Longhouse

What's next?

2008-03-07T15:14:00.013-05:00

Tobacco Barn: Hadley, Massachusetts

I've been doing a lot reading lately about agricultural vernacular architecture. One of the better reference books on the subject was written by Thomas Visser : "Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings". The most interesting passages relate to the solution of everyday problems on the farm. On manure cellars...

"The breath from cattle, together with the vapor arising from the manure, which defies all attempts to keep it below the floor if the cellar is warm, covers, not only the floor over the cellar, but the beams, and the whole underside of the roof, with pearly trickling drops for weeks together during the winter. If the doors are thrown open in order to evaporate this moisture, you lose the benefits you have been seeking in making a tight barn, by reducing the temperature so much that cattle require more food, while the effect is to reduce the flow of milk in the cows...."

Thus the birth of the rooftop ventilator, or cupola, allowing moisture laden air to exit the ridge. Leave it to post-modernism to prostitute the humble cupola for pure decoration. As an architect I receive many requests for cupoloas on projects, my response now? "Only paired with a manure cellar."

A sketch exploration of some ideas I've been fleshing out. Nothing really sings here, rather it builds on ideas related to barn architecture, sliding door panels, moveable walls. It all looks a bit too 'corn crib' right now.

solid/void games

filtering light

indoor/OUTDOOR

the module

Farm buildings made efficient use of material and derived beauty effortlessly through the expression of their simple means to keep water out of the building. Siding would be comprised of locally sourced wood, options include Eastern White Pine (70c/board foot), Eastern White Cedar (locally, length is an issue, usually limited to 6'-8' maximum runs), Maple, Ash... each material weathering at differing rates. Unfinished, leaving little to no maintenance and installed as part of a rainscreen detail would mean it would dry just as a century-old barn would.

I'm close to trading in the house for a barn...with tobacco, no cupola.

‘Ornament & Crime’

2008-03-05T12:44:00.004-05:00

The essay by the Austrian architect Adolf Loos ‘Ornament & Crime’ written in 1908, argues that all ornament is criminal in nature. Loos, “holds the Papuan up as an example of man who has not evolved to the moral and civilized circumstances of modern man, and who will therefore kill and consume his enemies without committing a crime. Had a modern — meaning a Western man — done the same thing, he would either be considered a criminal or a degenerate. By the same token, the Papuan may tattoo his skin, his boat, his oar or anything he may lay his hands on ... He is no criminal. But a modern man who tattos himself is either a criminal or a degenerate. Tattooed men who are not imprisoned are either latent criminals or degenerate aristocrats. If a tattooed man dies free, this is because he has died prematurely, before committing his murder.”( ‘Adolf Loos: The New Vision’: Joseph Rykwert) Ornamentation, he contends in modern society is without merit. It forces the laborer to perform work that performs no function, other than signatory (say, a crown moulding signifying the top of a wall). Loos professes that it’s a waste of material, effort and a needless expense. Ornament freezes a building in time, Art Nouveau, in Loos’ time…perhaps pluralism or minimalism in our time.

No trim, no ornament, no crime.

Stonco 150L, with 4A backplate

Does our house look dated already by virtue of the lack of ornamentation? There’s validity in the argument that economy has driven many of our decisions, including those to eliminate ornament…but I wouldn’t have chose ogee moulding even if I had an extra five grand sitting in my pocket. I question some of Loos’ arguments and the social conditions he supports them with, but at heart I have to say I agree with his thesis. Loos worked hard to allow each material to be expressive of its inherent qualities, the only object on my walls (until I can afford artwork…is that ornamentation?) are my $11 Stonco exterior grade lampholders…a modern torch of sorts. Oh yeah…there’s the Enje roller blinds (IKEA, 39”x98”, $29.99)…which I considered stitching colored thread horizontally to add some color to the room…ornament, tsk tsk.

It’s no wonder my kids are pining for the outdoors, their required reading lists now require German translation.

Influenza A/Brisbane H3N2...

2008-03-03T16:34:00.004-05:00

has disrupted my life for a good 2 1/2 weeks....but I see traffic has really picked up around here, thank you for the nods on the design blogs mocoloco, materialicious, and others thank you-thank you!

We've been settling in to our new home for close to four months now and of course the punchlist is longer than it was on move-in day last November. I've been busy checking off things inside as the snow outside continues to pile up. One of those tasks was a radon test. I figured we would be borderline given that we've built on solid granite ledge, but the tests in the bedrooms came back at 10pci, the EPA threshold for action is 4pci...so 'act' we must. The basic idea is to drill a hole (or two if you own an eighty foot long house) insert a pipe and depressurize the slab beneath by installing a small fan in the attic space connected to that pipe exhausting to the atmosphere...where radon (being heavier than air) settles right back down on the ground?! Anyhow, the company we've hired to install the system guesses the current levels in the basement, where the radon seeps into the house, are in the 20s, not an ideal place to send the kids on a winter's afternoon to ride their bikes I suppose.

Thank you to the IRS for funding this project with $1800 of fresh hot rebate.

