Interior Finishes

There has been quite a bit of progress going on in the interior of the home. We have installed the kitchen minus the island (note: the kitchen cabinets where designed and built by our company) and have the concrete floor stained and finished. The trim around the windows and doors are being stained and the tile around the showers are being installed. All products that we use are environmentally friendly and have low to no VOC off gassing. We have filters and vacuum systems set up for sanding and hand vacuum the house daily in order to keep a dust free and clean air quality with in the home.

Exterior Finish

Beagle Brook is well on its way in the finishing stages. We have started to installed all the trim, fascia and soffit material and are about half way complete with the siding material. We choose Azek for the trim and soffit material. This is a PVC composite and is has no need to be painted at all. It also has a high endurance to the weather so the durability is excellent. The siding is a combination of Hardy material ranging from horizontal shiplap siding to vertical board and batten on the gable ends. This siding was chosen for its durability and maintenance free life span. The siding and trim is all placed on 3/4" furring strips over the rigid foam which acts as the rain barrier so there is plenty of space for any water that penetrates the siding to run down the plane and exit out the bottom.

Finish Update

Sorry for not posting anything in awhile. We have been working on the interior finishes and getting the kitchen cabinets built. The roof has been installed which is an asphalt comp. shingle and really makes the Azek trim pop out. Next week the siding should start to get up and the deck will be built along with that. On the interior the beams, posts and collar ties have been wrapped in knotty pine and stained dark to contrast the white ceiling and give weight to the soaring two story living space. We have been working inside quite a bit and on these cold fall days the passive design of this home has really been a blessing. We do not need lights or any heat source of any kind to work throughout the day. The insulation and airtightness of the building have kept the interior at a comfortable temperature without the use of mechanical equipment.

Exterior Trim

On the exterior the next step in the process is to install all the trim around the windows, corners and fascia boards. We chose to use white Azek trim. This is a composite material that is impregnated with the color. This means it is virtually maintenance free and will never have to be painted.

Drywall Installation

The drywall has all been hung and the interior of the home has taken its shape. In these pictures, through the jungle gym of scaffolding, you can see how open and airy the house will be when completed. All the exposed supports will be wrapped in reclaimed timber and give the house weight so the soaring ceiling ridge does not appear to rise too high.

Blown-In Insulation

The insulators have finished the blown-in insulation and the house is looking, feeling and acting air-tight and quiet. We choose to use open cell foam and completely fill the entire stud and joist cavity throughout the upper two levels of the home giving us a tremendous air barrier and a combined R-Value with the exterior foam sheathing for the walls at R-25 and the ceiling at an R-45. Around the windows on the inside we have spray foamed closed cell foam and caulked all other opening The interior is now ready for dry wall installation. This will begin on Monday!

House Update

Everything has been coming together nicely at Beagle Brook, we have built to lower roof the both protects and shades the first floor windows. The rear entry connector is built between the house and the existing barn and the furring strips for the siding are installed. We are prepping the inside so the spray foam application can begin and gearing up for the installation of the siding and roof finish material. Stay tuned for the finishes.

Interior Framing Update

On the interior of the house we have been getting everything together so the spray foam contractors can come in and insulate the house. Rigid foam has been placed in all the headers and sealed with caulk around the edges. The rest of the interior framing has been built on top of the concrete floor. The oak stair way has been built and temporarily dropped into place. Along with the framing we have installed all the necessary blocking so that grab bars will be able to be installed throughout the master bathroom at a later date. This house has been designed to be not only passive solar, but also with the ideals of aging-in-place.

Exterior Wall Waterproofing

To ensure blocking of all thermal breaks throughout the building and to gain additional R value in the walls we choose to use 1" XPS rigid foam on all the exterior walls. We used a combination of sheathing tape and grace ice and water shield to make a consistent drainage plane along the walls. We are then placing furring strips around the windows and doors and along all the studs to provide a gap between the sheathing plan and the siding. This gives any rain that enters through the siding a chance to freely run down the plane and out the base of the wall.

The exterior roof lines are visible

With the completion of the second layer of roof sheathing the complete roof line shape is now visible. At the top ridge to overhang protrudes 36" from the framing and the gently tapers down the gambrel roof to 6". This gives a large sweeping gabled end that not only looks great aesthetically, but also helps shade the eastern and western faces as well as protects the upper portions of those walls from weather. The knee braces you see in the photos will support the lower roof and wrap the entire building. This roof will be placed after the windows and exterior wall rigid foam is installed.

Concrete Floor Pictures

Here are a couple pictures of the interior concrete floor. It will be a few weeks before it has completely cured and the stain and finish can be applied. You can see the wood inlays that were placed before the pour the 2x material will be unscrewed and clear oak will be laid down to give the open floor plan a sense of organized room locations. In the photo to the right you can see how we exemplified the wood details with the necessary saw cuts. Now that the floor has been poured we can build the rest of the interior walls. We waited to build these so the floor would have continuity from the front the home (the south facing side) to the rear of the home (the north facing side). This will allow the heat gained from solar radiation to flow over the entire first floor.

Concrete Floor Installation

It has been very busy over at the Beagle Brook site. The interior concrete floor has been poured and is now in the curing stages before the stain and sealer is applied. To prep the 3/4" sub-floor for the concrete we applied a water-based exterior sealer to the plywood and 1x6 board that surrounds the built walls. We then covered the floor and 1x6 with grace ice and water shield (a roofing material). This ensures that no moisture from the concrete goes down into the plywood and crawl space. There was then wire mess placed on the floor to create a solid bond and prevent unwanted cracks. We altered the concrete composition with less limestone and the addition of sand to create the lightweight design. The floor is rated at 46 pounds per square foot. The saw cuts in the floor were made on Friday (these are made to control the cracking in the concrete floor) and are strategically placed to complement the room layout and give added detail to the floor itself. The finish product looks great and is giving the clients a great sense of how their home is going to finish. The photo to the right is during the pour itself I will add finished photos of the floor this week.

Interior Update

With the installation of the rigid foam on the roof area we have been able to comfortably work on the interior detailing while it is raining outside. We have been getting everything prepped and ready for the concrete floor to be poured. The plumbing, HVAC and mechanical contractors have been stubbing up everything so the concrete will get poured to it. We have been placing 1x6 around the walls for the concrete to be poured. The exterior walls have a line of sealant caulk applied to the sub-floor and bottom plate before the 1x6 to make an airtight seal to the out doors. We used 1x6 so there would still be exposed wood for the drywall to sit on so it will not suck up water from the concrete. We should be getting the floor started in the next week or so. Stay tuned the next thing on the agenda will be finishing the cold roof sandwich.

Framing Update

We have installed all the exterior knee brace supports that will carry the lower roof. This roof was designed at a specific height and distance away from the building to allow maximum sunlight to enter during the winter months and block the high summer sun. The roof extends 3'-6" from the building and is elevated roughly 8'-6" from the finish floor height. This roof extends out on all four sides of the building blocking the east and west windows as well as the south facing ones. The knee braces will be left exposed to give visual interest to the exterior of the building.

Interior Views

This is a nice interior view showing the exposed supports that will eventually be wrapped in reclaimed barn timber. This image is shot from the entry towards the great room and extra bedroom. (note: not all interior walls are built yet) These timbers will aesthetically play well with the concrete wall giving definition and strength to the interior barn like atmosphere. The height of the ceiling will also be played down with the installation of false collar ties made from reclaimed timber. The overall feel will be large and welcoming while laying softly on the land with a small building footprint.