Project cleanup.
Retrofoam insulation is pumped into the uninsulated wall cavities
of the existing house, adding
R-19.
Installation of new Pella windows to the existing house.
Quick painting of the barn cupola/wasp-house
Fifty-five 200W GE Solar panels are installed.
Site is surveyed and staked.
Trench is dug and electrical is run from solar panels to house.
Installation of a walkpath made of reclaimed pavers and
dolomite foundation stones from demolished Milwaukee buildings. Materials
harvested by Pieter Godfrey.
Built-in pantry shelving and cabinets are carefully removed
for later re-installation.
...and
the pantry is carefully demolished.
The
cedar siding is removed to be re-installed on the addition.
Formal groundbreaking
ceremony
Excavation begins
House shoring is complete, and as per plans- the delicate under-foundation
excavation begins
Footings put in place
...surveyors
certify them
...and
the concrete is poured
Geothermal trenching completed and tubing is installed
Steve
and Serge jump in to help- who doesn't like to work in cold wet
clay?
Tom
Stover, our Geothermal guru, connects the tubing to the manifolds
in the basement.
...the
tubing is then carefully covered.
Durisol ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) arrive from Canada
Durisol
is stacked in the pit...Pragmatic Construction has a Lego moment.
Walls
are laid out, braced, then poured by concrete pump (the Elephant)
...2nd
course is stacked
and windows are rough-framed.
...
then the course is poured.
The lumber arrives and is
tarped.
The
Framers Kastler Builders of Racine arrive and get right
to it...
...pro framing and some first-rate acrobatics
...steel
is put in place as framing progresses
siding removed as connections to existing
house are made.
Pragmatic
seals plywood with Safecoat Safeseal to eliminate formaldehyde
off-gassing..
Rough plumbing installed and elevator pit precisely located.
Old foundation excavated, cleaned, backplastered and
draintiled.
(and cable TV line repaired- oops!)
Durisol
plastered to accommodate waterproofing.
Waterproofing is complete and basement slab is poured.
Rough
Electric begins
Windows installed,,
siding begins
Steel and other metals are staged
for recycling
Eco-Shake roofing
goes on...
Roofer Brandon
Koll indicates all is well.
Mechanicals installed, rough plumbing
completed
Meanwhile, some
pygmy goats arrive...
and their shelter
is assembled.
Sr. Janet provides
daily donuts and coffee, the fuel of the project- here Steve fuels
up.
The sunroom gets
its superinsulated SIP roof
View to the old
section from the new- pre-demolition.
Josh completes rough electric
Framing inspection
Solar hot water tanks installed- the
panels will wait until its a bit warmer
Bio-based 2000 closed cell sprayfoam
installed
Caledonia requires a vapor barrier
(closed-cell sprayfoam has less than one perm transmittance)
Drywallers descend (looks pretty clean
with only 3 pics!)
Painting time- Sherwin Williams Harmony
primer and SafeCoat paint
Cellulose blown into attic
Demolition to connect the new and old
house sections commences
Sister Janet gets in on the action!
Marmoleum and tile installed, reclaimed
cream city brick wall to add thermal mass for solar storage begun
Elevator installed
Custom window fitted for kitchen remodel
Winter at the Eco-Justice Center
Cat feeder?
Wood Floor Solutions gets to
it installing the reclaimed hardwood floors. We managed to get
some nice wood out of Frederick Usinger's historic home via Pieter
Godfrey, Milwaukee's salvage guru- it looks fantastic.
The Tomaszewski brothers and their lost-in-space
sanding vaccuum
Reclaimed hardwoods installed, then sanded
and refinished.
This was the best- 5 irregular surfaces
coming together- and none at the same level. It turned out perfect.
We were able to use some cedar from an old
farm silo on the grounds to floor the pantry area. This will
look great when refinished.
Steve and Serge demo some cabinetry in the
old portion of the house to get ready for the sink move. Pat
reroutes the plumbing below.
Solar hot water panels are installed and
connected. The sun gets to work making hot water.
Time for the gutters to get built and
installed...
and for the alpacas and goats to have a
snack
Mike Nass begins finish carpentry, and is
supervised by the farm goose (who is fairly impressed by this Pella
window's .32 U-value)
More pics coming shortly:
