Looking good!

The air dam ... that is why I like SUVs! I used to have low sports cars in my much younger days and you always have to be aware of that lack of clearance.

that is looking so good, it is hard to believe the mudhole pictures and stuck lifts and drama.

We went to Floor and Decor today to look at large format tile for the roll in showers. So many options there.

We are about 6 weeks out!

@Kelly M - I was at Floor and Decor today too, picking up schluter and grout and I had to force myself to leave before I bought more tile. So many amazing choices.

Your place is getting that finished look. Mine is all fakery, the insides have to do a lot of catching up.

My tile guy is putting down ardex on the sloped foam pans tomorrow and Monday for the flood test.

We are debating having the tile all done and then protecting it from the sheetrock crew. I'll be doing the painting so that is not an issue. My body does not do the rock hanging anymore.

I am posting this as a PSA. Learn from my mistakes.

I framed up the showers with nary a thought about tile sizes. My pans are 48.5" wide.

If I had done 47.5" then everything would fit easily.

Please at least get an idea before you do my thing and either generate a bunch of scrap, put in an accent border, or back my choices into the 30x60 and larger corner.

24x48 tile is a nominal size. Actual is 23.6 by 47.2

Had I informed my decisions then I could do a whole slew of different things with ease.

Yes -sometimes that 1/2" or 1/4" is way harder to resolve than a FOOT!

I had 25' exactly between 2 concrete walls. Had spec'd some ikea cabinets for pantry. 5 36" cabinets and 4 30" cabinets. 25'. Easy Peasy.

EXCEPT THAT....

A little sloppy construction on my part made a couple cabinets 30 1/16" wide. AND the wing walls were set JJJJJUUUUUSSSSSTTTTT a smidge cockeyed.

Planing the side of 24" deep and 95" high cabinets so you can slide that bad boy in the last slot was NOT FUN.

Looks fabulous now.... much swearing.

At last, a view of our front door installed.

Arista Doors

Treated copper sheathing on an 8"solid mahogany base with a six-point locking system.

Opened by a five-foot black pullbar. Stained frame. Interior to also be stained mahogany.

(Cost equal to our nine appliances!)

Cool!

@worthy That door is stunning! What a fun and beautiful way to welcome people to your new home!

I'm another Floor & Decor fan. I had kind of written them off as a run of the mill big box store, but then found wonderful tile for our fireplace surround that is light years better looking and less expensive than the misrepresented stuff I got delivered from Artistic Tile and had to return (for a $1k loss -- did a whole lot of swearing on that one @just_janni.)

Your door is stunning - but equally beautiful is the wood surround. That's luscious.

Sorry the driveway edge treatment ate son's car. I still say it's worth it. ;-)

And the brick lokks great, too. Hang in there - it's coming to an end.

(FYI though - the invoices / needs / new things you need) doesn't stop. Furniture, lighting, heck I have decided I need new everyday dishes - LOL) . Cord reels for the garage and shop- 5 of them. $105 each... NEVER. ENDS...

Appreciate the entry door detail. Overall dimensions? HxWx thickness? Pivot?

Guessing 3 large installers

This last week was the last straw. Endless mud due to mismanagement, and it was cutting into my home building time.

I interviewed my replacement by phone a couple of times and it looks good. I will meet and hand over the operations Tuesday, phasing out my participation.

I am free to build my home on my own terms now!

Thanks for the compliments!

(I love the look of copper. Hate it when a buyer of a previous home ripped out the pressed-tin copper coloured crown moulding made on century old presses to replace it with boring plain plaster.)

Frame size brick-to-brick: 49"x100.5" Door is 2.25" thick. Solid core with sapele mahogany veneer. Concealed hinges. Multi-point locking system with key activated deadbolt. Laser-cut keys cannot be conventionally duplicated.

Laser-cut key

And, yes, four installers.

When we saw it at the factory the day before, the salesman suggested we spray paint the interior face to blend in with the wall. But once in place, we thought "no". Stain instead. Some fun now to find a painter to stain vertically!

Inspiration door.

Others that have caught my eye

Solomon Kane

Starlight from Homelander

The scene somewhere west of Toronto. The door was likely made in Iran. Our supplier said we could pay...but no guarantee we'd ever get delivery.

Outer Range

A construction pledge taken by most every trade: Name it, we can mess it up for you with nary a thought!

Bucket of water used to smooth plaster slopped onto the new asphalt driveway. "Don't worry. I know just the thing to clean it up--Varsol."

A quick Google search shows Varsol is the absolute worst thing you can use to "clean" asphalt.

Oh well, we owe him $10K, from which to offset professional cleaning/re-finishing.

***

Kelly M.

Good for you!

there's always some new and novel way a subcontractor can mess something up - especially if you've asked them to do something a certain way, for a very specific reason.

We SPECIFICALLY asked the grading guys NOT TO HAVE ANY HEAVY EQUIPMENT on the cisterns when backfilling. Yes, I know that means moving some dirt by hand - the HORROR!

