I just returned from four days out at Nordegg. My friend Brad came along with me. Brad is a long time friend of our mutual friend Rob. Rob is a photographer and electrician that did most of the wiring for me in my cottage. He now lives in British Columbia and was unable to make it out to help with the guest cottage. But our mutual friend Brad is also an electrician, and when he offered to help me out, I was happy to take him up on it.
Brad and Rob and I went on several extended trips together in recent years. We did some hiking down in Kananaskis together over ten years ago and that was the first time I met Brad. Then in 2013 we spent a week together down in Utah, including a hike in to "The Wave" in the North Coyote Buttes. Then in 2015 we made a return trip to Utah, again for a week. That was the time that the clutch burnt out of my truck and Brad and I got stranded in Butte, Montana for three or four days. More recently the three of us spent a week out on Vancouver Island in 2019. Hopefully once this Covid pandemic is behind us, we can take another one of these trips again.
This time around Brad and I spent a few days out at Nordegg. We headed out on February 21st. It was kind of cold and snowy and we arrived in the afternoon. That night the temperature dropped down to -37C. We got going in the late morning the next day and I had to use a propane heater to get the chill out of the guest cottage. Then we got the wood stove going to maintain a comfortable working temperature during the day. We finished up three of the circuits that I had previously roughed in. This included a circuit in the basement with lights and receptacles. It also included the circuit in the east bedroom, where I had most of the panelling installed. I put up temporary light socket to use until the fixture that I have ordered arrives. We also finished up work on a circuit that includes the dinette light, the loft lights, and the smoke detectors.
It didn't get quite as cold that second night, but still got down to near -30C. On Wednesday the 23rd it warmed up nicely and we installed three breakers in the panel, mounted the meter base on the exterior wall, ran conduit out to the meter, and finished up a few odds and ends. It got up to about -5 that afternoon and we worked until dark at about 6:30. By then the temperature had dropped off to around -12 and it started to snow. On Thursday the 24th we needed an hour or so to finish up the connection of the supply cable in the meter base. Once that was finished up I took pictures of everything and sent it to the electrical inspector for approval. Then we packed up and hit the road for home. We left Nordegg around noon, and after a brief stop in Rocky Mountain House for lunch, we made it back home to the city by mid-afternoon.
In the mean time the inspector had approved our installation and authorized me to go ahead and get the meter installed and the building energized. That likely won't happen for another week or so, but it will sure be nice to have power in the building... finally...! Many thanks to Brad for his assistance with getting the hookup looked after.
In the week or so before our arrival, my contractor's crew finished up most of the siding. We used a bunch of material that had been left over from the main cottage. Some of it got a little dirty in long term storage so I will probably have to wash the walls in the spring. The crew didn't have enough shingle siding for the gable ends, so the south end remains unfinished. They were also short a couple of pieces for the north gable end. We are also back-ordered on some trim that will go above the doors and in windows. But the work is far enough along for me to continue with everything that I need to do. I understand that it will probably be April before the last of this exterior work can be wrapped up.
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