Winter is coming back now with temperatures dropping back down into the 30s F with snow in the forecast. Most of the work is being done on the inside of the house, but we got a surprise this visit and found that the stone masons have started working on the exterior stone! All the exterior cedar siding has been installed along with all the corbels and dentil brackets. For the exterior, all that's left is the rest of the stone and final paint!
The cedar in the front triangle peak was completed this week. I'll be constructing a gable pediment for this gable and the garage gable. I still need to come up with a final design and construction technique, but I'll be making out of white Azek so we won't have to paint it. We could probably hire the carpenter to make it if I feel it's out of my skill level, but given enough time, I think I could pull it off. It might be nice to have my hand in construction something for the house.
The gable end over the front door was also completed this week and the arches for the porch beams will be worked on this week. This went back and forth a bit, trying to decide if we wanted this gable covered in cedar shingle, or stick with the original plan and do it this way. I think I like this way more. It will be painted white to match the rest of the trim and it adds definition to the front door. It's amazing how much the exterior has changed in the past couple weeks.
The master balcony cedar siding was completed and the dentil bracket was installed on the side of the great room. I didn't go up onto the balcony, but this is the only area where the siding goes wall the way down to the walking surface. Next time I'm there, I'll have to check out how they did the little triangle where the roof meets the balcony. I'm happy with the look of the dentil brackets and I'm glad we went with a larger size. I'm also happy to report that, with the full water proofing of the chimney, there's no more water intrusion on the second floor.
The cedar siding was completed on the end of the garage as well, wrapping up all the siding installation. The bump out on the garage will be covered in the granite cobble from top to bottom and it ties in with the cobble below the stone ledge as well as the concrete retaining wall on the front of the garage. It's a good thing we got that landscaping done before the exterior material installation so we could have coordination with the landscaping. The retaining wall ties right into the garage foundation so there should be a seamless transition. Too bad it's on the side that people will rarely see.
It's a little difficult to make out from this picture, but here's the metal lathe that was installed on the ICF by the stone masons from
Old Country Stone. They're both the supplier and installer of the granite cobble that's going up on the house so we save a bit of money there. Since the cobble can't be adhered directly to the ICF, the lathe is mechanically secured to the nailers in the foam so the mortar has something to mechanically stick to.
Concrete is then parged onto the metal lathe to create a thin layer of material the mortar can adhere to. This concrete is squeezed into the metal lathe so it mechanically attaches to the wall. The stones can be mortared to the concrete, which forms a mechanical and chemical adhesion. Any water intrusion into this layer can cause degradation of the mortar and concrete, causing the adhesion and wall to fail, so it's important to have proper flashing on the wall above this to divert water to the exterior.
There was great coordination with
Great Oaks Landscaping to remove the landscaping stones on the front corner of the house. First, the stones weren't exactly level as they met the house wall so they needed to be reset. Second, the stone masons needed access to the corner of the house so they could properly install the stone. The landscaping stones were tight up against the ICF, so a proper corner couldn't be installed. The landscaping stone will probably need to be cut a bit to match up with the exterior stone when it's reinstalled. Third, Mike wanted to see if he could get under the porch and install a waterproofing membrane against the ICF.
Waaaay back I voiced concern to Matt Lincoln about the level of damp/water proofing on the below grade ICF, before they back filled it. He ensured me that the two layers of polypropylene sheets is perfectly adequate for water proofing. I'm glad Mike thinks it's inadequate but it's a pain in the ass to do correctly now. I'm hoping the poly sheet at least kept the wall clean enough for the geotex material to properly adhere to. but you can see how torn up the corner is.
This is something we really didn't expect. Thanks to the mild weather we had last week, the stone masons nearly completed one entire side of the basement wall. They still need to come back and squeeze mortar in between the joints, but this is basically what it's going to look like. Since Old Country Stone is the supplier of the stone, we also have the advantage of being able to get a more custom stone color mix since they just get loads of split stone from the local quarry and they sort them before sending them to our house. We wanted to stay away from the pinks and reds granite is normally associated with and I think they did a good job of screening those colors out. The over all color seems more blues, grays, and tans so the effect is achieved. Porter and Heckman also installed two intake vents for the HVAC system, and it looks like they got it done before they stoned up the wall so, again, great coordination.
Since the electrical boxes were installed before proper coordination was a thing for this build, they were spaced too far from the wall for a stone layer to fill. Mike says they were spaced for a brick wall installation, which was never in the plans, but this was done before he came on the job. Mike tried to see if they could change the angle of the thick conduit that leads up to the boxes, but it just wasn't possible, so the solution was to add boxes for the meters to attach to, and stone up to the boxes. I think it's a good resolution to a stupid issue. The glass block window for the mechanical room is without any trim adornment, which will help take attention away from the purely utilitarian purpose of the window. There will probably have to be some flashing installed to keep water from infiltrating between the ICF and stone.
