I should be getting some more information about the radiant floor/boiler design within the next few days. I'll be sure to update the blog with that information. We've actually got a close family friend who is a very well-respected mechanical guy up in this neck of the woods so I'm pretty sure he'll put together a really great system for us. I'll get some more information soon.
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Quadomated: The Building of a Smart Home for a Quadriplegic
- Thread starter Chassmain
- Start date
I should be getting some more information about the radiant floor/boiler design within the next few days. I'll be sure to update the blog with that information. We've actually got a close family friend who is a very well-respected mechanical guy up in this neck of the woods so I'm pretty sure he'll put together a really great system for us. I'll get some more information soon.
Some comments on plans... mostly I think they are really good.. Chief architect is a nice package I have used it before.
Bathroom on the left side of house has a lot of dead space. You had a door that swings/blocks some of that space behind it. Maybe pocket that door or move the door downward if that doesnt put you in a situation where you dont have enough room to make the swing to right with your chair. There may be a reason you left that dead space but it is tough to tell without the fixtures laid out.
If you plan to take over the house maybe make more of the doors pocket if those will be easier for you. Those are easy to put in during the construction but really a pain to retrofit. If pocket doors work for you I would consider adding more where possible.
Regular closets are narrow, at lower limit of what I would consider a good depth. I would consider pushing out those closets a few more inches even if you need to take some space out of the rooms. a few inches to 2' 6" might make it much more usable. This is especially true if you plan to do any kind of racks that comes down.
I think your masterbedroom closet/shelf space is a little small for that size of house. You have a huge living/dinning family space but only 5' of closet in your master bedroom. I would consider taking a few feet off the family room and rejig that space a little to offer you some more closet space.
It looks like you have really good flow between the rooms and everything is good size. The devil is in the details getting someone who can help you design the bathrooms is key.
Bathroom on the left side of house has a lot of dead space. You had a door that swings/blocks some of that space behind it. Maybe pocket that door or move the door downward if that doesnt put you in a situation where you dont have enough room to make the swing to right with your chair. There may be a reason you left that dead space but it is tough to tell without the fixtures laid out.
If you plan to take over the house maybe make more of the doors pocket if those will be easier for you. Those are easy to put in during the construction but really a pain to retrofit. If pocket doors work for you I would consider adding more where possible.
Regular closets are narrow, at lower limit of what I would consider a good depth. I would consider pushing out those closets a few more inches even if you need to take some space out of the rooms. a few inches to 2' 6" might make it much more usable. This is especially true if you plan to do any kind of racks that comes down.
I think your masterbedroom closet/shelf space is a little small for that size of house. You have a huge living/dinning family space but only 5' of closet in your master bedroom. I would consider taking a few feet off the family room and rejig that space a little to offer you some more closet space.
It looks like you have really good flow between the rooms and everything is good size. The devil is in the details getting someone who can help you design the bathrooms is key.
Well, that's a relief! Much better to hear that you think the plans are really good as opposed to awful!Some comments on plans... mostly I think they are really good..
I think I got too focused on using pocket doors only in my section (the west side of the house) and forgot that someday, ideally the whole house will be mine. It makes a whole lot of sense to have pocket doors on the other bedrooms, bathroom, and possibly even the utility room. Do you know offhand if they make a 20 minute fire rated pocket door? That would work great to gain the swing space in the utility room as an area where we could put stuff.
Do you think 2' 4" would be enough to make the closets liveable. I only ask that, because that seemed to be the sweet spot where I could still keep my hallways wide enough to where I'd like it.
I've toyed around with taking a few feet from the family room, and having a much larger closet/media room. One part of me knows that's the right thing to do, but the other part of me still wants the family room to be as large as possible so that I can entertain those 20+ people Texas Hold'm nights.
What do you guys think would be the ideal size for the media room to hold a full sized 19 inch rack along with a few Leviton cans to hold all the HAI/automation equipment?
Well, that's a relief! Much better to hear that you think the plans are really good as opposed to awful!Some comments on plans... mostly I think they are really good..
I think I got too focused on using pocket doors only in my section (the west side of the house) and forgot that someday, ideally the whole house will be mine. It makes a whole lot of sense to have pocket doors on the other bedrooms, bathroom, and possibly even the utility room. Do you know offhand if they make a 20 minute fire rated pocket door? That would work great to gain the swing space in the utility room as an area where we could put stuff.
Do you think 2' 4" would be enough to make the closets liveable. I only ask that, because that seemed to be the sweet spot where I could still keep my hallways wide enough to where I'd like it.
