The Greened House Effect

Work on our Deep Energy Retrofit charged ahead.  As we headed into the fourth week of work, Stalwart Construction started by erecting the main ridge beam across the new workshop/office/garage addition.  The beam, a Louisiana Pacific LVL (laminated veneer lumber) was a double, 16” affair to which LP SolidStart I-joists would be attached as rafters, giving us a vaulted ceiling in the office.

Above: The LP LVL ridge beam is hoisted into position . . .

Below: Travis marks the ridge beam for rafter hangers . . .

Why a vaulted ceiling?  Since we weren’t adding a lot of square footage to our 1000 sq ft house (only a total of about 350 sq ft), we wanted enough room in the office area to put in a sleeping loft so that it might be useful as an extra bedroom as well.  We wanted the space to be multi-purpose, but also wanted to create a unique space.  The engineered lumber from LP made the tall walls and vaulted ceiling very straight compared with standard lumber.

Above: Patrick installs rafter hangers to accept the LP SolidStart I-joists . . .

Below: Rem cuts blocking for the rafter ends . . .

The Stalwart crew worked hard to pull things together, since we were starting to experience frequent rain delays on the job.  What should have been a quick frame-out of the addition was dragged out by these unexpected delays.

Will installs the exterior curtain-wall studs on the exterior of the north side of the house . . .

My work on the rounded dormers on the front of the house continued, readying them for the roof install once the addition was framed and sheathed.  I worked underneath the big blue tarps, only loosening them a bit so that I could sneak up underneath.  The weather was too “iffy” to do more.  On the north side of the house, where the addition was being built, Will started the exterior retrofit on the main house.  While I had originally wanted to do all of the exterior retrofit myself, I’d been called out of town on a shoot, and had to ask Stalwart to step up to the plate.  Will added the first of the 2x3 exterior curtain-wall studs to the old wood siding, prepping the area for me to come in with the spray-foam.

Above: Will works on the north side retrofit . . .

Below: An LP LSL (laminated strand lumber) stud is measured for the addition walls . . .

With the front rafters in place, the crew quickly framed in the rest of the walls with the LP SolidStart LSL studs.  We were finally getting a look at what we had only seen on paper.  We began to imagine using the space, even though we knew that the interior work was still months away.  All of that, we had decided, would be done on our own so that we could apply our “creative-frugal-unique” technique to every detail to make it a one-of-a-kind space.

Above: The walls go up in the addition . . .

Below: A photo taken from "inside" the new addition . . .

That weekend gave me a chance to apply the first of the FoamItGreen spray-foam insulation to the exterior walls.  As I worked, I could see the foam expanding into every nook and cranny, filling cracks and gaps I could see as well as many that I couldn’t see.  This is a key component in our Deep Energy Retrofit project – using the FoamItGreen spray-foam insulation meant that we would be bringing our building envelope up to very high standards.  Our house would become nearly as tight as a brand new home, thanks in part to the expanding spray-foam insulation layer we were adding to the entire exterior of the house.

Above: The north wall retrofit in progress . . .

Below: I apply the FoamItGreen spray-foam insulation to the curtain wall cavities . . .

And what’s next on the agenda?  Sherri and I were praying daily that we’d be spared any really bad weather and that the roof work could begin.  My original plan had been to get the house “dried in” by the end of two months.  If the weather cooperated, we might make it, but October in southeastern Ohio is notoriously difficult to predict.

Come back soon for more of the Wilson family’s Deep Energy Retrofit.  Watch as we bring our 70 year-old home up to date in both energy-efficiency and curb-appeal!