We had two issues on the table building our log home this past week. The first is getting our septic installed. The second is getting sign off from the township so that we can backfill.

We really hoped to accomplish both these items in one day – paying to bring in the heavy equipment only once instead of twice. This could potentially save us thousands of dollars, but the man in charge is not working in our favor.

Our Building Inspector for the region only works one day a week, so much of our planning and organization for the build is based on his availability to sign off at various stages.

On October 20 Eric visited the township office with the completed Septic Permit, a blank cheque and a site plan. I wasn’t there so I’m telling you this second hand but Eric was told what he had was inadequate, supposedly shown a sample of what was required, and sent away without a permit.

As it turns out (we discovered two days later), the current Building Inspector isn’t licensed to approve, nor deny, septic permits. This work is still in the hands of Dolly Clayton – a woman who had been our buiding inspector for years in the area but recently retired. Dolly, for the record, is fabulous.

At any rate without a septic permit there was little sense in having the excavation and septic installation team coming in, but a few hours later – not knowning how it had gone for Eric – I arrived looking for an inspection and sign off on the 6″ of clean gravel at our footings that is part of the building code (6″ covering a minimum 3″ O-pipe).

Three sides of our house required this gravel application, the remaining side already has an approved, buried, 6 foot frost wall (also with gravel around the base of the footings).

Neither our word nor past dedication to our building site was good enough however. I was told that when the stones were fully completed, he would return, and would perhaps sign off on them at that time.

Steve did however say that what we had done to date was acceptable so we should just continue on in that manner. (You know really, I have issue with this. We are building a home we plan to live in. We are not cutting corners just to make a quick sale of this log home or pull a fast one on the Carlow/Mayo township. We are not about to gyp ourselves out of correct and ‘to code’ installation. This just reeks of a power trip – but I didn’t say so.)

No sign off on the gravel means no backfilling, but our septic installers are keen on getting the septic job done without waiting another week on the whims of a building inspector that isn’t even in charge of septic installations for our region…

I believe it was the next day, Tuesday, when Daryl Levoy (septic specialist in Bancroft, Ontario) decided to get to the bottom of this screw-up. It was his discovery – not ours – that found Dolly was the only licensed inspector. Odd how we hadn’t been told this as the stalling continued in the basement of the township office. Perhaps stranger was how the site plan was approved within 20 minutes with Dolly (no week to week hold up), as nothing else was required than what had been previously submitted.

Daryl Levoy, sick of the run-around, had gone straight to Dolly’s house for the answers that we should have had days earlier, and the job moved forward. Dolly is fantastic at communication and one of the most informed, knowledgeable, and helpful individuals I’ve crossed paths with during this process. Note to myself – call Dolly more often when processes ’stall’ and answers are required.

October 22

Since we were approved for septic installation, Daryl Levoy, Richard Koster and Jamie Koster (Excavation Experts) arrived on the log home site on Wednesday. Dolly Clayton wasn’t far behind ensuring that installation was to plan and to code, and she approved it all on the spot. The job is done – one more project off our building list – great thanks to everyone involved on Wednesday!

October 27

Today Veronica and I stopped into Carlow/Mayo township office again to request a Building Inspector visit and sign off on gravel at the footings. Even though the excavation equipment has come and gone, we still need excavation work on site – but not without the Building Inspector’s pre-approval.

Since backfilling couldn’t be done on the same day the excavation equipment was already present (due to lack of approval on October 20) this has the potential to cost us a lot more money. Township officials don’t care about the little people’s money apparently.

In fact I was told once already (on another issue) that “…this is what happens when you buy expensive logs for a home…” Apparently I am perceived to be a woman with too much money – hence the attitude that I can afford to waste it on two heavy equipment floats.

Whatever.

Our building inspector said he’d visit and investigate. If all was well he’d sign the building permit (pointing to the septic permit in my hands) and also agreed to call and leave a message at our house. I reminded him that I needed approval on my building permit, not my septic permit, and said it was on-site.

We really need this approval before we can move forward with anything else right now. One day’s work with a bulldozer will backfill around the house’s original excavation, fill in the 400 foot long trench that goes to the existing on-site well, smooth the surrounding grounds, and fully cover the new septic tank installation.

However, we can’t get a bulldozer in to backfill until we have his approval.

And, of course, I have no signature, no phone call, nothing. So now we wait another week. Held up further, yet again.

Guess I’d better call the excavation team and cancel. Again.

The ends of each log in our log home are rough, showing multiple cuts, and dirty.

Many of them have numbers on the end (originally stating the length of each log).

And they are all at least 10 feet from ground level.

Even though I have grown less frightened of heights during this build, the thought of standing on a ladder or scaffolding with a power tool sends me into spasms.

Thankfully a young and less fearful friend was on hand this week and effortlessly climbed up and down the ladder with the belt sander making each log end smooth as the sides.

I had secretly resigned myself to accepting the dirty, magic marker look on each end – since I knew the job of cleaning up the logs was left to me – but I appreciate them much more now that they can be stained the same color as the rest of the logs.

It’s important to remember too, when considering building a log home – that the ends should all be sealed. Log ends act just like a straw and draw huge amounts of moisture into each log. Unwelcome moisture that may cause your logs to rot over the years. So sand them, seal them, stain them and your home will last much longer and look much nicer than if you hadn’t.

It was a beautiful moment when I arrived on site on Wednesday morning and discovered two great friends, George Tenthory and Scott Kyle, working away on our roof. We had no idea they were coming and they worked hard and steady nearly finishing the entire side – both sheeting and shingling.

I don’t know what we ever did to deserve such wonderful people as friends.

I can only imagine the first night that we’ll sleep in our log home – whenever that may be – knowing that loving hands sheeted and shingled the roof we lay under, protecting us from the elements.

It’s a perpetual hug.

The gift of time, given in love.

I feel so blessed knowing that everyone who has shown up on our log home building expedition has been there with love in their hearts (“…or at least the best intentions…” I say, remembering Hawk).

I pray each person will in turn be blessed further than I could ever repay them. I hope God is watching…

Today marked an important day in building our log home – the shingles arrive by boom truck.

The gang at Rona delivered our shingles bright and early Saturday morning. This event was not without it’s own complications – just like the rest of the home building – as we had a phone miscommunication and time mixup.

Rona’s boom truck operator was on-site and ready to unload by 8:00 am. We were just leaving home at that time, 40 minutes away. We thought for certain that he would eventually tire of waiting on us, drop the shingles on the ground and leave. We rushed anyway.

As luck would have it, Bancroft’s finest (the local OPP) were sitting on the highway running speed traps and we were caught flying along the highway as we sped into the log home building site. Thankfully we had a kind police officer who fined us less than we deserved with only a little whining and crying on our part.

Arriving nearly an hour late we discovered that Rona’s driver had indeed waited for us, with a smile, and made friends with the dogs we keep on the property. He had no issues with us being so late and after I’d apologized four times he quite pleasantly said “Be happy!”

With skill and grace he unloaded 90 bundles of architectural shingles onto the shed dormer side of our roof, ice and water shield and ridge vents.

I had videotaped this but somehow lost the footage off my digital camera so you’ll have to take my word for it – the man was a sweetheart that is very skilled at what he does for a living.