There's a difference

2008-01-08T13:14:00.000-05:00

between drawing, design and the take your pants off kind of living you do day to day. Where do we put our clothing? Where do we put the vacuum? How about books? Where should the bar of soap sleep it off? Why does the beautiful rainshower head function more like a misty morning? I find that designing affords freedom...line on paper lacks realism, it's all about composition, the layering of materials, walls meeting at 90 degrees. Now I'm a victim of my decision to 'cut costs' by not allowing for enough storage...not a single closet. I had an idea of where all of these things might live eventually, now I'm facing the reality of what it means to store things in the basement. Out of arms reach is quite inconvenient for things like your vacuum or...the 'diaper champ'. I'm not sure modernism allows room for things like diaper champs anyhow, but you get the idea. That's making it on the top 10 list of misgivings.

In stereo...with time lapse...

Photos of the antechamber / dressing area that transitions between the main living space and our bedroom, the pocket door to the room keeps us from frightening the children. The wardrobe works well and its size forces regular donations to the Salvation Army. These doors would make great room dividers, translucent tempered glass in aluminum frames (by IKEA).

I was checking out hinoki products after spying a stool I loved on VivaTerra and in lieu of spending a small fortune on bath mats, I spent $17 on an 8' piece of clear vertical grain western red cedar, ripped it into bite sized pieces and created a small shower rest for keeping soap, shampoo, etc. Punctuates the need for wood and other warm tones in the bathroom.

Soap tray for our shower...d-line, $197.10.....right.....keep looking

Interior skins...

2008-01-07T08:29:00.000-05:00

January 7, 2008
Still there?
We'll have more photos this week of progress inside. The holidays have kept us from posting as visitors and celebrations took priority. The top 10 lists are on the way...we've been busy skinning the interiors, the wardrobe is complete, the desk area is taking shape, the chalkboard at the kitchen island (dining side) is complete, shelving is in place. The main bathroom needs more wood...far too gray. I have some ideas about canvas panels with turnbuttons...

Living...at last...notice the blackboard backdrop

Living looking southwest

Lack wall shelving by IKEA, $14.99

Turnbuttons for canvas paneling

A proper meal...

2007-12-06T14:15:00.000-05:00

...deserves a proper table. The excuse-du-jour for purchasing new furniture? Hosting the family for Christmas, the old college furniture looks especially tired in our new environment, lights over our table are larger than the table itself...pick one. The overscaled pendant lights were a seed planted months ago...they're the right size for the space but the table that sits beneath is far too small. We chose Room & Board's Portica table in White oak, part of the Parson's typology but in brushed stainless, not black. Choosing chairs was perhaps the hardest part, what's durable enough for everyday kid (ab)use yet still fits with the look of the table and the materials of the house. At the risk of being too matchy-matchy we submitted to the oak ply chairs to match the table top. Problem is, at $89 each the order gets large quickly. What's more???? We get to assemble it, so Christmas arrives early. Throw it in with the Automoblox and LEGO sets I suppose and there will be some tired fingers come January.

Room & Board's Portica, Solid White Oak top; $1419.00

Room & Board's Boxy Chair, in Oak Veneer (cherry shown); $89.99

The other contenders:

Seven feet of table, Crate & Barrel's Big Sur in White Oak, $1699.00

I love the idea of benches but agreed that it's not practical for many guests.

Room & Board's Parson's table, $1299.00...

(we were afraid the black legs would disappear against the dark floor)

Jake by EuroFurniture.com, $89.99

Sundance by Inmod.com, $123.75

Pony Chair, CB2 $119
Laura loved this one, I contended it looked like a laundromat chair

Dressed in winter white

2007-12-04T12:48:00.000-05:00

December 4, 2007
Monday's storm is departing now, leaving about 15" over most of the surrounding island and Downeast. We were playing 'sweat lodge' last evening, cranking up our woodstove to a balmy 75 degrees inside. Blogging has taken backseat to life of late. We're unpacking boxes, tending to sick children, and catching up on other parts of life left too long untended.

My post on "10 things I'd do differently" is coming soon, (I'm narrowing the list). I knew going into this that I would treat it as a learning lab of sorts, my wife, however, didn't. Architects are often hyper-critical beasts esp. of their own work. All of this is not to say we're unhappy in our new digs, we love them and there's the companion list of thing's I'd do again that deserves a post too.

I've been fighting with my wardrobe from IKEA lately. Serves me right really. Laura reminded me that the more you spend at IKEA, the more they make you work to assemble it and come up with something good looking. Such is the case with our freestanding PAX wardrobe.

We're using it as a room divider in our master bedroom sectioning off the entry area for use as informal dressing. We knew we'd have to finish the back side of it not only because the backing board is hideous but unfinished and full of VOCs. We're using 1/8" plexiglas, sanding to mimic the translucency of the glass on the front of the wardrobe unit and mounting it on stainless steel studs. This cabinet has taken me the better part of 20 hours to assemble...no joke...and I'm no tenderfoot when it comes to IKEA pictograms anymore.

Master Bedroom Plan, (wardrobe orients to top of page)

Good luck if you're buying this monstrosity. You're better off purchasing the interior components and fitting them into a well-built plywood cabinet carcass. Maine Coast Lumber is a great source for this kind of thing, all made to order and inexpensive. Dovetailed drawers rec'd within 5 days (living in New England), hard to beat. Many local lumberyards offer this service, keeping things local is another on the 10 items list...next project.

