Concrete Karma

Seems like fate, after working on the Big Dig (3.8 million cubic yards of concrete), that we'll be living on this slab. It's good to use with radiant floor heat and works well as thermal mass for the passive solar heat. The floor will be sealed next week. Stay tuned for stucco and sheet rock...

A series of tubes...

...not to be confused with the Ted Stevens series of tubes. Radiant floor heat has been around for centuries in different forms. It's very comfortable, efficient and clean. Concrete will be poured on this pex tubing. Our hot water boiler will heat water that will go through these tubes and warm the slab. Deco will be ecstatic, but we're really not doing this just for her!

It was a busy and productive week. The crew installed all the windows, and Jackie and I unloaded the Pod over the weekend. We ask the perennial questions, why so much stuff and why do we keep lugging it around with us?

We really love these Avonni windows - they are aluminum clad outside and wood on the inside. They are manufactured locally and go really well with our metal roof. Glazing is one of the key elements of passive solar heating.

Not sure we mentioned one of the best sources of information about this type of construction - The Passive Solar House by Dan Chiras.

One of these photos shows the glass block that will be over the countertops in the kitchen (reduces the need for daytime lighting - Jackie's good idea!). Chris the Plumber and Jeramy, our project manager, are in this picture.

Halfbacks

People who move from the north to Florida (which they discover is as hot as hell, surprise!), and then halfway back to North Carolina are halfbacks. It's not technically halfway, but there's foliage and snow, so it's very un-Florida like.

We are officially here, but can't move in to our house until the last few details are finished - windows, doors, floors, sheetrock, boiler... Many updates to follow this week!

A little spooky...

...but there's some progress. We were thinking of going up next week, but we're waiting to hear about the gas shortages in Georgia and the Carolinas.

From the holler...

Our clever and talented neighbor, Caroline, combined two local cabins she salvaged - one from 1850, the other 1815 - and built this one which we see from our back deck.
This is what our house looked like when we left Monday. You can see the cut outs for the gable roof for the deck. The small critter in the bedroom is Deco!
Estimated moving date: October 31st.

There's an inside now...

And a beautiful deck! It's been fun to see all the work that's getting done day to day. Wish we could stay longer...

Raising the Roof

It's been exciting to see this part of the project! We're in the process of deciding details now - where to put all the switches, what faucets to use, where will the hammock go (some details less important, obviously) - so it feels like we're really getting closer to maybe trick or treating here. Or at least having Thanksgiving dinner with Jackie's mom.