The competition has been in full swing for several days now and things are going great. We're having a great time interacting with people during touring and can't thank everyone enough for coming out to see the house. What a great experience. Things have settled down a bit and we've been able to take some photos of the interior of the house. Enjoy!
The main space looking east
Looking west at the kitchen and entertainment area
The office
The bed displayed in the down position
The kitchen
The bathroom
Looking southeast past the bed towards the closet and office
We've been working about 16 hours per day since October 1st to get the house finished for touring. Last night we received our final sign-offs from all of the various Solar Decathlon code officials and today we spent the morning cleaning the house, picking up the site, and touching up the finishes. After the opening ceremony (where our own Lucas Dixon did a fantastic job with his speech, by the way) the house opened for VIP touring. This afternoon, 998 people toured the house and the team had a great time interacting with everyone. After all of our hard work, it was very satisfying to show the house and we really appreciate all of the positive comments. Here are a few pictures from today.
Team members preparing for the tour
A vie from the southwest at dusk
The west deck
Probably the coolest site we'll ever have the honor of working on...
As this post is being typed, the house is taking shape on the mall. Steve and Deanna were on site early this morning to set up the transit level to locate the first piece. The crew from Greenlawn dropped off the first module and it is leveled and in place. Dave is riding with the second module and it will be on site shortly. If all goes well, all three modules will be in place within the next few hours ready to seal back up in to a single house. After all of our work to get here, today is a satisfying payoff. There is certainly a lot left to do, but this moment feels pretty good. Pictures will be posted once we are able to download some from our cameras. Check back!
I'm not joking...the house is really gone. But it wasn't stolen. The house was moved yesterday afternoon from our build site to a parking lot on west campus for staging. Barring excessive winds or rain, it will be wrapped in plastic today in preparation for the trip to Washington D.C. Designing the house with the ability to split in to modules for transport took a fair bit of effort throughout this process, but in the end all of our careful attention to the details paid off because things went exactly according to plan. Ceiling panels, wall panels, and strips of the floor were removed to reveal the joints between the modules. The plumbing and electrical were pulled apart at each joint and tucked away for reconnection on the mall. The roof membrane was cut along the parapet and we'll heat weld a patch once the modules are lined up again at the competition. The only piece we forgot was a small piece of housewrap which was easily cut free with a utility knife. We secured all of the lovers and interior moving pieces to make sure they don't go anywhere in transit and build temporary side walls to enclose the space and prevent any racking that might occur. A little plywood over the windows and polycarbonate and we're ready to hit the road.
The first of many thank you's goes out to the people at Greenlawn Homes, who have generously donated their services to help us move everything to WashingtonD.C. and get us set up. Many of us laid awake many nights worrying about the logistics of moving everything and having Greenlawn on board has totally alleviated our concerns. After what we saw yesterday we're confident that we're in good hands. It is immediately clear that these guys are true professionals who know what they're doing and we're very fortunate to have thier help.
I have to admit, it looks strange on the build site with no house. In a few days the trailer and fence will be gone and all that will remain after 10 months of hard work is the gravel we laid for our vehicles to drive on. While it is exciting to have our house on the road, I'm sure we'll look back in the not too distant future and miss the fun we had together at the build site. Thanks again to National Rent-a-Fence for supplying the construction fence and Roger Beck for loaning his solar-powered storage trailer. Both of you have been an integral part of our success and we really appreciate your help.
Installing the temporary walls for shipping
Looking through the joint
Steve securing the glass for transport
Lowering the west module on to the ground and hooking it up to the truck
For all you aspiring architects - this is a building section.
Why do I keep thinking of Gordon Matta-Clark?
"This is going way to smooth..."
Towing the architecture past the architecture school
All three modules safely delivered to our staging area. Thanks Greenlawn!
Wow...there's a lot left to do before we leave for WashingtonDC. A crew is working from 8:00 am to almost midnight each day in an effort to wrap up the final details. We've been so busy building that we've fallen behind a bit on our blogging. Below are several entries that will get everyone caught up to where we were as of 9/25/09. Thanks for your patience!
The last large piece of casework to finish is the entertainment area. Two slots have been installed to receive the two collapsable dining tables. The tall narrow panel to the right will incorporate a pull-out cabinet that will store the dining chairs and other various items. The large panel to the left will house all of the electronics for the house and will pull out of the wall to reveal additional storage behind. (We just need to cut the hole for the TV screen.) The lower cavity will serve as storage for the couch when it is not in use. This area will be completed over the weekend in time to ship the house to DC. We're down to the wire...wish us luck!