Punchlist

2007-11-21T21:36:00.000-05:00

November 21, 2007
Exactly 5 months from the day the excavator arrived on site and began roughing in the driveway, we have our certificate of occupancy in hand. Funny thing about a certificate of occupancy, it's just permission...no embossed gold seal, just "it's okay if you want to live in this" kind of approval. We'll have a list of things to square, a front step, a wall hydrant, a few electrical devices, all very minor items. We were counting on receiving our occupancy permit today as we'll be picking up the U-Haul on Friday morning and moving our existence from Bar Harbor to Mount Desert. I think I convinced one of our electricians today to seek an alternate career, he was the unfortunate recipient of a tirade 5 months in the making. To be fair, he deserved it. More posts and details in the coming weeks as we settle in and skin the interior. The images that follow are somewhat stark, partially because we haven't moved in (or cleaned) and partially because we'll be adding an interior layering of function specific details. And, there's still the grading, loaming, seeding, planting, driveway...and my punchlist.

The amateur photo hour follows...

Kitchen toward living

Living sans contractors

Kitchen (minus the proper electrical devices)

The cleanest our mudroom will ever be...note the flush cocoa matting

Bathroom...with Ikea glass panels installed

Open ensuite master bathroom

Master bathroom...bad spot for the recessed light I suppose

Transitions

2007-11-12T12:22:00.000-05:00

East Gable, almost.

South elevation, almost.

November 12, 2007
Seeing our family wandering the house, my parents, Laura, Henning, & Sig is a great thing. I feel like we're laying claim to a space that's been our contractor's for the past 5 months. Moving tools out, pulling up the cardboard that's hidden our floor for a month's time, this past weekend marked the transition phase where our house becomes a home. My parents arrived last Wednesday evening and stayed through the weekend. Their visit proved immensely helpful and equally tiring for them I'm sure. Watching the boys, cleaning, cooking, assembling cabinetry, painting, doing our neglected household chores...did I mention watching the boys?

The big task this weekend was assembling the 1300 different boxes of cabinets, door panels, slides, bumpers, and nibs. If I see another IKEA pictogram I'll put a hammer through my skull. Less than useful at times the IKEA assembly instructions bordered on ridiculous...after taking about a half hour trying to add adjustable legs to the first base cabinet things went more smoothly and by the end of the day Saturday my father & I had assembled all of the cabinetry for the kitchen and pantry area. Thankfully my father's well of patience is much deeper than mine.

Dad, fixing my mistakes

Quality control

Island cabinetry in place

Vent hood + Laura pining for her range

Island palette, gray surround, white cabs, butcherblock

On Sunday Laura & I worked together to grout the mudroom and bathroom which was a smashing success and left us still speaking at the end of the day...remarkable progress. Thanks to Lester our general contractor for encouraging words and some helpful tips regarding sponge-work. Other progress...the woodstove was installed, the island completed and countertop installed, undermount sink today. Most of the doors are in place, drywall base detail is complete, the basement stair is ready for our code inspection, the heating system is functioning properly, dryer hooked up, vent hood installed, recessed cabinetry in place, everything ready for a final coat of paint, the electrical devices and plumbing fixtures. The outside is becoming a career for at least two people. Detail shots when things get more interesting.

Sore knees

Eric...repeating "It only looks like cinder block in photos"

Wash me.

Success & failure

2007-11-05T10:23:00.000-05:00

November 5, 2007

Time to confess. Not everything has gone perfectly lately.

On Tuesday evening Laura & I installed the so-called ‘self-sticking’ stainless steel backsplash. We planned the sizes, the jointing, templated the outlet locations (by this point we weren’t speaking anymore) and ‘enhanced’ the sticking power of the membrane with some liquid nails. This worked only to reinforce any inconsistencies in the substrate we were sticking it to. We used two different types of adhesive and the better performing one was clearly the DAP Better than Nails tube adhesive. Liquid Nails once spread on the surface cures very fast, turns out much faster than we can lift the panel and align it in place. The photo speaks for itself, not good. Plan B is to construct painted MDF panels that are face mounted to the backsplash to cover the already been lived with look of the stainless sheeting. Work in progress, I’m calling it a failure at this point but I’m fickle. We're speaking again, but not to the backsplash.

With a name like 'Roll-a-lam'...I should've known

This weekend while Hurricane Noel passed by to our east lashing us with strong winds and inches upon inches of rain. We were spared power outages but many of our neighbors were in the dark. A sleepless night found me at our house around 2am early Sunday only minutes later a tree fell a few feet from the car, across our driveway squarely on top of the port-a-potty. Laura and family rescued me later that morning with a breakfast sandwich and chainsaw.
The weekend plan was to complete all of the tile setting. I made it slightly more than half way by Sunday mid-day with the larger bathroom complete leaving the master shower to complete by Tuesday. Things went well, not a professional job but respectable for a virgin tile-setter. It’s markedly more stone-like in person, the photos make it look like…well cinder block. Strike that thought. Now we just have to seal and grout it. Thankfully I masked every square inch of our tub before slinging thinset around, my work with a margin trowel is amateur at best.
And…our heat is on today, starting with a low temp in the tubing to dry things out slowly.

Red = membrane waterproofing (RedGard)

Completed tile work

The details...

