Skeletons, Soft Water, and Direct Venting

As we are nearing the end of October, skeletons might just be on your mind.  The skeleton of our energy efficiency new construction home is nearing completion and we begin installing the guts -- the  stuff deep inside that makes it function efficiently.

One often overlooked detail when planning a home and considering it's energy efficiency is the roof truss design.  In cold climates like ours, roof trusses should allow for the full depth of insulation across the entire ceiling area, which often isn't the case.  Trusses should have a heel height of at least 12" to prevent heat loss near the eaves.  If you can't get enough insulation near the eaves, you will have snowmelt, ice damming, and eventual roof damage.  If you have living space built into attic space, as we do in this plan, you will have to include extra care in your insulation plan to achieve the goal of R60 values in the ceilings.

Another overlooked detail is soft water.  Soft water for energy efficiency, you ask?  Yes.  Especially if you are installing a tankless water heater.  Battelle Memorial Institute, a non-profit applied science and technology company, performed a test on the effects of hard water vs. soft water on tankless water heaters.  The report, released in March 2010, showed that the use of soft water to reduce the scale forming compounds naturally present in hard water, resulted in natural gas savings.  It also meant not having to delime or clean the pipes periodically, which equals more economic savings.  That means money left in your pockets.  The cost of a water softener and supplies were recovered in a matter of months in the Battelle Memorial Institute test, and the lower use of natural gas resulted in a smaller carbon footprint, just in case you care about your impact on Mother Earth.

The plumbing is now ready for the water softener and tankless water heater.

One last tidbit:  Make sure your water heaters, HVAC systems, and fireplaces are direct vent/sealed combustion units.  All fuel burning appliances run certain risks of malfunction, which could cause carbon monoxide to spill into the home.  Illness and death can happen unless you take the precautions to install ONLY direct-vent sealed combustion appliances.  While more expensive, they are also more efficient, creating energy savings, and are a safer alternative.  They also eliminate the need for a standard flue, which helps offset the extra cost.

Rain, Rain Go Away

We have had a higher than average rainfall kind of year, with August and September bringing the effects of Hurricanes Norbert and Odile to our area.  Timing the setting of trusses was tricky trying to predict when the winds would be calm enough to lift them with the crane.

 Sean-Paul Borg and crew of Mcs Enterprises, Llc. (801)556-2687 found a window of opportunity and got all the pre-fabricated trusses into place and mostly sheeted before the wind and rain came.

 View from back of the house.  You can see the large section of the house that requires stick-framing.

 View from front of the house.  Truss caps still need to be attached and sheeted as well as the center section of stick framing.

 All the rain at least helps us see where the low points in the lot are and naturally settle soaks the excavation work.  Let's hope most of the rain clears out before Monday so the framers can get the house closed in quickly.

Next up:  HVAC and Rough Plumbing.

Moving Along

The walls are going up quickly with Mcs Enterprise, Llc. (801)-556-2687, licensed and ensured, and owner Sean-Paul Borg has 20 years experience framing.  All outside walls are 2 x 6 as explained in the previous post.  Framing is scheduled to be complete September 26.

Storstad Concrete (801-358-0898) did another great job on the suspended porch cap and poured more point load spot footings in front of the garage on Monday, September 15.

Lot excavation continues by Osmond Development and Mike Little (801) 362-3227.  You can pay an excavator X amount of money to do a job and he will put in a rock wall.  And then you can pay a different excavator the same X amount of money and he will be creative and do amazing things.  That would be Osmond and Little.  The rock walls are beginning to go up and they are impressive.

Stay tuned for more pics of the roof trusses going up in the next week.  We'll also be talking about HVAC options for the best energy efficiency in your home.  Like us on Facebook to automatically get posts and industry information.  There are great rebates out there currently and you can check out our website for details on how you can save money right now.

Framing -- Should I use 2x4 or 2x6 or 2x8?

So you are contemplating building a house and want it to be as energy efficient as possible.  Did you ever consider that the width of the lumber you choose has a lot to do with the entire energy efficiency package?  It does.

Think about those old pioneer houses that were built with 2 foot thick walls of stone.  A great one I toured recently was the John Rowe Moyle house in Alpine, Utah. 

 It was built like fortress, and sure, they had Indian problems, but one of the reasons for making the walls so thick was to insulate the inside from the heat of the summer and the bitter cold of winter.  And it really works.  It was a hot summer day when I toured the home, and it was nice and cool inside without any aid of an air conditioner.

Framing your home with at least 2x6 walls will allow for a greater insulation barrier as well as provide better sound proofing.  It will create an overall stronger wall as opposed to 2x4 walls that can shudder when doors are slammed.  2x8 lumber is even better, but it will cost more, both on the lumber side, as well as calculating the cost of extra insulation.  You will make up for that cost and more later in your energy bills, however, and your home will be much more comfortable -- that is if you insulate and seal your home against air infiltration correctly.  But that's where Greenify Energy Savers' expertise can help you.

We recommend using a minimum of 2x6 framing, and be sure to check back for later posts about the best way to insulate.  You can like us on Facebook to automatically receive new posts as they happen.