Nothing like a good foundation

(Jeremy) A busy week indeed. The foundation was excavated, footings and drain lines were installed and Superior Walls delivered and installed the precast foundation. All that was done Monday and Tuesday! From there we ran into a snag of needing a lot more fill to backfill around the foundation than originally estimated. Fortunately our new neighbor, Troy, was quick to point out a huge mound of fill he needed removed from his property and voila, problem solved (oh, and an additional $3500 for the excavator to supply the machinery and equipment). We're getting very familiar with change orders from the GC!

So on Wednesday he started breaking up the fill and bringing it to the site. We decided to have them install a layer of gravel inside the foundation over the dirt to prevent any capillary action into the 3" of rigid insulation above. The insulation was then installed over the entire area inside the foundation - two layers of 1.5" rigid foam insulation (EPS - Encapsulated Polystyrene), with the joints staggered for better thermal barrier. We also had them install an additional two inches of insulation against the inside of the foundation walls. This was in addition to the 1" of rigid insulation that was installed in the factory. So what are we doing with all this insulation inside our foundation? We're creating a huge heat sink under the house. This "earthbox" as we're referring to it, is 3' of sand directly under the slab. On Friday, they brought in the sand and put 18" of it into our foundation walls (on top of the insulation) and compacted it well. On Saturday, Karann and I spent a good part of the day laying down 1200 linear feet of radiant tubing (7/8" PEX). We read the installation manual from Radiant Floor Company and designed the three 400 foot loops the night before. We were surprised how easy it was (although hard on the backs and knees). Monday, our heating contractor will pressure test the system and on Tuesday the building inspector will inspect everything allowing the excavator to install and compact the remaining 18" of sand. The first major component of our home complete.

Our Excavator Rocks!

(Karann) We closed on our construction loan on Thursday. The loan closing actually pushed our schedule back because there were some legal issues with having the contractors working on site before we closed on the loan (even though we held title to the land). Whatever. The excavator mobilized quickly there after. First he managed to gingerly move our 40' cargo container out of the way and into a very tight spot among the trees (I still don't know how he did that!!). Then he cleared the small trees in the footprint of the building and was able to relocate some of them to another property (his, I think.) I'm glad some were able to be "recycled". He then laid down a very nice track pad of 5" to 6" rocks for the remainder of the driveway and scraped the topsoil off. On Monday, he will be ready to dig the hole and get it ready for the Superior Wall (precast foundation walls) that will be delivered and installed on Tuesday.

This weekend we will be going out to the building site with our compass and locating "true south" so the house can be oriented in the optimal position for passive and active solar. In CT, true south (not magnetic south) is facing approximately 14 degrees toward the east of magnetic south. So we will basically rotate the house to the east slightly to get the best sun.

Today, we received all our radiant flooring supplies from the Radiant Flooring Company in Vermont. We decided to go with their design for the solar-assist radiant space heating and domestic hot water system. Jeremy and I felt the most comfortable with their design and it utilizes evacuated tube solar collectors, which we really wanted to incorporate in our house. They are much more efficient, especially on cold or cloudy days, making them a good choice for Connecticut.

Next week should be fun and action packed. Stay tuned.

Let's Dig a Hole!

(Karann) We are very close to breaking ground.  We are a few days behind due to the schedules of our septic engineer and surveyor.  Tomorrow morning we are having a "kick-off" meeting at the site with our GC and all the subs.  Oh, and of course we'll be giving our check book some use giving deposits to the subs we've hired ourselves (plumbing and heating).  We decided that because the fine details of the heating and plumbing systems are still evolving, it would be better for us to retain control of those portions.  We also have spent quite a bit of time on the windows, so I wanted to stay in charge of the window order, in hopes of preventing errors.  Because the window rough openings are cut into the SIP panels at the factory, we had to make sure that the window order was set and that the SIP construction plans matched with the window specs.  Anderson windows have so many options available (probably close to 20 option categories) that it is easy to make mistakes on the order.

So, if all goes well tomorrow, and our surveyor gets out to the site and stakes everything, we may be able to see a hole dug by the end of the week.  

The Bank Appraisal is In

(Karann) After being on pins and needles for the last week, we finally got word from our bank, Northwest Community Bank, that our appraisal is complete and everything is good. We had heard from our bank representative, Monica, earlier last week that the appraiser was having a hard time valuating the house because it was so different from traditional construction and there were no "comps", or compariable properties for her to use for reference. We got very worried that the house and land wouldn't appraise out, especially due to the current real estate market. I think we were lucky with the appraiser, she seemed genuinely interested in the project and sought as much information from a variety of sources to help her with her valuation. So, we are one step closer.
The other news is that we have decided to enter the house in a design/build competition. See the title and link at the top right of this blog. The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and state utilities are sponsoring a competition (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) to find three houses that are as close to zero energy homes as possible. They are even awarding cash prizes!! The education opportunities are great as well. We think our house will be an excellent example of a zero energy home, so I've been putting together everything required for the application. The deadline is May 1, with finalists being announced by May 15th. The awards will not be anounced until after the houses are built, December, 2010.

