Dried In!

Things have been happening so quickly, we haven't had time to post anything. The frame is dried in now, with tarpaper on the roof and Hardiboard siding around the side and back:

The Hardiboard will be painted later on. This shot shows the south side:

On the upper deck, the plans had stairs from the top deck to the bottom. When I noticed how close the ground was to the top deck, I asked Don about having a ramp to that upper level near the garage instead of stairs. He not only delivered the ramp, but a nice roof over it. We expect to be using it when we let Kuma out.

This shot shows the front wall of the living room:

 

The fireplace will be in the middle and the TV will be under the right set of windows. The video didn't come out the best, but it scans from this front wall to the kitchen.

Advanced Framing Techniques

Don, our builder, had done his research and proposed using the National Association of Home Builder's 7 green framing principles. Unfortunately, the building inspector required an engineering letter to verify the feasibility of these principles in our case. Such a letter would have cost more than the what we would have saved.

The inspector was willing to accept the 2 stud corner, which allows better insulation and saves lumber, and 24" spacing for studs on the top non-load bearing walls. So, we were able to use just 2 of the 7 principles.

I appreciate that inspectors and building codes provide a safety net to ensure the quality of our home. But, it is disconcerting that it takes years for the industry to accept practices that are safe, better for the comfort of the home, less expensive, and last but not least--better for the environment. I was curious as to how long these practices had been available, and I found this document, with a publication from October 2000. Then, this page on the Austin Green Building website states optimum value engineering principles have been available for 20 years. 

The green building website states:
"A study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders Research Center (NAHBRC) found that OVE methods saved $0.24 to $1.20 per square foot in framing wood compared with conventionally built houses (NRDC, "Efficient Wood Use in Residential Construction," 1998)".

Sigh.

Framing and Sheathing

Last week was cold and rainy. We stopped by the house Saturday at about 5, and the crew was still working.



Here is a still shot of the front:

This is the north side of the house. It will have a few windows for natural light (they look like doors at this point, but there is only one door on the lower level).

This is the south side of the house, which will have most of the windows.

And finally, the west side.

The windows should arrive next week.

Garage and Lower Floor Framed

Monday it rained, but Don told us that Jose, the framing contractor covered the lumber. Thanks Jose! Today is Wednesday and we got our first chance to check on progress. The garage was framed!

And, so was the lower floor. The open area is for the stairway.

And, here is a video 180.

Sidewalk

This video shows the sidewalk and approach to the front porch:


While we were checking out the property, Don stopped by. He said that the framing lumber will be delivered tomorrow.

Slabs Finished!

In spite of rainy weather, the top slab got poured Monday:

And the top of the driveway too!

Green Ratings

Several organizations provide third-party inspections and verification of a home's energy efficiency and green features. LEED certification is the comprehensive in scope, but is quite costly. For our home, it would have probably been over $3,000. We just couldn't justify the cost.

Don, our builder, commissioned an Energy Star verification. Based on the plans and specifications, the inspector rated our home at 60. It requires a maximum “HERS” of 85 or less to qualify a home under EPA-Energy Star. The lower the number, the better. Don asked the inspector to compare our home to the last 200 energy star homes he has rated. He stated that we belong in the top 5 out of 200 other homes that he has rated at this level. Energy Star does not account for use of gray water or rain water collection.

Austin Energy also rates homes from one to five stars, but the home has to be within Austin Energy service area. The inspector entered our data in the Austin Energy rating calculator and told Don that we would have a five star home if we were building in Austin.

We are thrilled with this information and can't wait to see how it translates to our utility bills!

360 View

Last Sunday, we got a chance to walk out on the lower slab.


During the week, we had several days of rain. But, they managed to put a French drain in on the outside of the slab wall drop, filled it in, and got the forms ready for the short slab that will be on the upper level.