Wiring, insulation, and rattlesnakes
The last 3 weeks have seen lots of different subcontractors and progress in many areas. The roofer has returned and put on metal trim at the roof edge. The plumber has completed nearly all the plumbing. The fire sprinklers have been installed. Almost all low voltage (network, audio, video, telephone) wires have been pulled. Almost all the lights and outlets have been roughed in and wired. The ceilings in the outside areas have been insulated and are ready for the plasterer to start. The last framing details for things like tub surrounds have been completed. The last windows and doors have been installed, including the massive 3 panel sliding doors on either end of the common areas.
In spite of all this progress, we still have 9-12 months left to go. As they say, the devil is in the details.
A couple weeks ago, I hired a low voltage wiring consultant to validate and improve my crude attempt at designing a computer network, whole house audio/video/telephone system. He fixed various problems, pointed out deficiencies and simplified it in several areas. He worked very well with the electrician who provided the actual physical labor. His method was to go through the house after the electrician placed all the wall boxes for the low voltage systems and attach tags that specified what wire was pulled from where and how to tag it. After all the wires are pulled, he'll come back to install and configure the central control units.
Since the common areas have lots of lights, we didn't want to end up with a huge bank of switches. The solution is to use a lighting control system that allows a single keypad to control groups of lights; this system was also designed by the low voltage consultant. The end result is if you want to walk out to the pool at night instead of knowing which switches to turn on, you can press a single key on the keypad which turns on all the light from the main part of the house out to the pool in addition to the lights at the pool patio and surrounding areas.
Insulation is currently the big issue with no answer yet; the choice is between cheap and green. We are trying to build as green as possible but it is hard with insulation. We've already decided to spend a considerable amount on solar water heating. This will allow the pool to be used for more of the year and dramatically reduce the amount of fossil fuel used for heating. The decking (ipe) and flooring (most like Rose River Red Gum from Australia) are both certified as being sustainably harvested. We are planning on supplying a significant portion of our electrical power via a photovoltaic system.
The problem with green insulation is that it is very, very expensive. For example, to insulate with green spray-in foam would cost roughly 4 times as much as non-green fiberglass. Granted the foam is more efficient and will reduce energy costs but this efficiency doesn't come close to being cost effective. We are hoping to use a hybrid system where we use foam where we need the best insulation (roof and walls exposed to full afternoon sun) and fiberglass where it isn't as critical (floors, interior walls, ceilings in the outside areas). This will hopefully give us the best of both worlds while being at least partially green.
The crew has started to install the redwood siding that has been treated to darken
it. This will make the building look less new and avoids the variation in color that results from using untreated wood. As you drive through the wine country, you will see lots of buildings with siding done in the traditional board and batten pattern. Our house will be using the "reverse" board and batten which is similar but we like it much more.
Last week as we were walking through the house looking at the progress, I saw a baby rattlesnake curled up on a piece of wood. Contrary to what you'd think, baby rattlers are much more dangerous than adults since their venom is more neurotoxic than the venom of adult snakes. As the crew gathered round, various solutions for its removal were proposed. One of the crew volunteered that he actually had considerable experience at rattlesnake removal and he went off to construct his removal tool. This turned out to be a relatively short piece of plastic tubing with a loop of string in it. The loop is placed over the snake's head then the end of the string (at the other end of the tube) is pulled snug. This doesn't hurt the snake but allows it to be lifted and transported. Hopefully, when he grows up it will be somewhere else.
Plumbing and wiring.
Fire sprinklers (orange), low voltage (blue) and high voltage (wite) wiring.
Insulation in the covered patio ceiling.
Pool patio cabinet area and entry to exercise room to the left.
In spite of all this progress, we still have 9-12 months left to go. As they say, the devil is in the details.
A couple weeks ago, I hired a low voltage wiring consultant to validate and improve my crude attempt at designing a computer network, whole house audio/video/telephone system. He fixed various problems, pointed out deficiencies and simplified it in several areas. He worked very well with the electrician who provided the actual physical labor. His method was to go through the house after the electrician placed all the wall boxes for the low voltage systems and attach tags that specified what wire was pulled from where and how to tag it. After all the wires are pulled, he'll come back to install and configure the central control units.
Since the common areas have lots of lights, we didn't want to end up with a huge bank of switches. The solution is to use a lighting control system that allows a single keypad to control groups of lights; this system was also designed by the low voltage consultant. The end result is if you want to walk out to the pool at night instead of knowing which switches to turn on, you can press a single key on the keypad which turns on all the light from the main part of the house out to the pool in addition to the lights at the pool patio and surrounding areas.
Insulation is currently the big issue with no answer yet; the choice is between cheap and green. We are trying to build as green as possible but it is hard with insulation. We've already decided to spend a considerable amount on solar water heating. This will allow the pool to be used for more of the year and dramatically reduce the amount of fossil fuel used for heating. The decking (ipe) and flooring (most like Rose River Red Gum from Australia) are both certified as being sustainably harvested. We are planning on supplying a significant portion of our electrical power via a photovoltaic system.
The problem with green insulation is that it is very, very expensive. For example, to insulate with green spray-in foam would cost roughly 4 times as much as non-green fiberglass. Granted the foam is more efficient and will reduce energy costs but this efficiency doesn't come close to being cost effective. We are hoping to use a hybrid system where we use foam where we need the best insulation (roof and walls exposed to full afternoon sun) and fiberglass where it isn't as critical (floors, interior walls, ceilings in the outside areas). This will hopefully give us the best of both worlds while being at least partially green.
The crew has started to install the redwood siding that has been treated to darken
it. This will make the building look less new and avoids the variation in color that results from using untreated wood. As you drive through the wine country, you will see lots of buildings with siding done in the traditional board and batten pattern. Our house will be using the "reverse" board and batten which is similar but we like it much more.
Bottom layer of reverse board and batten siding.
Siding detail near the entry way.
Last week as we were walking through the house looking at the progress, I saw a baby rattlesnake curled up on a piece of wood. Contrary to what you'd think, baby rattlers are much more dangerous than adults since their venom is more neurotoxic than the venom of adult snakes. As the crew gathered round, various solutions for its removal were proposed. One of the crew volunteered that he actually had considerable experience at rattlesnake removal and he went off to construct his removal tool. This turned out to be a relatively short piece of plastic tubing with a loop of string in it. The loop is placed over the snake's head then the end of the string (at the other end of the tube) is pulled snug. This doesn't hurt the snake but allows it to be lifted and transported. Hopefully, when he grows up it will be somewhere else.
Our baby rattlesnake.
posted by Jim Barstow at
11:05 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Jim and Susan,
John and I are enjoying watching your house in the building process. We would love to come and see it when you are done.
Anne(cousin)
By
Anne Codman, at 5:03 PM
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