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New House Plan

Posted by Jodi on July 22, 2016

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We have a new plan - pushed back into the hill with an attached garage.

Here's a video with a modern roofline:

And one with a more cottage flair:

Main floor plan

Lower level plan

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R35 Wall Assembly

The problem with the R25 (R15 plus 10 code wall) is that the exterior insulation is expensive, complicated to install, requires specialty fasteners, and the builder needs to do some tricky things with the air sealing and the window installation. It's a pretty labor-intensive and expensive way to get R25. So, we are thinking about an easier way to assemble the structure - using a builder to put up the house quickly and then work on all the interior layers ourselves -- indoors and out of the elements and bugs. Rachel Wagner (Wagner Zaun Architects) presented this alternative at the 2016 Duluth Energy conference and we are thinking about a variation on this approach. It seems like a pretty simple way to get to ~R40. Here's the layers we would use: BUILDER TO INSTALL: 1. Vertical Siding with more that 3/8 in air gap. Eliminates rain screen complexity 2. WRB - Tar paper 3. External Plywood Sheathing - windows and deck attach to this lay...

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