roof

It was a gray, gray day on the land, but that didn't stop us!
When we got there it had warmed to 25 degrees, and four roofers were busy installing the rubber membrane for that north roof on the modern passive solar house kit. (So I think this counts as Construction Day 9?)

All the windows except for the clerestory are installed on our off grid passive solar house, and our wonderful contractor Ron also installed protective plywood to keep the weather and trespassers out around that transom area on the south side (where I was remiss in ordering it over the double doors) until the transom arrives.

This weekend, we had the special task of Pouch, the mascot of the kindergarten class, visiting us for the weekend, so if you look closely you might notice a little kangaroo named Pouch in random photos...

Hmmm. Big news of the day? House kit wonderful, but our poor hairless dog got caught up in barbed wire strung in the woods decades ago (we thought we had gotten it all up, that rings the field, obviously we missed some). He's ok, minus a sweater (which is *still* embedded there), BUT I would like to remind anyone even thinking about barbed wire vs. investing in solar electric fences... please don't even think of barbed wire. I'm still pickin' it off my land generations later, and it's hurting us. I have seen and heard so many stories of horses and pets torn up horribly... I was grateful my pet only lost a sweater instead of panicking and tearing himself up. It's another example of things that happened long ago affecting our environment today, no?

I walked around taking pictures of the house kit and was supposedly keeping the children busy while handsome hubby was in the shed sorting the VMI basketball floorboards, separating out the maple boards without paint, and those that might have the logo painted on them. We will auction off the VMI logo to help pay for our purchase of the VMI basketball court, which, aside from the logo, we will reuse those storied, 100% maple boards on the interior walls of the casa ti.

Little did I know that while I was taking pictures on *one* side o' the house, the children were on the *other* side gleefully jumping and splashing through mud puddles...

as the temperature fell...

So I came around the corner and there they were, COVERED with wet mud...

As we were slowly finishing chores and packing up to leave, the police stopped by.

Suddenly you just see this vehicle coming down the road, official lights and uniforms...
When we were there the same time last year, they did the same thing- drove right on up at the same time of day, mid-afternoon, checking on the land. As sad as we had been the week previously about someone *littering* in my frickin' environmentally friendly house kit -and- *trespassing* on our land, here comes the community to heal!

Police are welcomed with OPEN arms- they know there is an issue, and they are actively driving in this rural area during deer season to make sure people are where they ought to be.
They knew the story, they know the neighbors, they knew there was movement on our land where there had been a problem, and they came in to make sure we were who we were. Ayyyyyyymen.

They know of our plight and are watching over us! Even as we get to know each other! Word spreads fast around here, and I just feel SO much a part of this WONDERFUL community already.

We reflected on all the kind people we have met here. From Ron and Judy, (Ron smiled at 4 year old in 7 layers of dresses with unbrushed hair as he pulled up today, and grinned, "Always a fashion statement!"), The Aults (who have the sustainable free range farm down the street), George, who makes the best Glog ever : ) and lives over down the road with the Amish, Peggy (oh gosh I can't even begin to go into Peggy, she deserves to be in an adventure novel!) ... AND the Amish, even though they are somewhat seperate, they integrated closely here, in fact I got the nicest note from the boy I had mentioned last week on the carton of pepper jelly... I still can't get over that HE is part of the Amish crew building our home after years of my telling him, "Yeah, we camp, we have no shelter...." Serendipitous. When we are here, everything is okay. Even with rogue deer hunters.

The children are now completely passed out in their car seats as we race back to the city... this time of year, I don't want to be driving at dusk, ever. Too many deer, too many crazy people that *think* they are hunters. Rifle bullets travel way to far for my taste... already two people have been killed this year from hunting accidents, and I don't even know the count of people that have hit deer on the roads...

So here we are, driving home, on a crisp gray day. It is 4:17.
We are exhausted, but SO happy.

More videos...

WE HAVE A ROOF!!!!!
: )
I can not *begin* to tell you what this feels like.
It was so amazing to walk around this weekend, with the wall panels up, taking our silly amateur videos, experiencing the walls of our *dream* finally there, solid... reality.

So imagine how I feel seeing pictures of our modern house structure with a roof.

THANK YOU Ron Bernaldo and Daniel Esh and their crew (um, guess Daniel won't be seeing this since Amish don't have email... :) )- and I look forward to thanking them all in person.

[Much less throw a big party!]

