Nickw cabin/house build

[NickW]

I've mentioned we're building in the WI northwoods in some other threads, so I thought I'd start one with occasional progress reports. I've been MIA on the forum because I've been BUSY

Shell is up and I just finished shingling. Strattford II is here and will be slid into place after I get the platform built. Windows and doors will start going in this week.

 

[Nate R]

Looking good! What's on the walls on the bottom, over the foundation wall maybe? Is that Styro industries' panels or something else?

I have my own shell in NE WI that I put up last year. Just about finished with some exterior work on my main house in SE WI, so getting back to the cabin build I've got, too. Gotta get windows/doors in, wiring, insulation, skylights, and wood stove (Jotul F100) before it gets cold!

 

[NickW]

Looking good! What's on the walls on the bottom, over the foundation wall maybe? Is that Styro industries' panels or something else?

I have my own shell in NE WI that I put up last year. Just about finished with some exterior work on my main house in SE WI, so getting back to the cabin build I've got, too. Gotta get windows/doors in, wiring, insulation, skylights, and wood stove (Jotul F100) before it gets cold!

Good eye! Yep, those are the Rustic Rock from Styro.

 

[Nate R]

Good eye! Yep, those are the Rustic Rock from Styro.

Got it, thanks! Asking as I'll be replacing the insulation covering on the sides of my slab, probably next spring.....Nudo Groundbreaker, not a fan after trying to use it. I'll be moving to a Styro product, I think.

 

[clancey]

Both of them just beautiful and so much work but well worth it and you people have talent..clancey

 

[NickW]

Thanks Clancey! Lotta work and headaches, but should be worth it in the end. Hoping to retire up here.

Nate, I'll update when I figure out the best way to do the joints. I did one by rolling the aggregate into the joint, but it has a different sheen because there's caulk covering the aggregate. The tech guy said to just push it in instead of rolling it. There is trim available for the 1" panels, but not the 1 1/2" or 2"; but I personally wouldn't want the trim line every 4'.

 

[NickW]

Bunch of windows flashed and installed this weekend and got the stove set on the pedestal and verified the roof flashing was located correctly for the chimney with the wife & boys... Lots of off & on rain yesterday and today, sure am glad the shingling is done. Inside pic of the tall wall looks a little funny because the film is still on.

 

[clancey]

I love where you placed that stove and I bet your wife helped you with the placement--lol ,,Looking wonderful and so glad you beat the rain..Yes...old clancey

 

[mcdougy]

Looking great. Sweat equity is what brings us all here.... What stove is that?

 

[NickW]

Looking great. Sweat equity is what brings us all here.... What stove is that?

Osburn Strattford II "zc" fireplace. Plan to add the duct fan kit later. Leaving access from the back side in the stairwell via a removable panel.

 

[mcdougy]

Osburn Strattford II "zc" fireplace. Plan to add the duct fan kit later. Leaving access from the back side in the stairwell via a removable panel.

Looks like a nice heater, and I'm sure it won't let the pipes freeze a nice big stove room as well, by the looks of the pics.

 

[NickW]

Looks like a nice heater, and I'm sure it won't let the pipes freeze a nice big stove room as well, by the looks of the pics.

I think it's a 2.5 cu ft box. Rated to heat up to 2200sqft. Got the firescreen because the wife wants to be able to have an "ambiance" regular fire, but I insisted on heating capability too. I think the secondary combustion gives ambiance...

We certainly won't have the heating need that we do at home... that's 2400 sq ft and electric baseboard in a late 70's house. I am going high performance insulation and air infiltration system with gas forced air main furnace. We plan to retire there and I don't want to need to burn 24/7 and go through 4 cord a winter when retired.

SOMEDAY I will get to relax again...

 

[mcdougy]

Old habits are hard to break.....you might cut back to 3.75 cord

 

[mcdougy]

What's behind the air barrier? Edit....I see now, o.s.b.....2x6 wall I'm thinking?

 

[NickW]

2x6 stud wall with the BIB system. R23 walls, R50 ceilings, foamed sill plates, foamed window openings, caulked joints. Furnace will be scuttled and 1 exhaust fan will be a multu speed quiet one for air exchange to control moisture (instead of an expensive air exchange unit).

They've learned a lot about how to control mold. Back in the late 80's/early 90's when they started building "air tight" houses, 5 years later the inside of the walls were full of mold. Now they know air change is required, but needs to be controlled.

 

[mcdougy]

What material are they blowing? Fiberglass or cellulose? Here our codes have required a hrv/erv for the last 10 years or so. Some people swear by them, some people unplug them. We/me built our retirement home 4years ago with the same blown wall system. We did add 1" of polysio foam to outside of stud. And I've built many wall assemblies with the flash and fill 2x6 wall. (1.5" spray foam against the osb then fill the remainder with of 2x6 cavity with blown cellulose.

 

[NickW]

Using both. Certain areas get fiberglass, others cellulose. Trying to do the balancing act between cost and effectiveness. Insulation contractor doesn't feel that for our situation anything more is cost effective. I could do it myself for a lot less but not be nearly as good. I could spend twice as much on the "cadillac" of insulation systems but wouldn't be justified. We meet the clean energy house rating.

The walls in the loft will have 1" foamboard on the back side instead of OSB to add a little R value, the concrete foundation walls have 1 1/2", the walkout wall has 1" besides the BIB so that will be R28. When we build out the basement (phase 2) we'll build walls against the concrete ones and add more insulation.

