July/August 2011

This summer is going by faster and slower than we anticipated. Putting on the siding was tremendously satisfying, as was the first pee in the newly installed toilet. (But I think I will actually miss that long walk/run up to the toilet shack.) We had a grand vision of getting it all done in one shot but we did manage to get the guest cabin mostly done and it's beautiful. The closer we get from idea to thing the more amazed I am at what we've accomplished, even though sometimes it feels like we'll never be finished.

I realized how negligent I've been in the photo department when I looked at Maddy's beautiful pictures of the island this summer. She's not only a great friend and builder, but she's been our chief documenter as well.

We would like to extend a big thank-you to all of those that helped us
build our cabin in 2010. We had two week-long builds and many weekends
of hard labour and fun times. We accomplished a lot this year including:
Knee bracing
Completed framing in guest cabin and main cabin
Installed all windows and some doors
Installed roof on main cabin
Completed the foundations, posts and beam for the deck addition and the stairway
Installed and tested woodstove
Brought water line to cabin and power tower
Cleaned up and burned - good times
Brought septic to main cabin

So a big warm thank-you to all of you that helped in so many ways - we
could not do it without you


Jesse
Matthew
Pere and DeeDee
Sonia
Chris
Nitin
Doug
Sean
Suzanne
Kevin
Rebeccah
Shelly
Jennifer-Lee and Blake
Shahana and Summer
Malcolm
Molly
John
Maddy
Bonnie
Andrew
Frances 
RJ
Jan
Rich 
Bill
Dan 
Kevin, Annie, Simon and Jeremy
Miles
Mike

Big Build 2010

Big Build 1 2010

There are only part of the pictures from our 1st big build of 2010 (more photos coming). So amazing! The roof was put on, the water was warm and the company was great.

Many many many thanks to: John, Sean, Suzanne, Doug, Maddy, Jennifer-Lee, Blake, Nitin, Chris, Sonia, Frances, John O, Jan and the good dogs Jasper, Willy, and Ralphie.

Building Bee 1 2010

Hi Builders and Supporters,

We had a great time last weekend with perfect weather and help from
the Lantz family from Trois Rivieres. Thanks Kevin, Annie, Simon and
Jeremy. We installed the chimney for the woodstove, installed many
hurricane ties, painted the first coat on teh guest loft, prepared and
installed knee braces and sorted, planed and sanded the fir that we
milled up for facia boards. We also took final roof dimensions and I
have ordered the roofing material this morning. The crew also enjoyed
ample hammock, disk golf and badminton time with the final score Kevin
and Jeremy 31 to Kevin and Simon 29.


As you are no doubt aware next week is our first "big build" of the
year. We will be heading up Friday evening for 10 days of construction
fun times. There will also be swimming (who will be the first in this
year?), aforementioned disk golf, hammock and badminton as well as
delicious food and selected wines and beers. The testimonials from
past years provide adequate support of the good times had.
Testimonials such as:
"most beautiful construction site in the world"
"food unequalled this side of the lions"
"the dedication to safety on the job site was amazing to see"
"I'm learning so much"
I'm not sure that I have the exact wording for some of these but I
feel that I may have captured the spirit of the feedback that we have
been gathering since the project began back in '07.

Here is the perfect weather forecast for next week:
Tonight Clear. Low 14.
Wednesday Sunny. High 22 except 26 inland. UV index 7 or high.
Wednesday night A few clouds. Low 15.
Thursday A mix of sun and cloud. High 23.
Friday Sunny. Low 15. High 23 except 28 inland.
Saturday Sunny. Low 15. High 23.
Sunday Sunny. Low 14. High 23.
Monday Sunny. Low 14. High 23.

For the 10 days we will hoping to
-put a roof on the main cabin including facia and all flashing
-make and install the remaining knee braces
-install the remaining two posts and deck beam including pouring the
pad foundations for these two posts
-finish the installation of the hurricane ties


- by Kevin, posted by Sonja

Big Build #2 2009

Huge thanks to Patricia, Bill, Jesse, Dale, Co, Maddy, Sonia, Chris, Kim and Derek, Rich, Kevin N. You all rocked!! Thank you thank you thank you!

Big Build #2... the countdown

the brigade so far looks like it will be sonja, kevin, patricia, bill, dale, coe, jesse, kim, derek, maddy, sonia, alt-k aka kevin nugent, rich, although probably not all at the same time.

we're hoping for the remaining walls, the knee braces and the roof for this build. that roof is going to look sweet in stop motion. if you'd like to be one of the tiny little figures in the movie, there is still space available in the brigade, especially mid-week.

