Backyard Project: 2 Garden Sheds' Foundations Take Shape

Off-set Pegs - these are a good sign.

They mean the area is being surveyed for the 2 Garden Sheds' foundations.

The bobcat is levelling out the site. 

It is now raining most days so the site is becoming very muddy and working temperatures are much cooler.

Josh and Taylor construct the formwork for the concrete foundations. 

It is proving to be a challenge because the granite rock is not far below the surface. Some of the formwork has to be shaped to go up and over the rock.

Horizontal bars of reinforcing steel are tied in place.

The vertical reinforcing steel coming up in the middle of the walls is held in place with wooden boards and wires.

City Concrete Pumping arrives with the pump truck and crew.

The cement mixer is not far behind.

The pump hose is put in place over the farthest footing and the crew swings into action.

Taylor removes the formwork.

The newly poured foundations were covered with tarpaulins and left over the weekend to cure. Josh left the formwork up for an extra day just to be sure the concrete footings had enough strength before continuing the work.

Backyard Project: Pergola and Arbour Take Shape Pulling the Design Together

More cedar posts are popping up each time I look out of my studio window.

It is like a forest is growing. The design plan was a large number of vertical elements would look and feel like a forest echoing the Douglas-fir forest surrounding the Backyard Project site.

The view from my studio porch.

I like the way the studio porch posts are the same size, material and construction method as the pergola and arbour. It serves to connect the spaces.

Josh had a big question for us this morning. 

How high do we want the cross beams on the arbour and the pergola? Jonathan Aitken, the architect, said to make the arbour cross-beams lower than those on the pergola. 

Josh put up a horizontal piece of wood to help us visualise a height. 

I designed the path to be wide enough for the lawn tractor and trailer to travel along and around the corners of the arbour easily. I settled on a width of  7' 5". I also wanted a square shape to each section of the arbour to repeat the square grid and cubes that make up the design module the house is based on. Therefore the finished top height of the pergola is to be 7' 5".

With the big decision made everyone was able to get back to work.

The cross beams look higher now than they will be when all is finished because there are 3" of gravel to go in along the paths.

Josh as an experienced wood craftsman is making sure the intersections and joints are a neat fit. 

This is a very exciting stage for me. I developed the concept design for the Backyard Project then we got Jonathan Aitken to work his architectural science and arts magic on the space and structures.

But I still felt as though I have been holding my breath or crossing my fingers that the reality will match my imaginings. So it is such a thrill to now be able to walk around and through the space and feel good about it. 

I will write a future post explaining the guidance I took from A Pattern Language when I designed this area.

Backyard Project: 1st Post for Arbour and Pergola Raised

6" x 6" cedar posts have been delivered so construction of the pergola and arbour can begin.

First Kyle measures twice...

...then he cuts.

To get your bearings, Taylor is standing in the arbour and the upside down wheelbarrow is in the middle of the pergola.

Taylor evens out the ground...

...and fills in around the footings. 

A metal 'U' shaped anchor brace has been added to every footing.

Kyle and Josh check their installation of the first post.

Yes, they are happy with their work.

The raising and installing of the posts have begun.

Backyard Project: Attaching the Propagation Room to the House

How to attach another room to a house.

The stringers with support brackets for the joists.

It was a lot of work to take the old stringers off the side of the house then replace the various barriers and sealers.

The new stringer in place.

I don't know what those sticking out bits of wood are called but the first joist is nailed to them.

And there it is - the ceiling for the propagation room.

The roofing team came while I was away so I missed seeing the torched-on roof being put on. A shame because they work with flames to melt the rolls of bitumen in place. It is the same sort of roof as on the studio.

Backyard Project - Propagation Room Walls

The Plan

Jonathan Aitken, Aitken Design, adesign@telus.net, is the architect.

This project fits with his speciality - designing the space between the inside and the outside. During his student days, he focused on researching Asian design, particularly Japanese and Chinese.

Those buried footings now have metal brackets bolted to them.

A delivery - beautiful cedar posts. There will be no need to paint or finish this wood. Once the posts are installed they will age gracefully and last a long time in this seasonal rainforest climate.

The posts are in place.

The size matches the ones used in the house design.

After the construction crew has left for the day I am enjoying walking around the 'room' visualising how it will look, and work.

Backyard Project: Propagation Room Footings

Backyard Project - Phase 3

Construction begins with the removal of a deck.

This is where the propagation room is to be built.

Taylor lifts the pavers and digs holes for footings

New footings will be poured either side of the old ones that don't need to be removed.

Framing up for the new footings. 

The crew is recycling wood from the old deck to make the framing.

The pavers are stacked up until they will be relaid.

View from above. The framework is finished and ready for the concrete.

It is exciting to see the next phase of the Backyard Project underway.

Articulation's 2016 Study Session in Gimli

First stop out of Winnipeg on the way to Gimli was at Arnason's Icelandic Horse Farm.

One of the few places in the world outside Iceland where these distinctive horses can be found.

For more about these unique horses visit Articulation's blog here

Rock Art - Boat - Gimli

The reason why Articulation went to Gimli was to study Icelandic culture.

Gimli (New Iceland) is the largest Icelandic settlement outside Iceland. Back in 1875 and 1876 more than 1,000 Icelandic immigrants settled on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg on land the Canadian government gave them to govern independently. 

We found Icelandic textiles old (as above in the Gimli museum) and new in the local shops.

A Whitefish boat up on the hard. 

Evidence of the early dependence on fishing in Lake Winnipeg was found in many places up and down the western shore.

Hecla historic home

The Icelandic immigrants brought with them their architecture and woodworking skills.

Pickeral and wild rice

We sampled Canadian/Icelandic food whenever we came across it.

For more about Articulation's time in and around Gimli, check their  blog  here.

'Know Your Place - Ideas In Art Form' Exhibition at Tulista Gallery, Sidney, Vancouver Island

Sherley Gordon Edey has invited 7 other artists working in different media to exhibit their work with her photography while exploring the many layers of meaning in the statement

'Know Your Place'

Sherley presents her work in a wide variety of formats, including video and keeps the viewer looking for the story. Often several different stories will emerge from one collection.

The artists who have joined her: Colleen Golumbia, Norma Lofthouse, Dale MacEwan, Terry Murray, Pamela Truscott-White, Lesley Turner, Jean Weller, tell their stories about knowing their place through their own media: clay, wood, baste fibres, fabric.

It all makes for a most stimulating exploration of the theme.

Section/Township/Range

Starting nearly 150 years ago twelve percent of the earth’s land mass was divided up by a straight line grid system, a system now deeply ingrained in western Canadian rural culture. A hierarchy of roads and fence lines mark the boundaries of land ownership. Land parcels have been passed from one generation to the next and continue to be bought and sold. The boundaries of one’s place are still defined by those original Dominion Land Survey lines now deeply etched into the landscape.

This is my contribution to the exhibition. 

Throughout history, many people have been told where their place is, whether a surveyed plot of land, a designated reservation, a placed they fled to or a legally enforced place of incarceration. 

Some have a long family history of living in one place with the passing of each generation reinforcing their feeling of belonging.

Others travel and respond intuitively to their surroundings sometimes arriving and knowing this is where they belong.

As a geographer, I explored one's connection with the land. The other artists explored very different 'Know Your Place' associations. 

I do hope you can make it to the exhibition and see the works for yourself.

CACSP Community Arts Centre at Tulista Park, 9565 Fifth Street, Sidney

April 11 - 17, 2016

Monday - Friday 10 - 4, Saturday and Sunday 12 - 4