Albi - Custom-built Home - Floors Can Be Beautiful

Floors Can Be Beautiful.

Now that the protective covers are off we can admire our floors. They are gorgeous! Nancy and I are getting very excited to move into our brand new custom-built Albi home. No more delays.

Move-in Date – Soon!

We make arrangements with a Moving Contractor to come when we are ready to move the big stuff. They give us a quote of $1,200, for a two-story, four-bedroom house with a finished basement. I think the price is right. The small packing we start to do ourselves.

Packing Party with Friends

How did we accumulate so much? Now, we start to feel the pressure. But, we have a great idea. Let's have a 'packing party' and get our friends to lend a hand. We invite a few close friends. They are happy to help.  We order in food. The night is fun for us and it's nice to know everyone is carried away with the excitement too. We have about 20 boxes to go in one night. There is still a lot more packing to do. We make several trips to get more boxes from Home Depot.

Fencing between Good Neighbours

There are still some extra costs that we need to deal with. For example, we knew about our requirement to help pay for the fencing on one side on the neighbouring property. When we actually move in, it moves to the top of the priority list. But planning a house-warming party is also on the agenda. Since we have out-of-town relatives who will visit this summer, we may actually have two!

Albi Custom-built Home - Drywall – Whoo-hoo!

Drywall – Whoo-hoo!

Before the drywall was up, light was just coming in everywhere because there were no walls!! Now we can see exactly what the natural light looks like and it's absolutely wonderful and bright! So many windows it's going to be expensive to cover!! Once the drywall is finished we can also start to take measurements and start shopping for furniture, for example the dining room table.

Kitchen Cabinets -Wow!

Looks can be deceiving. The camera angle makes the kitchen look bigger. It's smaller than what you may imagine but there's room for everyone. The counter tops are just what we ordered. It is a dream. We love it.

Lights - Tiles - Backsplash - Fireplace - The Works!

Nancy and I are happy about our choices, especially with the tile on the floors and walls of the master bathroom. We love the backsplash in the kitchen too. Also, the lighting system we decided on is turning out nicely through-out the whole house. Our lights are modern, like us.

Can't Wait to See the Flooring

The floors once laid, were covered up immediately to protect them. We can't wait to see them. We know we have to be patient.

HVAC Last Chance – Before the Inspector Comes

HVAC Last Chance – Before the Inspector Comes

The Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is a sub-

discipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Basically it's the comfort, health and safety of the air in your house. It is an important part of your home. But for our custom-built Albi home, it is more complicated due to the legal suite.

Challenges with a Legal Suite
Building a legal suite from the get-go has saved a lot of time and effort vs. doing it afterwards, but there certainly are some negatives to the process. Primarily the ductwork in the furnace room has to be routed a certain way because it all has to be dry-walled prior to the installation of the furnaces. This basically results in the ducts all being lowered and a very complex system being designed to keep both living spaces completely separate for ventilation etc...

The Duct Work - A Wonderful Mess!

The duct work seems like the challenge similar to a difficult maze. Mike from Arpi’s did a great job.  He is an Absolute Pro when it comes to designing a system that maximises my ceiling height throughout the basement while giving us the ideal flow of air and heat. He designed a system that is exactly what and where we needed it! I am very impressed with his skills! In the end the ductwork looks like it was a puzzle put together with perfect accuracy.

Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical – Smooth Sailing
Now here is where things get really intense and exciting for me. I don’t know why but I have always been fascinated with what is going on behind the walls in my house. Here is my chance to not only see everything but see how it all goes together and makes my house tick! Progress is fairly quick in most areas. The plumbing goes in fairly smoothly, mechanical and the electrical too. Insulation is installed. We are happy and excited that the city inspectors can now come through. It is the last chance, forever, because the drywall is next. But the Move-in date is ---no! Delayed.