The kitchen is an exercise in coordination, sequencing, perseverance and swearing. When you're trying to make a space that is only 6'-8" long accommodate all of the items necessary to prepare a meal, space for installation gets a little tight. But this house is about efficiently using every bit of volume and trust me, we did. After fabricating the maple butcher block countertop and cutting the holes for the various appliances we took it to the site and set it in place. Fit like a glove. A couple of hours and we'd have everything installed, or so we thought...
First up was the drawer-style dishwasher. If the instructions tell you an appliance requires a rough opening that is 23-1/2" wide, and you build a cabinet 23-1/2" wide, you would expect it to fit right? Turns out the fit was a little tight, but with a little bit of gentle persuasion we got it in. Lesson learned: Give the rough opening an extra 1/8" and you won't be sorry.
The downdraft ventilation went in next and the main challenge here was routing the duct from the bottom of the blower box through the floor with only 6" of depth to make the turn. After hours of frustration for Neal and Deanna, SuperLucas stepped in and got the job done. Lesson learned: Delegate all ductwork tasks to Lucas immediately. There's no shame in deferring to the master.
The combination microwave/convection oven (aka micro-hood) beneath the cooktop went in without too much hassle, although we had to make a custom bracket to hold it up. Generally this appliance is installed above a stove and held up with two screws through the cabinet above. However, in this instance, the countertop was already in place because you can't install the downdraft ventilation without the counter. So we needed to lift up the counter to put the screws through the cabinet. But you can't install the micro-hood without first installing the downdraft ventilation behind it, which required the counter to remain in place. You see the problem. Lesson learned: Consider your sequencing when finalizing design or you'll have to fabricate a custom solution.
Finally, the Kohler sink and faucet went in and all items were installed. We only had to make a slight modification to the location of one of our holes, otherwise everything went smoothly. Lesson learned: Measure your sink flange to make sure you're not going to hit it when you drill your faucet holes.
We finished deep breaths and high fives all around. As my father always says, there's a bite to every project and it held true in the kitchen. We faced a little challenge with each step and everything took twice as long as we thought it would, but there wasn't anything we weren't able to overcome. All that is left to do is install the doors and drawer fronts and it will be ready to prepare a memorable meal in DC. We can't wait!
Installing the kitchen cabinets
Installing the micro-hood
All of the appliances installed
The kitchen with all of the doors and drawers installed...late in the day, of course.
The frosted glass bathroom doors have been installed along with the vanity, the sink, the lights and the toilet. Kohler has been kind enough to donate all of the fixtures and they installed with no problems. The highlight is the dual flush toilet, which will save thousands of gallons of water per year over a standard toilet. Not only that, but it looks great too! The last thing we need to put in is the faucet, which we'll do in the next few days before we head out for DC.
Coordination Tip: Be sure to measure the location of your shut-off valves before you build your vanity, otherwise one might fall right on the edge of the cabinet. (Note: This was not the plumber's fault...this one was on me.) Luckily, Deanna quickly figured out a way to install a false panel on the side to cover the mistake.
--Neal
The bathroom prior to installation of the glass
The bathroom with the floor grate and glass installed
The pull-out bed unit has been installed on its track and is operating smoothly. The bed rides on linear bearings recessed in the ceiling cavity and is supported by non-marring casters on the floor. In the stored position it aligns with the office/closet interface wall for a seamless transition. When bedtime rolls around, it is easily rolled out of the wall and flips down to reveal a queen size mattress. By combining standard Murphy Bed hardware in a custom case with an off-the-shelf set of linear bearings in the ceiling, the seemingly complex operation of moving a giant bed and storing it in a wall becomes deceptively simple.
The operable interface doors have been installed outside the office/closet area and near the kitchen. We had a minor ordering mix-up which we discovered the first time we tried to lift a door. We ordered hollow core, but they came solid. Initially this was a source of concern, but now that they are installed they have a really nice, solid feel because of the added weight. Thanks to Chris and Dwight for their assistance in getting these in place. You guys really helped us out in an situation where time was in short supply.
They're heavy!
Doors outside the office/closet in the closed position
The bathroom has received tile on the walls and floor and we're ready to install the interior polycarbonate and trim. The walls are a glossy 3x6 tile installed in a running bond pattern, and the floor is a 3x12 with a more matte finish. Next step is to install the fixtures. Stay tuned!
