Twinsprings Research Institute

I’m Fixing a Hole

Posted on November 7, 2013 by ellen

I caught a photo of the woodpecker that I am trying to encourage to go elsewhere to nest.

The Culprit

Closeup of the Northern Flicker

The woodpeckers pecked holes through the cedar siding, the fiberboard sheathing, the polyiso sheathing and into the fiberglass where they tore the surface foil off the insulation all the way down to their nest. What a mess.

I fixed the holes with a sheet of polyiso cut to fit and a sample roll of the SIGA tape which sticks nicely to anything. The outside was patched with Eternabond tape.

Bird Hole Trimmed

Bird Damage Removed

Repaired Bird Hole

I only fixed two of the holes. One is behind the brick wall so will have to be repaired from the outside and the other was not all the way through so I just patched it from outside.

The Solution

According to the Colorado State Extension agency, this bird is a Northern Flicker. These woodpeckers MIGHT be scared away by whirlygigs and windchimes hung from the eaves. So I hung the lovely chimes that our friend Marsha gave us for a housewarming gift, and I bought several twirly things and hung them. They did not seem to scare the Flicker whose photo I took though.

Posted in Construction, Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off

Goodbye Fiberglass (Mostly)

Posted on November 6, 2013 by ellen

There were a lot of damaged fiberglass batts in the walls and ceiling. Most of the batts had to be discarded due to mold, mouse holes and urine. The fiberglass batts just about filed the 30 yard dumpster, as well as the drywall from the demolition.

Discarded Batts

Batts that were in reasonable condition were saved. These sacked batts were from the from the front flat ceiling.

Sacked Batts

This pile of batts is what was salvagable from the cathedral ceilings. I hope we can get it up into the attic as an extra layer of R 19 without having to put it in sacks.

Saved Batts

The dumpster was picked up on a rainy day in late October after a week at the house. I caught a picture of it just as it was leaving the driveway. Glad to be rid of it.

Roll Off Dumpster

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Bare Bones

Posted on November 6, 2013 by ellen

I decided that the cathedral ceiling being extra tall and inaccessible, was too difficult for me to tear out myself. I enlisted the help of some demolition experts who I contacted through their ad on Craigslist. They came over with some extra scaffolding and a roof shingle stripper and made quick work of tearing out the west wall, the ceiling and the insulation.

Workers Set Up for Tear Down

Tearing Down in Family Room

After the teardown I had lots of clean up to do but I kind of like the whole bare bones look of the rooms!

Tear Down Living Room Ceiling

Final Tear Down Bath/Family Room

Utility Room Tear Out

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It’s a Gas

Posted on November 5, 2013 by ellen

Correction required for this article: Please read italics below.

Making progress on the house and about ready to install new insulation, so I decided to see if we could get the gas pipes moved out of the way of new insulation. We are trying to get most of the wiring and piping out of the insulated spaces. You would think this would be a relatively easy task. I may just pick the wrong plumbing help, but the guy told me the entire system was grossly undersized and should be replaced. I guess I was just born yesterday, because although I didn’t take his word for the necessary sizing of the pipes, I took his word for the size of the pipe we have! He said it was 1″ pipe. But black iron is measured by the outside dimension and we have 1 1/4 pipe! That means the existing pipe is fine for the BTU’s we need it to deliver. Harumph.

What a difference a 1/4″ makes. We have about 80 lineal ft. to the boiler, which would be able to carry up to 480,000 BTU/hr. but if the pipe was only 1″, we would be limited to 220,000. Similarly, we have a pipe that goes outside to the old spa area for a gas spa heater. That distance is about 165′ so we would use the 175′ figures for a total of 300,000 BTU/hr.

Gas Pipe Sizing

I’m not sure how decreasing and increasing the pipe size impacts the distance and BTU’s. The pipe decreases to 1″ near the gas dryer hookup and increases again going to the outdoor pipe.

Decrease in main trunk pipe size to 1″

Increase in pipe size back to 1 1/4″

It seems that to carry the total BTU’s the trunk pipe must maintain the minimum diameter for the total BTU’s in the run. The branch lengths are not included in the trunk run figures, but the total BTU’s of the appliances they serve are.