Here's a closer look at the installed stone. There's still a little dust on them so the color isn't as saturated as they will be when the install is complete, but they're all pretty subdued. Since they're real stone and not concrete, they won't have to be sealed and we'll never have to worry about the surface finish cracking off. We had the option on mortar width, and decided to go with something middle of the road. Tighter would have taken more stones, less mortar, and a longer installation time, which were all factors in our decision. I also think this width is closer to what you would see in a real, full thickness cobble stone wall.
Here's a shot a little farther away so you can see the full affect with the cedar siding. The red beams will have a white Azek fascia and the posts will be part stone, part wood. From this angle, it doesn't look like you'll see the stone on the porch, but it definitely be visible at the higher elevation of the driveway. They still need to stone in areas around the wall sconces and electrical boxes. There also needs to be a hose bib installed on this level next to the sliding door, but I think that can be done after the stone is installed. Just need to use a diamond hole say to drill through either the stone or mortar. The stone stops at the level of the final grade and there's doesn't appear to be a need for angle iron at the base.
Here's the start of the stone around the corner partially on the great room basement wall. It's an interesting look into how they install the stone. It looks like they move loads from the front of the house to the work space and find the best fit for the pieces, where ever they could be. Definitely doesn't appear to be a linear process. They're stoning between the post and the house, which caused some concern in my mind at first since we'll be boxing and stoning in the base of the column, but the more I though about it, This is probably the best way to do it. If we were to create the box now, it would meet up to the house and we would have to ensure water-proofness at the top of the box so water couldn't infiltrate between the ICF and stone on the wall. Done this way, the box will need to be scored to the wall stone, but the column will make an interior corner, which requires nothing special, and the integrity of the wall will be maintained. It looks like they're keeping a gap at the bottom of the window for some kind of ledge. I'm guessing it's the same stone ledge that will be above, with the appropriate flashing on top.
Here's what the outside corner stone pieces look like. They small granite boulders that have the insides cut out of them. It looks like they have the edges surfaced flat too, to mesh up with the stone next to it on the wall. I didn't see too many of these lying around, but I didn't look through both bins of stone that are currently on site. Cultured stone uses something similar, but since they're made of concrete, they're molded rather than cut.
Moving inside, the rough electrical is almost done. I think they'll take a day or two this week and then they'll be finished. All the recessed lights are installed and wired throughout the first floor and there are a few surface mounted light boxes that need installation. Wall receptacles are in place and wired and all the runs are going down to the basement. The difference between the first and second floor is that all the lighting circuits make their way to the basement, but circuits on the lighting controllers will go to the basement hub and the standard lights will go to the electrical panel. 6" cans are the standard for general lighting areas. This is the office so we'll probably have desk lamps for task lighting.
The exception to the 6" recessed cans is in the dining room, where we'll have 4" recessed cans installed in addition to the hanging light over the dining room table. I know there's a big push these days to forgo the formal dining room in favor of a combined kitchen dining room open floor plan. I think this is more a trend in smaller houses and we definitely wanted the "front house/back house" definition. We'll still have seating around the kitchen island and a banquette near the sliding door for every day eating but we felt like this size house should have some kind of more formal space for entertaining, especially since we have some family near by.
Moving down into the basement, here are the two wall penetrations for the HVAC system. These two are used for the Energy recovery ventilation unit. All houses have some kind of air make up. When you turn on the kitchen hood or bathroom vent, anything that moves air from the inside of the house to the outside, outside air needs to come in to offset the pressure imbalance. Without it, any appliance that uses combustion of gas (furnace, water heater,clothes dryer) could have problems operating properly, back drafting harmful combustion byproducts. Most houses have a passive air make up system, simply an open duct in the basement that penetrates an exterior wall. Exterior ambient air will be passively pulled in through this pipe into the conditioned air space. It's not idea since you're losing conditioned air and gaining unconditioned air. For higher energy efficiency, and ERV or HRV is desired. It takes in exterior ambient air and exhausts internal conditioned air. The difference is that the conditioned air goes through a radiator on its way out, transferring energy to the incoming air so it's not a total energy loss.
Because of the volume of air our kitchen exhaust hood moves, we'll need a special mechanical damper installed that will open when the hood is turned on. I'm hoping we can tie this into the ERV some how.
Porter and Heckman also completed the supply side furnace hook up with the installation of the Aprilaire electronic air cleaner. It uses electro-static fins and static charged air filters to capture 99% of pollen and mold, 98% of airborne bacteria sized particles, 98% of pet dander and dust, and 80% of airborne virus-sized particles. Depending on the air quality, replacement for the filter is suggested annually, but inspection and necessary replacement at 6 months. The electrostatic elements should be wiped clean on the same schedule.
