March 1

March 29

             March 1                      March 29

We were ready for demolition on February 26^th.  Fortis was not.  They had assured us that the natural gas pipe and meter would be removed that week…….it didn’t get done.  A combination of very cold weather and Fortis’ secrecy regarding any scheduling meant about a week’s delay.  Sigh. We’re told that getting used to delays is part of the experience.

So on March 12, 2019 while we were exploring far-away Barbados, the house came down in less than a day.  Click here for a video:  Demolition Porn

Demolition Day

The next step was taking down a couple of 70-year old spruce trees that were on our neighbours’ property, but right on the property line. They had long ago grown into our airspace, creating tonnes of needles each year, and the root structure was about to be destroyed during excavation. Here is a video link: Tree Topping

Then the lot was excavated.  We’re now only about 200 meters from the lakeshore, but in historic times our lot was actually on the lakeshore.  This is indicated by a line of black sediment sloping from about 6 feet down at the north end to surface level about 40 feet back from the south end. The geotechnical engineer can be seen digging holes to assess soil composition at different depths which determines the amount of fill required.

Lastly, the fill was brought in – about 18 truck loads of 6 inch river rock.  Much measuring and debate about the ultimate level that the builders wanted, but it all went smoothly.  Video link:  River Rock Delivery

Interesting how demolition happens………we spent a couple of months emptying the house, stripping fixtures, and removing hazardous materials.  In a 5 day period (albeit spread over two and a half weeks) the house came down, the demolished material was removed, the trees came down, the hole was dug, and the rock fill was added.  Shows what can happen with expertise and equipment.  (A helluva lot more expensive though than our work!)

Now that DEstruction is compete, April will see CONstruction begin.