Completed floor tile with wall tile in progress.
The completed tile job/Dave and Steve installing the polycarbonate.
We'd like to thank Dave Hinkle, Deanna's father, for taking the time to pick up our sofa frame and the electronics for our entertainment center. We attempted to purchase the sofa frame locally but it was out of stock and wouldn't have been delivered in time to finish the house. Dave drove to Pittsburgh from his home in Youngstown to pick one up at another store prior to his visit to Columbus for the USC game. That equates to an extra 9-10 hours we were able to spend working on the house instead of driving. As time to finish runs short, these additional hours are significant. We should probably also thank Dave and his wife Debbie for doing such a great job raising Deanna and let them know how proud they should be of their daughter and her contributions to this project. But we won't do that because Deanna would blush and get all bashful, and we'd be accused of being sappy. So we'll stop at thanks for your help. We really appreciate it.
You couldn't throw this away if you tried. (No...really. We throw it all the time, and he always brings it back.) In the absence of a tennis ball or chew toy, a piece of 2x4 will do quite nicely.
We haven't posted any shots of the "completed" exterior yet, so here they are! We still need to finish fabricating and installing the horizontal louvers in front of the translucent panels on the south side and install the pop-off panel over the inverter closet, but for the most part we're finished with exterior work on the house. The decks and landscaping won't be installed until we get to the mall because we don't have the space on site, but consider that an invitation to come see us in Washington D.C. We hope to see you there!
In order to control solar access to the south side of the house, we're fabricating fixed horizontal louvers from marine grade plywood. The intent is to space them such that summer sun is blocked while winter sun is allowed to hit the polycarbonate which will in turn heat the water contained in a series of tubes between the layers of polycarbonate panels. It is basically a trombe wall that relies on the thermal storage capacity of water rather than a solid mass so that light is still permitted in the space.
And now for a Solar Decathlon fabrication discovery. What is the best surface for laminating layers of plywood? 10' sawhorses or course! These super-sized sawhorses were left over from finishing the ceiling panels where we used them as a large spraying/drying rack. Turns out they make a great surface for clamping long boards while keeping them straight. We plan to leave them on the large work porch outside the Knowlton Hall woodshop where we're pretty confident that architecture students will find countless other uses for them in the coming years.
The house is now entering the finishing stages and we're dedicating a significant portion of our time to building the interior casework in the Knowlton Hall woodshop, located just down the street from the site. We're done building the closet & office, the bedroom shelving & flip-down bed unit, the bathroom vanity, the kitchen pullout shelving, and the laundry unit. In the next week, we anticipate working on the entertainment center and the lower kitchen cabinets as we receive our furniture and appliances. More photos will follow as we install the pieces. Check back!
Steve drilling pivot holes in the bed assembly.
A casework shop drawing. (A little architecture humor for you.)
Similar to the interior ceiling, the exterior soffit is a series of 12" wide fibercement panels in order to maintain continuity between interior and exterior. As we wire the exterior lights, these panels are being installed and painted. Once we're done with the exterior, we'll move inside and continue in a similar manner. The interior ceiling has been fully insulated with Owens Corning batt insulation and has received 2x2 furring to accept the ceiling boards. We'll post progress pictures once we get started (hopefully next week).
The interior ceiling insulation and furring awaiting finished ceiling boards.
Dave and Steve working on an exterior soffit board.
We're rolling along with the rough-ins for each system. In fact, we're virtually done with rough plumbing with the exception of the tanks below the house. We're hard at work on final wiring, hooking up the inverters, and the home automation system. We also hope to wrap up the lights shortly so we can start installing the ceiling boards. We'll post an exhaustive entry on each system once we're done, but in the mean time we'd like to thank the guys from Muetzel plumbing and Michael from Watt-1. You all have really helped out a lot and we couldn't have gotten this far without your efforts. We can't say enough how much we appreciate everything you've done and how much we've enjoyed working with all of you.
Installing the supply piping at the trailer joints.
Installing supply piping in the mechanical closet.