From aug14-1609

Big Build #1 - The report

Greetings brigade,
We had an incredible week during the first "big-build" of 2009. The weather was record breaking heat, aside from an intense thunderstorm that rolled through on Saturday night that helped keep the dust down for a couple of days. The swimming was the best it has ever been with the brigade taking 2 or 3 swim breaks a day. Also, if you haven't been to the blog in a while we have 6 holes of the Halkett Heights disc-golf (do not call it frisbee golf!) course in place thanks to our disc-golf consultant Malcolm who was in from Terrace the weekend before the big-build. We even had some tomatoes from our garden (thanks Maddy).Much was accomplished. The walls of the main cabin are 85% complete and the deck is complete aside from the railing and knee-bracing. Sonja took some time lapse of the daily progress and is editing it for uploading to the blog.
Thanks to all who participated:
Alex Dan DeeDee Janice Jose Lewis Marc Matthew Miles Molly Pancho Pere Sarah Sean Willy

I am very pleased to say that the entire week did not require a single trip to town for any building supplies or groceries.
~Kevin
You can see lots more photos here

bigbuild12009

Highlights and accomplishments

• walls & floors as seen in video
• fabulous swimming
• Matt's two great games of LCR and the super fun awesome game which is like charades but better
• group cries of 'safty first' after our child labour sign crew all forgot the E
• night and dawn swims
• spectacular thunderstorm & amazing lightening
• the rapid raccoon response team of willy and uncles and their brave attempts to protect the camp kitchen
• dungeons and dragons
• 'smores and more 'smores

The Big Build(s) 2009

Our 7L project is being built with lots and lots of help from our friends. If you'd like to come and leave your mark, here's some info Our list of goals for this year's big build varies wildly depending on the day. But like, probably some floors. And some walls. And maybe a roof? The logistics You can only get there by boat, it's a lovely 20 minute ride from Horseshoe Bay. We provide the boat (and the lifejackets!)
• Starting in April and May we will be making day trips and as it gets warmer the whole weekend.
• We will be there full-time for the last two weeks in August.
• Promise to swing a hammer and we'll cover your transportation costs.
  
The amenities
• Flush toilet in "toilet shack"
• Large 2-6 person tent on platform in main camp area
• Secluded 2-6 person tent on platform with water view
• Roofed room (in power tower) with water view
• Solar outdoor shower with spectacular view and variable temperatures
• Kitchen cook tent with running (cold) water, BBQ and stove
• Screened in eating area
• Lots of tenting sites
• Sunscreen aplenty
The perks
• The company of people who understand the importance of R & R
• Yummy food for vegetarians and omnivores
• Cocktail hour
• Granola bars & other snacks
• Hammock
• Ocean swimming
• Wildlife viewing
• An excellent workout
• A chance to use power tools
The to-do list
• Move smaller rocks off foundation area
• Power wash rocks for foundation
• Begin building power tower walls
• Treat all lumber with oil-based natural wood protection
• Lay-down platform
• erect and sheath all the walls of the guest cabin
  
• install roof rafters and sheating in the guest cabin
  
• Begin building guest cabin
• Finish installing windows on power tower
• Siding for power tower
• Inside details of power tower
• Cook / Clean-up
• Build trails
• Replant displaced trees
• Build a swing
• Be a gopher (go-fer tools, water, sunscreen etc)
• General site maintenance (tents, tarps etc)
• Set up a croquet set
• Set up a Frisbee golf course?Dream about future zipline
• Glass-cutting/recycling project
• Build things with wood
• build the decks around the cabin
• complete the milling of the logs
• erect and sheath all the walls of the main cabin
• install roof rafters and sheating in the main cabin
• install at least some of the windows and doors

2009 season opening

I hope everyone had a fantastic wintertime. The camp didn't fare too badly, although we did have to spend a day fixing the kitchen tent that had collapsed from 2 feet of heavy, wet snow. At least there were no mice this year (where did they go?).
There is a new building season upon us and we have a whole new set of exciting goals for Halkett Bay. We are hoping to:

1. build the decks around the cabin
2. complete the milling of the logs
3. erect and sheath all the walls of the main cabin
4. install roof rafters and sheating in the main cabin
5. install at least some of the windows and doors