Please welcome again Ron Bernaldo, fabulous contractor.
His voice, I just type. : )
(BTW Ron, er, nice Arnold Schwarzenegger impression there!
Hahahaha!)

"The good news is... if the structure isn't high out of the ground, at least the 16/18 out of the ground, the roof panels are being set with a 4 man crew, because they're light enough they can be set by hand without a forklift or crane. IF it's close to the ground.

The assembly is easier on the roof panels than the walls.

Wednesday we won't get all the panels set because that side of the house (framing structure of the south side with all the clerestory windows, although the windows are on the north side) is more complicated than today's low north side.

I think we can wrap this up by Monday.
IF I'm right, and we wrap up (tomorrow is an Amish wedding and Bear Hunting Day. One Amish is going to a wedding, the others are bear hunting) on Monday, then we will be a day UNDER what I was hoping for.

The Amish driver and I are going to load up and install windows and doors on Friday while the other others are working on the roof panels on the south side."

Copeland's note: "Sigh... our dream is becoming reality!" : )

Part 5 of our 15-part Q&A series on all aspects of green building from the publishers of HealthyHouseInstitute.com. Click here for the introductory post and furthur details.

Question: Aren’t wood windows best from a health standpoint?

Answer: Wood windows are usually treated with water-repellent and fungicidal chemicals. So, while wood is a natural material, treated windows can certainly bother some sensitive people. Also, they’re usually made of pine which can have a strong natural odor. Furthermore, wood windows require routine painting. However, wood windows usually aren’t strong outgassing sources. Therefore, these concerns are only important for very sensitive people.

Vinyl windows are a less-expensive option. While they never need painting (a real plus), the vinyl itself can outgas a little—especially when new—which can be enough to bother some sensitive individuals.

Personally, we prefer aluminum-framed windows. Most are available prefinished in white or brown, and they require little maintenance. In cold climates, you should look for frames with thermal-breaks to minimize sweating. Aluminum windows generally have rubber or plastic seals that have a slight odor—but it usually isn’t significant.

Multiple panes of glass are a good idea in harsh climates for energy efficiency. Low-E coatings and argon-filled windows rarely cause health problems, and we think they’re important to conserve energy.

Question: Is there a healthy window putty I can use?

Cardinal Building Systems, Inc. will be hosting a builders class on Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)

The class will be Rescheduled due to Inclement Weather

There is no fee for the class and is open to anyone interested in learning about SIPs. The class will be held at the R-Control Plant in Winchester, VA

This class covers: The definition of SIPS, Building with SIPs, SIPs vs. Stick building, R-Control: Control not Compromise, SIP's role in the Emerging Green Market, a Question and Answer Session and will be finished up with a plant tour.

Please RSVP by Wednesday the 21st as seating is limited. If you are unable to attend this class we will be having another in March. We can also schedule individual meetings with anyone interested who is unable to make it to the classes.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Contact: Summer Berry

Phone: 540-535-7282

Fax: 540-535-0992

e-mail: summer@cardinalbuildings.com

Many people understand that their homes or commercial buildings will leak energy. They also understand that over time it will hurt the environment. The problem is that it isn't a big deal to them because they can't see it. It is like telling a 16 year old that the sun can damage their skin. They don't see it happening so they don't worry about it. The easiest way for me to let people know that stick building, even if it does have decent insulation, is not efficient is with a picture. Building with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) is the best way to reduce energy leaks.

SIPs are a strong structural system consisting of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) insulation which is laminated to oriented strand board (OSB) forming a structural panel.

Now let me show you why. These two buildings are almost identical, located in West Virginia each has about 6,000 sf of roof. The photo on the top will show the thermal imaging while the photo on the bottom will show you what we are looking at with the naked eye.

The building on the left was stick built while the building on the right had a roof constructed of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) You can see the roof has multiple large "hot spots". The building on the right is a nice consistent purple showing that there are little to no leaks. The parking lots and road retained heat so they show up as yellow and orange.

Below are the same picures from the other side.

Again the stick built building (now shown on the right) has obvious hot spots while the SIP roof (now shown on the left) has no heat loss.

The use of SIPS greatly reduces energy loss. The direct benefit of using SIPs is that there is less energy loss and in turn there are less greenhouse gases being let out into the atmosphere. So while you can't always see the effect our choices have there are consequences, short term and long term. People can help the environment and themselves if they choose green building materials.