I've toyed around with taking a few feet from the family room, and having a much larger closet/media room. One part of me knows that's the right thing to do, but the other part of me still wants the family room to be as large as possible so that I can entertain those 20+ people Texas Hold'm nights.
What do you guys think would be the ideal size for the media room to hold a full sized 19 inch rack along with a few Leviton cans to hold all the HAI/automation equipment?
I would say no on the fire rated pocket doors as per this site and general construction knowledge.
http://www.fireengineering.com/index/artic...cket-doors.html It just is not air tight.
What about something like this for the utility door and the entrance door? I dont know anything about this brand so just thinking concept of it.
http://www.smarthome.com/73105M/Swing-Door...Security/p.aspx
At that price I would make the doors that you could pocket but something similar might be good for exterior doors.
I am not sure that media closet needs to bigger but i will let others chime in.
For the regular closet 2'-4" is a lot better then 2' but I would consider talking to a specialist in handicap designs to see what the recommend inside the closet so you can be sure it is big enough. . I know they make racks that pull out and down I would imagine they would require a little more depth. I dont know if the have a motorized version. Talking to someone now about the closet layout will tell you what you need for outside demensions.
Same with the bathroom.. getting someone to work out the details now will tell you if the overall bathroom size is good.
What about something like this for the utility door and the entrance door? I dont know anything about this brand so just thinking concept of it.
http://www.smarthome.com/73105M/Swing-Door...Security/p.aspx
Wow! Not sure about the brand either, but this automatic door opener is 10 times cheaper than some of the other ones I've been looking at. I wonder what is up with that! Going to have to look into this brand/model a little bit more to understand why it's so cheap because it's definitely got me interested!
I've got a great lady working with me on kitchen/bathroom design. She's actually the one who came up with those rough room dimensions for those areas and suggested I don't go much over 2'-2'6" inches with my closets just because that is pretty much the maximum that a person in a wheelchair can access.
Meeting with my contractor this morning on his revised quote ready for signing. I'll post the construction specs once I get that.
Hey Mike,
Read through your posts here as well as your blog. Great plan and the documentation will help others as well.
Like you are planning to do, I use Home Automation as an Assistive Technology to improve accessABILITY in my home. While my situation is quite different as I am blind, many of the functions and features I use will be of benefit to you as well.
One thing I recommend you start doing now is evaluating day to day tasks and the things simple things you need assistance with. Is it something that could be automated in some way? Things like TV Lift Kits that raise, lower and even tilt may have a special use for you and are easily controlled by Home Automation. With your experience, knowledge and the ability to "think outside the box" you may be suprised how far you can take this project. Just keep it safe, sane and within the manufacturer's specs.
In my situation I setup a barcode scanner to read UPC codes and identify items. That has evolved into grocery managment, shopping list management, recipe organization and meal planning as well as help with CD's and DVD's.
Over time you'll find more and more you can automate. With technology always evolving and new gadgets coming out all the time it will be interesting to see where you are with all this in 5 or 10 yers. Odds are it will be so much more than you ever imagined.
I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer so to speak, but if you ever want to bounce some ideas around or anything, let me know. Best of luck and I'm going to keep following your progress here and on the blog.
Enjoy the project!
Stan
Read through your posts here as well as your blog. Great plan and the documentation will help others as well.
Like you are planning to do, I use Home Automation as an Assistive Technology to improve accessABILITY in my home. While my situation is quite different as I am blind, many of the functions and features I use will be of benefit to you as well.
One thing I recommend you start doing now is evaluating day to day tasks and the things simple things you need assistance with. Is it something that could be automated in some way? Things like TV Lift Kits that raise, lower and even tilt may have a special use for you and are easily controlled by Home Automation. With your experience, knowledge and the ability to "think outside the box" you may be suprised how far you can take this project. Just keep it safe, sane and within the manufacturer's specs.
In my situation I setup a barcode scanner to read UPC codes and identify items. That has evolved into grocery managment, shopping list management, recipe organization and meal planning as well as help with CD's and DVD's.
Over time you'll find more and more you can automate. With technology always evolving and new gadgets coming out all the time it will be interesting to see where you are with all this in 5 or 10 yers. Odds are it will be so much more than you ever imagined.
I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer so to speak, but if you ever want to bounce some ideas around or anything, let me know. Best of luck and I'm going to keep following your progress here and on the blog.
Enjoy the project!
Stan
felixrosbergen
Senior Member
So it's looking like you will have a 'slab on grade' floor and slanted ceilings. This pretty much means that running additional wiring in your house after it is completed will be seriously difficult.
I would seriously recommend you run quite a few conduits to any places were you think think you ever want a TV, stereo or whatever... For you main TV location you'll need up to a 2" conduit to hold component cables, etc.
