Data Logger Recording Temperatures, Humidities, Dewpoints

We set up data loggers to record temperature, humidity and dewpoint at three locations:  In the West Annex to record stats in an environment influenced by earth tubes, outside in the segmented wall to record outside stats (no direct sun), and in a conduit in the soil on the East side of the house for stats measuring the changes in soil temperature.  At this time, we do not have the insulating umbrella on our structure.  I am recording every hour for 12,000 hours.  So, I can safely retrieve the loggers in early 2016 and have line graphs of each location.
We continue with the drywall and insulation.
We have a window problem which we are addressing through our distributor and manufacturer for a resolution.  Five of the six 8 ft windows on the North side leak when it rains.  More so when there is a Nor'easter (which isn't often).
 

Drywall and Insulation

We are concentrating on drywall (and insulation) as that is the main thing holding up other progress.  And it is cold outside so indoor work is the priority of the winter.

A lot of the interior wall areas have been glued and screwed.  And we are working on the ceiling of the first floor. We need to make progress with pocket doors, which includes getting a hammer drill and tapcon fasteners AND the 36" doors, at least 4 of the 5 doors, and then we can continue the drywall over those areas.  And Sunday, we will be fishing some more wires, and perhaps, if it is warm enough, caulking around windows, doors and electrical boxes/wires in the exterior walls.

It was 55 degrees in the house when I went out there (around 9 am) - 18 degrees was about the low outside this morning.  The exterior walls are not insulated yet.  We are working on the South wall insulation.

We are enjoying the process.  And still married - happily.  At this point, we know Christmas 2014 is no longer realistic as a possibility of moving in. So we are hoping for the spring 2015.

Earth Tubes IN the Culvert Pipes and UNDER the Driveway

The Earth Tubes are now under our driveway.  There are two 'bundles' of air pipes, seven 6 inch PVC Schedule 40 pipes in each bundle.  Each bundle goes thru our 'heat exchanger' culvert pipe which is 40 ft long, to scavenge heat from each other and to be extra-protected from vehicular traffic above. These air pipes include kitchen and bathroom vents and the dryer vent as well as earth tubes.

West 7 pipes w clean out for dryer vent pipe

 Unfortunately, the plumbers covered the pipes as they were working so we don't have a picture of all of the pipes on the West side.  One of those pipes (west-most) was very deep so it was better to fill the ditch before working on the pipe above it. They are the earth tubes from the West Annex.

East 7 pipes

In this picture of the East air pipes, you can easily see all 7 pipes. You can also see four of the five 12 inch 'pillars'  that will support the grade beam that will be under the sidewalk and posts for the balcony/deck. The air pipes were relatively at the same depth under the house slab.  The  East culvert is about 14 feet from the house.  The West culvert is about 18 feet from the house.

Working inside the house while this was going on was detrimental to one's health because of the glue fumes.  We opened the doors to the South and North promoting air flow and helping the air quality without losing too much heat.  Once they finish the pipes, extending them another 30 feet into the woods, we should have good air flow without opening windows or doors. And the air pipes being under the dirt will exchange heat with the soil. We expect this to keep the house temperature relatively constant. 

Looking into the ends of the culvert pipes, they are packed with pipes and insulation.  And there is 2 inch blueboard insulation over the pipes as they go into and come out of the culvert pipes.

East end of culvert pipe close to house

End of West culvert pipe far from house

 At this point, each pipe has a wire in it which will be replace with parachute cord.  This cord will be used to enable cleaning the pipes as needed, if needed.

Earth Tubes, Insulation, AND Grass on the South Slope

Last week, Danny dug a ditch along the North side of the house.  This was to help us locate the earth tubes that exit from under the house.  We did locate enough of them to start work on extending them out into the woods - underground. Monday, Brad, Chris and Danny started digging, and running pipe to our heat-exchanger.  Unfortunately, we got 22 degree fittings and they want 45 degree fittings, so we have to work around that availability problem. Today Deondre has arrived and is helping Bill put in underground support structure for the posts that will support our deck/balcony.  So here are some pictures of that progress.

