Prefab casa ti: The Interior Load Bearing Wall

If it were just a few degrees colder, we'd be packing up excitedly to head to the prefab green house to then relax on the land, watching and playing in the snow fall.

Instead, it is a slow, frosty rain, so we are staying here, keeping warm, baking cookies and grateful my parents have invited us over for hot soup!

We are using this wet weekend to rest, catch up with work (I had a week of marathon conference calls), to slowly decorate the tree, and get a little more organized than our suitcase life normally allows.

As with all of you, I have been having a great conversation with one person in particular, Bart S., this week.

(The systems post is almost done, by the way, so you can see what we are doing with our own prefab green home...in case you want to do the same thing with your own prefab house. I will also have some new septic / waste water treatment information for you soon.)

Bart had asked about when / how the interior wall of the prefab house kit was built.  There are not as many pictures of that, as Our Fabulous Contractor Ron was the only one taking pictures that week.

So, to more specifically answer Bart's question:
In constructing the prefab green home, the contractor first erected the exterior SIPs house kit walls, then built the interior wall.

You recall the end panels of the SIPs are built on an angle, and that's what gave Ron the height of the load bearing wall. Then the roof panels sit on top of the exterior SIPs, as well as on that middle wall built by the contractor.

(Sorry for the repetition of these old prefab house kit construction photos but they might help explain visually.)

Look closely at these photos and you can see how the SIP roof panels rest on the exterior wall / interior wall:

 

I am playing with Posterous + Google Wave while killing time to go to my parents.

Reply Edit 11:19 am I am playing with Posterous + Google Wave while killing time to go to my parents. Here's a pic from last year's Thanksgiving there! : ) Bienvenue Bienvenue (yes, I named one of the Prefab Cottages after their house, in honor of them) was built in 1801 on a farm in Hanover county, then moved to Richmond in the 1920s. Oh wow. In looking for a pic of my parent's house I just found a bunch of prefab house kit pics - it was this time LAST YEAR our mod prefab house kit arrived!!! The house kit / shell / windows & doors went up in about a week. And here it is a year later and I haven't done the interior. We're doing it in stages because we won't move there until the children finish 5th grade because they are in a special educational program. In the meantime, we're certainly having fun camping in it! So, for fun, here's some pictures of the prefab modern house kit from last year arriving and being constructed on the land! (More videos, etc. here in the October / November / December 2008 archives: http://www.greenmodernkits.com/2008_11_01_archive.html) Amish forklift The SIPs house kit panels are unloaded Putting together the prefab... Prefab house walls going up... Prefab construction... SIPs A storm approaches... On the roof... From the north... Getting weather tight... Interior... clerestory windows... Windows go in... Week 1: We have shelter!!!! Well, there's some pictures from week 1 of our modern prefab net zero house kit! After years of camping in that 1960s (still beloved) teardrop camper, I am grateful for the shelter and energy efficiency of the prefab passive solar house. Reply Edit Reply Edit

 

Prefab Zero Energy House Kit: Interior Framing Begins!

It is morning in the prefab zero energy house kit, and I am sitting here, in the middle of nowhere, typing on a laptop.

It's a little weird, good, sad... by having better internet connection (remember the boat battery hookup with the blackberry??? I'm no longer on the new boat battery for power, I'm on the old tractor battery! AND have an added device, a "personal hot spot" to better telecommute.), I can work from this rural area for longer periods of time.

However, let's face it: shouldn't I be outdoors right now?

Well there's plenty of time for that: I'm just on my first cup of coffee, so while I wake up I'll update you guys on the prefab interior framing progress!



So, now you can now walk around the inside of the prefab house and finally "see" the dimensions of the rooms. Several people have asked me if "there is enough mechanical / closet space." And, as I trace the spaces, the dimensions, I can't help but think, "who the heck needs more?!?" Seriously, folks, not only are the closet dimensions adequate, in my opinion they are generous- don't forget the ceilings are really tall so you could use that upper space for even more storage. (How many shoes do you need? ; ) )

I wondered what the spaces would feel like with framing. I do not feel confined, in fact, the front area, even with the addition of the dining table that seats eight, feels open and airy; the bedrooms are ample. The air mattresses we currently sleep on are Queen-sized; so you can now see, with the framing outlines, that there is plenty of room for desks and dressers.



But then again, I'm the owner. Of course I think it's perfect! However, yesterday Dolores, a house kit enthusiast, paid us a visit. So this was our first real-live non-biased non-family/friend visitor who wants to build a prefab casa ti in New York but wanted to check it out first. (Don't forget we're having an official Open House the weekend of September 26th & 27th to coincide with a lot of fun stuff in this historic area if you want to stop by! More on that soon, mark your calendars!)

