This is the first time we have been to 77 South Road since last Monday. Heating, electrical, and mechanical systems are being installed. We are happy that we have experts doing the work because everything looks very complicated.
Hallee Electric, 603-540-5599, is doing the electrical wiring in the house. Al Hallee works with his apprentice Zack Brackett.
Absolute Mechanical Systems, 603-249-9800, is doing the mechanical systems that will provide us with heating and cooling. John St.Pierre works with his brother Shawn St.Pierre installing all the piece parts.
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The gentlemen from Absolute Mechanical Systems are installing the heating and cooling systems for the house. Our house has thick insulation with an R24 factor in the basement and an R27 factor in the walls, an R45 for the ceilings at 25 degrees Fahrenheit. The colder it is outside, the higher the R value. (Click here for more information about the R-Values.) Because the house is so well insulated, it requires an air exchanger to remove moisture from the air and bring in fresh air.
Another energy saver we chose is the “continuous flow water system” - Rinnai tankless water heater- to supply hot water. Basically we use hot water in the morning and evening. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to have hot water heated and ready to use when we don’t need it. Although the house has many upfront costs, we expect it to give us a substantial payback in energy savings (click here to learn more). We drive a Toyota Prius and we enjoy those energy savings every time we stop for gas.
While the Absolute men are busy doing their work, we took a walk around the house. The tub is installed; the piping to the kitchen sink is in place; we have hot and cold shut offs for the washer; more insulation is put in the upstairs walls and ceilings; the final wall of the house is being sided. Life is good.
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John Fiery made stairs to go from the basement to the first floor. They are especially timely. The melting snow at the front door makes getting into the house a little tricky. These steps are just what we need now. John Fiery now has his own website - click here to view it.
Our front door was delivered and put into place. Today was an exciting day.
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Click on the picture below to see the stairs being put into place.
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The floor in the basement was placed today by Mike Mounsey & Son, Foundations and Floors, 603-226-2785. Mike Mounsey Jr. told Steve that they also placed the footings for our house.
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Click the link below to see Mike Mounsey, Jr. at work.
Being of Irish heritage, Steve and I usually celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day. This year we celebrated with the folks who are helping us build a new home. Dave Soter said he was having Guinness Stew with Irish Soda Bread for dinner. He says Guinness Stew is beef stew that has a bottle of Guinness added and then cooked down. That sounds very interesting.
Today we don’t have a lot of pictures, but a lot happened just the same. In the AM we checked out the house and what was happening. We spent the afternoon at Home Depot with Helen Griffin, in the left picture below, and Cathy O’Donnell - two lovely Irish ladies.
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A lot of activity is happening at the house. Contractors work together to do their part to make out house an energy star home. We have learned so much. John Fiery coordinates all of the work and keeps everything going. Everyday we learn something new. For instance, the Hardie Plank supplied by JamesHardie.com is fiber cement siding. It is very sturdy. For more information on fiber cement siding go to http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/walls/fiber-cement-siding
Click on the picture below to see more photos of what is happening today.
Today we learned that we missed talking about a very important person who plays a big part in getting the pieces together for our house. That man is Charlie Ferguson of Milford Lumber. We didn’t mean to leave you out, Charlie - we just lost your pictures for a little while - sorry.
Have you noticed that material keeps showing up at the house? Where does it come from? A lot of the material for the house comes from Milford Lumber. On March 3, 2008 we got to talk with Charlie Ferguson. He drives a BIG truck to deliver lots of materials. Click on the picture below to see more photos.
That is to say Absolute Mechanical Systems. These are pictures of the Radiant Floor Heating Tubes being installed for our workroom. Click on the picture below to see more photos.
We will be having radiant floor heating in the work room. The pictures show the process to prepare the area for the radiant heat tubing. Click on the picture below to see more photos of the process.
Today, March 11, 2008, the first window was installed in our house. They are Kohltech windows.
Except for the basement, all of the windows were installed by the end of March 12, 2008. The John Fiery team works well together and do a great job.
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