THE 280K HOUSE ON CAPE COD

Final interiors: (photos by Dan Cutrona)

2010-07-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

Photoshoot in the Living Room

2010-06-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Sneak peak of staged photographs: Master Bedroom

2010-06-01T11:19:00.001-07:00

Interior Finish

2010-05-03T03:55:00.000-07:00

The past month has been installing ceramic tile in baths and entries, vanities from Privy Pine (these are a nice way to capture the Cape Cod feel in a bathroom, the company is from CT and does a wonderful quality product for a reasonable price), Corian countertop in kitchen, install Maple wood flooring from Stonewood Products in Harwich, MA and finishing with a quality low VOC clear finish. Interior paint is about 90% on the interior. The plumber has installed all fixtures in baths and kitchen. Rinnai instantaneous HW was installed and the laundry area and kitchen are ready for appliances.

Drywall Complete - Interior Trim start

2010-03-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

Final weeks of March and the Drywall is complete. Lightening Bolt Drywall completed hanging, taping, spackling and prime paint on walls and ceiling finish paint in 10 days. Great work and beautiful job, Rob! Tim from SCC Group, LLC is handling interior trim. Tim was also part of the shell crew. Presently he's on door hanging and window and door casing. We are using primed pine, 1 x 4 flat stock with 5/4 head stock with federal cut. The base will be 1 x 6 flat. Window sills are milled on site from 1x8 pine with round edge. The recycled pine paneling from the Donovan's old house has been planed down and will be used for wainscotting in first floor living areas, stairway, and second floor hall. Chair rail milled from 5/4 with 1 x 4 apron.

Energy Star inspection

2010-03-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

On Monday March 1st we had our 1st of 2 inspections by our local Energy Star rater, Building Diagnostics,Inc.
www.buildingdiagnosticshelp.com

The inspection consisted of a visual inspection of insulation installation. Job well done!
Also, the ducts were pressurized and tested for leaks. We found a gaping hole as a round duct was attached to a square hole without being air sealed. We are adding mastic tape at all return registers so that warm air won't escape into the subfloor. Finally, we are adding some more air sealing around the entire first and second floor bottom plate.

We are targeting a HERS rating of 65. This is an Energy Star tier 2, and comes with a rebate incentive of $1250. HERs (Home Energy Rating) is a system of rating a home's energy performance ranging from 100 (code built) to net zero (a home that produces as much energy as it uses) 0. An Energy Star home has to achieve an 85, which is accomplished with additional air sealing. HERs rating of 65 represents a 35% energy savings over a typical code built house!! We'll get our final HERs rating when the home is complete.
http://www.energystarhomes.com/

These diagnostic tests during construction are INVALUABLE. We caught several mistakes yesterday that are hard to see, but cost owners major money in heating bills.

Insulation is completed.

2010-03-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

Passed framing inspection on Friday 02/28. Insulation started that afternoon and was completed by Monday March 1st. We used all cellulose insulation between the bays for a number of reasons:
1. It is a very cost effective
2. Cellulose is blown into the bays wet so that it fills all spaces and acts as an air barrier
3. Cellulose has a high recycled content, made of recycled newspaper.

With the 1" of rigid insulation on the exterior the walls have an r-value of 23 as opposed to the typical 2x6 wall which has an actual r value of more like 17 (when you account for studs + insulation in bays)

Shell Complete; Rough-in In Progress

2010-02-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

First week in February and the shell is finished. PLF Construction moved off site today after blocking interior walls for bath accessories and clean up. Inventory of extra materials and calling the lumber vendors for return of some material. The exterior trim, which was Bodyguard, came in higher than expected by 30%. Tough nut, but we don't want to sacrifice in this area due to our salt air climate. Primed pine gets eaten alive in this area. There are other products: XO trim, KLEER trim, AZEK trim, but they all are pretty much in the same price range.
The Plumber is ready for rough-in inspection, the HVAC contractor will be done on Friday and the Electrician is in progress and probably looking at a week from Friday for rough inspection. We are shooting for Monday February 22 for Framing Inspection with the Town of Chatham. Insulation and Drywall can then begin.
So looking at our numbers we're at $170/sqft. Not bad for good 'ole Cape Cod.