Here's the completed geothermal heat exchanger. Black vibration isolating membranes were installed so any vibration from the blower motor won't transfer to the rest of the duct. The original filter box is still there, but I didn't check to see if the filter remained. I don't think we need redundant air filters. The geothermal lines and water preheater still need to be installed, but that will probably come later. This might be tested once the lines are connected, but it won't be used until much later in the build. Don't want construction dust to get into the ducts. Here's hoping for a long and trouble free life.
Here's the top of the heat exchanger installation and the supply and returns for the back of the house. The open duct is a yet-to-be connected supply for the basement bathroom I think. The two supply trunks will put a damper on our bathroom plans, but I think we can overcome it with careful planing. You can see the front of the house supplies on the other side. Interesting that the vibration isolation is only on the return side since the supply side is all rigid. Maybe the insulated section above the exchanger cabinet dampens vibration as well. Notice how we don't have a humidifier plumbed into the return ducts. Porter and Heckman said that a too-humid environment is more of a concern for a tight house and through normal living, we probably won't need a humidifier. More so since we don't have a gas combustion furnace, Gas furnaces don't directly dry the interior air, but the combustion requires more make up external air. During the winter, this external air is dryer, so more dryer air enters the house, so humidifiers are recommended.
Here's a shot of the basement looking towards the mechanical room and stairwell. The stairs are currently being created and we're looking at installation in a week and a half. They'll start with the basement and move up to the first floor. We need to get that in so Mike and his carpentry crew can get the inside rotunda wall that supports the stairs, constructed. You can see the mess of wires hanging down from the ceiling has increased as all the first floor and second floor electrical runs have made their way down.
Here's a blurry picture of the mostly installed gas pipe making its way to the kitchen. It has to go over the beam, but that's not much in the way for concern. This pipe will also supply the barbecue outside and it might loop back to supply the two fireplaces. If we use a gas heater for the pool in the future, they'll probably pull a line from the barbecue out too the pool equipment bunker. It works out well since the space under the back porch is all open and much of it is below grade.
Moving back to the first floor, here's an interesting electrical installation. It's just the low voltage lines for the lighting control, but it's in shielded BX flex conduit because it passes through the air return plenum. It's code that the wires need to be shielded, even if they're low voltage. This was done in a few places in the house, and has no detriment to the air return system.
Some of the duct work is connected to the HVAC floor penetrations on the first floor. We passed HVAC rough inspection since just the floor penetrations are needed. I think we passed rough plumbing inspections too so we just need to finish electrical and pass that inspection before we can start on the drywall. The electrical installers are working on the garage this week so I think we can get inspected Tuesday or Thursday.
All the sockets and cabinet lighting whips are installed and wired in the kitchen. I don't think we'll be short on electrical receptacles anywhere on the wall. A few more will come through the floor for the island power, but that comes just before cabinets are installed, after drywall.
Here's a closer look at all the wiring jazz next to the sliding door in the kitchen. From left to right, regardless of height, is light switches, both high and low voltage, TV drop, power for the TV and receptacle below it. We haven't decided if we want a TV in the kitchen, but if we do, it will be an under cabinet deal. We couldn't find a better place since most of the walls are occupied by wall cabinets and the only other blank space is above the banquette. The whip on the right of the picture is for under cabinet lighting. There needs to be a low voltage transformer in the cabinet since we'll be using LED lights.
Here's the drain location for the master tub. I think everything has been resolved with the fitment and installation of our tub since they have the confidence to install this pipe. There does seem to be a good amount of hand space around the pipe just in case, which is one of the concerns about the tub we picked.
Also on the exterior stone front they had to figure out what to do around the back porch. The problem is that when the previous crew poured the slab on top, again, they mistakenly poured it for a brick depth. If we just installed the stone that we always specified, there would still be too much overhang on the concrete. The solution Mike and the stone guys came up with is to install an angle iron ledge and fur out the wall with cinder block, to which the stone can be adhered. This will have to happen all the way around the deck, including the gazebo. We couldn't cut down the overhang because then the posts would be too close to the edge. Not enough foresight on this part.
Here are all the cinder blocks that will buff out the back porch wall. They'll just tie into the ICF with straps and the granite cobble can easily adhere to this. We'll need to revisit the design of the fireplace in the gazebo when they get to this point. I think this week we'll see an excavator come in to remove the dirt near the storage door under the back deck. It will be interesting to see what's lurking in there since it was closed off
a couple of years ago.
So that's about it for this week. Tons of progress yet again. I don't think the stone masons will be able to move forward with the install this week since temperatures will be below freezing again and we're expected to get snow. We should see the completion and inspection of rough electrical, which should put us in line with drywall installation and meeting Mikes goal. We've lined up a meeting with Margaret in a few weeks to revisit all the tile selections and review lighting selections. We'll also need to finalize finished plumbing selections and start to think about door hardware. An inspector for the bank came out during the week and Mike walked him through everything that's going in and the amount required to complete so hopefully we'll be good on that. If we can get past that hurdle, then it should be fairly stress free for the rest of the build.
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