Hello All,
Its been a while since I have posted – mainly during contract negotiations. Well, we found a great contractor. This project is pushing the envelope in terms of scale for this guy. I wouldn’t say it has been a completely smooth ride, but he is rising to the occasion. And in return, we are getting a great house for what I consider a fair price. Here are a few recent posts. The first picture is the original house, just so you get a sense of what was here before. We are having fun – about 6 months to completion. Lots to overcome, but it will be a wonderful unique house when it is done.
Replies
WOW!
Very nice! What are you going to do with all that new space!
Sorry folks. I have been out of town. I always get a kick out of seeing great design in the photo gallery. I worked closely with a semi-retired architect here in Fairfield County (you would have guessed it for those of you who know CT). The funny thing is that when we started, we were big fans of Sarah Susanka's book "The Not So Big House". Embarassingly, it did end up a little bigger than we expected. Its a little deceptive though - the house is only 1 room deep in many areas (to take advantage of a pond in the back). From the outside you won't be able to tell, but about 20% of the interior is going to be unfinished raw space (master suite, room over the garage). We thought about phasing it, but the savings were so compelling that we bit the bullet. I will post again soon. We should be done with all of the extrior trim by the end of the month.
Thanks for your interest.
Here are a couple of other pictures. The arched front entry looks directly to the back and a pond. The second is the deck. We sprung for Ipe. I think over the years it will be worth it. More to come!
I'm back again. This outside of the house is almost complete. I wish I could say the same about the inside as we go into winter. Our target completion date is now the end of December. Who knows. I am not confident.
Enjoy.
slow down our man
projects so beautiful cannot be burdened w/ target completion dates
the only thing you should be concerned w/ is sharing more pictures with us
is the "original" footprint where the garage is now?
That's some gorgeous detail work. Do you have pics of the inside?
- Rob
Well, I've promised updates for months. We've been so busy trying to keep ahead of the various trades that I am only now coming up for breath. The most recent rush was to get speaker wiring to 8 different rooms from a cental media closet. Just barely made it ahead of the drywall guys.
Here are a few pictures of the outside, which is mostly done (including a view from the back), a few of the inside (see Icynene foam), and some drywall. It is really hard to get inerior pictures right now because it is so crowded with material.
More to come - if I can catch my breath.
Hi Runner. Looks like you're using Icynene. I'm building in Fairfield county and had Foamco out of NY State come out and spray. Curious as to where you are and if you found a different outfit for the foam? This is my first time using it and am happy with it so far but did find a few spots where the foam looks like it shrunk and peeled back from the joists in the attic. I noticed it because the snow was melting only in spots. It's not a big problem maybe 3 spots over 1800 square feet of rafters. Have you seen any issues like this?
I used a company out of New Haven called American Energy Savers. They did a good job, although I had to have them come back for some problems similar to what you described. My best advice is to get a strong commitment to exactly how many inches are being applied, and insist on that as a minimum coverage. The house is not complete, but even with the heat set at 65 for the drywallers, I had virtually no snow melt off of the roof - a huge contrast to the other houses on my block. I foamed all the way to the ridge, with no ridge vent. All of the ductwork is within insulated space.
I went around with a tape measure with the installer and pointed out several areas. Whatever the quality of the install, I am convinced that even a bad foam install is much superior to the mostly sloppy fiberglass installs. It wasn't cheap - $17,000 for a 3,800 sf house. Alas, I suspect if you are building spec, most people won't appreciate this.
I think especially 10 years from now, I will be VERY glad I did it. Thanks for your interest.
For what it's worth, the Engineers at Icynene will produce a report (REM design, I think) which is supposedly an analysis of Icynene vs Fiberglass based on the house specs you provide. The result is that the local building department accepted this report and allowed the walls to be sprayed with an R-value technically less than building code (R19 for 2x6 walls). The bottom line is instead of spraying foam at a thickness to meet code, you can use 3.5 inches in walls and 5.5 in rafters saving you money and still be tighter than fiberglass. The Icynene documentation shows that efficiency tapers off after 3 inches so it is the law of diminishing returns. Ultimately it's easier for the guys doing the spraying just to fill the cavities anyway so we wound up with a full 5.5 inches in the walls and almost 8 inches in the slopes and rafters. At $.35 a board foot we paid about $13K for a 4500 square foot house spraying all exterior walls and attic rafters (no floors). This was only about 15% more than fiberglass.
Let me know if you want more details on the REM design or Icynene specs.