Closing In Shell

2010-01-30T15:48:00.000-08:00

Windows, Trim and Siding all getting down before the end of January.
The PLF crew has been really gettin it down.
The clapboard will get painted at the end.
Plumbing has started inside. (Pleasant Bay Plumbing & Heating)
The weather has turned cold, cold, but not before we poured the basement slab.
Hard Rock Concrete rocks!!
Rough-ins should be done the month of February. Drywall and Interior Trim in March-April.
90% of the selections have been completed with the Owner. Alison is designing kitchen and Lynda is coordinating Plumbing, Electrical fixtures.
Ahead of schedule so far!!

Rigid Insulation - Jan, 6-8

2010-01-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

The rigid insulation arrived and in the meantime we had reviewed with the framing subcontractors how there can be no thermal breaks with any framing. So ledgers for porch roof have to go up after the rigid and rafter tails need to be trimmed in order for the rigid insulation to fit under and up to the edge of top plates. I also had a meeting with the insulation contractor and reviewed details for basement rim joist area and the soffit blocked area. Later after the framing inspection the inside framing will be air sealed. This will help attain our HERS Rating and Energy Star compliance.

Happy New Year !!

2010-01-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

As we bring in the New Year, it's been unseasonably cold and two snow storms have dumped the white stuff. So snow plowing as we continue to frame. Strapping over the hip beams tieing into the wall frame. Sheathing the walls and roof and wrapping the perimeter with Typar before the rigid insulation goes on. There is an issue with our building supply vendor as to delivery date for rigid insulation. So I'm calling our insulation contractor for their help. It seems the big lumber companies on the Cape are not stocking inventory as in days passed. The New Economy ? Ughh!

Steel for Moment Frame

2009-12-24T12:29:00.000-08:00

Part of the new Wind Loading requirements for Cape Code get us into providing moment frames around large spans of glass where there is inadequate sheathing panel to resist wind loads in exposed areas. Full speed ahead during the Christmas-New Years break.

Christmas Card Frame

2009-12-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

Every year we have our Christmas card decked out with our latest project.
So as the frame is going up and steel plates waiting to be welded on Monday, Alison and Amy took some pictures for the card today.
Plywood sheathing on the first floor and continuation of the second floor walls was on the schedule for the rest of the week.

2md floor decking

2009-12-15T15:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today the first floor walls second floor deck went on.
Metal strapping at all window openings is also part of the framing connections that are required by the 7th Edition of the MA Building Code.
Tomorrow the steel columns for the moment frame will go up on the gable end facing the water. A moment frame was required to meet wind loading requirements due to the amount of glass and openings on the exposed side.
All of this added structural design is a big reason why the cost went up from 250K to 280K.

Framing 1st floor deck

2009-12-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

Lumber jacks on site!!
I decided to go with conventional framing on this job. The span of the floor joists didn't justify the extra cost of engineered lumber. 19'2" span we used Hem Fir structural select lumber (2 x 12's) for the floor joists and 3/4" Advantech subflooring. Blocking will help stabilize the floor system as well as the modulus of elasticity on Hem Fir (1600psi) vs. SPF (1400psi).
The weather is still mild for this time of year but the coming days will feel more like a New England winter.

Concrete Walls

2009-12-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

Chan-Kal Foundations poured the walls on Tuesday and we are rocking.
Inbetween the weather, which is particularly warm for this time of year even on the Cape.
34 cubic yards of concrete and it's a wrap.