2007-11-01T12:39:00.001-04:00

November 1, 2007

One of the advantages of being an architect, free stuff for your house. Not the most exciting stuff mind you, but every little bit helps...and besides we get jazzed about things others might not. My local Leviton rep has agreed to kick in my electrical devices (switches, receptacles, etc.) for free. I originally specified Lutron Diva dimmers everywhere, Leviton makes a look-alike that's half the price and instead of a rocker it's a push pad, fade on/off and can be dimmed from multiple locations.

If you're familiar with a traditional dimming circuit, only one switch has the power to dim the other is the slave. Multiple dimming locations means no more deciding which switch takes priority. They have screwless coverplates in many colors, no stainless though, still using the Lutron Claro/Diva combination for those locations.

Tonight, stainless steel backsplash on a budget. Check Outwater Plastics for Roll-a-lam...can be cut with a utility knife, so they say. Peel and stick technology at its best, we'll use some liquid nails on the plywood backer just in case.

T minus 30 days

2007-10-31T12:30:00.000-04:00

October 31st, 2007

I apologize for the lack of updates for those of you still checking in...I've been working and not blogging.

Our chimney is about 18" shy of being code compliant, our refrigerator didn't fit in the framed opening, looks like we're going to run out of siding, the refrigerator door arrived with the hinges on the wrong side, the cabinetry opening in the bathroom is too small to fit our cabinet, door hardware isn't in, not all of our lights have shipped yet and I might have to put handrails and guardrails on my basement stair...everything is...well, what I expected at this stage. Lots of little finicky things to focus on right now, nothing too major, perhaps details I'll miss in another 6 weeks when I put this beast to bed.

It's really a great thing to see the floor in the house and watch the minimal details working in concert. I'm obsessing over the lack of cleanliness on-site both inside and out. Maybe it's a control thing. The bottom of the drywall finishing is taking much longer than anticipated and it's keeping us from finish painting the walls, which is keeping us from installing all of the light fixtures. Who wants to paint around hundreds of receptacles, it's much easier to paint before installing the devices.

The siding crew, Bob & 'H' both think the house looks like its clad in corduroy, vertical seams on the roof, horizontal on the wall.

I love corduroy.

Long-house, short-chimney...please fix.

Access panel removed to install the chimney

Inside photos soon, Laura & I will work together (thanks Sophie) for only the second time during the entire project this Thursday evening, stainless backsplash here we come.

Heat this Friday...we need it.

On the inside...

2007-10-19T09:28:00.000-04:00

October 21, 2007
Just days away from the original move-in date...we're not in bad shape, but our boxes are staying put. Our builder offered to split next months rent with us because it's not quite in move-in shape, every little bit helps.

Holding us up...first, the LP gas installer can't make it until November 1st and we really need heat. Second, the floor has taken longer than expected. Be wary of buying things online, a sample doesn't indicate the quality of a full box (or 47) of prefinished floor. They have a good system in place now so we're hopeful by the end of the week we'll have all of the floor in.

The siding install has begun. It's exciting to see the exterior materials coming together. I will say, Hardiplank isn't a replacement for wood siding. You have the option to get the smooth face or the wood-grained face, uh...right, smooth it is. Attaching this siding must be done by blind nailing which leaves the lower edge free to move and expand which means it doesn't always lay totally flat like a true wood siding would. However, it doesn't require any finishing which is wonderful news at this point and a long finish warranty means years of maintenance free use.

On the interior, I've been painting the pocket doors and the pivot doors, love this hardware from Stanley. These will be mounted on jamb-liners to produce a concealed panel look to the doors.

Also, I've been cutting my 16x16 limestone tiles in half to create 8x16s. While I love the look of the 1/2 running bond and the rectangular geometries, it's a huge hassle cutting every tile and the slipped bond makes every cut where it meets the wall different. Day one of tiling I was able to do the prep work, cutting tiles, and the layout and bedding of tiles on one side of the laundry room. Day two, I built the mud base for our shower tray, the walk-off area outside of the shower and bedded the rest of the tiles in the laundry room. I'm thankful I push a pencil around most of the day, tiling makes for sore backs and arms. I'm going to seal the tile as soon as I can and start the waterproofing in the shower and tub/shower areas tonight.

Master shower with deck mud base and walk-off area to the right...

Tile to right side of mudroom, pocket doors on left...

More grainy photography in the mudroom/laundry

Long-on-house, short-on-time

2007-10-16T15:12:00.000-04:00

October 16, 2007
Since we last posted our roof is almost weathertight…the ridge cap is a wee bit small so we’ve ordered another one, in the meantime grace ice & water shield is keeping us dry at the ridge.

The floor installation hasn’t proceeded as smoothly as we would’ve hoped, our contractor contends we’ve purchased a cheap prefinished floor, our wallets think otherwise. After three days of miscommunication and misfires a cork pad mounted to the bottom of the floor nailer solved the problem. Each time they were nailing it was marring the finish. So…up with the damaged boards, down with new, all the while hoping we have enough ‘extra’ to cover the floor. It does call into question the milling tolerances of prefinished flooring. When the tongues and grooves aren’t the same size, you end up with gapping and ultimately more waste and more time picking through the pile of flooring drives up the price. With a fixed price contract that’s okay but in any other agreement it could be more costly than purchasing a higher grade floor.