I ran 2" to my TV and 2" from the bassement to the attic.. then 3/4" to all other locations... 3/4" is actually a bit tight for multiple coax and cat5...but i believe i've managed to sqeuee 2*RG6QS+2*Cat5e+Cat6 though a single 3/4".
And definetely get ceiling speakers and such pre-wired. Not only is the whole house audio great for Music, it will certainly help in your case with announcements and such.
I would seriously recommend you run quite a few conduits to any places were you think think you ever want a TV, stereo or whatever... For you main TV location you'll need up to a 2" conduit to hold component cables, etc.
I ran 2" to my TV and 2" from the bassement to the attic.. then 3/4" to all other locations... 3/4" is actually a bit tight for multiple coax and cat5...but i believe i've managed to sqeuee 2*RG6QS+2*Cat5e+Cat6 though a single 3/4".
And definetely get ceiling speakers and such pre-wired. Not only is the whole house audio great for Music, it will certainly help in your case with announcements and such.
Stan,
So appreciate the thoughtful response, and have PMd with my e-mail address so that we can stay in touch with that also. I always like to build connections with people in this world that have their own challenges andhave found ways to over come them. Doing so has always provided me with inspiration and more incentive to keep pushing on.
I've thought a whole bunch about the day-to-day tasks that I want to automate, and wake up in the middle of the night almost weekly with some new epiphany. With this home I plan to use universal design to design around all disabilities and will incorporate features/technologies that should help those with many different disabilities, including blindness. My thought, is the more accessible I make this the more likely it is to benefit me and others in the future.
Anyways, hit me with a quick e-mail, and we'll connect over that. My voice recognition plays much nicer with Microsoft products than writing in this little box.
MavRic, you too will find a private message from me. Thanks for the heads up about the chat. I wasn't aware of that option and can already see what a huge help it will be as we start tossing around different ideas. I definitely plan to make liberal use of conduit to help safeguard for future technologies, and whatever we might miss along the install. Even so, I hope to really have the pre-wiring dialed down as perfectly as possible before the walls get covered up so that hopefully the conduit will just be a good idea/insurance policy that never gets used.
If I could hurry myself up with all this writing/messages maybe we could start dealing with the important things like prewiring and the home automation hardware. Made a rather significant post about the construction specifications to the blog today, and plan to finish that subsection up tomorrow. From there, it's automation, automation, automation.
Can't wait to get working on the fun stuff with you all!
-Mike
So appreciate the thoughtful response, and have PMd with my e-mail address so that we can stay in touch with that also. I always like to build connections with people in this world that have their own challenges andhave found ways to over come them. Doing so has always provided me with inspiration and more incentive to keep pushing on.
I've thought a whole bunch about the day-to-day tasks that I want to automate, and wake up in the middle of the night almost weekly with some new epiphany. With this home I plan to use universal design to design around all disabilities and will incorporate features/technologies that should help those with many different disabilities, including blindness. My thought, is the more accessible I make this the more likely it is to benefit me and others in the future.
Anyways, hit me with a quick e-mail, and we'll connect over that. My voice recognition plays much nicer with Microsoft products than writing in this little box.
MavRic, you too will find a private message from me. Thanks for the heads up about the chat. I wasn't aware of that option and can already see what a huge help it will be as we start tossing around different ideas. I definitely plan to make liberal use of conduit to help safeguard for future technologies, and whatever we might miss along the install. Even so, I hope to really have the pre-wiring dialed down as perfectly as possible before the walls get covered up so that hopefully the conduit will just be a good idea/insurance policy that never gets used.
If I could hurry myself up with all this writing/messages maybe we could start dealing with the important things like prewiring and the home automation hardware. Made a rather significant post about the construction specifications to the blog today, and plan to finish that subsection up tomorrow. From there, it's automation, automation, automation.
Can't wait to get working on the fun stuff with you all!
-Mike
--- July 12, 2010 Quadomated Blog Post: Construction Specifications - Part 1
Foundation
This was a no-brainer for me, but a steady and constant struggle between me and one of my parents. Now, I won't name any names, but she certainly feels that a house in Northern Maine should have a basement! My thoughts: I can't get down there, and it's far more effective to have that large thermal mass right under your feet in a passive solar home. Fortunately for me, the additional price for the basement was much higher than a certain somebody had hoped, so it put that thought to rest.