Here are a few shots of the louver installation. One of the challenges related to building this house has been sourcing off-the-shelf hardware for the operable features of the house. The louver pivot hardware was no exception. Fortunately, the hardware we selected works flawlessly. After recessing a bracket in the floor & ceiling and a pivot on the top & bottom of the louver framework, the pivot is simply set in to the lower bracket and tilted in to place. While in the open position, a screw is turned in the upper bracket which extends the top pivot pin to engage the top of the louver. Once the hardware was in place, installing each lover took less than 2 minutes apiece. Each panel has a kick-stop so that it can fixed in any position. Now that the louvers are installed, we've adjusted them to block the evening sun and it has made our working environment much cooler. Isn't it great when a plan comes together?
After working on this project since December and receiving constant ridicule for my messy tool pouch, I finally decided to clean it out. Steve's argument is that it is hard to find anything when your pouch is a mish-mash of various fasteners. My argument is that I've always got what you need (as long as you only need a couple). I counted 17 different types of fasteners while organizing. Can you find them all?
The team has recently completed installation of the hardwood floor. The product is a 3" wide, random length tongue & groove board installed with a standard flooring stapler. There are two unique challenges to using a continuous hardwood floor in this house. First, the modules need to come apart and reassemble on the mall so nailing down all of the boards is not an option. To get around this issue, we created joint covers that are 4 boards wide glued together in to a solid unit. By ripping off the bottom grooves on the outermost edges we are able to set these boards in to place over the joints and create a virtually invisible joint line. By cutting 1/2" deep saw kerfs every 2" on the underside of the joint covers they become much more flexible. This will insure that the boards will lay flat and accommodate slight variations in alignment. A little carpet tape is all we should need to keep them in place. Second, the floor contains radiant tubes which would leak if they were punctured by fasteners. To solve this problem we selected a board width (3") which breaks down evenly within the spacing of the tubes (12"). By determining the maximum reach of the 2" flooring staples, we were able to start the boards in a position where they would not hit the tubes. We don't have any pictures of the completed installation because we had to cover the floor with paper and Masonite as we were working to prevent damage, but we'll be sure to put up photos of the finished interior when everything is complete.
Solar Decathlon Tip: If you're using a flooring stapler, make sure that the little screws that hold the protective rubber sole in place are fully tightened. If not, they will leave a large gash in the floor everywhere you drive a staple (very hard to see at daybreak when the sun isn't fully up) and you will have to remove several rows of boards. Ask us how we know...
While it isn't the most exciting thing in the world, the drywall is all done and the joint compound has been applied and sanded smooth. Next step - paint!
Applying paint and stain inside the house can be a time consuming and difficult process because there are always several people working on different parts of the house, kicking up dust, moving materials, etc. In order to alleviate this problem, we're trying to pre-finish as many elements off-site as possible. In the case of the ceiling boards, which consist of 1/2" plywood ripped to 12" wide, laying the boards flat on a set of sawhorses does the trick. The plywood is prefinished, so we only have to spray one side with a coat of primer and a couple coats of white latex paint. Some things, however, require building custom fixtures to make the process go faster. In the case of the slats for the louvers, we built a hanging rack so we could finish all sides of each slat at once. (And so we don't get hit with any safety violations, I should mention that right after this picture was taken we thought better of standing on a bucket and got a stepladder.)
Some things you just have to finish on site. We've been taking turns priming and painting late in the day after a bulk of the site activity has ended. While the house isn't large by today's suburban standards, there are still a lot of windows to cut around and a lot of nooks and crannies. Thanks to everyone who has helped out with this tedious but important effort.
Another piece of the exterior envelope has been installed. The translucent polycarbonate panels on the south side of the house are complete with the exception of the hopper window in the bathroom. Special thanks go out to APSCO for donating and fabricating the aluminum extrusions and trim pieces for these openings. It was a bit of a family affair, as Steve Winter's father worked for APSCO prior to his retirement, and his older brother Brad is a current employee. Brad made a special trip from the Cleveland area down to Columbus after work one night last week to help us set the PolyGal polycarbonate panels and make sure everything was sealed up just right. It was a bit of a late night, but we got it all done. Thanks Brad. You really came through for us.
And now for a side story just because I got a kick out of it when Steve told me. Brad and Steve's dad came to Columbus in June to visit for graduation, and the three of them went to the site that Saturday night just before dusk to take a look at the house. They got to talking about whether or not we had verified if the house would fit under bridges. A bit nervous at the prospect of a newsworthy disaster, Steve got out the tape measure. Steve's dad stood back, eyeballed the facade, and said, "Looks like about 13'-2"." Steve hooked the tape measure on to the parapet and dropped it to the ground. You guessed it....13'-2" right on the nose. Dad's still got it.
