Snow is already falling in the passes, and winter is coming on fast. Luckily, we are now “dried in,” meaning the exterior of the house is complete and waterproof. Well, almost. We still have one small section of siding to complete, around the large south window that broke in shipment and had to be replaced. We are hoping to have that complete by next week.
These photos show progress over the last month and a half. The sections of exposed wood under the carport (with paint sprayer test sprays) are now covered with the rusty steel accent siding we made. The exterior units of our heat pumps (which will be our main source of heat, plus air conditioning) are in place, but we have to wait for the drywall to be installed to hang the head units inside the house.
Baby Leon also came along for some of our trips to the job site. At less than a month old, he wasn’t quite old enough to put on a tool belt, but he’s very cute and managed not to cry too much despite all the unfamiliar construction noises.
We’ve also been working on insulating and air sealing the rim joist area with rigid foam, caulk, and spray foam. We still have to go through the entire house and fill all the little gaps around electrical boxes, joints, and miscellaneous holes that had to be cut in the walls during construction. When this is complete, we will come back with blower door test equipment to see how well the house is sealed from air leaks. We will be able to hunt down and seal any remaining leaks while the equipment creates negative air pressure in the house. A high level of air sealing is critical to our zero-energy goal.
Overall, we are very pleased with how the house looks from the outside and how the interior rooms are designed. We’re on the home stretch!