Foundation Wall Pour

2009-11-30T05:09:00.000-08:00

Monday morning after the holiday and we are back at it. 10 am we are scheduled for concrete to pour the 10" foundation walls. Height is approximately 7'-10". We'll be setting 5/8" x 12" anchor bolts @ 6' o.c. along the top of wall that will hold the sill plate when the deck goes on. We've also got 3 stainless steel holddown anchors that the structural engineer specified to comply with new 7th Edition Massachusetts Stat Building Code wind loading requirements. Vibrate that concrete Dougie!!!!

That's a GO

2009-11-25T15:30:00.000-08:00

At around 12:00 pm the Building Inspector approved our footing inspection and the concrete truck arrived at 1:30 pm with 9 cubic yards of readi-mix concrete for the footing trenches and column pads. Our subs Doug and Dave set about pouring the concrete in trench and once up to level then added a 2" x 4" keyway in the middle of the footing. A keyway in the footing creates a bond between footing and wall when the foundation walls are poured.
So in two weeks we've demoilished, excavated, and installed footings and obtained our building permits in between there. We are on schedule. Friday the wall forms go up, Monday the walls get poured, and dampproofed by Wednesday. Looks like deck framing should start by Monday December 7 or sooner.

Footing Pour

2009-11-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

The day before Thanksgiving, we got the building permit, the footing inspection was called in and our concrete subcontractor - Chak-Lee Foundations is cleaning up and getting ready for a concrete delivery at 2:00 pm.

It's been raining off and on for a couple days but the sandy soil and mild temperatures have made the rain a non-issue. The copper grounding wire has been placed in the footing, and a 6" sleeve for the septic waste line and a 2" sleeve for the water line as well. The forms will go up on Friday and Saturday and the plan is to pour the 10" concrete foundation walls on Monday and strip the forms on Tuesday.

I'll be heading out to catch part of the footing pour on video and away we go!!

Progress

2009-11-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

Well, here we, November 11, 2009 with Zoning approvals, building permits applied for and a summer of going through different selection scenarios and several construction cost estimates. Negotiatiing with our sub-contractors, vendors and the fall of 2009 is upon us. Our goal was to start construction in October and bring the cost in at $250,000.00. It looks like a November start and a price of $280,000.00 that still needs some tweaking. The 7th Edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code has increased our structural material and labor cost somewhat due to changes in shearwall requirements, anchor holddowns, steel moment frames and impact glass window requirements.
The scope of this project is a tear down of a 1950's ranch house that was unable to sustain a true renovation because of the poor condition of the foundation, energy efficient-less single pane windows, and floor framing that mimicked a crooked walk off a long plank.
My partner, Alison Alessi, designed a two-story 44' x 20' hip roofed structure that needed to sit pretty much in the same location as the existing footprint. Encompassing a full unfinished basement, open kitchen/family-living area, office with mudroom and 3 bedrooms on the second floor. the Master Bedroom on the second floor will exit to the east onto an open deck above the porch roof that will offer the owners a stunning view of Nauset Sound.
The exterior wall assembly will be wrapped with 1" of rigid insulation over the wall sheathing and under a Certainteed fiber clapboard product. The 2x6 wall studs will also be filled with cellulose insulation. The entire assembly will provide an R value of 34. The attic/ceiling space will be blown in with wet cellulose that will provide an R value of 43. The basement slab will be underscored with 2" rigid insulation and the 10" concrete foundation walls will be wrapped on the inside with 1" rigid "thermax" insulation.

Design 1

2009-06-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

The design process began in May of 2009 and several things were apparent.
The clients wanted an energy efficient house with green-sustainable elements where their budget could afford it.
The house would have to be built pretty much on the same footprint as the existing footprint.
The house would need to be a two-story structure to fit the client's program wishes.
The style of the house would need to take into consideration the surrounding properties.
We would need ZBA special permit approval by the Town of Chatham.

So through the summer Alison shaped these elements into a design that met the clients needs, would get approved at ZBA and I started number crunching.