I then spent time reading up on concrete slabs, talking to some people in the trades, and to our mechanical guy to figure out what would be best way to pour our slab. The method we decided is a little extra money, but I think well worth it considering the cold climate and amount of labor/materials we'll have poured into the concrete. This slab will be:
I did a lot of research on different methods of construction to maximize energy efficiency and comfort while staying in a reasonable budget. The alternatives I evaluated included insulated concrete forms (ICF), structurally insulated panels (SIP), double stagger studded 2" x 4" walls, and 2" x 6" studded walls with XPS Styrofoam on the outside. Each method has its own positives and set of followers, but after taking into consideration that the house would be built on a concrete slab (no access for wires and plumbing underneath), have two areas of cathedral ceilings (less access for wires overhead), and the requirement for a significant amount of wiring within the walls to operate the home automation and media distribution equipment it was obvious that both ICF and SIP were out. As much as I like the idea of both, they make it more challenging to run wires in the walls. Add in the high cost of the foam/concrete combination and the large expense to ship the SIP panels way up here and the decision was even easier. We would build a stick framed house. Now it was just figuring out how we would frame it.
I'm still torn on this. I really like the idea of a double studded wall and how it eliminates the problem of thermal bridging across the wood member by creating an insulated space between the inside and outside wall. This method does have the drawback of using more material, labor, and sacrifices interior square footage (the wall is 1 foot deep after all), but at least the extra wood is a renewable material.. The 2" x 6" method does somewhat address the thermal bridging across the wood member by adding an additional R5 of 1" foam on the exterior, but even so using 16" o.c. framing you still have an area that is only approximately R11 every 16". If advanced framing techniques and 24" o.c spacing are used this is improved, but most builders in this area prefer the standard 16" o.c.. This is something I'd definitely like to research more, but for right now it makes the most sense to build our home the way our builder prefers (after all... he's the one that's actually done this before!). The main construction of the house will be:
Insulation is definitely one of the most important aspects of an energy efficient home, and yet another one of those decisions with a plethora of possibilities with dramatically different prices. The three possibilities I've looked into are fiberglass bats/blown in fiberglass, dense pack blown in cellulose, and closed cell spray foam. From a materials/sustainability standpoint I really like the idea of blown in cellulose insulation. It is inexpensive, easy/safer to work with, and has a high percentage of postconsumer recycled content. Overall, it seems like the "greenest" solution, but has the drawback of a lower per inch R value, especially when compared to closed cell foam, and I have concerns that it might settle over time. Closed cell foam on the other hand, has by far the highest per inch R-value (almost double that of fiberglass and cellulose), and has the added benefits of tightly sealing the house and adding structural integrity to the walls, but is almost 3 times more expensive than the alternatives. For this project, which is already stretching the budget, we have a hard time justifying the added expense of spray foam when it seems that the alternatives will provide close to as good or at the very least "good enough" performance. The final option, fiberglass bats/blown in, is the choice of our contractors, and one that seems reasonable enough to me, but is for whatever reason not well embraced by the green building community. I don't really understand why either, because fiberglass in certain products is very well-liked (take high-performance, triple pane fiberglass windows for instance), but not well received for insulation. Maybe someone can enlighten me on the reasons.
For now, the insulation specifications for the home are:
If anyone has any good suggestions/reasons to consider another or different insulation technology please chime in below in the comments because we'd definitely like to hear your thoughts.
Windows
Excuse the rant! The way windows are manufactured in this country and the Energy Star criteria are so stupid! The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) certifies U-Factor, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) and Visible Transmittance (VT) values for windows to be considered Energy Star certified. To be considered "Energy Star" eligible a window must have:
Number 2 above says the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) must be less than 0.30. That says windows should only let in 30% of the heat generated by the sun. Now why would anyone in Northern Maine want to limit the heat that they can get from the sun to only 30% of what's available. MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL! I've even called representatives at a very well known/well respected window manufacturer in Maine, that sells primarily to New England customers, and still, their supposed technical specialists didn't understand a dang thing about solar heat gain. He said I should just match my SHGC to my U-value and be done with it. NO WAY! I want my solar heat gain, and think it is a hugely important/underutilized asset of a good home.
So the windows... we want as low of a U-value as possible on all of the windows, and a high SHGC for the windows on the south side of the house and a low SHGC for the windows on the north/east/west sides of the house. No way to do this with your big name American window manufacturers so I've had to look north to the smart guys in Canada to provide me with a solution that is far superior to the American solution. If the budget will allow, what we absolutely want to get it is a fiberglass encased triple glazed window with a solar heat gain coefficient that is tuned depending on the location of the house. With these windows we should get an insulation value that is at least double that of one of the big name American manufacturers, and a solar heat gain coefficient that should provide a good portion of our home's heat. A real quick back of the envelope calculation shows that we should save at least 250-300 gallons of oil per year!
