First posting
12/13/04 - Here you see us finishing the blue board on the
upper walls. It is an optional exterior insulated sheathing for
upgrading the wall insulation. It goes over the structural sheathing
(OSB). We used Super
Tuff-R by Dow, it is 1/2" thick and rated at R-3.3. It is
easy to put up, but if I had to do it again I would probably go with
the 1" just because it is the same amount of work to put up 1" as 1/2"
(and doubles the R-value). All seams are taped.
The windows are all Anderson
casements with the exception of the lofts which are tilt wash double
hungs. (Photos above and below.)
We have a 9' basement made of
8" poured concrete using ICF's. We used Eco-Block.
I can't recommend these enough. They provide a great R-value
- around R-21. They go together very easily, like Legos. We
rented a set of braces from the company we bought the Eco-Block from
(cost us about $250). The bracing also doubles as scaffolding all along
the interior perimeter. We poured 48 yards of concrete into the cores
of our walls. Anytime your dealing with that much concrete it can be a
little stressful. Three of us poured it - myself, Becca and another
friend. Of course we had to hire a pumper truck. We could have used a
couple more people. It was a long day. We had one small blow out but
after that there were no problems.
What I like is that you can
spend days and days just fiddleing with the blocks to get them right.
They go together much easier than I imagine wood forms would. And they
don't require the skill that laying block does. They are not cheap,
(about $5,000 worth for our project) but I think they give you a far
better product in the end.
Below you can see the polymer
based concrete mix we covered the blocks with. It looks like a regular
foundation, but I don't think regular concrete will stick well enough.
Below grade we used a product called Protecto
Wrap. It is a rubbery peal and stick product that adheres
well to the Eco-Block.
I'll try to find some
construction pictures of the Eco-Block going in. We love it. Matter of
fact we are trying to convince our friends to let us do their basement
this coming summer.
Earlier photos
below
Installing a metal roof
with a safety harness.
Full basement with walk-out
for sloping property
Main floor bedroom addition
on the right.
Venting
Details
In a cathedral type roof you
need to have a ventilation channel under the roofing and extending from
the eave to the ridge. Most inspectors want to see 1" or so of airspace
for this venting of heat and any trapped moisture. These ridge and eave
vents need to be screened to keep out insects and bats who will
otherwise set up housekeeping.
Most of our roof uses 2X12
rafters and we cut our vent blocks from the same material. We ran the
blocking through the table saw at 45 degrees on the top so it would hit
the roof flush (12:12 pitch). Then we drilled a 3" hole, inserted a
plastic vent with screen on the outside face and caulked the edges of
the blocking as we put it in.
On a 2x6 rafter you might
use shorter blocking and a couple of 2" vents.
Viewed from the inside, you
can see the "Raft-R-Mate" we use to keep the insulation away from the
vents. I think we are going to use these all the way up the ceiling.
This allows us to stuff the insulation in tight and still keep the
required ventilation channel.
Update
10/28/05 - Interior
photos as the house nears completion.
Notes from Dennis:
The wood floors are 3/4" hickory. We got the material prefinished and
it went down fairly easy. The wood floors are throughout the first
floor with the exception of the bathroom.
The cabinets are made by
Medallion and are also hickory. I've included a picture of the
refrigerator to show the cabinet next to it. We had the cabinet company
build a face only to match the other cabinets. On the inside I built a
pantry over the top of the stairs where it heads down to the basement.
This modified basement stair is between the bathroom and kitchen on the
standard plan.
The Oak wood spiral stair is
a all wood "code stair" with a 5 foot diameter. We bought it from
Salter Industries in PA. The wood stove is a Hearthstone, Heritage.
They are made in Vermont. It is a soapstone stove.
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