Cement board underlayment will be installed today at all of the stone tile locations, we’ve been promised a front door today as well. I’ve given up on the bulk of the painting while we wait for our LP gas tanks to arrive and the heating system activated. The exception here are the doors which need paint before our contractor can hang and install the hardware. Slab doors, unprepped for hardware, hinges or locksets…more expensive than prepped doors. Interesting how mass production processes drive the market. We’ll need to install the stone tile before the gas appliances can be delivered, the gas appliances need to be in place before the LP gas line is run on November 1st.

Our trip to IKEA over the weekend was successful. Everything we needed was in stock, only one more trip to replace an incorrectly ordered cabinet…six hours in IKEA is inhumane we were bound to make mistakes. The store in Stoughton, MA is 200,000 square feet of Swedish goodness, and our trip included a full plate of meatballs and a salmon platter. This store is a really a gift to anyone looking to do modern on a budget. Despite your love/hate relationship with IKEA a modest expenditure will outfit your house nicely. We spent more liberally than we thought...thanks to Mom & Dad R. and Dad & Pat G. for your help. Our kitchen will work hard to thank you when you visit.

One of my favorite IKEA picks, AVSIKT doors - frosted glass in aluminum frames

Nights are getting longer and days much shorter, we must be getting close...

Galvalume tastes good

2007-10-10T13:48:00.000-04:00

Galvalume roof

It couldn't be intentional, but a seam centered on our door...I'm beaming.

October 10, 2007
This past weekend we were joined by Kim & Patrick and divided kid and house duties accordingly. Kim & Laura were able to corral the kids while Patrick, myself and Metallica (pre-Black album), insulated the first floor system beneath the radiant heat tubing. This was done ‘on the cheap’ as it wasn’t something I was going to initially install. Per strong advice from my heating contractor I decided it was a good thing to change order before the heating season began and the change order paid for itself in fuel expenditures. From an efficiency standpoint it makes perfect sense, but economics are driving most of our decisions right now. The cheap fiberglass insulation is even more toxic than the pink stuff from Dow, if you can believe that. That expended a good part of the day on Saturday. Our builder joined us for part of the day beginning the metal roof installation.

Sunday we were able to get a single coat of paint on all of the ceilings. The sheetrockers left the entire house primed, which was an immense help, so cutting in and painting (for the moment) seemed like an easy task.

Monday I planned on finishing the ceiling painting but with the flooring installation beginning a day early I bounced around picking off odds and ends for most of the day. I started digging the 50’ trench for the LP gas line between the basement and the tank pads, wondering how Maine was ever known for potato farming and thinking Kennebecs are much better suited to this soil than gas lines.

Our move-in date October 31st…21 days from now…not happening, we know. We’ll have running water, a working bathroom and a partially functioning kitchen by then but we’ve extended our lease by another month to allow for some DIY tiling, the rest of the painting, cabinet assembly, oh…and moving of hundreds upon hundreds of boxes across the island to our new home.

IKEA this weekend...

Color

2007-10-03T14:28:00.000-04:00

With the task of painting squarely in front of us we're moving quickly to finalize the color palette that coordinates with our material selections. It's important to gather all of your materials and look at them together, it's best to do this under daylight if possible. Incandescent light especially when used as the primary light source can distort colors quite a bit.

Clockwise from upper left: Taun, white porcelain, stainless steel, Bateig Azul limestone, cocoa matting, 'Swiss Coffee', 'Granite Boulder' (Behr Premium Plus)

We’re relying heavily on the materials for color in our house, the floor, the stone tile, the countertops so our paint colors are meant to complement those materials not take center stage. Here’s the thinking behind the paint selection process. The dark brown wood in the floor will perform the heavy lifting in our color palette. Visual weight is the key here, the floor will ground the rooms nicely and the wall will provide the contrast and background for the floor. Using a color on the walls would change the value and tone of the floor. With a floor this dark adding vibrant wall color can be a difficult exercise without a lot of experimentation which of course equals time and money.

For the walls and ceilings we chose a classic white (Swiss Coffee - Behr) that will complement the browns in the floor, so while it’s ‘white’ it’s not a super-white. We chose Behr Premium Plus Interior paint in an eggshell finish in two colors, one is the primary wall and ceiling color for all exterior walls the other is a deeper accent color used in select locations. With regards to gloss level, the general thinking is that flat paints (while less expensive) show wear and tear much more readily than even one gloss level up. Eggshell (one gloss level above flat) has a light luster, subtly different but it affects wear and won't marr as easily as flat. Satin borders on semi-gloss, not what we're after. People generally reserve flat for ceilings (to hide imperfections) and semi-gloss for trim for cleaning and durability. No trim here though so eggshell it is.

The second part of our paint palette is the accent color reserved for the center block of rooms and the freestanding wall in the master bath. This is a muted warm grey and emphasizes the inward focus of these spaces The grey color we chose (Granite Boulder - Behr) directly references the stone tile and the stainless accents we have in those spaces, but the walls will be a smooth textural counterpoint to the stone and stainless. White plumbing fixtures pop beautifully on the grays.

Special thanks to my colleague, fiber artist and color authority Jennifer Morrow for her consult and advice.

What is it about the dust?

