Meanwhile During March & April... (continued)

Where were we? Oh yes, we're still catching up on the progress during March and April while the heater was being built. We've covered plumbing, HRV, electric wiring (actually this wasn't covered, but it was done), flood management, numerous decisions (i.e. where to put lights and switches), etc., etc.
John took the soffit boards that Rachel had painted, created a custom design and drilled ventilation holes in them. The holes then needed painting on the inside. Our dear friend Sarah, (remember "Tired of that 'cooped-up' feeling? Try Sarah's Fresh Air Eggs today!"), took on the challenge as she really wanted to contribute to our house building. Sick and weak as she was, she was determined and painted over 600 holes! Then with the help from her six year old son, they stapled screening to the back of each board. Well done! (BTW, Sarah is feeling much better now.)
Here's a view of the installed soffit vents:


Some spots were tight so John folded himself up to fit in the corner:


The cellulose insulation crew arrived:

This is the hopper/blower machinery in the rear of the truck that blows the cellulose through a large hose into the house:

Before insulating, the walls were prepped with fabric and furring to hold the cellulose:

One of the installers fills the stud bays

The attic has 18 inches of cellulose. These pipes are for future solar hot water, wiring, and radon mitigation (if necessary).

The walls are finished. They have 8 inches of cellulose.

Spring arrived and the tree canopy is budding:

During a break, Mr. Bean (shown viewing a beaver lodge), and Ei enjoy a nature hike.

The next post will cover a favorite: SHEETROCK and JOINT COMPOUND!

Meanwhile, during March and April...

Once the masonry was finished, the roofers returned to complete the metal roofing and ridge vent near the chimney and to finish up other miscellaneous roof-related tasks.

Here's Tim cutting the plumbing vent hole:

Not sure what he's thinking about here (contemplating career options?):

Mr Bean and Eileen spent an afternoon building houses with the left over pieces of firebrick left in the yard.

And the basement flooded a few times. The water did no real harm to anything, but John spent many hours pumping it out each morning.

Here's the unfinished drainage ditch which Gary dug out more to help drain the footings. Once all the site work is finished, the flooding will no longer be a problem.

Don Pittsinger, our plumber arrived. He tolerated all the commotion going on around him with ease.

He does quality work, too.

Don installed pipes for future solar hot water. Plumbing for baseboard heating is also in place for if /when it's desired. Notice that Don also got his semi-annual haircut.

Rachel came one day and painted the pre-cut boards which will become soffit vents.

When he wasn't pumping water from the basement, or digging out the drainage ditch, or collaborating with the subcontractors, John installed the HRV (heat recovery ventilation) system. An HRV system basically brings fresh outside air into the house and pumps out the stale indoor air. It takes heat from the inside air and uses it to warm the outside air. "Popular Mechanics" explains it nicely:

• "A heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) is similar to a balanced ventilation system, except it uses the heat in the outgoing stale air to warm up the fresh air. A typical unit features two fans—one to take out household air and the other to bring in fresh air. What makes an HRV unique is the heat-exchange core. The core transfers heat from the outgoing stream to the incoming stream in the same way that the radiator in your car transfers heat from the engine's coolant to the outside air. It's composed of a series of narrow alternating passages through which incoming and outgoing airstreams flow. As the streams move through, heat is transferred from the warm side of each passage to the cold, while the airstreams never mix."

This is what the HRV unit looks like:

When the panel is removed, the core can be seen:

Here is a section of ductwork running along the knee wall upstairs:

This (not quite completed) duct will bring fresh air into the dining area below:

It's a pretty amazing invention. It's also quite impressive that John researched and consulted with an expert on the installation so that he could confidently do this himself. We saved some serious lettuce by doing this work ourselves.

The next post will continue with more progress from March and April: Insulation, sheetrock and spring popped somewhere in there too.

Double Studdin'

Before we begin, here's a shot of some birches through a 2nd floor window:



"Double Studding" is sometimes termed" super insulated". In our case the outside wall studs are doubled up with a strips of rigid foam insulation between them which serve as a thermal break to prevent heat from being conducted through the studs from interior to exterior. This also creates contained cavities for the cellulose insulation. Here's an example of how the second set of studs are installed. Notice the rigid foam strips along the edge of the studs:



Here, the second set of studs are erected:

The rim joists also need to be insulated. See the blue rigid insulating board at the top of the wall:

Spray foam is applied to the cracks around the rigid insulaion inside the rim joists. All spaces must be air sealed!

Upstairs, the rafters have extra insulation and framing added, too:

Full sheets of rigid foam board are installed over the rafter assemblies. The space behind the rigid foam will be filled with blown-in cellulose.

Meanwhile, John contemplates how to frame the skylights:

Interior walls are being framed too. The house has become a studding display:

(Builder's note: I once worked with a carpenter whose truck sported a bumper sticker that proclaimed "It Takes Studs to Build Houses" Sigh.)