Seems Like the Doldrums

After the excitement of digging the hole, pouring concrete, laying block, and then framing up the addition, progress is not as dramatic now.

Got the windows set, exterior trim and siding installed. That made the exterior look nearly complete. The custom shutters have come from Vixen Hill. They are rabetted and have a simulated operator rod so that they will look like the existing operable louver shutters even though these have fixed louvers. They have copper cap flashings which will make them last longer by keeping water out of the top of them.

And we just removed the gravel construction access road put in to access the site. My guys did a great job digging down to the geo-textile fabric on which the gravel was laid. They installed more fabric in the swale that runs along the side of the house. This and seed and straw should control erosion of the bare earth until we can landscape in the spring. I hope our pines, magnolias, and big oaks appreciate the efforts we went thru to be gentle on their toes.

But most of the last month has been spent roughing in plumbing, HVAC, and electrical.

The plumbing is for the two bathrooms, laundry room and 2 hose bibbs. I had the hose bibbs piped to a central location in the basement to make them easy to shut off and drain down in the winter.

The HVAC work involved not only ductwork to the new rooms, but also re-routing ductwork to some existing rooms to create headroom in the new basment, and finally, it involves total replace ment of two furnaces and condensing units.

We've been running the two story old part of the house with two heat pump systems and a steam boiler and radiators when it gets really cold. As much as I love radiant heat, we couldn't see investing in radiator covers to make them more attractive, and the steam heat was very uneven. So we removed both the radiators and the boiler. I will miss waking up in the middle of a cold winter night and hearing the creaking of the pipes as the steam makes its way through the system.

We are installing two Lennox high efficiency gas fired variable speed furnaces with two-stage high efficiency condensing units. Heating efficiency is rated at 94% and the AC side has a SEER of 16. The variable speed furnaces will provide better comfort, delivering only as much air as is required for comfort. And with the capability for delivering low volumes of air, it should be great for dehumidifying the basement. Both of these systems are installed with three zones. This will improve comfort summer afternoons by allowing those rooms on the west side of the house to have AC on, without freezing out occupants of our north and east facing rooms. These features will also reduce energy use by allowing us to condition to comfort only the parts of the house we are using at the time.

These systems represent a huge investment. It's taken nearly 4 weeks to run the rigid ductwork, seal it with mastic, insulate it, and now to install the central equipment. I like rigid ductwork; it's stood the test of time, and is more rugged than flex. We will preform a duct-blaster test at the end of the project to test the tightness of the systems.

I'll be very interested in seeing what our utility bills run. I expect them to be no more than they were even though we've added over 1500SF. I hope less. The Icynene insulation we are getting ready to spray will make a big difference, too. It will actually increase the payback period of the HVAC system investment by reducing the load. But I just couldn't see doing a project of this size and quality with increasing efficiencies. The heat pumps also never really produced "heat". Placing your hand in front of the supply grilles never really produced the sensation of warming in the winter due to the low delivered air temperature and the sensation of the air flow.

Finally, the electricians have been running "miles" of wires. I drew and re-drew the electrical and lighting plans until I had the lighting, switching, and convenience receptacles and equipment all located. Rooms look best with multiple levels of light. And I light to light "things" - art, bookshelves, mantles, etc. So major rooms will have general lighting, accent lighting, and task lighting (for reading generally). I still like the Ariadni style dimmer and we will use plenty of them. Outdoor lighting, too, both for security and for the arbor we are adding to the patio.

Finally there is all of the low voltage wiring to be done. It used to be a doorbell, security wiring, phone and cable TV. But now it's also re-route the CAT5 computer network cables, re-locate the wireless router (we use both), relocate our CD changer and amp and re-run speaker cables, add speakers to the new rooms and outdoors. Lastly, I am trying surround sound. Not over-the-top systems, but we will have 6-speaker systems for the TV's in both the family room and in the exercise room in the basement. I need all the help I can get when I climb onto my rowing machine. And the daily market close on TV, an engrossing movie, or Pete Townsend and his mates pounding out "Magic Bus" will all accompany my perspiration. I'm working with my electrician and Crutchfield on the design and installation of the systems. I've been very pleased with the way it's gone.

We've got our plumbing and HVAC rough-in inspections. We should get electrical early next week. Then we'll get our pre-insulation framing inspection and then blow in $10,000 of Icynene. Then we can have our Earth Craft inspection and begin sheetrock and plaster.