2007-09-30T21:04:00.000-04:00

Corner bead at typical window jamb/sill

Monday October 1, 2007
As some of the photos clearly show, sheetrocking is dusty business. It's absolutely everywhere. Friday the hanging crew was able attach all of the sheets, save for two or three, Saturday they hung the rest and installed all of the corner beading (the white plastic edges) for mudding against. No trim in our house means lots of perfect corners, that's the way I'm picturing it at least.. The mudding and taping should begin tomorrow.

Living Space looking toward future kitchen alcove

The bedroom photo below shows the technique we're using to eliminate the need for base trim. We've attached a 7/8" pine strip at the floor temporarily which the drywall rests on. This gives an edge to mud against and will be removed after the primer has been sprayed. This allows us to slip the 3/4" thick flooring + rosin paper beneath it and still maintain expansion space and a small reveal above it. I've always felt trim is an unnecessary element, mostly from an aesthetic point of view but as with many things in this process of trying to accomplish something a little out of the ordinary, one realizes the true value of trim. The trim allows the drywallers to be less fussy with what they do at the base of the wall and it automatically creates a space for the flooring to expand, the joint is covered by the trim. I still dislike trim, I'm hopeful the drywall finishing is precise enough to pull this detail off.

Bedroom One

The terrible photo below is of the pocket door tracks installed. The hardware set is by Johnson, ball bearing carriers, extra heavy duty set. We've thrown out the vertical framing members that came with the kit and substituted 2x LSL (laminated strand lumber). Engineered lumber is much stiffer and will keep the pocket from moving over time...don't plan to use any KD Spruce (regular framing lumber) for this type of job, it will move over time and your door won't open. The wall is also a 2x6 wall, not the more typical 2x4 which allows for beefier framing around the opening.

We should be painting by the weekend...and more insulation for the floor system this time. I'm just itching to do more of that.

Pocket door I-track at door head

First day of Fall

2007-09-23T21:45:00.000-04:00

1/2 of our roof...~44 panels

Galvalume Plus, standing seam roof by Everlast Roofing

It always seems Fall suddenly appears...we look up from our busy lives and realize there are leaves on the roads, the evenings quickly dip into the 40s, color shows on the mountains, kids decide what they're going to be for Halloween. This year it's a reminder of just how soon we'll be packing our things again this time moving into our new home. Many steps left though so our focus is on the next set of tasks.

Saturday and Sunday were full days of finishing installing R38 in the ceilings, installing blocking in the walls, and fitting a vapor barrier over the entire roof assembly. Vapor barrier always goes on toward the warm side of the ceiling...this prevents moisture laden warm air from ever getting to the cold air in the attic and condensing.

The insulating marathon behind us, this week should bring some drastic transformations. The metal roof has arrived on site in two crates, it's fared better than most of the items I've taken delivery of lately. I have particularly poor luck when it comes to shipping porcelain, or for that matter, anything breakable...via FEDEX, UPS, or INSERT NAME OF COMMON CARRIER. I received 47 boxes of prefinished flooring today weighing in around 3300#, all boxes were in pretty good shape, the usual ding or open box but overall fine.

The roof install should take place this week, drywall will be hung on Wednesday. The plan is hang everything in one day and begin mudding & taping the following day. They're throwing in a primer coat, we're certainly up for painting but after two weeks insulating sweat equity has an entirely new meaning.

Planning ahead

2007-09-20T10:45:00.000-04:00

Some things to consider when you think you're done insulating...

Where will you put the towel bars, the shower curtain pole, toilet paper holders, wall cabinets, handrails, thermostats, vent hoods, wall hung plumbing, shelving, closet rods?

All of these require different attention to detail. Handrails, towel bars, ventilation hoods, shelving, poles...these all need solid blocking fastened inside of the framed walls. This provides a place to attach the anchoring hardware each of these items requires. For the most part scrap 2x material (2x4, 2x6) will meet the task. Fasten it at the proper height and you'll have no trouble mounting all of your accessories after the sheetrocking takes place. It can be time consuming and forces you to consider finished details at a stage when the house looks quite unfinished but it's worth it to add blocking even if you suspect you might need it in the future, it's inexpensive and allows lots of flexibility. Think about closet walls, shelving locations, soap dishes, hooks for hanging heavy items. There are a few places where hanging a sheet of 3/4" plywood makes just as much sense, esp. if you haven't finalized the layout of particular items. We're doing this on the wall of our mudroom where we know we'll have hooks, shelves, and perhaps a wall cabinet or two but don't know the exact spot where they'll all be placed.

Speaking of vent hoods we're opting for a lower end model with higher end styling from EuroKitchen.com. I purchased it for $329 a few months ago. It lacks the finesse and finished details that a Bosch might have but it's a third of the price, I expected it. The buttons that activate the three speed fan are analog to the core, think of your old tape player - push one button in and the other pops out kind of action. I don't mind it but if you're looking for smooth digital action, this isn't your hood. It claims 860CFM which is more than enough power for our little slide-in range, but I'm doubtful we could stand the noise associated with running it at full speed. The aluminum grease filters are of good quality and it's a listed appliance (UL/ETL listed). Purchasing items on the web can be tricky in that regard, especially when it comes to lighting so be careful, your electrician will be hesitant to install a fixture or appliance that's not listed by a testing agency like ETL/UL. We have to run the ducting in the ceiling space before we finish insulating so this is going over to the site soon.

