The Knolls

Progress

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June 2003	The first view from the street of the property located at 221A Richmond Street  in Sandhurst. It is a five acre parcel with 363 feet of shoreline frontage, with sandy beach (small and comes and goes with the wave action) and pebbles, stones, and boulders. The water is not visible through the undergrowth.
July 2003	Michael and part of the street number sign.
June 2003	The shoreline is wildly overgrown with underbrush and willows and ash trees. The trees were in strong competition with each other, and needed to be thinned out to provide room for the important ones to thrive, and to provide a view of the water, which is almost totally obscured.
July 2003	Diane in the foliage at the east end of the shoreline. This is what the brush and undergrowth was like before it was cleared out.
August 2003	Exultant Diane, by the large willow, with some of the wood from the cleared trees.
August 2003	An arborist ("A Cut Above") was engaged to clear the underbrush, thin the trees, and trim the remaining trees. This was a huge job as there were large fallen willow trunks in several places. The view of the water looks to the Western Gap between Amherst Island and the eastern end of Prince Edward County.
August 2003	There was a lot of rubbish in the undergrowth, mostly from the cottage that was on the earlier severed lot, and at sometime in the past had been cleared off the property, and precipitating the return of this parcel to the larger one.
August 2003	From the kayaks it was possible to appreciate the topography of the property from the water. It is possible to see that the central portion of the shoreline is bracketed by a section at either end left as a buffer with the neighbouring properties.
August 2003	Adjacent to the "sandy" beach where the kayaks are launched is this spread of granite glacial boulders running out into the water. Opposite the eastern end of Prince Edward County is visible with a part of the Western Gap.
August 2003	The willows follow the stony shore berm, providing shade. Looking to the east.
August 2003	The property has three or four knolls, that make it rather distinctive in relation to the surrounding landscape which is quite flat. Hence the name Sandhurst, with "hurst" meaning "hillock". These are the only hillocks in the immediate area.
November 2003	View of the Anglican Church on Bath Road from the small knoll.
July 2004	The road into the building site take you over the top of the big knoll, seen above. The contractor for the road, septic bed, etc. is George Benn and Sons.
July 2004	The end of the road where the house will be sited.
July 2004	The road from the top of the big knoll, looking towards the shoreline.
July 2004	Making the shorewell by blasting. Contractor Frank's Drilling and Blasting, Newburgh.
July 2004	The shorewell.
October 2004	The path parallel to the shoreline. It can be approached from the front of the house.
November 2004	Preparing the bed for the hydronic floor. Contractors are Wemp and Smith.
November 2004	Levelling the bed for the hydronic floor.
November 2004	The tile bed for the septic system.
November 2004	Dressing the tile bed for the septic system.
November 2004	A view of the house site from the top of the big knoll.
November 2004	The form work for the footings seen at the garage entrance.
November 2004	Temporary plumbing!
November 2004	Placing the plumbing lines under the floor.
November 2004	The plumbing contractor is Brunet of Kingston.
November 2004	A view of the site with the footing forms in place from top of the big knoll.
November 2004	The trench for the waterline from the house to the shorewell.
November 2004	The waterline with a view of the path with the germinating grass.
November 2004	The trench for the hydro service. At the far end the excavator encountered a spring that would have served for a well!!
November 2004	Diane pacing out the measurements.
November 2004	One of the pine seedlings planted in the spring. The oaks, larches and pines seem to have had a good start in the cool and moist summer.
November 2004	A view of the house site from the shoreline. Follow the path.
November 2004	The floor insulation ready to be installed.
November 2004	Installing the floor insulation.
November 2004	Is it really a puzzle?
November 2004	The reinforcing mesh was placed November 11.
November 2004	The hydronic floor heating relies upon loops of tubing in the concrete floor. McKeown  and Wood are the contractors.
November 2004	This was a warmer, sunny day, so warm that the installers were remarking on how hot it was getting by 11 a.m., although the previous evening the temperature went down to -9 C.
November 2004	When this stage is completed, the floor is ready to be poured along with the footings. The footings are "warm," which avoids the need for deep frost walls.
November 2004	The footings and floor being poured. The crew started at 7 a.m. intending to work into the evening if necessary to finish the surface.
November 2004	The footings and floor used about 50 cubic yards of concrete.
November 2004	Pouring the footings and floor. The main house area is complete.  The garage is still to be done.
November 2004	Two days after the slab was poured, the forms are stripped off in preparation for the application of rigid insulation along the edges. It had rained overnight, and the pools of water show that the slab is quite level, but not perfect. This is a view from the garage entrance.
November 2004	It seems odd to "cut" the slab after so much trouble has been taken to get a smooth surface. It is assumed that all massive floors of concrete will want to crack somewhere. By cutting the slab surface to a depth of about one inch, the cracking will be directed along the weak points established by the cuts. However, it may never crack! This is a preventative measure to direct unsightly cracks in an orderly way.
November 2004	The hydro line will be underground. This seemed a good idea until a spring was discovered near the pole. Nevertheless, Hydro One said to proceed as planned in the layout (Plans).
November 2004	The perimeter of the slab is insulated with "PolyVert," a 'greener' form of rigid insulation. The choices of material throughout lean to the sustainable, green category. The perimeter drainage is visible in this photograph, and will be covered with gravel and sand.
November 2004	The Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) system selected for the walls is the Nudera product. It was selected because Nudera promoted an integrated building system, including floor and ceiling insulation systems. The latter proved to be too expensive compared to conventional insulation. Nevertheless, the wall system is very efficient and easy to put up to receive the concrete.
November 2004	The placement of the exterior walls defines the interior space in a dramatic way.
November 2004	The Nudera forms are unique in that they are somewhat like an accordion, and fold up for shipping, and unfold for installation.
November 2004	A view from the shoreline of the concrete forms being put in place. The previous two days were too rainy and windy to work on the site.
November 2004	A view from the south-west of the wall forms approaching their maximum height.
November 2004	A close up of the west wall and a window cut-out. The windows are close to the floor and life-size so from the inside it will seem possible to move out on the same level (but of course it is a window!).
November 30, 2004	From the garage entrance, walls at full height.
November 30, 2004	From the east end, walls at the full height.
November 30, 2004	From the south-east, walls almost at full height.
November 30, 2004	Facade from the shore, walls partially completed to full  height.
November 30, 2004	View from the sandy beach.
November 30, 2004	View from the shoreline.
November 30, 2004	Looking east on the shoreline, low water.
November 30, 2004	Looking west on the shoreline, low water.
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