Drywall Underway

I got reports during the week from both my mechanical contractor and my drywall contractor about the progress out at Nordegg.  The mechanical contractor installed all of the drain lines, and roughed in the water supply lines and the gas lines.  He also installed the bathroom exhaust fan.  These are the only items that needed to be attended to in advance of closing in the walls.  The drywall was delivered at the beginning of the week and the drywall contractor started boarding on Tuesday.  By the end of the day Wednesday they were almost done.  I understand that on Thursday the last of the boarding was completed and taping began.

I have kept busy with other preparations while this has taken place.  I have now purchased all of the light fixtures and the remaining electrical materials.  This includes a little more wire, a few more boxes, all the switches and receptacles, cover plates, smoke detectors, etc.  We have also selected all of our paint colors so that we can get this ordered and be ready to start painting once the drywall is complete.  We are also looking into some of the other aspects that need our attention.  This includes trenching in of utilities, seasonal electric heat for the basement, level indicators for the water and sewage tanks, water fill lines and rough landscaping.  Its great that the schedule for drywall got moved up a little as this gives us a jump on the spring weather.  This week we have finally seen the big melt.  Here in the city the daytime highs have been above 20C, while out at Nordegg they have only been slightly cooler.

On Saturday morning Margarit and I headed out to Nordegg for the day......
We stopped at a flooring store in Rocky Mountain House and selected some carpet and vinyl plank flooring.  We got a budget price on everything, but they need to get out to the cottage as some point, after the drywall is complete, and check site dimensions.  At that point they will be able to provide us with a firm quote, and we can book this.
We also stopped at an antique store in Rocky Mountain House.  They had one antique window that might work for the doors that I am building.  Lots of really cool stuff in this store and we may go back for another look.
We got out to the cottage just after lunch and checked out the work to date.  The drywall is all up, and the first coat of filler and tape has been applied everywhere.  There is obviously the dry time to deal with and then they can continue with second and any additional coats needed.  This will be followed by priming of all the drywall, and then texturing of select ceilings.  We should be able to start interior painting within the next couple of weeks.
The snow is just about all melted now, expect for a few little patches here and there.  Unfortunately there is about 2 inches of standing water in our garage right now.  Hopefully once we get some weeping tile installed around the building, and get the site grading completed, this won't happen in the future.
With the drywall now up I was able to confirm dimensions for the remaining cabinets that need to be built.  As soon as I finish up the free-standing pantry that I've been working on I will be able to start on kitchen cabinets and cupboards, as well as the counter for our breakfast nook.
We aren't really able to do anything at the cottage right now with the drywall incomplete so after we finished measuring, we took a drive out to the west.  I was looking for some nice flat rock to put on the floor under our woodstove.  We didn't find anything suitable but ended up out at Whirlpool Point.  For the first time in over two months I took out my view camera and made a couple of photographs.  I was feeling pretty rusty and clumsy and not that the spring weather is upon us I need to make a point of getting out on a more regular basis.
On our way back to the city we stopped for dinner at our favorite restaurant in Rocky Mountain House... Cucina.  After a nice dinner together we hit the road for home, arriving back in the city about 10:30PM.