2/9/11 - Side wall insulation

I took the day off work today. Our friend Andy, Kristin, and I worked on insulation for the entire day. Now that the rough plumbing and electrical are complete and all the insulation mesh is up (nice work Kristin) we can get serious about the insulation. Its dusty and dirty but fairly rewarding. Each stud bay is injected with cellulose until it feels like a firm mattress.

Andy filling the insulation blowerGrey filling the stud bays

2/6/11 - Rough Plumbing complete

The rough plumbing is finally done. All waste piping and supply piping is complete (even though we don't have a well yet). Now its full-on side wall insulation time. The blue and red pipes are supply lines. They are a material called PEX (cross linked polyethylene). It bends so no elbows or soldering are required. Great for a novice plumbing like me.

Bath sink plumbing.

Shower Plumbing

1/3/10 - Side Wall Insulation

We will be using dense pack cellulose for the wall insulation. Although the R value per inch is lower (R=3.5) then spray foam (R=6) it is much more environmentally friendly. It is 85% recycled newspaper (the average house will contain about 40 years worth or newspapers) and 15% Borate (a naturally occurring chemical that imparts mold, insect, and fire resistance/retardant properties).

We have borrowed an insulation blower (for the cellulose) from a friend. I can be seen here reaching into the hopper. Eli, Asa, and Grandpa Jim are collecting some cellulose that will be placed in the hopper.

Once the hopper is full it is turned on and 2 spinning mixers break up the cellulose. Asa can be seen here monitoring the hopper. A blower motor at the bottom of the mixer blows the cellulose through a tube and into the wall. Eli is operating the blower switch. We experimented with several methods. In the method above we screwed ply wood to the stud bays, drilled a hole in it, snaked a tube behind the plywood and filled the bay with insulation. The insulation packs so tight that you can remove the plywood and the insulation will remain. We decided that this method would require too much setup and too much wasted plywood. We opted for the method below.

This method requires stapling a special netting material very tightly across the studs. Then the insulation is blown between the netting and the exterior sheathing. This will allow us better visibility to ensure we achieve the proper insulation density. Eli operating the stapler, hey where's that kids ear protection. This process has just started and the upstairs is almost complete. Insulation won't happen for another couple weeks.

1/3/10 - Plumbing Rough-In

The plumbing rough-in is currently in progress. I have completed the waste piping and venting, which had to get done before the spray foam insulation. I have started the supply lines and should have those done in the next week or so. Sorry no pics right now.

1/3/10 - Roof Deck Insulation

In early December we had closed cell spray foam insulation applied to the roof, under the entry and bedroom bump-out which over hang the foundation, and on the rim joist. Although not the most environmentally friendly insulation it was a good choice for this roof. It not only provides high R value per inch, but creates an effective moisture barrier for our un-vented roof with big sky lights (always a leak potential).

Asa testing the foam with his new hammer

Ceiling of the great room

1/3 - Electrical Rough In Complete

In the beginning of November I completed the electrical rough-in. This consisted of placing all the outlets, switches, and lights; pulling the wires through the wall; making wire connections in each box; and connecting all the circuit breakers in the main panel. This was quite a learning experience since I had never wired an entire house before. This phase of the electrical work required an inspection and I was nervous he would find lots of errors. Fortunately I passed my inspection with only 2 corrections. If you look closely at the picture you can see blue boxes and yellow wires in the walls.

1/3/2011 - New years resolution......

.....is to update this blog on a weekly basis. Sorry to all (5 of you) who have been following this blog only to see no posts for the last 2+ months. I will catch everyone up in the following posts.

Thanks for you patience.