--Neal
Brad and Carmen in Cleveland after they fabricated the VistaWall frames for the team.
Pre-drilling the aluminum angle stops.
Brad caulking the frame...who knew cake decorating tools also work well on sealant?
Finishing up under the street lights.
A clear photo of the panels from the next morning.
Since the house is intended for a young couple, the east and west ends facades have operable louvers to insure that things don't get too hot inside (from unwanted solar heat gains, of course...) Oak strips have been sanded, stained and attached to white powder coated aluminum frames. Each end of the house has four units which pivot to allow a wide range of configurations based on the sun and/or the activities going on in the house. The east end is next - stay tuned!
Construction of the decks has started and we're really flying along. The sub-assemblies that will be ganged together to form the large outdoor living space are framed and we're getting them set up outside the house. These modules are constructed of standard 2x8 pressure treated lumber and will sit on double 2x12 framing. The pieces are small enough that they can be taken apart for transport and easily moved and re-assembled by a team of a few people without any heavy machinery. We don't have enough room on site to install the deck in its final configuration on the west end, but we plan to mock up the east end as a test. We're still sourcing finish decking and railings, but they should be finalized shortly.
We'd also like to express our gratitude to Jim Bieser at Contract Lumber for helping us out with the deck lumber order. We worked with Jim on the initial framing lumber order for the house, and we had such a great experience we gave him another call. Just like the first time, we got exactly what we needed and it arrived really fast. Thanks Jim!
A large portion of our seemingly enormous mechanical closet has now been filled in with the solar-thermal system. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Dave Hammontree and his team for their generous donation of materials and help installing everything. We have one rack of evacuated tubes mounted on the south side of the west module, and another rack mounted on the roof. These tubes cycle water through a loop in to the large tank in the mechanical closet, which in turn helps heat the water for our radiant floor system and domestic water. The bulk of the piping runs within the west module so we will only have a few connections to make under the house once we get to Washington DC. We can't wait to wrap up the final finishing touches, install the evacuated tubes and test it out!
The manifold mounted on the southwest module.
The mechanical closet with our new tank.
In this van came a crew with a plan. Thanks everyone!
The manifold on the roof, ready for tubes.
Dave (in navy blue) generously sharing his knowledge.
The rest of the siding is finished with the exception of small areas on the east and west ends we're waiting to install until we're done with the louvers. As expected, the east, west, and south sides took considerably less time because the pieces were much smaller and easier to work with. We're within a few weeks of completely wrapping up the exterior and moving to the interior full-time. We'll post photos of the finished product, so be sure to check back!
"Diligence is a good thing, but taking things easy is much more restful." --Mark Twain
After several long days of diligence, the north side of
the house is completely clad with salvaged barn siding. We can really
get a sense of the exterior of the house now and we couldn't be more
pleased with the way everything is looking. We'll begin the other
facades next week which, now that we've conquered the north side, will
seem tiny by comparison.
Other updates: Mechanical and electrical rough-in work
continues on the inside. We're placing the order for the deck framing
lumber and working on sourcing the finished decking. Our goal is to
begin constructing decks within the next couple of weeks. Team members
will be meeting with a metal fabricator this afternoon to discuss
operable parts for the rotating louver panels at the east and west
ends. The plywood order for the interior casework is being finalized,
with the idea that some team members will begin fabrication of the
interior elements while others work on the decks. The polycarbonate
panels for the south side have been ordered and will be here in a week
or so. We'll post more photos as we make more progress. Check back!
The parapets have been capped with sheet metal copings and we've started installing the salvaged barn siding on the north side of the house. While it has been exciting to see this part of the exterior take shape, we've realized that this is going to be a long, tedious process. As one might expect with salvaged material, it has a fair amount of variability in terms of thickness, warping, cupping, and bowing. We've developed a few jigs to help position the wood and locate the screw holes which has sped up the process some, but a fair amount of care is still required to make sure that each board ends up plumb and straight with an even gap along its length. All that said, we couldn't be more pleased with the final results thus far. All of the work that has gone in to preparing and installing the siding is really going to pay off in the end.
We've also made a great deal of progress lining the exterior mechanical cubbies and the east and west porch walls with Hardie Board panels. A stark contrast to the rough, weathered texture of the barn siding, the Hardi-Board is a crisp, white, smooth surface. Also in stark contrast to the barn siding, the Hardie Board installs quickly and easily with minimal fuss.