I could keep going on and on, but this quick post is quickly approaching 2000 words so I'll have to save more for part 2. In Part 2 expect an explanation of the roof, siding, mechanical, and electrical systems.
Foundation
This was a no-brainer for me, but a steady and constant struggle between me and one of my parents. Now, I won't name any names, but she certainly feels that a house in Northern Maine should have a basement! My thoughts: I can't get down there, and it's far more effective to have that large thermal mass right under your feet in a passive solar home. Fortunately for me, the additional price for the basement was much higher than a certain somebody had hoped, so it put that thought to rest.
I then spent time reading up on concrete slabs, talking to some people in the trades, and to our mechanical guy to figure out what would be best way to pour our slab. The method we decided is a little extra money, but I think well worth it considering the cold climate and amount of labor/materials we'll have poured into the concrete. This slab will be:
- 6" monolithic slab with perimeter edges thickened to 12"
- 3 rows of 1/2" rebar in the thickened parameter with 1' squares in the interior
- 2" Dow Styrofoam and a 6 mil vapor barrier underneath with the foam extended out 2' beyond the outer perimeter as a frost barrier. A 2" layer of Styrofoam will enclose the outer perimeter of the concrete with a 1" layer extended down from the wall section for a total of 3" on the parameter.
- Pressure-treated lumber will skirt the foam and encircle the perimeter for added protection.
I did a lot of research on different methods of construction to maximize energy efficiency and comfort while staying in a reasonable budget. The alternatives I evaluated included insulated concrete forms (ICF), structurally insulated panels (SIP), double stagger studded 2" x 4" walls, and 2" x 6" studded walls with XPS Styrofoam on the outside. Each method has its own positives and set of followers, but after taking into consideration that the house would be built on a concrete slab (no access for wires and plumbing underneath), have two areas of cathedral ceilings (less access for wires overhead), and the requirement for a significant amount of wiring within the walls to operate the home automation and media distribution equipment it was obvious that both ICF and SIP were out. As much as I like the idea of both, they make it more challenging to run wires in the walls. Add in the high cost of the foam/concrete combination and the large expense to ship the SIP panels way up here and the decision was even easier. We would build a stick framed house. Now it was just figuring out how we would frame it.
I'm still torn on this. I really like the idea of a double studded wall and how it eliminates the problem of thermal bridging across the wood member by creating an insulated space between the inside and outside wall. This method does have the drawback of using more material, labor, and sacrifices interior square footage (the wall is 1 foot deep after all), but at least the extra wood is a renewable material.. The 2" x 6" method does somewhat address the thermal bridging across the wood member by adding an additional R5 of 1" foam on the exterior, but even so using 16" o.c. framing you still have an area that is only approximately R11 every 16". If advanced framing techniques and 24" o.c spacing are used this is improved, but most builders in this area prefer the standard 16" o.c.. This is something I'd definitely like to research more, but for right now it makes the most sense to build our home the way our builder prefers (after all... he's the one that's actually done this before!). The main construction of the house will be:
- Pressure-treated sill plate
- Exterior walls: 2" x 6" framing at 16" o.c. with 1/2" Advantech sheeting and housewrap
- Interior walls: 2" x 4" framing at 16" o.c.
- Windows and door headers" 2" x 10" framing
Insulation is definitely one of the most important aspects of an energy efficient home, and yet another one of those decisions with a plethora of possibilities with dramatically different prices. The three possibilities I've looked into are fiberglass bats/blown in fiberglass, dense pack blown in cellulose, and closed cell spray foam. From a materials/sustainability standpoint I really like the idea of blown in cellulose insulation. It is inexpensive, easy/safer to work with, and has a high percentage of postconsumer recycled content. Overall, it seems like the "greenest" solution, but has the drawback of a lower per inch R value, especially when compared to closed cell foam, and I have concerns that it might settle over time. Closed cell foam on the other hand, has by far the highest per inch R-value (almost double that of fiberglass and cellulose), and has the added benefits of tightly sealing the house and adding structural integrity to the walls, but is almost 3 times more expensive than the alternatives. For this project, which is already stretching the budget, we have a hard time justifying the added expense of spray foam when it seems that the alternatives will provide close to as good or at the very least "good enough" performance. The final option, fiberglass bats/blown in, is the choice of our contractors, and one that seems reasonable enough to me, but is for whatever reason not well embraced by the green building community. I don't really understand why either, because fiberglass in certain products is very well-liked (take high-performance, triple pane fiberglass windows for instance), but not well received for insulation. Maybe someone can enlighten me on the reasons.
For now, the insulation specifications for the home are:
- Exterior walls: 1" extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) on the outside of the sheathing (R-5), 5 1/2" kraft-faced fiberglass insulation (R-21) for a total wall value of around R-20 (if you take into consideration the bridging losses of the 2" x 6" at 16 o.c.)
