Summer Construction Videos
Our most recent construction videos! Three months of activity compressed into just a few minutes. In the rear video you’ll see the chimney framing at about 0:08, the external garage insulation at 0:16, work commence on the rear patio at 0:49, and the chimney brick veneer going on at 0:56. The garage roof gets installed about 1:23, and watch carefully for the septic system tank being placed in the bottom left corner about 1:37. Finally is the rain slicker (1:59) and the cladding (2:10).
In the front video you’ll notice the trench for the electrical power to the house (0:07), the driveway (0:10), the roof installation starting about 0:43, the cladding going on starting about 1:10, and finally the drywall delivery at the very end. And throughout the video are swarms and swarms of subcontractor’s trucks as they finish framing, install mechanical and electrical systems, and insulate the house.
Blower Door Test Redux – a REALLY Airtight House!
Once the exterior wall insulation was completed, our LEED Rater, Mark, came by to do another blower door test and IR examination of the insulation. Our goal was to identify any spots where insulation was missing, and fix any air [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1JoUx5k_NQ A lot has happened since my last update several weeks ago. Much of September was devoted to installing the interior insulation in the project. This is one of the most [...]
Cladding the house
Now that the exterior blueskin barrier and the roof are on, we can move to the siding (cladding). The first element in this is the yellow Benjamyn Opdyke Rain Slicker, which provides a thin drainage mat between the wall and [...]
MassSave tour
A few weeks ago we hosted a tour for program administrators and utility representatives from MassSave. MassSave is a collaborative of Massachusetts' natural gas and electric utilities and energy efficiency service providers, including Berkshire Gas, Blackstone Gas Company, Cape Light [...]
Landscaping & Site Work
While the mechanicals (plumbing, HVAC, and electrical) go into the house and the roof goes on, our landscape contractor, Moniz Landscaping, has been busy with site work and the largest part of the hardscape, the rear patio. Once the rough [...]
Installing the roof
Our roof is a complex system of multiple layers of waterproofing, insulation, and structural supports for the solar PV array that will get mounted later. We reframed the existing roof with new 2x12 rafters and a new ridge beam to [...]
Making fireplaces work in a green home
A few weeks ago our two fireplaces showed up and they’re now installed. Fireplaces can be a large source of air pollution in a home (particulates, carbon monoxide, and other noxious gases), so the guidelines for tight homes are [...]
Testing for airtightness
After a lot of diligent work from the framing and carpentry crews, we’ve reached the point where the house is tight enough for a preliminary blower door test. The purpose of this test is to measure how airtight the [...]
