Week 3, Fall 2011

This week the class completed the installation of the rigid insulation on the exterior of the house. We now have a house that has a fully enclosed envelope and is free from thermal bridging. The insulation will block the summer heat from entering the building and keep the winter heat from leaving the building. 

As you can see from the pictures we put a piece of flashing between the foundation and wall insulation to direct any water accumulation out and away from the building. Other points of interest in this system are the blocks between the gable lookouts, the trim piece under the truss heels, and the build-up behind the windows and doors. The blocks between the lookouts were put in to make the installation easier and use as a trim piece after the siding is attached. The trim at the heels was installed to cover the top edge of the insulation and also be used as a finish piece with the siding. The build-up for the windows and doors needed to be put in to compensate for the extra space taken up by the insulation and rain screen.

I want to take a moment and say what a pleasure it is to work with the students of the Sustainable Building Science program. Without them, their enthusiasm, and their great ideas and input the progress on this project would not be possible. They are a great team and I wanted to make sure they were recognized for that.

Next week we will be installing the rain screen material and exterior trim, stay tuned.

Good bye, and good building,

Dan Smith