasted through to Monday night.

Nicer weather and the crew both arrive Tuesday, bright and early.
A chainsaw...with a foam-cutting blade?

Two layers of 7-inch (17.8cm) thick sheets getting assembled.
Seams are off-set to lessen thermal bridging.

14 inches (35.6cm) of high density, foot-warming, thermal-breaking
insulation for under the concrete slab.

Foam install almost complete.
The frost has no chance of getting into the ground now.

Next up is the plumber, so until he gets here the foam has been
covered with tarps to keep the wind and weather away.

Next up...the plumber will carve out the necessary water/waste lines in the foam before the slab gets poured.

Here's to hoping there are no more 4 month delays!

More later,
Mimi