Found at http://www.doityourself.com/forum/water-heaters/446586-gas-pipe-big-enough.html

In this example there are five appliances for a total BTU rating of 310,000 BTU/hr. The run to the furnace is 59′ and carries up to 270,000 BTU/hr. A 1″ pipe only carries 260,000 so a 1 1/4″ pipe is needed, according to the chart. To add the grill, figure the 30′ to the grill as a branch line. For a 30 ft. length to carry the 40,000 BTU/hr, a 1/2″ line would work and the total run will hold 460,000 BTU/hr. more than enough for all appliances on this line.

The gas run for our house could include the following appliances, distances and BTU/hr.

Our gas run

So we are not grossly undersized for the common appliances within our distances, but would be with 1″ pipe as the service guy thought. However if we were to run the extra distance to the outdoor heater, we might run into problems. A spa heater is about 100,000 BTU/hr or so and we would be limited in the entire line to 300,000.

That 1/4″ represents a pretty large difference in capacity. I just have to find someone who is willing to still work with black iron pipe–the bid I received was to replace all the pipe with flex, the new stainless steel (CSST) stuff but we should be able to keep black iron for most of our runs.

Months later when we DID get the pipe replaced, the Gas Connection representative also identified the main pipe as 1″. (Black pipe is measured by its “nominal” dimension which is neither the inside nor outside diameter.) Although in his opinion it was not grossly undersized, using the existing pipe would be too likely to leak and not pass inspection requiring costly leak locating and repair. The cost to replace the old pipe with a larger outside line directly to the utility room would be about the same as adding more pipe to the old and less difficult for them. So what I found about measuring black pipe was incorrect, it is not measured by outside dimension. The btu delivery information is accurate though and the Gas Connection used some of my btu figures when they computed the requirements for the job.

Posted in House Systems, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Nature’s Warriors

Posted on October 15, 2013 by ellen

Hey, what was that tap tap tapping on my house? Yeah, I think I let this one happen. Even while I was home it did not occur to me that the birds could drill a hole right through the siding into the inside cavity of the house. I thought they were just eating bugs from the side of the house?

I was truly surprised and depressed to find three big holes in the polyiso foam siding with huge bird messes inside. I pulled out the insulation and patched the holes from the outside with eternabond roofing tape, but I’ll have to redo the foam insulation somehow from the inside and tape over it. I’m wondering if we should replace all the cedar siding with something that is bird impermeable.

Hole in foam insulation

Hole 2 made by the birds

Eternabond patched siding

Bird Hole Locations

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Air Barriers

Posted on October 10, 2013 by ellen

One of the benefits of blogging is to organize thoughts about next steps. When Sarah visited, she advised me to finish the external barrier first and that was a helpful comment in a sometimes overwhelming project. I am taking apart the insulation layer in the main portion of the house. That means tearing out the drywall, and the fiberglass insulation.

Insulation Piles

I’ve been packing the used insulation up into construction trash bags. Another messy and itchy job. I have quite the getup for this task, long sleeves, slick nylon pants, neck kerchief, hat and a good quality breathing mask. I figure we will reuse the insulation that is not damaged by mice. The house was empty for quite some time and although there was not much evidence of animal intrusion, part of the ceiling was definitely inhabited by a large colony of little pooping critters. I’m glad to get all of that out of the house. But most of the insulation is in good shape and seems that it could be reused, if not in the house, then in an eventual outbuilding.

Considering the infiltration of animals, however, the house barriers definitely need to be beefed up. I’m still researching the final design of the exterior walls. An in-depth resource for that project has been the Building Science information website. I have downloaded and read not only their informative construction principles, but also their presentations and seminars over the years. These give a better explanation of their design principles as they have evolved over the years. The two people whose names are seen again and again are Joseph (Joe) Lstiburek and John Straube. These men have worked on building envelope design for decades and have changed thinking regarding air infiltration and moisture management in walls ceilings and floors. In one marathon session, I downloaded 57 presentations and papers on thermal envelope design from this site. Since there is no audio, it is necessary to read several presentations since the same cases are cited again and again and the prinicples are more thoroughly explained over time.

