The first big bay windows were installed yesterday and today I found this little bird on the ground in front of one of the windows. It was dead.
The birds have been flying in and out of the house ever since the roof structure is on. Because they are openings everywhere and no windows, it has been an amazing shelter for them. They perch on the beams, sing to one another and some of them had even made some nests in a couple of the house’s corners.
Big bay windows can be a hazard for small birds, they see the trees and outside greenery reflecting in them and they fly straight into them. I am hoping that this will be the first and only victim of our windows; as they realize that the openings are being closed, they will hopefully start looking for other shelters.
This is one of the most frustrating things right now: waiting for the windows and doors. Although we obtained quotes two years ago, selected a contractor a year ago and gave the contractor a 6-month extension on delivery due to delays on the maçonry work, we are still waiting for the windows and doors…
Well, let’s be fair, the window frames for the big bay windows were delivered on August 5th but the window panes did not come with it and are yet to arrive…
At least, the frames look good.
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Here is a look inside the house at the end of July.
The main chimney will be used to exhaust the hot flue from the wood pellet furnace/boiler. In the short term the wood pellet furnace will be the main source of energy for hot water and radiant heating. In the long term, it will be combined to solar panels.
The chimney starts in the upper cellar and goes all the way up to almost the top of the roof. The conduit is built with pre-fabricated clay blocks that clip ontop one another. The conduit was half embedded in the stone wall so it would not protrude too much inside the house.
For a chimney to work well, its top needs to be at the same level or slightly above the rooftop. The portion of the chimney conduit that is outside the house, on the roof, will be covered with stones so it is protected and blends with the rest of the house.
We had to get smaller stones, which we found at a nearby stone field for this work.
The small slanted slates one can see around the base of the chimney (on the roof) is to direct rain water away from the base of the chimney, which is always a weak point or junction.
The last layer of the roof is being installed: it consists of rafters on top of which poplar planks will be laid. Next will be the clay and finally, the slates. The contractor who will install the slates is not ready until September so the roof will stay like this until then.
Also included in the gallery below are some pics from the grouting work that’s been continuing on all outside walls.
After waiting for a few days for a spell of dry weather, the work started and is now almost done on the cellulose insulation. It’s 30cm of wool-like cellulose that was blown in the wooden boxes or compartments that were made just above the main rafters. Once the compartments are all filled, the intake whole is sealed and the waterproff membrane is laid all over the roofs.