Finishing up these details before we poly the ceiling over the weekend making way for the sheetrocking next Wednesday.

Unfaced fiberglass insulation batts are little packages of misery

2007-09-17T12:55:00.000-04:00

R-21 walls / R-38 ceilings

Every time I blink my eyes, I'm reminded of the work we accomplished this weekend. It feels like someone has inserted little blankets of steel wool beneath my eyelids. We've certainly gained a strong appreciation for the work we often take for granted, work like insulating a little 1600sf house...with 200 lineal feet of wall.

Ceiling batts, strapping helps keep it place

Batts everywhere

After meeting with Lester, (our foreman & part owner of Cadillac Builders, our G.C), and the electrician, and the plumber, and the bank representative, and some of our new neighbors...Laura & I spent the remainder of our weekend sweating it out installing insulation. The walls seemed easy enough. Place a kraft faced batt in the wall, staple the edges to the studs, and you're done. Then repeat 149 more times...for the walls. Unfortunately, the batts are only 93" tall, the stud bays are 96" tall. Didn't someone, somewhere along the way figure this one out? So, after about 25' you get the rhythm and can make good time, until you get to a window or light fixture, or anything else that obstructs an open stud bay. Then you cut and fit and staple and stuff into little holes. I'm complaining...it's tedious work but just about anyone can do it even an architect. At the end of day one we had insulated 130 lineal feet of the walls, about 70' remain.

David..arm wrestling the propervent - a little fuzzy, sort of how I see things now.

Windows are in

Sunday was a beautiful fall-like day and I really wanted to begin the roof insulation. I was joined by David for the entire morning and we were able to finish the vaulted ceiling area, a huge task indeed. Installing the proper-vent (a foam baffle which maintains airflow from eave to ridge) and two layers of 6" batts, one spanning parallel to the truss, the other perpendicular to it.

The remainder of the day I spent working alone, finishing the master bedroom ceiling, installing the remaining proper-vent, hanging recessed lights, blocking and another 160 lineal feet of attic insulation. I'm a bit ashamed to admit it but the climbing up and down has left me a bit sore this Monday.

We have 7 days to finish insulating the walls, install all of the blocking for the plumbing fixtures and accessories (you need a place in the wall to attach mounting screws), install the ceiling vapor barrier, and foam all of the windows.

...and sleep for a few minutes.

Night work

Dispensing with economy

2007-09-13T12:33:00.000-04:00

We're all fallible. We admit weakness in spending on this light fixture, a 60% discount...we just couldn't help ourselves.

Sistemalux, Modem Small Six (kitchen island pendant)

Design Public, Weegee 14"h /24"d, $240

There are few places we've decided to spend extra on, there's little room for luxury in our home but the dining and kitchen lighting join the stone tile as money we deemed well spent. The challenge for us with our lighting scheme has been bridging the stripped down utilitarian bent of our wall sconces with the more refined palette of the wood floors, the stainless backsplash and the stone tile. Equally there was the problem of the proximity of the lights serving the dining area (a softer, warmer fixture) and the kitchen lights. Both spaces required pendants because of the vaulted ceiling but we wanted the geometry of the two to be noticeably different.

The 'Modem' fixture works on two levels, first it references the industrial detail and color of the wall sconces and second it sets itself apart from the typical 'hang three glass pendants over an island' aesthetic. This also lets us choose a much larger, softer, shaded fixture for over the dining area...make that two.

Of course spending begets more spending and nice light fixtures beg for a nice table beneath them...

Farm Tek

2007-09-12T12:25:00.001-04:00

Repurposing unusual fixtures and materials is a sort of an obsession of mine. I'm not sure these have a place in the Longhouse...but I'm always archiving for future projects. Farm Tek has a deep catalog, lots of potential here...

Brooder lamp holder, $6.95 : Galvanized float bowl, $26.95 : 2" Nylon pulley, $0.95

Quilted insulation curtain (36" wide), $7.23/ft : Galv. tube door frame, $119 : 304 Stainless steel plate molding, 2"x8' (18ga), $10

Plenty of progress to report, more photos soon. All of our windows are in, save for one which mysteriously never arrived. I don't think I've worked on a project where all of the windows arrived on time or without error, consistency is good. The basement stairs are in, plumbing rough-in has begun, the radiant tubing installation is under way and our electrical rough-in continues. Metal roof??? "Next week" ....has a familiar ring doesn't it?

Insulation is being delivered on Friday, Laura & I have a serious two-day date with fiberglass this weekend. The line in the sand is September 24th when sheetrocking begins.

Viking work

2007-09-08T20:58:00.000-04:00

Who better than a Viking to endorse your staples?

September 8, 2007
This guy shows up at our place, dons a tyvek suit and 20 minutes later, rim joists foamed. Honestly I had higher expectations of the DIY kit I bought from Tiger Foam . The real purpose of foaming the perimeter of the building at the rim joist level is to short circuit convective air flow near the radiant heat tubing. This provides a vapor barrier and seals all of the imperfections at the sill plate, as a bonus it gives us about an R-7 at the perimeter. We'll still add a little fiberglass to bump it up to the code required R-11. This kit gave us exactly 200 board feet (1" thick, 12" wide, 200' long) but the expansion was quite a bit less than I expected. I could've used about 25% more to really seal all of the sills to the foundation wall top. The installation though was a cinch and I didn't have to wait 3 months for a subcontractor to show and gum up my entire basement. I highly recommend the respirator and leaving to let it off-gas unattended.

