This website is acting as a repository of information relating to our home construction project. Mainly, this will be a place to post pictures as the construction project evolve. I will try to post a short description of each significant phase of the project accompanied by some pictures if available. If you are interested in keeping up on a more day-to-day basis, I am keeping a blog of this project at http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com. If interested, you can sign up for email alerts when the blog has been updated. Cheers, David and Virginia The Stakeout - On Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, we staked out the location of the house on the lot. This was a lot of fun because it was the first "real" thing that was done on the lot. After years of planning, it felt like the project was finally beginning. Digging Test Holes - On Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, we dug some test holes on the lot to test the rock situation. In Carlisle, there can be significant limestone deposits that make digging a foundation difficult and costly. Our neighbors had to do some blasting when digging their foundation. Thankfully, we ran into no rock whatsoever. Of course, the real test will be when we actually dig the foundation. Prepping the Lot - On Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 22-23, 2009, we officially broke ground! Basically, the lot was prepped for construction. They needed to put in a makeshift driveway for the construction vehicles and strip the top soil off the building area. Of course, we got about eight inches of snow two days before this took place so it was a bit sloppy. House Plans - Here are a few pictures of the house plans. The architect asked us not to post high resolution images publicly so it is not easy to see a lot of detail here. Hopefully, it should at least give a sense of what the house will be like. Excavation - The excavation process took longer than anticipated. The weather was cold but not particularly terrible. The real problem was running into rock. We were hoping to be spared any rock, but it was not to be. It took about two full days to chip through the rock, which resulted in postponing the delivery of the basement/foundation walls. In the end, the rock was not nearly the problem it could have been. Foundation - Putting in the foundation walls was was quite something to watch. A huge crane lifted pre-fabricated (insulated) concrete wall panels from the street to the site. Although it was cold, it was a beautiful sunny day. The entire foundation was put in place, bolted and sealed in about five hours. It was quite an operation. Post Foundation Work - After the foundation walls were in place, a concrete floor and first floor were installed. Some more drainage pipes and electrical conduit was also put in place before beginning to backfill completely. Unloading the SIPs - When the post-foundation work was done, it was time to put up the walls. We are using Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) for the walls, which are pre-fabricated panels fully insulated and cut to size and shape offsite. Unloading the panels was a much more delicate process than I would have guessed and it took the better part of an afternoon to get them unloaded. In the end, everything went as smoothly as we could have hoped. Installing the First Floor SIPs - Because the SIPs panels are pre-fabricated to the correct size and shape, the installation proceeds fairly quickly. It's almost like putting together a Lego house. The panels are glued "tongue-and-groove" style down to the foundation and glued and sealed to one another. As the walls were put in place, it actually started to look like a house. First Floor Framing - Once the first floor exterior walls were up, it was time to frame the interior walls. This gave us a chance to get a feel for the floor plan. Now it's starting to feel like a house. They also put on the second floor so we could go upstairs and walk around. Installing the Second Floor SIPs - As I was saying, because SIPs panels are pre-fabricated, the installation goes fairly quickly. That is, unless you happen to get three feet of snow. That's right, we got two feet of snow one day and then another foot or more just a few days later. That really slowed things down quite a bit. Here are some pictures of the second floor panels going into place. The House Gets a Roof - As of Friday, January 19, the house is officially "under roof." Progress was delayed multiple times due to the snow, but finally the house is closed up. It can snow all it wants now (well, perhaps it would be better to wait until the windows are in). Anyway, I was away at a conference when they started putting up the roof so I didn't get a full set of photos. Windows - The house finally gets some windows. Just a few pictures here. If you're interested in the details of what makes a good passive solar window, be sure to check out the blog (http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/). Roofing/Electrical - The roof finally got shingles put on so that it looks nice a "finished." Inside, a ton of wire has been run for outlets and lights. We've had our hands full trying to figure out where every light, switch, and electrical outlet should be, but it's been a lot of fun because we get to really imagine how the house is going to look. Plumbing/Heating - The pipes for plumbing and vents for heating/cooling have been installed throughout the house. Although not terribly exciting in terms of what it looks like, it's been fun to watch it all go in. There's quite a bit to it actually. Plus, they needed to put in the bathtub/shower units so it's kind of neat to see those installed in this otherwise bare house. Concrete/Foam Insulation - The concrete has been poured for the interior thermal mass and the garage (we embedded our signature for posterity). Spray-foam insulation was also completed everywhere there is not a pre-insulated SIP panel. This includes the second story roof and the ceiling above the den. DIY Staining and Wiring - Virginia and I took advantage of a slow period in the building process to do some work ourselves. Virginia went to work staining the windows in the house and I wired the house with speaker cable, co-ax