Haven't posted since August and the only excuse is that "I'm always working on the house" or picking vegetable from the garden.We've decide to back off on the aggressive October 31st completion and now committed to a December completion. Due to the fact we have limited resources to hire professional and limited friends, we have chosen to take our time and do a good job and not hurry through the experience.
The exterior of the house is near 100% complete. In the next few weeks painting will be completed and a driveway will be installed. We are pricing both asphalt and concrete for the new drive coming into the side load garage.
Foreman Cherie Dudek (my wife), helped me do a complete tear-off and re-roof of the garage roof (see photos). The sheathing at the perimeter was an added bonus to deal with a raccoon presents in the attic. Although we new Raccoons had gotten into the Garage ceiling, we didn't realize the extent until the hot August summer, when you could smell it. We realize that dropping we
left in the ceiling studs near the eaves and the only way to get them out is to temporarily remove the sheathing and clean/ sanitize the area. Cherie freaked out on day during the whole ordeal and demanded I hire someone for $1,000 to clean the mess up. I obviously refused and darted over to the house after work and while Cherie read me all the HEPA mask criteria, I had most of the droppings cleaned up on 20 minutes (as the sun was setting). I was not willing to pay anyone $1,000 for work I could do myself (with taking the right precautions with mask and gloves). That was the cost of our refrigerator ! By the next day Cherie had calmed down and bought a new HEPA vacuum and finished the minor debris and then scrubbed the area down with bleach. Carpenters asked where they could find a wife like mine.
Progress made since the last post is the installation of all the fiber cement Hardiplank 
siding and Miritec fiber cement trim. Also at the beginning of October, the 2" closed cell spray foam had been installed on all areas as part of the "Flash and Batt." building insulation. The R-value of 1" of foam is 6.7 and 2" is 13.4". We plan to install 2" furring to create and internal 6" stud scenario. Total wall insulation will amount to R-26 walls and R-49 ceiling when finished. All the crawl space and floor sill plates were foamed just in time for cooler weather (and to prohibit outdoor critter from taking residence for the fall and winter). Metro Insulation was the contractor hired from Rockford to do the work. prior to the insualtion work, Cherie and friend Linda took on the job of removing all the old sill plate insulation and cleaning up and debris in the crawl space. This included 1,000 recent acorns stored by a squirrel (that has now been evicted by foam).
I have to drop a special note on our great carpenters of Steve Hopp, Greg and Corey. Besides someone dropping a rag down the toilet (and putting it out of commission for 2 weeks and making the ladies suffer), they have done a great job in craftsmanship. I'd recommend these guys to anyone. They hustle and work hard. You could not ask for more.
Falls coming and leaves are accumulating, so the next post will be soon and highlight the fall preparation, interior permits and creative design elements related to our LEED Certified Home.
Falls coming and leaves are accumulating, so the next post will be soon and highlight the fall preparation, interior permits and creative design elements related to our LEED Certified Home.
