With the windows and doors being installed by Jason of Greenify (801)948-4464, it's starting to look more like a house. On the back or southwest side of the house, we were concerned with the amount of solar heat gain we would have through those windows since they receive direct sun most of the day. In our area, you should have a coefficient of .40 or lower if you are concerned about blocking heat gain coming in through your windows. We chose an Amsco window with a double glazing low-E coating that brought the coefficient down to .22. This eliminated the need for window tint. If you have single paned windows or the old steel framed windows, replacing them with vinyl windows can save you 10 - 15% a year on your heating and cooling bill. Greenify can help you understand the energy performance ratings for windows and determine which ones would best suit your individual home's needs.
The plumbing rough-in is now complete, done by Mountain Side Plumbing (801)281-3076, who were fast and efficient, easy to work with, and did a great job. They had some great suggestions in finding the right tankless water unit that would accommodate a Chili Pepper recirculation pump in the Master Bathroom, which is 60 feet away from the tankless water heater. That's a long line to have to pull water through the pipes in order to get hot water -- meaning a lot of water running in your shower before the water is hot enough to get in. Installing the Chili Pepper means that the hot water will be there almost immediately, which saves water and time.
MCS Enterprise, owner Sean-Paul Borg had a big challenge given the amount of stick framing required in the center of the roof. Because of the change in trusses, the roof line was affected and Sean-Paul devised a solution which was approved by the engineer.
It turned out pretty great, and he was able to save a lot of lumber which was returned for a credit. The framer is one of your most important sub-contractors. What they do affects the rest of the construction project. Mcs Enterprise is a framing company that can not only follow the plan, but knows what to do if the plan has to change, and can also save you unnecessary cost in lumber use. They are only a 3-man crew, so they won't be fast.
While using a zoned system can save you money and duct space, and can be a good solution, the load for our square footage was so great that if the two zones were called for at the same time, we would be starved for enough air for both zones to function correctly. We chose not to take that risk and instead, put an HVAC system on each level. The increased duct work in the basement took a little creativity to install by Hyland Heating (801)561-5904, but they accomplished the task and we feel confident that our load calculations are correct and can meet the demand of the house with little risk.
All delivery and return ducts (where possible) should be hard-ducted and sealed thoroughly with mastic. Duct tape will not permanently adhere to metal or other materials and should never be used to seal the ducts. Choosing another name for that tape is probably in order.
