Stone and More Stone

So news from the front today, we had an appointment to select our batch for granite, it was a little bit of a denouement but the place was itself pretty cool.  Basically if your a company who sells custom granite and marble, you have EVERYTHING in granite and marble.  Your desks, your walls, you weird ornamental stuff.  Hell I bet the toilets were carved from stone, just because they could...

So we got to walk through the factory and see the giant robots:

This was the less exciting of the two robots types we saw (and they had a couple of each.)  There was also these enormous CNC Mills going on, but there were people working near them, and I didn't ask if I was allowed to take pictures.

After walking past all the machines we walked past the slabs, row after row after row, of large slabs of granite, and marble.  Which brought us to Black Galaxy Colour Lots 7 and 8.

So you don't get to actually pick your slab, and in fact you don't even get to see a whole slab (the rows are just too tight) but you get to pick from a slab lot, as each slab lot is a slice of the same stone, so imperfections and colouring tend to be consistent.

So we picked 7 because the 'flecks' seemed bigger then those in 8.  We then got to pick a bunch of other things like the edge style, and the sink style etc.   We chose to pay extra to have them carefully, (instead of destructively) do the sink cut out.)  So we will receive a sink sized slab of edged granite for use in the construct of a coffee table (many people use them for hot plates, and cutting boards.)

After granite it was back to the house to finish the days work, and then we did the house visit of the day. The brick is basically done, the bricker was just finishing the last row above the door when we left.

I imagine the siding will go up next week, sometimes they work weekends sometimes they don't so who knows what to expect, but it looks great.

The insides are coming together, they started work on the main floor and seem almost done upstairs.  The tub was installed, and for some reason I didn't take a picture, but whatever they won't uninstall it.

Here is what I call the cat niche, technically it is for art, but cats are art right?

Now it is 8+ feet off the ground, you would think cats couldn't get up there...  I have faith in there ability to get where they don't belong.

Well thats all for today.

Bricking and Drywall - take 3

We got a bath tub in every room...

Bricking Continues

Brick almost finished on this side.

About halfway done the back

Typical state of the upstairs, about 80% of it drywalled.  Certainly the 80% of your standard 80/20 rule.

Brick Starting to go up (probably done by Wednesday...)

Bricking Started on our house

Our Bricks, I think the whitish ones are actually dirty, something about humidity and salt inside the bricks, it washes off, and has a fancy name.  I could also be wrong.

Inside all insulated up, and the drywall arrived.

Standard front view, now with scaffold, bricks and men.

ps my template changed

Framewalk Today

So here are some random pictures from the framewalk, actually these are distinctly not random, but some specific pictures of the backyard. I was trying (without the site plan) to visualize the backyard. So I staked out three stakes, one at 16', 32' and 48'.

And the magic number is actually.... 24 ft. So between the first and second stake is our backyard (typed steak there... must be BBQ withdrawl.)

Anyways, the angle makes the images next to useless, but I enjoy the theory of it at least. Might go back and if my stakes are still there take a shot from inside the house to get a better idea.




And here is just the rest of the random stuff I took pictures of, enjoy:

About Time

Listening to All in Good Time by BNL, wondering if I took this album, and interleaved it with Stephen Page's new album if I could distinguish it from other BNL albums.

In honesty it is a good album, it isn't a great one, its just good, but I think there last album (not including Snack Time! its in a world of its own,) was my favourite since Stunt. It would have been hard to follow with out a band schism. The Toronto Star raved gleefully about it, and I'm not saying it isn't warranted, it just didn't feel like a sincere review.

So other then the obvious allusions to Steven Page in the single, the album is a good sound, and and it takes me back to the concert at the Dakota. I feel the studio polish doesn't always do them service as they sound great live, but the album stays generally in a bubble gum, blue grass sound. (I'm not a music critic, but thats how I hear it, so :P )

So if you like BNL give'r a listen, if not, your probably going to pass, but enjoy the single which seems to have grab the radio by the horns.

cheers

more drivel when I can

Insides are changing

Well it makes for bland blogging (and no pictures,) but the house got some work done on it this week. Looks like plumbing is underway. I know Bob was asking if they were going to use copper or the new flexible stuff, and the answer is "the new flexible stuff." On the upside you can't mistake the hot from the cold as one is white and one is red. I was just learning how to deal with the copper, not having plumbed much in my life, so now I have to look into this new stuff. I imagine it has a better insulation value then copper for the hot and cold, and I will suspect less condensation issues (as a direct result of the insulation.

I wonder what they will do with the exterior faucets?

There are lights

Always funny, XKCD is the master of graph jokes. My personal favourite is "There are lights" which is obviously a reference to probably one of Patrick Stewart's finest episodes of Star Trek, and an all around top ten episode in its own right.

Om Nom Nom