Basically there is an ideal wall construction and that construction can be translated just as well to roof and floor. There must be a waterproof layer and a vapor barrier, an air proof layer and lots of insulation as a thermal barrier in between. The idea is that the thermal envelope should be a contiguous and continuous barrier between the inside and the outside of the house. This ideal can be somewhat difficult to implement in a home built out of dissimilar materials like ours.

Ideal same construction wall, slab and roof

Ideal wall, roof and floor

We have a passive trombe wall, a mostly cathedral roof, an earth bermed north wall, window walls facing south and small portions of the earth bermed walls that are framed for windows. How does a continuous air barrier extend across all these surfaces?

For now I am concentrating on the wood framed areas, walls and roof. The original construction consisted of from the outside in, either cedar siding or stucco (water barrier), 1″ of foil faced polyiso with the foil facing inwards, (this is an air barrier if properly taped) then there is a window wall facing south that consists of 2 x 4’s surrounded by small areas of fiberglass batt, or 2 x 6 walls with fiberglass batt, these are covered inside by 4 mil poly (that would also be an air and vapor barrier if properly sealed). Finally there is 1/2″ drywall on the interior surface. So the existing walls are pretty well constructed to meet Energy Star guidelines, although the window openings were not taped and it appears there was not any building wrap used on the outside and the poly barrier is broken and not taped around windows and electrical outlets.

I am most interested in eliminating the intrusion of critters and birds (as well as moisture, heat and cold) by creating new wall and roof barriers. For this purpose, it seems as if sprayed foam would be a good solution. Spray fills in any voids and is pretty impermeable to critters. I would get a couple of inches sprayed throughout the ceiling and frame walls and seal that well where these walls connect to the masonry walls. Then the remaining void could be filled by rock wool insulation which is less comfortable for critters to nest in. You would think fiberglass would be uncomfortable too but that did not seem to be the case. Finally, there needs to be a chase for electrical cable and the gas pipe and maybe even some plumbing vent pipe that goes through the roof. As another option I was thinking about installing a membrane air barrier under the insulation and taping that, then putting up a grid of 2 x 2’s on the ceiling and walls to hold the electrical outlets and wiring before having the drywall installed. That would protect the membrane from nail holes and other issues as the construction ages.

I am a bit confused about whether the foam on one side and the air barrier on the other would cause a wall and roof that could not dry out if it become damp for some reason. UPDATE: Now I know that the foam forms both an air barrier and insulation layer.

Foam under the roof is highly recommended by the building science folks, and if the air barrier is vapor permeable the wall should be able to dry out from the inside. The one problem with foam in the walls and roof are that it is capable of outgassing over time and I’m not sure if the air barrier will contain that as well as the concrete in the floor is expected to contain any outgassing from the foam under it.

Here is a wall construction diagram that I found at the Gregory La Valderra Architect website.

USA Wall System

There are a few products that could be used for the interior air barrier. The Swiss Siga air sealing products are popular with the Passive House builders in Colorado. These can be ordered from a few small suppliers in the US online or imported by builders in your area. Similar products are made in the USA, I’m also looking at the Membrain sheeting from Certainteed that claims to allow vapor permeability and air sealing. This can be purchased from Menards and shipped to the house and may be available on order from Home Depot or Lowes. Menards also carries Thermofiber rock wool. But the local Lowes carries Roxul, a Canadian brand.

I finally decided that foam insulation was too expensive and ordered the interior SIGA air barrier materials and Roxul from Lowes. The local company A&E Building Systems is a dealer for both the SIGA products and high energy efficiency windows from Alpen, a company in Longmont, Co. I could find nothing but praise for the SIGA products for ensuring a vapor permeable (dry) air barrier, so I ordered the barrier, application tapes and caulk from these Passive House experts.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Energy Efficiency, Planning | Comments Off

Hot Water at Last!