- Ceiling: R-19 fibergass bats topped with blown-in fiberglass insulation for a total of R-49. I may discuss using blown in cellulose insulation instead with the contractor and loose filling it to 18" for a total ceiling value of around R-60.
- Interior walls: 3 1/2" fiberglass insulation for sound. Is there a better way to sound dampen between rooms?
- Concrete slab: 2" Dow Styrofoam and a 6 mil vapor barrier underneath with the foam extended out 2' beyond the outer perimeter as a frost barrier. A 2" layer of Styrofoam will enclose the outer perimeter of the concrete with a 1" layer extended down from the wall section for a total of 3" on the parameter.
If anyone has any good suggestions/reasons to consider another or different insulation technology please chime in below in the comments because we'd definitely like to hear your thoughts.
Windows
Excuse the rant! The way windows are manufactured in this country and the Energy Star criteria are so stupid! The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) certifies U-Factor, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) and Visible Transmittance (VT) values for windows to be considered Energy Star certified. To be considered "Energy Star" eligible a window must have:
- a U-value of less than or equal to 0.30.
- a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of less than or equal to 0.30.
Number 2 above says the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) must be less than 0.30. That says windows should only let in 30% of the heat generated by the sun. Now why would anyone in Northern Maine want to limit the heat that they can get from the sun to only 30% of what's available. MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL! I've even called representatives at a very well known/well respected window manufacturer in Maine, that sells primarily to New England customers, and still, their supposed technical specialists didn't understand a dang thing about solar heat gain. He said I should just match my SHGC to my U-value and be done with it. NO WAY! I want my solar heat gain, and think it is a hugely important/underutilized asset of a good home.
So the windows... we want as low of a U-value as possible on all of the windows, and a high SHGC for the windows on the south side of the house and a low SHGC for the windows on the north/east/west sides of the house. No way to do this with your big name American window manufacturers so I've had to look north to the smart guys in Canada to provide me with a solution that is far superior to the American solution. If the budget will allow, what we absolutely want to get it is a fiberglass encased triple glazed window with a solar heat gain coefficient that is tuned depending on the location of the house. With these windows we should get an insulation value that is at least double that of one of the big name American manufacturers, and a solar heat gain coefficient that should provide a good portion of our home's heat. A real quick back of the envelope calculation shows that we should save at least 250-300 gallons of oil per year!
I could keep going on and on, but this quick post is quickly approaching 2000 words so I'll have to save more for part 2. In Part 2 expect an explanation of the roof, siding, mechanical, and electrical systems.
--- July 12, 2010 Quadomated Blog Post: Construction Specifications - Part 1
[*]Pressure-treated sill plate
[*]Exterior walls: 2" x 6" framing at 16" o.c. with 1/2" Advantech sheeting and housewrap
[*]Interior walls: 2" x 4" framing at 16" o.c.
[*]Windows and door headers" 2" x 10" framing
[/list]
Insulation
[*]Exterior walls: 1" extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) on the outside of the sheathing (R-5), 5 1/2" kraft-faced fiberglass insulation (R-21) for a total wall value of around R-20 (if you take into consideration the bridging losses of the 2" x 6" at 16 o.c.)
[*]Ceiling: R-19 fibergass bats topped with blown-in fiberglass insulation for a total of R-49. I may discuss using blown in cellulose insulation instead with the contractor and loose filling it to 18" for a total ceiling value of around R-60.
[*]Interior walls: 3 1/2" fiberglass insulation for sound. Is there a better way to sound dampen between rooms?
[*]Concrete slab: 2" Dow Styrofoam and a 6 mil vapor barrier underneath with the foam extended out 2' beyond the outer perimeter as a frost barrier. A 2" layer of Styrofoam will enclose the outer perimeter of the concrete with a 1" layer extended down from the wall section for a total of 3" on the parameter.
Please consider Timberstrand headers rather than 2X10. Less shrinking equals less drywall cracks and winder problems.
No energy efficient house should be using fiberglass bats. To get the R rating the installation would have to be perfect - and NO batt installation is perfect. This is the area to really spend the extra money - at least to blown cellulose if not blown fiberglass.
Good luck.
Mike,
It looks like I have not yet reached the number of posts CT requires to send or receive PM's. I did turn on the "send email" option in my profile so you can contact me through that. I certainly understand how Dragon Natural Speak can be with some web pages and applications. Am also researching a few products you may find helpful in your new home, will let you know what I find out.