cable, and cat5e cable. Trenching and Sliding Glass Doors - Terry digs trenches for electrical cables and the sliding glass doors are installed. Kyra had the day off school while the sliding doors were being installed and helped out. She had a great time helping out and when we left to go have lunch, she asked when we could go back to the new house. Exterior Doors and the Blower Door Test - Virginia stains the sliding glass doors and the last of the exterior doors are installed, including the front door! We also did a blower door test to get a read on how airtight the house is. As expected, the house is very tight. Masonry Heater Phase I - Because we love the ambiance and warmth provided by a crackling fire, we very much wanted a fireplace in our new house. Unfortunately, traditional fireplaces are terribly inefficient and release large amounts of particulate pollution. After a lot of research, we decided to go with a masonry heater, which is kind of like a fireplace/woodstove combination on steroids. Drywall, Water & Sewer, and Front Page News - Nothing changes a house like drywall. What a difference. Now you can really tell what the house is going to look like on the inside. We also got the water and sewer lines connected to the house, but with all the rock they had to dig through, it wasn't easy. We also go interviewed for the local newspapers and a television station. Painting, Lights, and Kitchen Cabinets - We are finally entering the finishing phase, to some degree. They are putting on all the light switches and outlets, painting, putting in kitchen cabinets, garage doors, and all kinds of things. The house is starting to look like a place we might be able to move into in the not-too-distant future. House Exterior - After a very long wait for materials, the house finally gets an exterior. We like the look of wood and stone, can you tell it's not real? We used fiber cement siding and a cast concrete cultured stone. It really looks like a house now! Drilling, Interior Doors, and Staining - They drilled three 150-foot holes for the geothermal system. While that was going on, interior doors were being installed and stained. We even put our good friends Kerry and Rachel to work! Masonry Heater Phase II - The masonry heater gets its stone facing. Taking a random set of stones, Brian has cut and chiseled them so they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. He's a real craftsman. The heater is almost complete and looks absolutely beautiful. More Finish Work - The wood ceiling and walls in the main living area are installed. Also, tile and vinyl flooring are complete, more lighting goes up, and the Drain Water Heat Recovery (DWHR) unit goes online. Floors, Counters, Cabinets - Bamboo flooring and carpet are installed, as are the kitchen countertops and the rest of the cabinets. What a change this makes. The house actually looks like it's finished...almost. The end is clearly in sight now! Above and Beyond - At this point, the house is very nearly complete. The interior is essentially finished and there is only a few things to take care of on the exterior. We are currently moving into the house and we thought it was an appropriate time to honor our builders Robin and Terry for a job well done. Unfortunately, I've been so focused on taking pictures of the house itself, I don't have nearly as many of Robin and Terry. Moving In - After a flurry of activity and a successful final inspection, we've been issued a Certificate of Occupancy and we moved in. We're still without a driveway and sidewalk and things are a mess, but at long last we're in! Driveway and Sidewalk - They put in the driveway and sidewalk about a week after moving in. Unfortunately, we have to wait at least 10 days before we can drive on it. This makes things like bringing in groceries a bit of a challenge. Oh well, at least the weather is nice. Getting Settled - It's been a few weeks since we moved in and things are beginning to feel like a home now. There's still plenty of things to do and I imagine that will be the case for the first year or so. But here are a few pictures of the house in its more "lived in" look. Solar Panels - Almost six months behind schedule and after a lot of frustration, the solar panels are finally installed. This essentially completes the house. Virginia's Birthday - Finally I found the time to organize the photos from Virginia's surprise party. This was the first event held in the new house and took place about two weeks before the house was ready. We owe a lot of thanks to Robin and Terry and Priscilla for cleaning up the place and getting it ready for the party. Take a look at Virginia's face in the photos. I'd have to say that she was quite surprised! The Masonry Heater Comes to Life - It is mid-winter in Carlisle, PA and the weather is definitely cold. After a week-long curing process and overcoming some difficulties with our wood supply, the masonry heater is now in daily use. It is really quite an amazing appliance. We light a fire at about 6:00 am every day and by 7:30 the fire is basically done. During the firing period, a lot of heat is produced and the heater feels like a wood stove. Once the fire is out, the firebox area slowly cools as the rest of the heater warms up. After about 6-8 hours, the entire heater is toasty and radiating warmth throughout the house. Meet TED - We installed a home electricity monitoring system called The Energy Detective, or TED for short. This system hooks into our electrical breaker box and monitors what we draw from the utility company and separately monitors when we generate from our solar panels. We get a real-time display of our energy usage (actual and net) 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This will make it a breeze to monitor our progress towards our goal of net zero energy. Speaking of which, we had our first net zero energy day on February 15, 2011! Open House - We held an open house on March 26 for potential clients to meet with Bridlewood Builders and see a house they built. The event was held from 1:00-5:00 and was very well attended. We estimated at least 50 people attended. Brian Klipfel from Fireworks Masonry and Stan Kuhn from Energy Auditors were also on hand to meet with people. It was a lot of fun. |