If a tree falls, and everyone in the neighborhood hears it, then it surely did fall.
Yes, unfortunately, a large tree fell during the snow and wind storm this past weekend. And of course, we finished the roof replacement not long before the tree fell on it. But, on the bright side, nobody was hurt and the damage really could have been much worse. So, we're counting our blessings and working as quickly as possible to clean things up and keep moving forward with the renovations.
Last week, the exterior paint started going up (and we think it looks great!) and the siding repairs to the original home and first addition were completed. A significant portion of the insulation work was completed as well. The cleanup in the aftermath of the storm is holding work up a bit, but we're still hoping that the painting and insulation can be finished by the end of the week. We are, after all, still racing against winter...
We hope you all weathered the storm well and have your power and heat back at home!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Notes From The Yard
In other news, we removed the clothesline and it really opened up the backyard. Although a clothesline is a great eco-friendly feature for a home, the one that came with the house was huge and took up some of the best space for hanging out in the backyard. We also did some yard cleanup and shrub removal in the past week, and we began repairs to the coop. We haven't picked a coop color yet though - That decision will be made once the new siding is up and the exterior painting is done.
Finally, a number of original foundation stones were moved from the basement and piled in the yard. We've been considering a few different ideas for using these old foundation stones. One early idea we had was using them to build a fire pit. Another idea was to use them in the front yard or driveway to build a small retaining wall. Then, last week we gave a tour of the home to our friends and they gave us the idea of building planters with these beautiful old stones. The more we have mulled that idea over, the more we like it. We haven't made any final decisions yet however.
Finally, a number of original foundation stones were moved from the basement and piled in the yard. We've been considering a few different ideas for using these old foundation stones. One early idea we had was using them to build a fire pit. Another idea was to use them in the front yard or driveway to build a small retaining wall. Then, last week we gave a tour of the home to our friends and they gave us the idea of building planters with these beautiful old stones. The more we have mulled that idea over, the more we like it. We haven't made any final decisions yet however.
Rough Electrical and Structural Inspections Passed!
The rough electrical work was completed on Tuesday. It looks great and passed its inspection on Thursday. The home's structural work also passed inspection on Thursday. Meanwhile, we met with John, our painter, who is getting started on the exterior of the home on Monday, and the insulation work will now start on Monday as well. We pushed the insulation work off to next week in order to install additional strapping for hanging the drywall. In preparation for the exterior painting next week, Henry's crew has begun the siding repairs and purchased the exterior window and door trim.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Not quite a warm blanket
While it perhaps isn't as sexy as picking out cabinets, flooring or plumbing fixtures, the energy measures taken in a building are critical. Perhaps our grandchildren will have the opportunity to choose between a plethora of recycled metal plumbing fixtures, ready to assemble cabinetry made from reclaimed materials, and the like. But, we're stuck in the "green" dark ages where significant focus is placed squarely on energy (which IS very important, of course). So...with that...let's pull up our sleeves and talk about the heating system.
This house will have a condensing boiler "combi" system. That sounds simple enough but is actually pretty sophisticated equipment. While our heating systems are not even close to approaching the complexity of your car...we've come a long way. When the fuel in your boiler is burned, the chemical reaction produces water vapor (which requires energy to form). It used to be that this water vapor would be exhausted into your chimney...dumping energy out the chimney. Now, we take those warm exhaust gases and allow them to decrease in temperature, which causes the water vapor to condense into liquid water ... in turn releasing energy. It's a relatively small amount of energy that is captured ... but this gets your boiler from 85% to 90% efficiency. That's the "condensing" part.
Now, the "combi" part means that we are combining the boiler with the water heater. Rather than having a combustion system in the water tank and a second (typcially more efficient) one in the boiler ... wouldn't it be smart to have just one combustion system? So...there are two main ways that a combi system can be made. One is to circulate water through the combustion system "on demand", meaning that if you open your hot water spout, your heating unit kicks on and heats the amount of water you need when you need it. This can require a really big combustion system ... but you don't have to store a tank of water. On-demand systems are an efficient choice for small and/or intermittent uses (like vacation homes) or may be a good choice for homes with limited space. The other option is to store a tank of water, and periodically circulate the water through the heating system burner in order to keep it hot until you are ready to use it. This system is quite similar to a conventional water tank except that the tank does not have it's own combustion system, but borrows the combustion system from the space heating system. That's what we picked out...the tank option is more efficient than the tankless option when you use hot water frequently.