So, dear readers, meet Dolores:
Here is what a total stranger thinks about our prefab off grid house: (she doesn't want to be seen so until I can get the sound off the video I'm just going to put her text here- just imagine her talking with a cool New Yawk accent : ) :)

"Hi, my name is Dolores. I'm visiting the casa ti because we're interested in buying it, and it's a lovely place.

They have dogs around (laughs, dogs amble into camera view)... and they've delineated quite nicely the space (sweeps arms)- You can see where the rooms are, the doors, closets... and it's enough closet space for people who are not pack rats. (we laugh)

Um... (looks up) the ceilings are quite high, so you can add extra storage up above you... and (starts walking through the rooms) it has a nice feel to it. (looks down) The concrete is beautiful. And the bathroom is an okay size (nods)... I'm from New York so I don't require too much space, this is a nice house for people who want a simple life and a clean slate to come to or live in.

(sweeps hand to front room) Out here is a living room/ dining room / kitchen combination that's not complete yet but it's quite lovely- you can see the windows and doors drape across the front of the house, there's also a side door for extra light and another entrance... and it's an angled ceiling so it gives the space a greater feel.

It's quite gorgeous, I think that you'd love it!"
(Thank you, Dolores!!! We do love it!!!)

Now, 'round here parts, strangers don't stay strangers long. So after Dolores got her fill of the house kit I said, "Hey, I'm going to go find the Amish, want to come?" She did.

Everyone told me where it was (remember the original stand we visited moved), but in these parts the directions are, "Well, you go down route X and then by the guy who sells shotguns, then look over near there on your right and They'll. Be. Right. THERE."
Oh.. of course.

So Dolores and I headed out down the road until my internal navigation system suddenly deemed that "this feels close." We slowed, and there was the Amish saw mill. Dolores turned in. "Oh, no, you can't do that!!!" I warned, but Dolores is from New Yawk : ) and dismissed my being-raised-with-farms-rules with a, "Maybe we can ask some one..." and there was no one, so she turned down a drive and as my protests rang further we saw a woman by a barn. I apologetically grimaced as we approached, and as we neared, I saw she was Amish. Not only was she Amish, but she was hitching her horse to her buggy, which was loaded up with her family.

"I am SO SORRY we couldn't turn around and are lost and are trying to find the stand to buy bread..." I quickly apologized, but thankfully was met with a smile. "That would be my mother, Lydia Esh, and they are just the next road down. " We thanked her profusely, apologized again, and headed off, where we then found her mom. Now you know you can't take pictures of the Amish, which is why the house kit construction pictures never showed the crew that built our prefab house. But I wonder if Mrs. Esh will let me take a picture of her store; I will ask her next time to show y'all how nice it is... there are quilts, wooden chests, children's toys, jams, relishes, breads... and even a pet chicken named Betty, yours for $5.

Both of their homesteads are beautiful: solid, immaculate homes and structures, bountiful gardens... happy farms. And when we passed Emma in her buggy on our return, we all waved at each other... Turns out her brother, Lydia's son, with others, were the ones that helped put together our prefab house kit! Thank you, Dolores, for going with me!

Now, one thing you need to know about farms: If you do not know the occupants, whatever you do, do not go on the land. This is why I so strongly protested when Dolores turned down the drive. One of my friends almost shot an encyclopedia salesman a few years ago similarly: seriously, think about it: You're in the middle of nowhere, on hundreds of acres alone, and a stranger is trying to access your house? What would YOU think? (The poor salesman- he was peering into windows at dusk when my friend showed up behind him with a rifle at the ready... )

However, if you KNOW the farm, around here it is the opposite: People come a-callin'. Telephones are often out, cell phone coverage is spotty, so when you know someone is "at home," well heck you just go and visit 'em.

So we had several friends stop by yesterday, including James Scott, whose family used to own this land and whose parents still live two doors down. Mr. Scott tells us so much history about the area, about the land we now own, and what he thinks we should do with it, and we listen: he knows all about the things we have discovered, and more. He thinks we should put a pond in near the old tobacco barn and knows all about the spring-fed stream and old breached pond...

We were all sitting there, enjoying nice breeze and the view inside as we discussed the prefab construction (he was very interested in the structural insulated panels) when, suddenly, there was a buzzing and bumping heard against the clerestory windows.
"Dag," I thought, "that's one big horsefly!" It wasn't.



We then decided to install the rest of the window screens...

...Our adventures continued further yesterday, but I wouldn't want to bore you.

It was an unusually cold summer evening, so we closed the windows.