This...plus this...
equals...

I finished the layout for all of our receptacles and light fixtures today as well. Our electrician has begun the wiring and our radiant tubing has arrived as well. Good weather this week will allow us install the metal roof and the windows.

Progress is happiness

We could be 'Greener'...

2007-09-06T17:19:00.000-04:00

a long house, not a 'longhouse'...but so good.

September 6, 2007

No posts for a while means only one thing…no progress. I’ve installed all of the blocking for the light fixtures, did some creative editing with locations under the “I can live with that” mantra which translates to not relocating studs in bearings walls.

Unfortunately, we’re at the mercy of other trades currently. Electricians, plumbers, heating system installers, I’ve heard from each of them these exact words, “I’ll probably start on this tomorrow”, now I’m acutely aware of what it means, next week…maybe never.

So, with a little time to reflect I thought I’d post on ways we could’ve been better stewards of our earth's finite resources.

The best thing you can do from a ‘green’ standpoint is cut your energy consumption. So many people focus on green products as the solution. By cutting your overall energy consumption you’re targeting power demands, the extraction of earth’s resources and the delivery of power and fossil fuels to every corner of the globe. This is where it’s at…if you like straw-bale cabinetry, great...install that too but that doesn’t carry the global weight that reducing your energy consumption might.

Practically speaking, where do you start?

Insulation. Create as tight a building envelope as you possibly can. We framed our exterior walls with 2x6s at 16” on center, setting your framing at 24” on center will not only reduce material needs and labor costs but it will give you more space to insulate. Less wood in the wall assembly (which is only about R-1 per inch) and more insulation means less heat loss. We’re using R-21 kraft-faced fiberglass batts in the wall. It’s standard stock at our local lumberyard and R-21 is required by the International Residential Code. If your budget is bigger than ours, go for sprayed foam, preferably closed cell (about R-7 per inch or R-38.5 if you fill a 2x6 wall), environmental trade-offs here too with off-gassing and nasty blowing agents. Stay away from soy-foam, it may be good for the environment but it shrinks after it’s installed. Fiberglass isn’t exactly a user friendly (or earth friendly) material but there are other batt-type systems out there. A colleague of mine building in Bar Harbor is using this product made from recycled denim and cotton waste to insulate. I could only find it up to R-19 so you’re trading on R-value, but using recycled material and installing it without protective gear has definite benefits.

Building siting. Take advantage of solar radiation and prevailing winds. Heat and cool your house by natural processes and you’ll save energy. If your state has net-metering available within your power grid, you might check these guys out. Basically they install a photovoltaic solar system on your house, maintain it, and you fix a buy-back rate for the electricity you generate for 25 years based on the cost of today’s power rate.

Fixtures. Buy energy star fixtures, low-flow plumbing fixtures. Skip the compact fluorescents, they're loaded with mercury. Use dimmers and cut your power consumption instantly. If you like LED lights, they actually make color-corrected bulbs now that are even more efficient than CFLs.

There are many others, google LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and you'll find a residential pilot program that outlines many areas to target with updated building strategies and technologies.

We certainly could be greener, but the infrastructure is there to support upgrades in the future and you only get one shot at siting your house...at the very least we got that one right.

Metal roof and windows next week…

...or maybe never.

Rough-ready

2007-08-29T14:18:00.000-04:00

Broken pallets = broken tile

August 29, 2007

If a skid of stone tile shows up on your doorstep looking like the above, think twice about signing for it. The shipper's story changed as soon as I signed the waybill about who I contact for a damage claim. Before signing, "contact the shipper's claim's office", after signing, "contact the original supplier". You can imagine what the original supplier said to me. Lesson learned, don't sign if things look sketchy. Looks like they dropped this thing off of a lift somewhere in transit, thankfully only 6 tiles were broken. According to my supplier that's okay because I should've ordered 5-10% more than I needed...yeah right, at $6/sf I ordered about 20 extra square feet, six-16" tiles is 10.6 square feet...see the problem? Being an architect I can order 6 'sample' tiles so if you're ever in a bind...pretend you're an architect, works some of the time. Use terms like AIA, and LEED and you're all set.

While I'm ranting...Here's something I didn't expect my builder to say to me..."Well, if you're particular about where you want your wall mounted light fixtures then you're going to have to install the blocking for the junction boxes. I just planned on mounting them to the nearest stud. That's what we carried in the price." If I'm 'particular'? So the dimensioned electrical plan.... just an idea really, a napkin sketch, a wish list item, not really how I wanted it. It's still early in the project, not time to put up a stink and besides, I want it done correctly. So this weekend with a chop saw and a nailgun I'll be adding blocking between the studs where my sconces will go so the electrician can mount the boxes next week. I'll be tracking my hours so we can have the discussion when the final bill comes in, early winter I expect.

The interior framing looks great and given that two weeks ago I was staring at curing concrete, I'd say we're in good shape.

Kitchen cooking wall

End bedroom looking toward living space

Pocket door to Master Bedroom looking toward living/kitchen