Posted on October 7, 2013 by ellen

Domestic Hot Water

YES! Endless hot water @ 2.4 gallons per minute. That was enough for a nice long shower, first one in the house in about a year. So nice to finally have the water system connected and hot water running again.

Off the wall again for horizontal connections

To accomplish this feat I had to take the whole boiler down and redo all the compression connections with new fittings that cost $20 each for the 4 of them. (These are special mm to inch fittings to bridge the European manufacturer’s divide!) When connecting these pipes the first time, I kept adding the required pieces to the bottom of the vertical installation. Each time I held the upper pieces with a wrench but when they were all connected, the compression fittings and fittings inside the boiler leaked like a sieve. I read that compression fittings can be “overtightened” so that they will no longer hold water. Taking the compression rings off while the boiler was on the wall was a total headache and I finally called Triangle Tube to ask about the fittings. They said they recommended doing the attachments while the boiler was horizontal. Would be good to add that to their installation instructions. So with all the pipes and the PVC exhaust and external air pipes disconnected, and I had some help to lift the boiler off the wall.

Hydronic testing

Connecting the compression fittings was easier with the boiler on it’s side. I didn’t connect all the parts right to the boiler this time. Instead I just put the pressure gauge and the boiler drain close to the boiler. The pressure relief on the hot water, and the strainer on the cold are further down the piping, near the floor where they can be better supported.
I read several other installation manuals for boilers and one recommended a hydronic test of the connections before the boiler was installed. So I rigged up a system to run the water through the boiler first to check for leaks. But after putting the connections on horizontally instead of vertically, there were no leaks in the system.

Boiler rehung and reconnected

I also needed help hanging the boiler back on the wall, but then I was able to finish the connections and fire it up. I had a gas regulator that was rated between 4 and 12 PSI and used that to regulate the gas for the boiler. The installation instructions did not require a regulator, but I used one to be safe as the boiler is limited to 13 PSI. I tested the PSI at the boiler’s test port with a meter I bought just for that purpose and it was 7 PSI so well under 13 and over 5, the minimum requirement. I did not check the flue gasses for efficiency yet, but will do that when the heat is hooked up.
The instructions also did not require a condensate neutralizer, but it appeared that most installations used one to make sure the water that is discarded is not too acidic. I bought one of those and installed it as well. The one piece that I didn’t buy ahead of time was the fill valve, and I decided to get a Calephi because it is fully adjustable and is all brass, unlike the Watts valves. So I can’t wait to see if I can get the system heating soon as the temperatures have turned chilly and it doesn’t help that I have torn most of the insulation out of the walls and ceilings.

Posted in Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Energy Efficiency, House Systems | Comments Off

More Boiler Business

Posted on September 27, 2013 by ellen

The Case of the Shrinking Efficiency Rating

Even though I thought I did all the research necessary to make a good decision, I have spent time doubting the choice I made for the boiler. The radiant system was sized using the Manual J calculations for the existing heat loss of the building based on its construction and what we knew from the energy audit. The energy auditor recommended a small efficient boiler that would hang on the wall and I scoured the Internet for product recommendations. I was enchanted by the idea of purchasing both an instantaneous water heater and a boiler in one appliance and found only good things said about the Triangle Tube brand of heaters. I read all about the typical problems with oversizing a boiler and we calculated that the house required about 85,000 btu’s of heating capacity at the Denver design temperature of zero degrees. A condensing, modulating boiler is the most efficient because it allows for cooler water to return to the boiler to boost heating efficiency and it modulates its fire capacity based on an outside temperature reset adjusting to the changes in temperature automatically.

So looking at the offerings from Triangle Tube online and at various vendors, I was pleased that the Challenger was offered at 95% (Pex Supply listed it at 96%) advertised efficiency and 82,000 btu output. This boiler looked like a good fit for our needs. The combi version of the Challenger has two waterways within the heat exchanger, one is 3/4 ” for the radiant heat pipe and one is 1/2″ for the instantaneous water heater, although the water heater loop has priority when needed. You would think that water could flow through both channels and deliver heated water and radiant heat at the same time. The hot water heater (DHW) has priority, however. The water heater is only rated at 2.4 gallons per minute, but with just two permanent residents and the idea that we would supplement the boiler with a solar water heating system, that flow rate seemed reasonable. And it certainly is for one ENDLESS shower at a time!