The earth tube from the West Annex on the right, from the living room on the left

Chris gluing pipes at heat exchanger entrance

 The inside work - insulation and drywall - is of less priority than the earth tubes at this time, but it has progressed since my last update.  We are working on the first floor walls. We have placed the drywall on the walls in the kitchen and on the walls in one of the bedrooms and some other areas, such as those that have curvature.  The second floor library walls have drywall and some of the bedrooms' walls also.  We are saving the spackling compound and sanding for another day(s). 

Blocking in place in kitchen wall

Insulation in place in main kitchen wall

Drywall in place on kitchen wall

 

The other kitchen wall

And we have grass growing on the South Slope.

South Side of the House is at Finish Grade

Since this picture was taken, the area has been seeded and a straw blanket  put in place to help the seed stay there.  And now it is lightly raining.  Timing is everything.

We continue to insulate and drywall the interior.  And we hope to start work on the North side after the rains..... 

Septic Connected!

The plumbers came yesterday afternoon and finished up this morning.  We now have the septic system connected to the waste drains with a cleanout at the patio and one near the septic tank.

 We continue to make progress on the drywall.  A track on Danny's skidsteer needs replacing.

Excavation, Insulation, Drywall, Travel...

Danny has started moving some more earth.  We had a big hill of dirt on the West side of the house which has now disappeared.  But it is establishing itself as part of our South Side embankment. These pictures are taken from a point just behind the garage. 

Looking Westward

Looking WestSouthwest

We have a green garage again for the winter as it is at final grade, and has perhaps temporary or semi-permanent grass cover.

Looking SouthSoutheast

Looking South

Looking South

In moving the dirt from West to South, Danny has unearthed some interesting objects from days gone by. 

And Bill, Kim and Keith have started on insulation and drywall on the second floor.  Kim and Bill also worked on the wiring for internet/communications.

West side of 2nd floor 'library'

East side of 2nd floor 'library'

We had some hurried travel in trips to destinations North, South, and East.  I guess West will be next.
We found and brought home a nice 'puzzle' to fit in our West Annex and that will be a nice project for after we move in.

PASSED INSPECTIONS

Thursday, yesterday, the building inspector came and checked out the electrical, plumbing, framing and mechanical construction thus far.  We are happy to have finally accomplished this milestone.

We are currently working on outside work:  putting topsoil on and around the garage, and seeding it, getting final grade on the South side of the house, and digging up and parging and waterproofing the West Annex West end wall, where we have a leak into the house. This leak apparently has always been there, into the pit area.

Inside, we have communication/internet to wire and insulate and drywall which will probably begin next week, so we are cleaning up for the new mess - uh, work!

EIFS Status

Pictures of the EIFS that is finished except for checking the caulk and some painting.

 

HVAC and Brickwork and Status of Electric and Plumbing

The Plumbing has very little left to do before the rough-in inspection.  The Electric is in the same state.  And, we decided on a ductless heat pump system and the installation of that system is starting today.  It should take 3 days to do the rough-in.  Then, we should be ready for all of the inspections... by next week.
  















We decided to  use our antique tub in the new house.  Bill had to move a 'shower wall' an inch or two.  Also, in our standard bathroom, we had to chisel out a bit as the walls did not accommodate the standard tub, by about an inch.


 





 
 Meanwhile, Bill has started work, and progressed rather well, on the brick half wall between the living room and the kitchen.  He is using used brick that was here, some of which came from the old farmhouse that stood within 20 feet of where we are building.

 Exterior work is at a standstill.  Excavation is needed, and weather is wet. We need to caulk or at least look at the caulking that has been done.  And the garage needs caulk and paint and the trim around the garage door installed.

EIFS and Garage Umbrella

A crew of two, one from Honduras, one from Guatemala, have descended upon us and are here for the duration until our exterior walls are finished.  (Perhaps a Godsend!) They have finished the South and West.  On to the North!

