Wrap party on Saturday

Here are a couple of pictures from the wrap party we had on Saturday.
From Left to Right: Sean (P. Diddy) - at edge of photo, Chris Scully, Chris' fiance Nancy, Cathy Irvine, and Charles Irvine.


From Left to Right: Freda, Colleen Ulrich, Heinz Ulrich (cabinetmaker), Margot Lajeunesse

Shrek & Blandings Dream House

Tonight, Freda and I watched Shrek II. At the end, it said In Memoriam - William Steig. So I googled William Steig and found that he was the author of the 1990 fairy tail picture book "Shrek", which was the basis of the first Shrek movie.

Interestingly enough, William Steig also illustrated the 1946 novel "Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House". Read more about it here.

May 5th - Stucco progress

Drive up - Friday May 5th, 2006.

Stucco guys put the colour on the banding around the windows, well the banding that was in place. The full crew was not there so didn't look like much got done. The weather wasn't too great - on the cold side - so that was probably a factor.

We had frost on Sunday morning, and overnight low is forecast to be 4C for the next couple of days. (Must be at least 6C to apply the stucco.)

I expect the stucco will be completed next week, weather permitting.

May 3rd - almost all of the back of the house has been base coated.

May 2nd - putting the banding around the windows, and preparing for the base coat. 

May 3rd - the great room with all the scaffolding, base coat almost complete. 

May 2nd - this is what the colour looks like. It looks too orange with the stone, so we had to pick another colour. 

Fossil in our back yard 

May 1st - putting the base coat on the gables, 

Stucco has started

The maple french doors now have had their second coat of urethane, so the protective plastic has been removed.

This is now our view looking towards the front door, and out towards the lake.




Nick, trowelling on the base stucco coat on the front of the house, on the porch.

Nick first trowels the base coat on the banding around the windows, doors, and just below the soffit, and then does the main part of the wall.


The stucco guys have been preparing the walls for the base coat.

First, they scuff sand the walls to roughen up the surface, and tape plastic over the windows and doors to protect them from the cement (which is caustic).

After that, they fasten mesh at the top of wall under the soffit, and around the windows and doors, and then install a 4" wide 1 1/2" thick piece of foam. The mesh wraps around the block of foam when they cement is put on.

Stucco requires a foam backer. The stucco guys are installing foam on the gable ends. Then the mesh will be put on and a base cement coat will be trowelled over it.