 

[ABMax24]

What's the cost difference of adding the 1.5" of spray foam over the OSB and blow in vs just complete blow in insulation?

My house is 5 years old, also with 2x6 construction with R22 fiberglass batts and R50 blow in fiberglass in the attic. It's more efficient than most, but if I built the house myself I would have wanted more insulation, and preferably the additional air sealing of spray in foam. Ideally I'd do 2x8 wall thickness with offset studs to minimize thermal bridging of the studs. I'd also have done triple pane windows instead of the double panes that I have.

 

[mcdougy]

What's the cost difference of adding the 1.5" of spray foam over the OSB and blow in vs just complete blow in insulation?

My house is 5 years old, also with 2x6 construction with R22 fiberglass batts and R50 blow in fiberglass in the attic. It's more efficient than most, but if I built the house myself I would have wanted more insulation, and preferably the additional air sealing of spray in foam. Ideally I'd do 2x8 wall thickness with offset studs to minimize thermal bridging of the studs. I'd also have done triple pane windows instead of the double panes that I have.

Yes....flash and fill does not address thermal bridging as the spray foam is on the inside of of the wall cavity, but does create a near perfect air seal IME the flash and fill PRE COVID was about a 50cent SQFT upgrade. The foam itself is "expensive" while the labour is low and cellulose is "cheap" while it is much more labour intensive....

Right now I think the Cadillac is 2" foam on the outside of 2x4 stud with blown in the cavity The leading theory is get as much insulation on the outside of the wall assembly to eliminate any dew points within the wall cavity. In the perfect world the wall cavity would have nothing in it except plumbing and wires. . I'm a fan of cellulose blown in vs fiberglass blown in.
3pane windows are more efficient than 2 pane but until the price comes down the upfront cost was not recovered. Low e 366 film on a 2 pane window filled with argon vs standard low e 188 film and argon is the best approach for a high efficient window.

 

[NickW]

Judging by the cost of the rim joist foam it would be thousands.

Agreed on the triple panes. I've actually had sales reps tell me they aren't justifiable.

I've never heard of 2x8 walls. Maybe in the States it isn't done much because our climate is warmer than you guys north of the border. The thermal bridging down here is something that seems to be done more at the concrete than above grade. I have foam between the garage slab and house foundation wall.

I am saving some $ by installing the cardboard backer for the BIB in the ceilings myself.

I will comment that I am walking a fine line with subs. There is more work here than contractors. For most trades, out of 5 subs contacted I get 1 response; plus I'm Joe Blow nobody to them. The GC's tgat feed them work regularly get preference over me. I am keeping my subs well aware of where i am at way ahead of when they need to be here so they can keep me in the schedule. There are concrete contractors who are 2 years out and not even accepting plans for bids...

 

[NickW]

There will be no plumbing in exterior walls. Through the floor for the kitchen, bathroom fixtures are on interior walls.

 

[clancey]

Its so nice to have talent like you have building your retirement home..When I was a young girl my family had two houses "down at the shore" (in the f50's) and my wonderful step father decided that he was going to retire "down at the shore" so he began fixing up the smaller house so every week end we would cart "knotty pine wood and tiles and other things so that he could work on the house mostly on top of the clifford packard car..I remember these things and he finished the job anyway right before my brother passed this last year we had a conversation about "Dad" and we both realized "what a talented man he was and just a hell of a man"...My brother especially noted this because he build one of those "prepackaged log cabins" and knew the work and figuring involved...Just thought I would share that story and your retirement home is going to be just beautiful and "your's too" Nate R. Also I had a stove room built and I can tell you workers are hard to come by but I have been lucky knowing my people over 25 years and we are all "still kicking"....Keep plugging and you will be finished "some day" just beautiful...clancey

 

[SpaceBus]

What's the cost difference of adding the 1.5" of spray foam over the OSB and blow in vs just complete blow in insulation?

My house is 5 years old, also with 2x6 construction with R22 fiberglass batts and R50 blow in fiberglass in the attic. It's more efficient than most, but if I built the house myself I would have wanted more insulation, and preferably the additional air sealing of spray in foam. Ideally I'd do 2x8 wall thickness with offset studs to minimize thermal bridging of the studs. I'd also have done triple pane windows instead of the double panes that I have.

I find the real return on triple pane windows is not the marginal R value increase, but the sound deadening that extra pane gives. We are replacing our original 70's two pane windows with triple pane Marvin windows and the difference is staggering.

 

[ABMax24]

I find the real return on triple pane windows is not the marginal R value increase, but the sound deadening that extra pane gives. We are replacing our original 70's two pane windows with triple pane Marvin windows and the difference is staggering.

Never thought of that, my parents replaced all their windows a dozen years back, the 2 largest picture windows they went triple pane, the cost difference was only like 25% more. Makes a huge difference in comfort in those rooms, the old double panes sucked the heat right out of the house.

 

[stoveliker]

I find the real return on triple pane windows is not the marginal R value increase, but the sound deadening that extra pane gives. We are replacing our original 70's two pane windows with triple pane Marvin windows and the difference is staggering.

I did the same. Triple pane and some coating claimed to reflect long wavelength light when it hits the window from high up (and letting it through in winter when the sun is low - I didn't look this up but the efficiency rating of the (middle panel) coated windows did go up)..Though I do miss hearing the owls at night....