Everyone is welcome to join us each weekend. There will be fine imported beverages, delicious food and now even more places to rest your weary head at the end of the day. We will also be doing 2 weeklong buildings sessions: I would like to propose build dates. We would like to split it into two different weeks this year:
First week: July 25th to August 3rd
Second Week: Aug 22 to Aug 30th
Look forward to seeing you this spring or summer

Big Build 08

It was a busy, exhausting and slightly soggy building bee this year. Highlights and accomplishments: main house platform put down guest cabin roof & walls up pat's propane heater & the hot rocks that kept us company on soggy nights rj's magic tricks rain rain and more rain an almost entirely solar powered build! Big thanks to: Pere & Didi, Patricia and Bill, Alt-K, Mike, Rich, RJ, Maddy, , Sean and Miles, Doug, Pat for the much appreciated heater & Cath for the treats. we went from this

to this

with a lot of this in-between!

Building Bee August 2008

We are busy gearing up for our building bee the last two weeks of August. We will be building the walls and the roof for the south side of the house -- that's the little house where a bathroom and guest room will be. We'll also be finishing up the railing on the power tower, milling a little wood and having cocktail hour as well as late afternoon ocean swims and spectacular outdoor showers when the weather allows.
The righteous builders brigage so far is....Kevin, Sonja, Pere, DeeDee, Patricia, Bill, Maddy, Kevin N, Mike, RJ, Jan and Rich. Give Kevin a call if you want to be added to the list.


Even if you are not comfortable with a power tool there is still a place for you! Wash dishes, use a rake, build a trail or entertain us with your music or stories. We will definitely be having weekend runs to Horseshoe bay and maybe a few during the week as well. Hope to see you there!

7L Big Build for Summer 2008

Our 7L project is being built with lots and lots of help from our friends. If you'd like to come and leave your mark, here's some info

The 2008 "Big Build" will be in the last two weeks of August. Our list of goals for this year's big build varies wildly depending on the day. But like, probably some floors. And some walls. And maybe a roof?

We've already started going up for day trips and should begin milling, working on the power tower and setting up camp any day now, weekend weather permitting.

The logistics
You can only get there by boat, it's a lovely 20 minute ride from Horseshoe Bay. We provide the boat (and the lifejackets!)

Starting in April and May we will be making day trips and as it gets warmer the whole weekend.

We will be there full-time for the last two weeks in August.

Promise to swing a hammer and we'll cover your transportation costs.

The amenities

• Flush toilet in "toilet shack"
• Large 2-6 person tent on platform in main camp area
• Secluded 2-6 person tent on platform with water view
• Roofed room (in power tower) with water view
• Solar outdoor shower with spectacular view and variable temperatures
• Kitchen cook tent with running (cold) water, BBQ and stove
• Screened in eating area
• Lots of tenting sites
• Sunscreen aplenty

The perks

• The company of people who understand the importance of R & R
• Yummy food for vegetarians and omnivores
• Cocktail hour
• Granola bars & other snacks
• Hammock
• Ocean swimming
• Wildlife viewing
• An excellent workout
• A chance to use power tools

The to-do list

• Move smaller rocks off foundation area
• Power wash rocks for foundation
• Begin building power tower walls
• Treat all lumber with oil-based natural wood protection
• Lay-down platform
• Begin building cabin!
• Finish installing windows on power tower
• Siding for power tower
• Inside details of power tower
• Cook / Clean-up
• Build trails
• Replant displaced trees
• Reduce fire hazards by clearing brush
• Build a swing
• Be a gopher (go-fer tools, water, sunscreen etc)
• General site maintenance (tents, tarps etc)
• Set up a croquet set
• Set up a Frisbee golf course?
• Help mill wood (weekdays only)
• Dream about future zipline
• Glass-cutting/recycling project
• Build things with wood

the big build!

Incredible progress and some minor setbacks in our summer building project. Check out all the pix in the photo album and more to come. One week left to go!

So many people to thank for all their hard work and good wishes but I'm only in town for the morning and trying to post this before I go hunting and gathering for more supplies. Goodbye to Marc ("the ripper") and Matt ("Monkey Boy") who head back to Ottawa after some tremendous work, so long Patricia and Bill who are heading on with the rest of their vacation, thanks to the mums and dads (Jesse, Peter and Judy) welcome to RJ who just got here from Montreal and big big thanks to "Cousin Joe" (aka Joey Pockets) who's been here for two weeks and is sticking around til Labour Day weekend.