Stan
It looks like I have not yet reached the number of posts CT requires to send or receive PM's. I did turn on the "send email" option in my profile so you can contact me through that. I certainly understand how Dragon Natural Speak can be with some web pages and applications. Am also researching a few products you may find helpful in your new home, will let you know what I find out.
Stan
felixrosbergen
Senior Member
Great to see the amount of research you're putting into the house but it sounds like your builder just wants to do it his own same old way and not necessarily use new technologies.
I'm shocked at what you've learned about the glass. I had no idea.
I wasnt all that knowledgeable about insulation when my house was built, but even with the builders standard methods i am still pleasantly surprised how well insulate it is. I don't have real number to back anything up, but on very hot days the house definitely stays quite cool and in the winter it stays quite warm even if we have the heat turned off.
I'm shocked at what you've learned about the glass. I had no idea.
I wasnt all that knowledgeable about insulation when my house was built, but even with the builders standard methods i am still pleasantly surprised how well insulate it is. I don't have real number to back anything up, but on very hot days the house definitely stays quite cool and in the winter it stays quite warm even if we have the heat turned off.
--- July 21, 2010 Quadomated Blog Post: Construction Specification - Part 2
The plan for today is to discuss the rest of the top-level construction specifications.
Roof
The roof system is an engineered roof truss system with hip style layout on the main portion of the house matched to the gable sections over the garage, family, and sun rooms. The roof is framed at 2' o.c. with an 8/12 exterior slope and 16" overhang around the exterior perimeter. The different areas of the roof are designed as follows:
In selecting the exterior finish we decided to go with a combination that would look good for years and require very little maintenance. Contractors in this area seem to like the Mastic brand of siding and it score well with Consumer Reports. We chose the following:
Just so there is no confusion, we would only consider this product if we were building a wall in the conventional 2" x 6" route and needed an additional bit of insulation. This would definitely not be necessary or worth the added expense with a double studded wall.
For roofing, we again turned to the preference of our contractor and building supplies store, SW Collins. They both suggested a brand of architectural shingle that is well noted as a Consumer Reports "Best Buy" product with strong marks for strength, weathering, and impact. We chose the following:
The electrical and mechanical are two subsystems we are still sorting out. I will post more information about them in a later post once I get to discuss some thoughts and options with the subs. Expect an overview of the automation systems to come next.
The plan for today is to discuss the rest of the top-level construction specifications.
Roof
The roof system is an engineered roof truss system with hip style layout on the main portion of the house matched to the gable sections over the garage, family, and sun rooms. The roof is framed at 2' o.c. with an 8/12 exterior slope and 16" overhang around the exterior perimeter. The different areas of the roof are designed as follows:
- Garage: Trayed with attic trusses to accommodate the additional headroom required by the 8' door. The attic trusses will provide a room approximately 10' wide the length of the garage with 3/4" Advantech sheathing on the floor and a fold up stairway.
- Dining/Living/Kitchen Area: Scissor trusses to create an interior 4/12 pitch cathedral ceiling.
- Family Room: Scissor trusses to create an interior 6/12 pitch cathedral ceiling.
- 5/8" Advantech sheathing to complete the roof deck.
- 8" galvanized drip edge, flashing and ridge vents where necessary.
- Grace Ice and Water Shield around the eaves and in all valley areas.
- 15 lb felt paper covering the remaining.
- Roof finish to be Certainteed Landmark Woodscape 30-Year Architectural Shingles.
In selecting the exterior finish we decided to go with a combination that would look good for years and require very little maintenance. Contractors in this area seem to like the Mastic brand of siding and it score well with Consumer Reports. We chose the following:
- Type: Mastic Qwest Vinyl Siding
- Color: Sage
- Style: Dutch Lap
- Length: Long length 25' 6" to lessen the number of seams
Just so there is no confusion, we would only consider this product if we were building a wall in the conventional 2" x 6" route and needed an additional bit of insulation. This would definitely not be necessary or worth the added expense with a double studded wall.
For roofing, we again turned to the preference of our contractor and building supplies store, SW Collins. They both suggested a brand of architectural shingle that is well noted as a Consumer Reports "Best Buy" product with strong marks for strength, weathering, and impact. We chose the following:
- Type: Certainteed Landmark Woodscape 30-Year Architectural Shingles
- Color: Asphalt
- Interior Finish
The electrical and mechanical are two subsystems we are still sorting out. I will post more information about them in a later post once I get to discuss some thoughts and options with the subs. Expect an overview of the automation systems to come next.
--- July 27, 2010 Quadomated Blog Post: Automation Overview
Hard to believe that it's been almost a full week since I wrote last, but throw in the preparation for a few weddings, bachelor party, 10-year high school reunion, trying out new wheelchairs, and applying for grants and you can see how quickly time can escape. And this was just the preparation! August is going to be a very busy month!
