June 1 - End of Week 7

Progress has seemed sluggish lately but that is mostly due to the process of shingling the cabana and the planters and part of the gazebo.  Cedar shakes look nice but putting them on is a time consuming project. But, as you can see from the images below, we're almost there. Sunrise Spas in Ontario called on Thursday to tell us that the hot tub was shipped and would be arriving at our place Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. As soon as that's in place then the rest of the deck can be built around it. The pool liner will still be another couple of weeks before it's here but there is still plenty to keep everyone busy so it's not really holding us up. Matt and the gang haven't even started the fence yet so that will be another couple weeks of work at the least. We also just heard back from the Briar Patch Nursery and our trees should be arriving mid week (about the same time as the hot tub). It seems things move slowly and then suddenly they really take off for a few days. Interesting times.

The back of the cabana with the new transom windows installed. This is the side that faces the front lawn/street.

The gazebo is getting closer to completion. Right now it's really just waiting for the hot tub. Since the hot tub is sunken into the deck, it can't be completed without the tub in place. Cedar shakes go on the pillars to finish them. In the foreground is the cupola that Matt created for the roof. It has a copper roof itself with plexiglass panes (to avoid showers of glass coming down on the hot tub bathers if a bird should decide to fly through). The cupola is actually a miniature version of the one that will eventually sit on top of the barn.

The cabana is also nearing completion. The washroom (on the right) is partially plumbed in - just waiting for fixtures - and the shower (on the left) is also plumbed in and just waiting for fixtures and the white subway tile for the shower wall. We're going to put a white door on the bathroom to mirror the white subway tiles of the shower and give the structure some symmetry. The pool still looks pretty dingy. The boards around it have all been trimmed and are smooth and look great but all the sawdust from the trimming is now floating in the pool. We're getting new water when they replace the liner so even though it looks awful now, I'm not too concerned. As soon as the cedar shakes on the cabana are done then the inside will be finished with tongue in grove pine that we'll probably whitewash.