The major focus in the coming weeks will be finishing up the exterior cladding while work on the MEP rough-in continues inside. Check back for updates!
Steve fabricating the sheet metal for the parapet caps.
Driving screws to attach the siding: one of thousands.
Siding and Hardie Board progress on the north side.
We've started the electrical rough-in and things are really starting to take shape inside the house. The main breaker panel has been installed and wiring and boxes have been roughed in. Michael from Watt-1 has been leading the installation for the past several days and his expertise and efforts have been extremely valuable. Thanks Michael! We really appreciate everything you're doing.
Michael from Watt 1 working on the electrical system.
The barn siding was delivered Sunday night and the team has gotten to work sorting the wood, pulling nails, and ripping it in to straight, useable pieces. While this process is labor intensive, we're confident that the results will be worth it. The wood is a mixture of poplar and red oak from a barn in Chillicothe, Ohio. Special thanks go out to Jake Balzer Family with Balzer Farms for helping us with this effort. We really appreciate the quick turn around and delivery and we can't wait to show you the finished product.
The barn pre-demolition.
Delivery of the rough boards.
Steve and Jared ripping the siding to width (foreground), Gus sorting boards (background between Steve & Jared), and Scott pulling nails (background right).
With the exception of the area around the scuppers where we're still waiting on metal trim pieces, we've completed installing the rigid insulation and furring strips to receive the barn siding. The rigid insulation, generously donated by Owens Corning, will serve as an additional layer of protection against the elements and reduce the effects of thermal bridging through the studs. The furring will hold the barn siding away from the house in order to create an air space behind the wood. This principle is known as a rainscreen and it allows any water that gets behind the siding to drain out instead of becoming trapped. The air space allows the back side of the siding to dry out, reducing potential for rot.
A view of the northeast corner of the house with rigid insulation and furring installed.
After taking a break for a couple of weeks to concentrate on graduation, we returned to the site and found a new tenant. A momma bird and her two eggs occupied a nest in the rafters at the northeast corner of the house. After consulting with some friends in the vet school, we decided not to bother her, and in turn she didn't bother us. She watched us work for about three weeks until one day the eggs hatched revealing two tiny, fuzzy babies. As of today, both babies have left the nest and we can go ahead and close up this portion of the house.
Following the completion of exit reviews this week, we've started
installation of the windows and doors. Special thanks to Carol Meyer
at Gunton Corporation for all of her help selecting and coordinating
the Pella window order. She has been a true pleasure to work with and
we appreciate everything she has done to help us. We really can't say
enough good things about her.
The windows themselves are Pella
Designer Series triple glazed units with a low-e coating and argon
filling. We've already noticed that installing them on the west facade
has made the house significantly more comfortable to work in during the
afternoon hours.
The units arrived ganged together for ease of
installation. Installation of the units couldn't have gone much
easier. The instructions were really clear and the units themselves
are so well designed that it was a breeze. The west end (105" wide x 8'
tall, triple glazed...pretty heavy) went in first and the rest were a
snap once we got in a groove. The next step will be installing the
doors. Stay tuned!
Shimming the end of the east unit
Moving the west end in to position...somewhat heavy, but well worth it to avoid installing 6 individual units.
The west end from the interior at about 5:30 pm.
A view of the west end and north side from the exterior.
The team has been hard at work on the roof membrane over the last week and we're now officially watertight. Day 1 was cut short by rain but we got a solid start on the east module. Day 2 was filled with sunshine and we were able to install all of the remaining insulation and most of the membrane. All that was left for Day 3 was pitch pockets and final detailing and we were finished by mid-afternoon.
Special thanks go out to Todd and Elvis from Phinney Industrial for helping us out with this effort. They were with us every step of the way teaching us how to properly install every piece of the roof. Their guidance was crucial to getting everything done efficiently and done right. We learned a lot and we had a great time in the process. We'd also like to thank Mike DeCrane at Phinney Industrial for setting everything up. We couldn't have done it without all of your help.
-Neal
Day 1 - Gluing down the membrane on the east module.
Day 2 - Cutting the membrane to size.
Day 2 - The crew after a solid day of work (novices in gray hardhats, teachers in red...Todd on the left, Elvis on the right.)
Day 3 - The finished roof looking from northeast to southwest.
