Housebuilding Week 7: A Sea of Foam

Hi Friend,

Not much has changed here since Thursday, with the holiday and storms and all. The guys are diligently putting up the 3" of foam on the walls (a layer of 2" followed by a layer of 1") and 6" on the roof (3 layers of 2" foam), taking care to lap the seams with the next layer for less air leakage. The wood strapping that is nailed on top of it keeps the foam in place, as well as providing a surface for nailing in the wood siding and metal roof.

First floor of the west wall is insulated and ready for siding

I say that "the guys" are putting it up now because Eden had a little interaction with the circular saw on the Fourth of July. Ironically, she was working on her own project of building a bookcase and just needed to cut a piece to prop it up real quick ... Her middle fingers got a good little nick, so she'll be doing light work, if any, for the next week or two. Not that there's ever a good time to get injured, but it just so happens that Jordan and Leah are leaving for a girls' camp this week (as counselor and camper respectively), so Eden and I will be taking over their household and childcare duties. I imagine Eden will mainly be running after little Anna (she's a quick one!), so I'm glad she didn't injure her legs.

The east and north sides are getting their second layer

Since we're in the insulation phase, I might as well talk about some of the requirements for building a house in Massachusetts "by the book." Lucky for you, my state is in the upper third for strictest building codes, so there's a good chance that your state will be more lenient. Before we could even apply for a building permit, our town sent out the "Conservation Commission" to assess whether they thought they had jurisdiction. We have a stream on the property. Our town's by-laws say that you need a special permit to build within 100 feet of a stream if it's "intermittent" or within 200 feet if it's "perennial." Thankfully ours is intermittent, so it was easiest just to site the house farther than 100 feet from the stream (and the ground is drier there, too).

Lauren meanders through the *intermittent* stream

The other surprise was that we needed to hire a "HERS rater" to assess the energy efficiency of our proposed home, based on the size, solar orientation, insulation, windows, HVAC equipment, etc. HERS stands for Home Energy Rating System, and it goes hand-in-hand with the "stretch code," which emphasizes energy performance. This may sound like an intimidating and confusing process (it certainly sounded that way to me!) - and I'll save my comments on this for another time - but I'm happy to report that the FirstDay Cottage we are building has a low HERS rating (the lower the score, the better). We'll have a medium-sized house with double-pane windows, wrapped in foam boards, even under and around the foundation slab. We'll have hydronic radiant floor heat fueled by a propane-powered 95% efficient combi boiler. And the long side of the house has a south/southeast orientation, which will let in maximum light in the cold winter months.

Lots of light will come in from the low winter sun

And speaking of state regulations, I finally submitted my end-of-the-school-year homeschooling paperwork for Leah and Judah. If you're wondering, yes, Massachusetts is a high-regulation state in this area, too.

Oh, and we had some animal visitors this week. One was a hen who keeps escaping from our chicken run. First, I found her clucking inside the sauna in the attached greenhouse, and then I found her nesting in the upstairs laundry room (scared me to death!). The front door must have been open, which happened again this morning, when a wild baby bunny ran inside! I think the cat chased her in.

A wild baby bunny in the house - that's a first!

I hope your weather is less humid than ours is this week! :)

Until next time,

xo

P.S. Have you ever built a house - with or without contractors? How long did it take from digging the foundation till move-in?

P.P.S. We attended another beautiful country wedding this weekend. The weather was HOT, but it didn’t stop anyone from dancing the contra dances, swings, and waltzes!

Take hands four and circle right!

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