Still with me? Ok, one of the last (and I think coolest) tricks is that the latest and greatest heating systems now measure the outdoor temperature to adjust the water flow rate through the house. That way, when it is warmer outside you dump less heat into the house than when it is colder outside. Remember a time (usually in what we call the "shoulder season" during Fall and Spring) when you were a little cold, the heating system would turn on, and you would roast...then open your windows? This was because the heating system could not regulate the amount of heat added to the house ... only whether or not to add heat. Heating systems were sized to make sure you got enough heat in the coldest part of winter ... and the rest of the time, you could always open your windows! The amount of fossil fuels literally thrown out the window over the past 100 years is astonishing. Arguably, adding variable speed pumps to heating systems is one of the greatest energy savings measures made to heating systems over the past few decades.
Now for distribution. There are two main ways that energy generated in the combustion reaction is distributed within the home nowadays....with liquid water or air. We chose liquid water becuase it holds more energy per mass, has a lower profile (small baseboard heaters rather than larger openings for air ducts), and is considered to be more efficient (although this depends on quite a lot of things ... but generally, air ducts are leaky sieves and a huge pain to keep tight over the years). A heat exchanger (think of the radiator in your car) sits inside the heating system. When the fuel is burned, it transfers heat energy to the liquid water, which is circulated through baseboard radiators throughout the house.
We've also elected for 4 thermal zones within the house, one for each bedroom and one for the living room/kitchen/family room/dining room "communal" spaces. 4 zones are way overkill but this is such a nice feature in a home. The homeowners will be able to set different temperatures in these spaces depending upon how they choose to use the rooms (office, playroom, sleeping room, ...).
So, as you can see, we really invested in making sure we had a robust, reliable and incredibly efficient heating system. It's nice to know that someone will thank us for that!
This house will have a condensing boiler "combi" system. That sounds simple enough but is actually pretty sophisticated equipment. While our heating systems are not even close to approaching the complexity of your car...we've come a long way. When the fuel in your boiler is burned, the chemical reaction produces water vapor (which requires energy to form). It used to be that this water vapor would be exhausted into your chimney...dumping energy out the chimney. Now, we take those warm exhaust gases and allow them to decrease in temperature, which causes the water vapor to condense into liquid water ... in turn releasing energy. It's a relatively small amount of energy that is captured ... but this gets your boiler from 85% to 90% efficiency. That's the "condensing" part.
Now, the "combi" part means that we are combining the boiler with the water heater. Rather than having a combustion system in the water tank and a second (typcially more efficient) one in the boiler ... wouldn't it be smart to have just one combustion system? So...there are two main ways that a combi system can be made. One is to circulate water through the combustion system "on demand", meaning that if you open your hot water spout, your heating unit kicks on and heats the amount of water you need when you need it. This can require a really big combustion system ... but you don't have to store a tank of water. On-demand systems are an efficient choice for small and/or intermittent uses (like vacation homes) or may be a good choice for homes with limited space. The other option is to store a tank of water, and periodically circulate the water through the heating system burner in order to keep it hot until you are ready to use it. This system is quite similar to a conventional water tank except that the tank does not have it's own combustion system, but borrows the combustion system from the space heating system. That's what we picked out...the tank option is more efficient than the tankless option when you use hot water frequently.
Still with me? Ok, one of the last (and I think coolest) tricks is that the latest and greatest heating systems now measure the outdoor temperature to adjust the water flow rate through the house. That way, when it is warmer outside you dump less heat into the house than when it is colder outside. Remember a time (usually in what we call the "shoulder season" during Fall and Spring) when you were a little cold, the heating system would turn on, and you would roast...then open your windows? This was because the heating system could not regulate the amount of heat added to the house ... only whether or not to add heat. Heating systems were sized to make sure you got enough heat in the coldest part of winter ... and the rest of the time, you could always open your windows! The amount of fossil fuels literally thrown out the window over the past 100 years is astonishing. Arguably, adding variable speed pumps to heating systems is one of the greatest energy savings measures made to heating systems over the past few decades.