 Last weekend, Danny and Sterling were here to excavate and shovel and rake the shape for the umbrella over the garage.  This weekend, they were joined by Jesus, and the umbrella was put in place.  And Carol, Kim, Eddy and Evito were other essential crew members. The umbrella is composed of 3 layers of plastic sheathing, and 2 of blueboard insulation, (think a triple decker sandwich) and we topped that with curlex to keep it in place until covered with dirt.  After all that work, we didn't want it blowing away.  Sunday, the subsoil was added.   I think Danny may be adding the topsoil now.  Only one casualty in the endeavor.  The skidsteer caught the buried phone cable as he took the dirt down further than it previously was to scoop it on top of the garage - saved him going around to the west of the house and getting more dirt.  Glad he missed the power line!  Bill has the camera right now with Sunday pictures in it or I would gladly show them.  And then you would think nothing had happened except for some reason, we took all the grass away.

Electrician and Plumber

On Tuesday, the electrician finished up "all he could do" before the plumber does things.  On Wednesday, the plumber came, with the electrician as his helper. They started roughing in the vent pipes and drain pipes.

The second floor water wall

Some of the plumbing on the first floor

 Lots more to do!
We had expectations of our EIFS (modern stucco) being done.  It has not happened as yet.  We are still hopeful. And no progress with excavation as yet.
We are building this house because what we are living needs substantial help.  The roof over the great room has shown us a major leak over last week's rains.  It is getting repaired before the next rain.

We are INTO Foam Here

Our last blog update showed the West Annex covered with EPS Foam (Expanded Polystyrene).  We now have the Southwall covered in EPS Foam.  

Besides foam on the outside, some interior work is still getting done.  The electrician showed up for one day this week and installed fans.  We are starting on the archways that will be at each end of the hall. And the only remaining wall (that needs completion) of the tunnel is also covered in foam.

Finish Coat on South Parapet and Retaining Walls and West Retaining Walls

Another group of workers experienced in EIFS came and this is what the house now looks like.

 As you can see, it is a work in progress.

Garage Senergy Final Coat and Interior (House) Wall Framing by Bill

We are very happy that the garage has the final outside finish applied.  We still need to paint trim and use sealant and put the insulating gasket around the garage door.

Bill did some framing of interior walls in the house so that the electricians and plumbers can use the space in those walls: for a light in the closet and switch to turn it on, and for incoming water and outlets for the washer and dryer.  The closet wall may look like it is wrong because it isn't attached to anything at one end.  However, there will be a wall there - that is where a pocket door will be.

 

 

Electricians and Concrete Finishers

Progress continues.  During the week, we prepare for the weekend crew and/or at least think about the problems and possible solutions to the situations we are in and make sure we have resources for the weekend.  Saturdays, we have our concrete finishers come and make lots of progress.  They have 'cosmetically' fixed our arch on the South wall so that it is ready for or close to ready for the finish coat.  The South wall still needs a thin base coat before the finish coat.  And we have found that we can cap the parapets with EIFS rather than a metal cap.  So today, they are parging the back of the three parapets of the house to make them smooth, and have started constructing the garage cap with the Expanded Polystyrene to form the cap.  Once the cap is coated with base coat, which will probably be next weekend, we will be able to apply the finish coat.

Locust tree shooting up shows that time passes....

Miguel II and Fidel holding proposed 'cap EPS'

Electricians have been out during the week intermittently and accomplished some work.  We always wish it went faster, but it is progressing. And we are discussing interior paint or wall coatings.  And how and when to do the epoxy floors.

Lights on the West wall

Lights on the East wall

The excavator has not been here.  The weather has not been in our favor, with afternoon showers/thunderstorms expected most days.  We are starting to shovel by hand on the garage roof to get an idea of the slope the umbrella will take.  Hopefully soon, we will have good enough weather for a couple of days to complete the garage umbrella. We are also wanting the ends of the earth tubes to be dug up and extended.  This is a big job as they currently end at the North end of the house and need to go to the driveway, thru the heat exchanger under the driveway, and then some into the woods, a total of between 50 and 100 feet.