Window installation
The windows arrived a few weeks ago. Now that the blueskin is up on most of the house the team has been busy installing and sealing them into position. Window selection was a challenge for this project. Many high-performance projects [...]
Making thermal performance visible
Earlier this year we designed and built a couple of small wall mockups to demonstrate the differences between the highly-insulated wall assembly we’re using on this project and the typical, code-built wall. Each mockup is a cross-section so you [...]
GORE-TEX® for the home!
In early May I wrote about our wall mockups. Our wall assembly cross-section is designed to keep the house comfortable and dry by providing four important barriers: thermal barrier (keep the home comfortable), water barrier (keep rainwater out), air barrier ([...]
Exterior Insulation – Roof and Walls
While the framers have been busy inside with interior rooms and stairs, we’ve started installing the exterior insulation. First up was the first of two layers of 2” rigid foam on the roof. Next are the walls: 2” of rigid polyisocyanurate [...]
Getting the wall details right
Most of the recent activity at the project has been in the basement: in the last two weeks the sub-slab radon and drainage piping was installed, the basement floor was insulated, and the slab was poured. This has also given [...]
The “Bathtub” Basement
Most of the work recently has shifted to the basement as the contractor prepares to pour the basement slab. Like everything else in this home, a lot of detail has gone into the design. The first photo shows the basement [...]
NESEA BE18 – Boston High-Performance Building Show
Spent all day Thursday 3/8 at the NESEA BE18 (Northeast Sustainable Energy Association) Building Energy 2018 conference in Boston. Saw some great presentations on roof insulation, energy code compliance, and integrating design/build/development. Many New England experts in high-performance building attended ([...]
