One great thing about deconstruction is that it reveals interesting construction details. I am removing siding around what used to be the front door but will now be our Master Bedroom door. The foil covered polyiso is being replaced because removing the siding pretty much destroys it. Over that the SIGA air barrier is taped to the edges of the new polyiso.
As I removed the corner where the interior wall meets the trombe wall I found what I thought were pretty interesting solutions to the angled wall construction. The interior block wall follows the foundation but the corner juts out past the wall to meet the front of the trombe cement block wall.
Rear side of the interior block wall
The interior of the wall is supported by the same type of steel posts that support the middle of the structure.
Structural post in trombe wall
Two 2×8’s form a beam that is attached to the top of the post. This is independent of the slag block interior wall and the cement block exterior wall that form the mass for the trombe wall.
Beams that hold up roof
The left side of this wall faces the interior of the master bedroom, while the right side faces the interior of the trombe wall. The insulation here was a few scrawny pieces of fiberglass, not even all the way up the column. So I replaced it with two layers of Roxul on the right side and the regular single 5.5″ layer on the left side.
Left side interior, Right side behind slag block wall
There was also a mass of mortar in the 2 x 6 wall that provided very little insulation value. I chipped it all out so there was room for Roxul all the way to the bottom plate.
Mortar removed from 2×6 plate
I found a snake skin at the top of the interior of the block wall! Obviously this wall was not sufficiently sealed. I am working on fixing that.