I awoke this morning, then, sleepily, after awhile, thought out of curiosity to check and see what the temperature was inside the prefab house kit, it read 75. (Handsome Husband says the weather service said it was in the 50s last night...) And that's with NO SYSTEMS installed yet to heat the house other than the energy efficient SIP and passive solar design!

Now I have finished my coffee, so am off to play outside this prefab-ulous house. : )
...Off to pick blackberries for breakfast!

P.s. Interior design:

• You may have noticed we added a reused dining table originally from our local modern design store, La Diff, to the house kit - it seats eight, and we also are reusing some Xylon chairs by Giancarlo Piretti, which we bought after being used originally in the cafeterias of Circuit City. We picked them up for a very good price to reuse in the casa ti!

• ...Handsome Husband also nailed up more sconces to the walls. #designfight

Ok, ok, maybe they're looking rather cool now... and heck, we only have one camping lantern and no lights yet, so any illumination is welcome...
Hmmmm...

 

Heeeeyyyyyy Hey Hey Hey Hey, Concrete Is Sealed

This weekend HandsomeHusband will again brave the elements and lonesome trail to the land to seal the concrete. Hopefully, we will be singing praise for his success when he returns from his journey!

As he so fascinatingly puts it:
"Great. Drive out, roll on sealer, go to shed, sort the VMI basketball floor boards for eight hours, put on second coat of sealer, then drive home by myself. Good times!"

But look on the bright side!
We'll be singing, Heeeeeyyyyyyyy Hey Hey Hey Hey, Concrete Is Sealed...


Earlier this week I spoke with Ron, our handsome contractor who is in Florida loving on his grandbabies, about the concrete sealant application, and here is what he said:

"I went to Lowe's- there is a product by Qwikrete I bought. It says it serves 800ish sf but buy two and expect to take one back, it went further than I expected. Don’t get a plastic paint pan- check because I don’t think you can put it in a plastic pan, so you might need to get metal.

The paint roller- I liked the ½ inch nub – don’t get the regular paint-your-walls thickness. If you use that with a broom handle it works well for covering the floor.

When it rolls on, know that it’s milky but will dry clear. Also don’t roll it on too thick- I would say it’s better to do two thin coats than one thick coat because if it’s too thick it will start to pull up as you roller it.

It says to stay off of it for 8 hours to dry so you will want to think about what y’all will be doing with the children and dogs that day…"

Instead of Qwickrete we decided to use Eco Tuff:

"Eco-Tuff tm Industrial Floor Coating is the world's leading environmentally compliant safety coating that outperforms all other floor coating products. The advanced formulation of cross-linking modified acrylics, urethanes, and co-polymers delivers a Green Building compliant safety coating with superior durability, flexibility and safety. Available in 17 standard colors.

Eco-Tuff is a single component, zero VOC, ultra tough waterproof coating material. There are no hazardous ingredients, is non-flammable and virtually odorless. It is engineered for the most extreme environments from freezing cold temperatures to the hottest climates around the world. It is capable of withstanding abrasion, UV, chemicals, hot tire pick-up, and submersible applications."

I also had a discussion on SIPs and concrete with the SIPs manufacturer, and he had some good advice for determining when the concrete was cured enough / dry enough to seal. Here are his words:

"When you have a poured concrete slab foundation, moisture is coming out for the first 30 days (at least- especially when you poured when you did and now have the saturated ground emanating moisture).

I recommend taking about a 1 sf piece of plastic and let it sit on the concrete for about two days. If, when you lift up that plastic, you are still getting a lot of moisture, then you should let the concrete dry out a little more before sealing."

Great advice! Hope that helps someone out there!

 

Modern Off Grid Zero Energy House Update

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 too 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...

 

Zero Energy House Kit Update! Modern Design Kit Construction Day 6

Please welcome our guest blogger, Ron Bernaldo of Giant Oaks Construction!
Here he recounts Day 6 of our Modern Passive Solar House Kit construction.

"Yes, it was cold this morning... It never made it to 49 today like they predicted...

The lumber we had to buy on this project was more than I thought, if I were going to buy a kit I would expect to get everything provided.

We had a good day today. I want this weather tight Monday, so we will need a great day Friday (tomorrow is Thanksgiving) to make that happen.

I'll start installing windows Friday morning, so it should look spiffy by the time you get here.

We're still waiting to meet with the new cladding vendor Monday.

I spoke to the rubber roofing contractor who says he tentatively can do that low roof membrane next Saturday."

Copeland's note: I will make sure I reiterate very clearly not only with the client but their contractor that yes, this is a *bare bones* kit, for a good reason: Each person will have their own systems choices, cladding decisions (although I am hooking you up with a volume pricing for the metal cladding, etc.) that will customize the kit. At the end of the day, you guys want a kit that's energy efficient and gorgeous, but that you can make look like your *self*!

