The family went up to Vermont this past weekend. I had messed up my back chopping up heavy snow and ice a few days prior and it was sore before we left. Unfortunately after the long drive, I was completely done in and I was basically useless carrying anything all weekend. Hell, I was useless getting out of the car… It wasn’t fun. But we still had a good trip and got a lot done.
We relieved some pressure by signing a lease for a temporary place to live during the summer. It should be a great place and we’re excited to move up in the late spring. It is only three minutes from the new house so it will be very convenient for checking progress or just hanging out there during the day.
The visits to the construction site greeted us with chaos. Wires, wood framing, pipes, venting, hoses, cables, switch boxes, and other good stuff overwhelmed us. Also it was about 6F in the house when we got there on Saturday night. Chilly!
The Zehnder ComfoAir 450 unit had been backordered. I was worried it was going to be a victim of Covid scarcity but it finally arrived so they can complete our ERV install. It is essential hardware that was experiencing sourcing delays, so I’m glad to see that one arrive in tact and it won’t affect our overall project timeline.
Our builder set up some space heaters to keep the team warm during the sub-10 degree weather. The windows are starting to warm the house on sunny days but since there is no insulation, it doesn’t do a whole lot over the course of the day yet. The report we received yesterday is that the external insulation is almost done and the solar gain is staying around during the day. Once the external insulation is done and wall’s internal insulation is in place, we should be in great shape until warmer weather arrives. The 24” of cellulose insulation was pumped into the attic enclosure last Friday, earlier than expected.
The front door and the south-facing sliding doors look great. The porch door is a lift-and-slide and it is very satisfying to see and feel the door lock in place with the big lever-handle. The door, laden with triple-glazed metal frames, weighs something on the order of 600lbs but slides easily and smoothly. I can’t get over how well made these doors and windows are. You get what you pay for I guess because these things weren’t cheap. I can’t wait to walk out onto the south facing porch in the morning with a mug of coffee in hand.
Speaking of the south porch, the timber arrived for the porch structure so they may start installing that next week. You may be wondering why, if we are so interested in solar gain to keep the house warm, we would want a porch overhang over those big windows. The angles and architecture are such that the low angle of the winter sun will track just under the porch and into the house itself. During the warmer months, the angle of the sun is higher so it will be blocked by the roof of the porch and keep the house from heating up.
Also arriving this week are some piles of beautiful ash planks . One pile is for the door trim and door jambs and one is for the stairs. We are still waiting for the big delivery of ceiling tongue-in-groove ash and the wider, second floor hardwood flooring ash.
I also spotted the boxes for the heat pumps in the garage to be installed this week or next. Getting all of these mechanicals in place is a big load off of my mind. I see these line items on the project plan and the dates get closer but, not being there, I never see the plan put into action. Seeing it all in place and moving when we’re on site is very gratifying, knowing that we picked a good builder who is project managing this thing towards the goal.
The builder’s son was on site and our kid had a great time playing with him. They kept each other busy so we could discuss things like electrical outlet placement, thermostat operation, siding and roof colors, ash grain patterning and a million other things we had to consider in our discussions with the architect (who was also on site), the electrical subcontractor and the builder. It was an intense morning but felt like we are definitely heading in the right direction.
Lastly, the Starlink dish has been installed and is working. This should help the builder with communcation but also give us a good test bed to make sure things are working well prior to move in.