Saturday was a big day on campus with 95,000 plus fans across the street for the spring football scrimmage. Our task for the day was installing the housewrap (thank you again Owens Corning!) and taping all of the seams. It was a little breezy, but once we installed all of the button caps and taped all the seams, everything laid nice and flat. The entire house is now clad in pink and ready for furring, rigid insulation, and windows.
We'd like to take a moment to thank Owens Corning for all of their support so far. The rigid insulation and housewrap have been delivered and we've started the installation. We also really apprecaited the site visit from the Owens Corning team. We had a great time meeting everyone and their insight has been most valuable. As you can see in the picture, we're finished installing the standoffs for the solar panels on the roof and we've pre-cut all of the rigid insulation so we can lay it down quickly when the roof membrane gets here next week. We're looking forward to finishing the roof so we can start roughing in plumbing, electrical, and HVAC.
Rough framing of the house is nearly complete and should be finished during next week's spring break. The architecture team has placed the window order and is working on finalizing the details to dry in the house before the windows arrive. Some of the engineering systems will also be delivered soon as the engineering team has been working very hard to complete their designs.
Special thanks to our sponsor, Contract Lumber, from Pataskala, Ohio for helping the team with its lumber needs. Contract Lumber has been extremely supportive of the team and its efforts. The picture below was taken from the Solar Decathlon build site looking towards the Recreation and Physical Activities Center (RPAC).
We are building our house in three modules that will be transported separately to Washington, D.C. Therefore, each module was designed to be stucturally independent. The center module was started first and is nearly complete. After it is finished we will be able to construct the adjoining walls on the east and west modules and install the connection components that will help hold the house together.
We are installing composite roof joists to span the 22' 8" north/ south dimension of our house. The composite I sections, composed of 2 x 4 flanges and an OSB web, can span longer distances than solid sawn lumber and are more materially efficient. Also, the direct bearing of the joists on the wall studs alleviates the need for a double top plate. The use of composite I joists along with advanced framing techniques reduces the amount of wood required to frame a house.
The team recently raised the first wall on the Solar Decathlon House. The 2 x 6 wall section is on the north side of the house and will enclose part of the kitchen and entertainment areas. The section was built with advanced framing techniques using 2x6 studs placed on a 24" on center layout. Because the roof joists are designed to bear directly on the wall studs, the wall assembly requires no double top plate, reducing the amount of wood required. The 5 1/2" inch wall cavity can also accomodate more insulation than the 3 1/2" cavity of a conventional 2x4 stud wall, increasing R - values. Also, notice that openings are reduced on the north side as part of a passive strategy to save energy. The north side of a building gets less sun and is exposed to the most extreme winter winds, thus contributing to more heat loss. Therefore, reducing penetrations on the north facade can save on energy costs, especially in the winter.
Special thanks to Phil Arnold from the Knowlton School of Architecture (with camera) who is helping us document our build.
We had an unseasonably warm day to install the pex tubing for our radiant floor system. It was the only day in weeks that was above freezing so the tubing was quite easy to work with.
The pex will transfer hot water through the floor to heat our house. A radiant floor heating system has several advantages over a forced air system. It requires less energy to convey the heat and the thermal mass of the floor effectively stores and radiates it evenly throughout the entire house.
All hot water for the house will be pre-heated with an evacuated tube system located on the south facade. The glass evacuated tubes contain an element, sealed in a vacuum, that responds to the sun's energy and creates heat. This heat is then conveyed, via water or air, through a coil that transfers that heat to a hot water tank that separately supplies the radiant floor and domestic hot water. Pre-heating these water sources with the sun's energy requires the use of less electricity or natural gas.
We had a beautiful day on Saturday to install the radiant subfloor that was donated to us by Warmboard Inc. The subfloor is 1 1/4" thick and has grooves that will accomodate the radiant tubing that will heat our house. When people think of radiant floors they typically think of concrete. However, concrete would not be practical for a house that has to roll to Washington, D.C. We therefore chose a plywood panel system with an aluminum top layer that performs better than concrete at transferring heat evenly. The product consists of 5 4'x8' panel types that can be arranged to work with any floor plan, requiring little additional work.
The floor framing is now complete and we are ready to install our subfloor. All energy for construction is being provided by a solar powered storage container loaned to us by Roger Beck and the Home BASE project. Appropriately, every element of construction is being powered by the sun.