If, as the factory had mentioned in a previous response, we had included all that framing lumber with the kit, the cost for shipping etc., would have been substantial vs. buying locally. I think what I'll do is really go over that aspect with every new contractor as each project starts so they are very clear on their estimates.

We will go and check out the house Friday... In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

Off Grid Zero Energy Modern House Kit Update Day 4

Here's the latest house kit update from Ron, our wonderful, money-saving contractor:

I started the call mentioning how dramatic the sky looked in the pictures he took.

His reply? ; )

"I didn't even see 'em, I was looking at the house.

All the outside walls were up, within 2 hours of what I had hoped.

We have no crew tomorrow because of the Amish wedding, Thursday we'll put the top plate in and build a bearing wall in the middle.
Friday we're out...

We won't set panels until Monday morning."

 

Off Grid Passive Solar SIP House Kit Construction, Day 2!

Our zero energy off grid modern house construction update from our wonderful contractor, Ron Bernaldo! Here he explains the progress and his thoughts, as a contractor who has not worked with structural insulated panels (SIP), or a house kit like our passive solar casa ti house kit.

"Eh, I would say it doesn't take a lot of technical expertise to put the panels together but there are quite a few steps involved, so it's not a speedy process.

We got the 44' wall done, and the one 16' wall done, and the first piece around the corner... it wasn't a wonderful day weather-wise, and I had to take care of some things on another job... but all-in-all we've got one guy filling in the framing, 2 setting panels, and the most experienced carpenter following us just framing in the doors & windows.

The factory rep checked in with us... and I had some questions that they walked me through.

I prefer screws to nails or staples, so I deviated from traditional instructions on that.

I put up a 44' wall today.
Normally we have braces all over the place, and there overnight.
I went up to that wall today, and we couldn't shake it.

It's a neat design, I'm really happy with it.

The panels go together EASY. But you do have to do things as you go along, and that's what slows you down.

One more solid day could get us all the way around the perimeter.
If I can get the perimeter done in 3 days, I might do this in 7 days. (That's my goal.)

One of those interior walls will need to go up first to set the roof panel... so that will slow the perimeter/exterior down.

The only thing I'm unhappy with is the amount of material that did not come with the kit. We need material for the clerestory, for the framing of interior, etc. - so I need to account for that.

But I am still considering in my mind the framing for the extending of the roof on one side... that will eat up time.

That's about it!"

Copeland's note: The house kit is *just* the SIPs and SIP parts, of which I had been clear. I will ask him tomorrow why or what he thought would else have been included- they do come with a window and door schedule, but we are very clear about our "bare bones" - which makes it affordable and flexible for the consumer, who could then make their own decisions according to their style and budget.

There is rain in the forecast, which will certainly slow them down... and I also rescheduled the cladding delivery (it was supposed to be delivered Friday) for next Friday (they only deliver on Fridays), because of the rain. Remember, in a rural lot, you do NOT want to get a truck full o' metal modern cladding stuck in the mud!

I am really looking forward to spending the first night with our children in this house, and sharing it with our friends and family. David Day Design did a beautiful job on an affordable, passive solar house kit for Green Modern Kits.

 

Our Modern Zero Energy SIPs House Kit Has Arrived!

Please welcome our handsome guest blogger, our fabulous contractor, OUR HERO!:
Ron Bernaldo of Giant Oaks Construction!
Here is his account of our SIPs modern house kit arrival!

"The truck is 70 feet long.
I did not anticipate that.
The biggest issue was getting it in the driveway - this is a rural property and it took them over an HOUR to make that turn.
We took out the driveway posts, and fortunately there were no large trees that we had to cut down in order to get the truck onto the site.

You don't want a large staff the first day - we used three: myself and two Amish.

The last pictures show everything is staged- they just came bundled, not sorted, so we had to sort everything out (another reason you don't want a lot of people on hand the first day because people might stand around while you're organizing).

We stacked in reverse order so the top is the so when you bring your bigger crew in, it's all ready.

They don't weigh much, but I would have preferred to have a forklift with the forks further apart, and longer. (Because the packages are so big.)

Tomorrow we will not work as there is an Amish wedding.

We're going to start on that long wall, and work our way around, clockwise.

The weather forecast does not look great for the later part of the week.

So we will be keeping an eye on it, because if the cladding arrives Friday we certainly do not want a truck full o' metal being towed out out of the mud at our expense."

Thank you Ron! Finding a *super* contractor who is passionate about efficiency saves YOU money. We are *very* grateful to Ron Bernaldo, and Giant Oaks Construction, in making this project such a success.