Fast forward - cisterns won't fill past 87%. FInally get dry enough to send hubby down in the hole (what? I'm not going down there!) and there it is- the PVC pipe that cross connects #3 and #4 someone put enough weight on it to crack the plastic cistern below the entry point. Not 100% sure how we're going to patch that but it will involve digging about 4-5' down and exposing an area / keeping it dry for a while, etc.

THIS is why we ended up doing so much of this build ourselves. (and why it took forever, but I digress)

@just_janni are these tanks black in color?

They are likey High Density PolyEthylene (HDPE) or possibly ABS.

HDPE resists most adhesives so the preferred method is heat welding with a flattened tip soldering iron made specifically for that purpose.

You add compatible material in the form of filler rods to the melted plastic.

HDPE tanks can be black or white/translucent in color.

Odds are high it is HDPE.

If it is ABS, that can be patched with fiberglass tape and ABS pipe glue, just like a fiberglass repair.

Oy!

Are the cisterns used for drinking water?

Cisterns are actually blue - a slightly older generation than this:

https://www.rainharvest.com/graf-carat-s-1700-gallon-cistern.asp?srsltid=AfmBOop8iJERYnKIkfhhuVJG-qmZ-QaxkQ5MCfsyIF2qPdSIZD7K0GfA

We'll call the Rainharvest folks and get a repair kit - they have them - trick will be getting them empty enough again that you want to bring a soldering iron and patch kit down there to weld in some new plastic . OR you have to dig around and do it from the outside. Probably safer - but a lot more work. Again - it won't be me, so....... ;-) . We should dig it out, relieve the strain on the crossover pipe, close the split as best we can and then patch so that's it's as round as it can be - because that will screw with the crossover pipe sealing ability. Frankly, it would have been easier if someone pounded a fencepost through it like I had originally thought.

And yes - we capture rainwater off about 11,000 square feet of metal roof and then filter, sanitize and ph balance for potable use. The filtration is handling the small bit of dirt that is entering the cistern currently.

Other than that - it's been pretty cool and the water tastes great. We can fill the 4 1700 gallon tanks with a couple inches of rain.

Along the same lines as above...

The appliance installers recommended by our supplier, Best Brand Appliance, came without supply hoses or a rare 220AMP cover with a centre knockout, so sent me scrambling to several electrical suppliers.

No luck.

No worry,.

They had the plates with them anyway. By the time I got back two hours later, they collected their C$1,190 cash without a "thank you." And, in the pile of debris, the following:

Now trying to find out which appliance it's for. C$250 an hour for that!

Gawd, this business is rife with the worst dregs. The only pride most have is what they can get away with.

From the architect who couldn't site the house within the boundaries set by the city but said go ahead anyway, maybe they won't notice, to the Lightning swilling carpenters who couldn't tell one I-joist from another and thought a level was a superfluous accoutrement, my last build. (Ok, some were excellent.)

Over and out.

Best of luck to you all!

^^^ Same experience as yours. At the end of the building, I was happy that I don't have to see those faces anymore

I look around and keep finding things the framers missed or screwed up. I have to go back and re-drill venting in the blocking, for one. I am learning that if I want it right I have to either do it or stand nearby and make sure it is done right.

I really should resist...but they keep pulling me back in!

Just before I was to hit "send" for the drywaller's last repair bill (C$3,200) my plumbers discovered this:

Plastic connection box for wall-mounted w.c.

Rather than making a cut to clear the plastic box, they simply slammed in the drywall. "Big deal, it's only a plastic box." Except now I see why it has been blocked with boxes and what-have-you for the last month.

The piece is essential. If the plumbers can't buy it as a separate order from Gerberit, the whole installation will have to be ripped out and replaced. That's a C$600 (wholesale) item.

Not to mention the mess of r and r the drywall and repainting and the plumber's extra charges.

Custom cabinet maker's installation of a handle in primary bath. Oh, heck, who looks inside a drawer? Now to check the rest everywhere. (C$100K+ installation.)

That's right,.... built is a journey of discovering unpleasant surprises .....

See December 2025 here.

This really sounds like the stage where excitement and exhaustion fully collide. When the finish line is “sort of” in sight, every small detail suddenly feels bigger than it should, especially when invoices keep piling up. The driveway story made me wince — it’s wild how one design choice you felt good about can turn into an expensive lesson overnight. From what I’ve seen, roofing and exterior work often end up being the most underestimated parts of a build, both in cost and stress. Friends of mine hit similar bumps when weather delays and last-minute fixes came into play, and it completely shifted their timeline. While following a few discussions about skilled trades involved in builds like this, I came across https://vacancies.vavsynergy.com/vacancies/s-pokrivelnyk, which reminded me how critical experienced roofers are at this stage. Hopefully the remaining tasks feel more like wrapping up than firefighting, and the end finally feels real soon.