Onto what I've been most excited about... jumping into discussing/researching/planning the home automation system! In trying to keep things orderly and actually manageable I think I'll first give you my vision and goals for the home automation system and then break it down one subsection at a time.
Vision
The home automation system will seamlessly integrate many features of the home to provide increased accessibility, comfort, entertainment and energy efficiency by anticipating the homeowners needs and inconspicuously responding to them in a way that makes life easier. The system will be scalable, customizable by the end user and able to interface a large variety of subsystems through a unified interface that can be accessed through local hardwired touch screens, portable wireless devices, and Internet connected computers.
Goals
Hard to believe that it's been almost a full week since I wrote last, but throw in the preparation for a few weddings, bachelor party, 10-year high school reunion, trying out new wheelchairs, and applying for grants and you can see how quickly time can escape. And this was just the preparation! August is going to be a very busy month!
Onto what I've been most excited about... jumping into discussing/researching/planning the home automation system! In trying to keep things orderly and actually manageable I think I'll first give you my vision and goals for the home automation system and then break it down one subsection at a time.
Vision
The home automation system will seamlessly integrate many features of the home to provide increased accessibility, comfort, entertainment and energy efficiency by anticipating the homeowners needs and inconspicuously responding to them in a way that makes life easier. The system will be scalable, customizable by the end user and able to interface a large variety of subsystems through a unified interface that can be accessed through local hardwired touch screens, portable wireless devices, and Internet connected computers.
Goals
- The home automation system will achieve the following goals:
- Door Automation: An access card or RFID reader will control access/security at the front door and door accessing the family room from the deck. Upon activation, this access device will initiate a sequence that unlocks the door with an electronic door strike, and then opens the door with an electromechanical automatic door opener. The door separating the garage and house will also be operated by a similar automatic door opener. All three doors will be controllable through any interface in the house. Possible reasoning behind this is to allow company into the house while I am still in bed.
- Lighting Automation: Motion/occupancy sensors, door contact closures, time of day, and automation events will control operation of the lights for safety and convenience. Low voltage lighting on the exterior of the house will be triggered when vehicles enter the driveway or people occupy the deck. Interior lights will be triggered on occupancy and then turned off when unoccupied to save energy. An example of a lighting rule would be to turn the recessed lights in the hallway on to 10% when somebody wakes and triggers the hallway occupancy sensor for a midnight pee.
- HVAC Automation: Controllable temperature setpoints for the garage, eastside rooms, center of the house, westside rooms, and high temperature loop. Use information from an outdoor weather station to predict future heat demand to increase energy efficiency. Entire HVAC system will be automated/controllable by any interface. Example of why this is useful would be to turn the heat down to a lower level (to save energy) for a trip away from home. While away monitor the temperature of the house on an iPhone/web browser. A few hours before returning, increase the temperature to "livable" levels with an iPhone.
- Window/Shade Automation: Provide user/event-based automated control of the window shades and casement window operators on the west side of the house. The electric window shades will be intelligent, encoder based roller motors to control the exact location of the shade from 0-100 % open. The electric window operators will control the casement drive gear to open/close the windows. The window and shade operators will interface with the control system and its attached weather station to operate these devices for optimum energy efficiency.
- Media Distribution: A 1 Gb CAT5E network will form the backbone of the media/communication system. In wall speakers/wiring will provide multizone/multisource audio with control system/doorbell/intercom annunciations throughout the house. Television, video, music, pictures will be served by Windows Media Center to each TV using Xbox 360s as extenders. A large server with 20+ TB of RAID protected storage will serve all the media and backup computers in the house.
- System Interface: All aspects of the control system, including its control/integration into all subsystems will be controllable by touchscreens on the wall, wireless devices, and a web browser. Human machine interface screens will be standardized and look similar, no matter the device.
My contractor has never used these engineered headers. Do you find they make a big difference? And what is the difference in price?Please consider Timberstrand headers rather than 2X10. Less shrinking equals less drywall cracks and winder problems.
No energy efficient house should be using fiberglass bats. To get the R rating the installation would have to be perfect - and NO batt installation is perfect. This is the area to really spend the extra money - at least to blown cellulose if not blown fiberglass.
Good luck.
I've discussed either blown in fiberglass/cellulose and he seems open to either method. It does appear like he'd prefer sticking with standard 2x6 construction as opposed to going with the added effort for the double stud construction. Can't say as though I blame him, but I'm still wondering if it's worth the extra work/expense.
Lots to write about over the next few days.
-Mike
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