Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Progress Photos
May, 2006
Here are a set of progress photos for May. We went from Groundbreaking, to footings, to radiant heated floors.
Groundbreaking!
Peeling Cedar Logs for Beams
Cedar Logs - One Finished, One Raw
Intrepid Crew Pouring Footings
Footings complete!
Wide view of completed footings
Qhyrrae, looking radiant while installing Radiant Floor heat
Radiant floor heat pipes
May, 2006
Here are a set of progress photos for May. We went from Groundbreaking, to footings, to radiant heated floors.
Groundbreaking!
Peeling Cedar Logs for Beams
Cedar Logs - One Finished, One Raw
Intrepid Crew Pouring Footings
Footings complete!
Wide view of completed footings
Qhyrrae, looking radiant while installing Radiant Floor heat
Radiant floor heat pipes
// posted by Invention1 @ 4:55 AM 
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Green Details
The entire footing of the house is insulated to three feet below grade with 1" Expanded Ploystyrene insulation. To my knowledge there is no Green alternative to this plastic foam for underground insulation. We installed a thermal break between the garage and the kitchen, This means that the insulation is buried in the footing underneath the common wall, keeping the cold int he garage out of the kitchen floor. We skipped the last 8" of the outside wall because of termites - this allows us to inspect for the little devils. I plan to install temproary foam insulation on this last 8" in the winter, and remove it in the spring when termite can become active again.
The entire footing of the house is insulated to three feet below grade with 1" Expanded Ploystyrene insulation. To my knowledge there is no Green alternative to this plastic foam for underground insulation. We installed a thermal break between the garage and the kitchen, This means that the insulation is buried in the footing underneath the common wall, keeping the cold int he garage out of the kitchen floor. We skipped the last 8" of the outside wall because of termites - this allows us to inspect for the little devils. I plan to install temproary foam insulation on this last 8" in the winter, and remove it in the spring when termite can become active again.
Peeling Cedar Logs
We spent more time than we planned on peeling and varniching cedar logs. First, I performed engineering calculations to determine the smallest log that would do. An excellent log beam calculator is located online at
Log Beam Calculator
I cross checked this calculator using my own spreadsheets.
We bought a log peelinig tool from Log Wizard This is an amazing tool! It is essentially a planer that fits on the end of your chain saw. You can peel all of the bark from a log, and leave a pretty clean finish. We ended by sanding the logs with a 7" angle grinder and fine sandpaper, and varnishing.
We spent more time than we planned on peeling and varniching cedar logs. First, I performed engineering calculations to determine the smallest log that would do. An excellent log beam calculator is located online at
Log Beam Calculator
I cross checked this calculator using my own spreadsheets.
We bought a log peelinig tool from Log Wizard This is an amazing tool! It is essentially a planer that fits on the end of your chain saw. You can peel all of the bark from a log, and leave a pretty clean finish. We ended by sanding the logs with a 7" angle grinder and fine sandpaper, and varnishing.
Invention1 said...
Why Radiant Floor Heat?
We bought our radiant floor heating system in a kit from Radiant Floor Company. They send everything you need in a kit, including the water heater, tubing, connectors, a pre-manufactured header with pressure valves. I have two minor complaints, though. First, the header was nailed to an OSB box, and the code does not allow OSB in direct contact with concrete. My contractor rebuilt the box using treated plywood. Second, we were a bit confused bythe layout they suggested. They did not send a real sketch of it, and they should have a way of communicating their layout other than verbally. We called their help line three times, and each time they were very helpful and patient with our bungling. They are very used to dealing with homeowners and DIY'ers, and were able to explain the ABC's of radiant heat to us very well.
Radiant heat is easily tied into Solar water heat, is very efficient compared to some kinds of heat, and puts the heat where the people are. Your whole house may actually be cooler than an average house, but since your feet are warmed, you stay warm. I am a big fan of their service and recommend them highly!
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Why Radiant Floor Heat?
We bought our radiant floor heating system in a kit from Radiant Floor Company. They send everything you need in a kit, including the water heater, tubing, connectors, a pre-manufactured header with pressure valves. I have two minor complaints, though. First, the header was nailed to an OSB box, and the code does not allow OSB in direct contact with concrete. My contractor rebuilt the box using treated plywood. Second, we were a bit confused bythe layout they suggested. They did not send a real sketch of it, and they should have a way of communicating their layout other than verbally. We called their help line three times, and each time they were very helpful and patient with our bungling. They are very used to dealing with homeowners and DIY'ers, and were able to explain the ABC's of radiant heat to us very well.
Radiant heat is easily tied into Solar water heat, is very efficient compared to some kinds of heat, and puts the heat where the people are. Your whole house may actually be cooler than an average house, but since your feet are warmed, you stay warm. I am a big fan of their service and recommend them highly!
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