Now for distribution. There are two main ways that energy generated in the combustion reaction is distributed within the home nowadays....with liquid water or air. We chose liquid water becuase it holds more energy per mass, has a lower profile (small baseboard heaters rather than larger openings for air ducts), and is considered to be more efficient (although this depends on quite a lot of things ... but generally, air ducts are leaky sieves and a huge pain to keep tight over the years). A heat exchanger (think of the radiator in your car) sits inside the heating system. When the fuel is burned, it transfers heat energy to the liquid water, which is circulated through baseboard radiators throughout the house.
We've also elected for 4 thermal zones within the house, one for each bedroom and one for the living room/kitchen/family room/dining room "communal" spaces. 4 zones are way overkill but this is such a nice feature in a home. The homeowners will be able to set different temperatures in these spaces depending upon how they choose to use the rooms (office, playroom, sleeping room, ...).
So, as you can see, we really invested in making sure we had a robust, reliable and incredibly efficient heating system. It's nice to know that someone will thank us for that!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Racing Against Winter
Although the never ending rain held us up considerably, the roof is now complete! If you go by the house, you can see it. We are pleased with the shingle color and think it will go well with the color of the house.
Meanwhile, Henry's crew is working on the wood siding repairs and the window and door trim in preparation for painting the exterior of the home, which is scheduled to start in the middle of next week. Paint cannot be applied when the temperatures are below freezing...so we are racing against winter. But, just to be safe, we are using low-temperature paints. These (acrylic) paints allow paint to be applied in 35 to 50 degree weather. However, we'll need to keep a careful eye on the weather each day. The paint must be applied at least one hour before temperatures drop below freezing.
We've set a deadline of finishing all exterior painting (house, shed) and sealing (porch, stairs) by the end of the month. Ideally, it would be best to have the drywall finished before installing the decking in order to minimize the potential for damage to the deck as materials are trekked in and out of the house. So, we're moving as quickly as we can: Before the drywall can be installed, however, we need to finish the electrical and insulation work...
On Tuesday, we met with our electrician Jeff Marney (Marney Electrical Services) to finalize our rough wiring plans. It is amazing how detailed a lighting plan needs to be. You not only need to select the exact location, fixture type (and, ultimately, fixture) for all lighting, but you also need to think through which lights require their own switches, which ones should be switched together, and where to locate all of the switches.
Peter, our realtor (and design consultant), helped us with our first draft of the lighting scheme for the house. As we have refined the lighting plan, we have walked through the house many times, envisioning how each room would look and how the home occupants would use each room and its lights, where it would be convenient to have switches, which lights required dimmers, etc. In addition to aesthetics and convenience, we also needed to consider structural constraints that affect where (and what type of) lights and switches can be installed. Finally, we had to consider Energy Star and LEED for Homes requirements.
In addition to lighting, the electrical work includes includes wiring for all appliances, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, thermostats and the heating system, phone and cable lines, and electrial outlets.
So, at this point we know exactly where each appliance, smoke/carbon monoxide detector, thermostat, phone/cable jack and electrical outlet will be located.
So the electrical work began yesterday and continues today. Jeff's crew (Matt and Josh) began running wires for the telephone and cable lines yesterday. Multiple phone lines (allowing for phone, fax and wireless internet) are being provided in the kitchen, family room and all bedrooms. Cable lines are being provided in the family room and all bedrooms. We expect the electrical work to be completed by Monday, and the insulation work will follow...
Meanwhile, Henry's crew is working on the wood siding repairs and the window and door trim in preparation for painting the exterior of the home, which is scheduled to start in the middle of next week. Paint cannot be applied when the temperatures are below freezing...so we are racing against winter. But, just to be safe, we are using low-temperature paints. These (acrylic) paints allow paint to be applied in 35 to 50 degree weather. However, we'll need to keep a careful eye on the weather each day. The paint must be applied at least one hour before temperatures drop below freezing.
We've set a deadline of finishing all exterior painting (house, shed) and sealing (porch, stairs) by the end of the month. Ideally, it would be best to have the drywall finished before installing the decking in order to minimize the potential for damage to the deck as materials are trekked in and out of the house. So, we're moving as quickly as we can: Before the drywall can be installed, however, we need to finish the electrical and insulation work...