If you were to install 3.5" of foam in the walls then I guess there would be very little if any point in doing 2x6 walls? - Yes?
As far as I know, you are correct. The decision to go with Icynene on this house was made after framing was complete. So I acknowledge this was wasteful but I know better for the next one. The decision was made in time for HVAC sizing though which was spec'd about 25% less tons than the same house with better-than-code fiberglass.
So - what R-value would 3.5" of Icynene yeild? It soulds like yours must be really good at 5.5"...
Icynene which is an open-cell foam has an r-value of 3.6 per inch. However any discussion of foam vs fiberglass will quickly turn to the air-barrier properties of foam and that r-value by itself is not a reliable indicator for how well a particular system will prevent heat loss. I know there are a lot of threads on this topic.
Speaking of air movement thru walls (do they call it convection?).
If a guy is really careful in construction, . . . I don't know, but say. . . glue wall plates down, minimize holes through wall plates top and bottom, glue sheating at joints to the stubs, tape horizontal sheathing joints, and any other ideas which might come to mind; does anyone think a guy got improve upon fiberglass insulation jobs?
People passionate about building sciences will probably chime in with opinions on this although this thread would probably do much better in the Construction Techniques section.
Good point - and I guess I knew that - and it was pretty much insinuated by your previous statments - R-value is not the only factor.
>> It wasn't cheap - $17,000 for a 3,800 sf house. <<
Wow! So what do you think? About a 5 year payback?
I guess people who live where I do don't take energy conservation so seriously and as far as: >> Alas, I suspect if you are building spec, most people won't appreciate this. << That is an understatement... I have trouble selling $1700 worth of energy upgrades... If I installed $17,000 worth of insulation in a spec house that size, I'd expect to be fired.
In my area, Anderson Homes, has announced that all their homes in my area will be Energy Star compliant (certified?). We'll see how long that lasts. I was thinking of sending them my resume. BTW - Energy Star Certification doesn't require foam insulation here. The Certification does guarantee a certain level of energy usage though.
Whose design? Were the three dormer types (gabled, shed, hipped) planned, or did they just happen?
That is nice arch shingled work over the entry.
Nice shack! What town are you in?
Andy
Andy Engel
Senior editor, Fine Woodworking magazine
An updated profile is a happy profile.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
None of this matters in geological time.
"Nice shack!"
Way to make the owner feel good about the design, Andy- is that the line you used to break the ice when you visited potential clients' homes?? LOL
Bob
"Shack" is a colloquialism, meant to minimize the embarassment inherent to any New Englander guilty of owning something nice. We're modest folk up here, ayuh.Andy Engel
Senior editor, Fine Woodworking magazine
An updated profile is a happy profile.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
None of this matters in geological time.
Now I understand.....modest....that's it.....
And what in the world does "ayuh" mean? lol
I think "ayuh" is Yankee for "yup" or "fer sure".I sure wish all ya'll would stop writin' with such accents...
I sure wish all ya'll would stop writin' with such accents...
fersure.
jt8
"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." --Warren Buffett
That's "fersure, dude....."- get it right.....lol
Ayuh has a variety of meanings, depending on inflection. Commonly when applied to the end of a sentence regarding the behavior of flatlanders, it implies, dolt, or lackwit. In this case though, it's just signalling the end of a sentence.Andy Engel
Senior editor, Fine Woodworking magazine
An updated profile is a happy profile.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
None of this matters in geological time.
Waaaayy back in 2004 we started this project. 2 years instead of one, some over budget but not more than we expected. Every day something still goes wrong. But slowly we are coming to the end of our dream house adventure.
Thought I would post some pictures. Most of the interior details I worked out myself (although I did not execute them). I've loved looking at houses in the Gallery. Hope you enjoy these.
By the way everyone - we did end up using Icynene foam in the entire house, including the attic rafters. Huge difference in energy costs. I am really glad we did it.
very nice....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Beautiful job! Love the look of the floors, what type or manufacturer did you go with. They turned out sharp!
They are just white oak. Sanded and finished in place. The stain color is called natural teak - a little warm, but not red.
Very, very nice......
pretty elegant... are you the architect ?
View ImageMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Funny you should ask. I was trained as an architect, but never pursued it - too much heartache for the amount of work. I collaborated with another architect. Most of the design ideas were mine. He did the detail work. I was too busy with my day job.
Runner
Looks good, realy like the entrance. Also the interior, like the painted WW with the colors that you chose for the walls.
Well done
Doug