Monday, May 24, 2010

Follow-up on Locks

Virginia here.

I know you're all on the edge of your seats about the bedroom locks issue.  (Okay, I'll take Mildly Curious).  If you're just tuning in, a previous post polled readers about whether or not locks should be put on the kids' bedroom doors.  I thoroughly enjoyed everyone's input and stories.  Some left comments and some emailed me personally.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Masonry Heater - Part I

Ever since I started this blog, I've been excited about making this entry. Unless you're from a very cold climate (Russia, Finland, etc.), most people have never heard of a masonry heater. Indeed, I had never heard of a masonry heater until poking around on the web one day. It all started with our very strong desire to have a fireplace in our new house.  The warmth and ambiance is something we just adore, and it tends to bring the entire family together in a non-electronic, peaceful setting.  Unfortunately, we knew that traditional fireplaces weren't terribly efficient ways of heating a home. In fact, they typically increase your heating load.  Plus, a little research shows that wood burning fires are notorious for emitting particulate pollution, which is terrible for the environment. Alas, in The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists, the authors strongly advocate against putting in a conventional fireplace in a new house.  Sadly, it appeared as though our dream of having a fireplace was toast.  Or was it?

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Trenching, Closing up, and a Blower Door Test

After Virginia's last blog entry, I realize just how technical this blog has been. For those of you that enjoyed Virginia's post (and based on all the comments and emails, there are a lot of you), I must warn you that this post returns us to some of the more technical aspects of the house. But what can I say, I actually find the technical stuff fascinating! Oh well, hopefully Virginia will chime in now and again to provide a broader perspective on this whole project. Anyway, there's a lot new to report and I digress...

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The State of the Marriage

Even though this blog has been by “David & Virginia”, it’s really been all David.  I (Virginia) thought I would jump in here, take us a step away from all the technical stuff, and warm up this blog with some stories about the effect of this process on our marriage!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

DIY - Wiring and Staining

As mentioned in my last post, things have slowed a bit on the construction front lately.  This gave Virginia and me an opportunity to work on some do-it-yourself house projects. To try to save some money, one of the jobs we decided we could handle without too much difficulty was to stain the wood trim and beams in the house. We know this is going to be a big job and as we got started--well, as Virginia got started really--we began to see what a big job it really is. The other thing we decided to do ourselves is to add extra wire to the house while the walls were easily accessible. The driving force here was that it would never be so easy to run wires through the walls as now, before the walls are covered with drywall.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Concrete Slab and Spray-Foam Insulation

For the past few weeks, a lot of little things have been going on that aren't worth blogging about.  This includes more electrical work, installation of fans, and some additional ducting.  Even though a lot of necessary things are happening, it seems like things have slowed down quite a bit.  Fortunately, a few major events have taken place as well.   One is that the concrete slab was poured for the thermal mass in the house (and also in the garage).  Another is the addition of spray-foam insulation wherever there are no pre-insulated SIPs walls or ceiling.

Concrete Slab (Click image for more photos.)