On Tuesday, we met with our electrician Jeff Marney (Marney Electrical Services) to finalize our rough wiring plans. It is amazing how detailed a lighting plan needs to be. You not only need to select the exact location, fixture type (and, ultimately, fixture) for all lighting, but you also need to think through which lights require their own switches, which ones should be switched together, and where to locate all of the switches.
Peter, our realtor (and design consultant), helped us with our first draft of the lighting scheme for the house. As we have refined the lighting plan, we have walked through the house many times, envisioning how each room would look and how the home occupants would use each room and its lights, where it would be convenient to have switches, which lights required dimmers, etc. In addition to aesthetics and convenience, we also needed to consider structural constraints that affect where (and what type of) lights and switches can be installed. Finally, we had to consider Energy Star and LEED for Homes requirements.
In addition to lighting, the electrical work includes includes wiring for all appliances, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, thermostats and the heating system, phone and cable lines, and electrial outlets.
So, at this point we know exactly where each appliance, smoke/carbon monoxide detector, thermostat, phone/cable jack and electrical outlet will be located.
So the electrical work began yesterday and continues today. Jeff's crew (Matt and Josh) began running wires for the telephone and cable lines yesterday. Multiple phone lines (allowing for phone, fax and wireless internet) are being provided in the kitchen, family room and all bedrooms. Cable lines are being provided in the family room and all bedrooms. We expect the electrical work to be completed by Monday, and the insulation work will follow...
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Windows and Doors Are In! (October 6th Update)
The windows and doors (except the front door) are now installed! Last we looked, the windows were looking great, and we're excited to take some pictures of the back sliding door.
The rough plumbing is also nearly complete (with just a few finishing touches remaining), and the heating system installation is underway. We are still waiting for the final electrician quotes to come in today, and we will schedule this work for next week. We have scheduled the insulation work to start the following week.
We made plans for moving forward with the siding installation next week too. After speaking with Henry, we decided that the existing plywood siding will be used as the sheathing for the new Hardiplank siding. So, this means a small change to the insulation plans: Today, we removed what remained of the sheet rock walls in the newest addition (most of it had already been removed in the process of framing the new windows and the double wide back door), and now all of the insulation will be sprayed in from the interior. So, the siding work no longer needs to be coordinated with the insulation work (yay!).
We also spruced up the erosion control measures, as the the silt socks had begun to rip open. We removed the mulch from the broken silt socks and also used the remainder of the mulch we originally puchased in order to rebuild a longer silt sock that now streches across the entire driveway. We made this longer silt sock because the grass on the sides of the driveway has been compacted by vehicles, and dirt has been exposed in some places where there used to be grass. Although we do already have a silt sock around the storm drain on the street, we want to do everything we can (i.e. install redundant measures) to prevent sediment erosion from our site into the storm drain (and our rivers).
That's the scoop for this week...
The rough plumbing is also nearly complete (with just a few finishing touches remaining), and the heating system installation is underway. We are still waiting for the final electrician quotes to come in today, and we will schedule this work for next week. We have scheduled the insulation work to start the following week.
We made plans for moving forward with the siding installation next week too. After speaking with Henry, we decided that the existing plywood siding will be used as the sheathing for the new Hardiplank siding. So, this means a small change to the insulation plans: Today, we removed what remained of the sheet rock walls in the newest addition (most of it had already been removed in the process of framing the new windows and the double wide back door), and now all of the insulation will be sprayed in from the interior. So, the siding work no longer needs to be coordinated with the insulation work (yay!).
We also spruced up the erosion control measures, as the the silt socks had begun to rip open. We removed the mulch from the broken silt socks and also used the remainder of the mulch we originally puchased in order to rebuild a longer silt sock that now streches across the entire driveway. We made this longer silt sock because the grass on the sides of the driveway has been compacted by vehicles, and dirt has been exposed in some places where there used to be grass. Although we do already have a silt sock around the storm drain on the street, we want to do everything we can (i.e. install redundant measures) to prevent sediment erosion from our site into the storm drain (and our rivers).
That's the scoop for this week...
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