A Sad Separation, but Moving Forward

(Karann) While on our Spring Break vacation in Florida, we did some serious soul searching and number crunching regarding how to proceed financially on our house.  Our bank was on-board with us, however they were quite nervous about us being our own GC (as were we).  When we received the initial proposal and bid from our chosen GC, David Jones, Jeremy decided we needed a second opinion-always a good decision when you are spending this kind of money.  When we returned from our vacation, we met with the 2nd GC (also Dave), and were surprised to get a much lower cost for the exact same proposal (we insisted it was an apples to apples comparison).  Dave (Nugent) was able to find a SIP provider that was much less expensive (by cutting out a middle man) and offered some other minor alternatives that saved money.  We thought long and hard, and decided to go with the cheaper guy.  It was a very sad separation from our first GC who has spent so much time on planning our project, educating us, and sharing green building experiences with us for the last 6 months.  I was especially sad.  Jeremy kept reminding me..."it's business, not personal".  

So we're moving forward.  Our building and zoning permits are ready to be picked up.  Those were surprisingly easy to get.  Our new GC, Dave, has been very good at getting everything we needed for our bank quickly and correctly.  And we should be set to close on our construction loan as soon as the appraisal and title search is complete.  We have a "break ground" date of May 4.  Wow, we have an actual date.  Hopefully, we can start on schedule.

Just Like Us

(Karann) I finally found some people just like us.  The Porter Family.  We too believe that building green does not mean building a house that costs $2oo - $300 per square foot.  Our philosophy is the same and we are also trying to use as much salvaged materials as possible (verses new "green materials").  

We purchased salvaged cabinetry and granite counters for our laundry room.  We found most of the interior doors that we need at a non-profit organization that accepts donations of salvaged and left-over building materials.  We also acquired some old cedar barn siding and salvaged red oak flooring that we are going to use as wainscoting in several rooms.  We found a black marble bathroom vanity counter with attached, undermount double sinks that was a reject from a high end home in Avon, CT.  We're constantly scouring websites and the newspaper for opportunities to find interesting materials that we can recycle.  A little creativity goes a long way.  And to us, hunting for the stuff is way more fun than buying something new...imagining how and where you can use something...the feeling you get when you get a great deal while recycling something that would otherwise end up in the dump.

Like the Porters, we're also using SIPs for the shell, however, our heating system is very different (and less expensive).  We're relying on solar generated hot water to supply heat through radiant tubing.  We're also fortunate to live in a state that has great rebates and a leasing program for photovoltaic installation so we can start producing our own energy right away without spending $40,000 for the system.

Finding a way

(Jeremy) We were pretty taken aback by the realization that we simply couldn't afford this house. While our entries into this blog have been few, our efforts for the past several months have been many. From concept, to design after redesign, not to mention the untold hours of research and discussions, this house has been the focus of an immense amount of time. And emotion. To be at an impasse like this was an immediate kick to the balls. 

Not to say I wasn't expecting it, but it still steals your breath for a moment upon impact. And what do you do then? I'll tell you what, you catch your breath and you go kick the person's ass who was the culprit. Well, that's what you should do. I, myself, began to entertain the idea of cargo container/prefab home dwellings or selling the land and moving to Costa Rica or possibly roaming the land for adventures in our VW Camper. Think of it as a "Swiss Family Robinson" meets "Kung Fu".  It took Karann a few days to talk me down but together we started to come up with "realistic" solutions and I think we are well on our way to figuring this whole thing out. For the record though, I still like the "Cargotecture" option. 

Cost Rica sounds good too. 

I really don't think the VW/Kung Fu option would work out.

(Karann)  I actually liked the cargotecture house link above.  Nice concept, good recycling idea, and pretty cheap.  I just didn't like the idea of starting over on an idea, especially when Spring is on the way and the snow is melting.  Besides, we both really love our house design.  

So the plan we're working toward now is to have a GC working on the project up to completion of the shell (excavation, septic, trenching, foundation, all radiant and plumbing in the slab, slab poured, SIP package built, and windows installed).  At that point we would take over the contracting.  We really believe it will save us a considerable amount of money and allow us to do some items ourselves at a slower pace at that point.  Jeremy thinks he knows enough contractors that are also clients that we can use.  

So with our plan in hand, we went to our bank, not really sure if they would let us be our own GC for the last half of the project.   They surprised us by being very excited (about the house) and were willing to let us be an owner/builder.  Wow.  Some good news finally.  Things are looking up for right now.

Since we already had quotes and a detailed estimate for the finish work in the house (floors, cabinetry, fixtures, etc,) we just have to fine-tune our quotes for some of the bigger items like roofing, siding, plumbing, etc.    Then the bank can order the appraisal and we can hope that our land hasn't lost too much value in this dismal housing market.