But I FAILED to understand enough about boilers when that decision was made to realize that a 105,000 btu input boiler would not be 96% efficient if it was producing 82,000 btu’s of heat under typical piping installations. (Should be closer to 100,000 btu’s of heat.) I did NOT look up the boiler on the Energy Star list either, which is an amazing oversight since I use the Energy Star spreadsheets religiously for choosing other appliances. In fact the boiler came with a half sheet of information that stated that the US rates the boiler as only 90% efficient.

Excerpt from Energy Star Boiler Spreadsheet

Manufacturer	Brand	Model	Number	AFUE Rating	Qualified
Triangle Tube/Phase III Co., Inc.	Triangle Tube	Challenger	CC105s	90	8/28/2012

I also did not look to see where the boiler was manufactured, (Belgium) which would not have made as much of an impact on the decision, given that the US market is limited for this type of boiler, except then I had to wrestle with European sized compression fittings.

I read that Triangle Tube boilers featured advanced stainless steel heat exchangers but did not realize that the Challenger itself did not have the stainless steel exchanger but a fused aluminum exchanger, and a stainless burner, one of the reasons for its cheaper price and smaller footprint. The Prestige Solo Excellence has a built in 14 gallon high recovery rate (semi instantaneous) water heater and is actually 95% efficient, but it is also about $2000 more expensive, and although it can hang on a wall it is quite a bit larger both in depth and height so it needs extra support. Apparently the 110,000 btu version is the most popular. Its price is almost double what the Challenger 105 costs.

I’m not sure what boiler I would have chosen instead and don’t find anything now that has the features I wanted and is as inexpensive. But it really bothers me that I thought I was buying one of the most energy efficient heaters on the market, when that honor actually goes to the Lochinvar Knight according to the Energy Star spreadsheet.

Posted in Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, House Systems, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Dropping the Attic

Posted on September 3, 2013 by ellen

The first step was removing the rest of the loose fill fiberglass insulation from the attic rafters. Messy job.

Loose Fill Insulation

I bagged all the loose fill in case I need it to fill in or increase the depth of the insulation in the remaining attic over the rear crawlspace bedroom.

Bagging the loose fill

The intact attic without insulation had two different ceiling heights and each of these was a separate rafter structure which made them easier to take out.

Intact Attic

The higher attic ceiling was attached across the whole width of the beam but I just used a long crowbar to remove it. On the other side it was attached to a horizontal 2 x 4 that was attached to the second part of the structure. Pretty easy to take it apart.

Higher attic ceiling

The scaffold was a big help while working up a story. After I loosened the rafters at the wall edge of the attic, there were only a couple of nails holding the second part of the rafter structure.

Attic rafters and scaffold

The attic had been suspended from the floating walls that I already removed. I was able to rest the structure on the scaffold to keep from having it crash to the floor.

Scaffold holding attic rafters

The floor of the attic was then easily dropped to the ground with the help of a propped 2 x 4–so that I would not be underneath it!

Attic rafters dropped

The last piece to take out was the upper attic wall. It has one sensor attached to it that I forgot to disconnect so I lost the cover, but the sensor was OK.

Upper attic wall to go

The area looks great without the extra wall and the kitchen and part of the bath will now also have cathedral ceilings!

Attic opened up

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Mang Ox Water Filter

Posted on September 3, 2013 by ellen

The well water test came back with questionable news about the water. The stains in the plumbing already indicated rust and lime (calcium carbonate) in the water and the new boiler/water heater requires that the water not be high in either. But the water test showed unacceptable levels of Manganese as well as high level of iron. (.05 ppm of Mg and .2 ppm of iron) The ph is 8.4 and the total dissolved solids super high at 850. The TDS seems to be the result of high levels of calcium carbonate (99 ppm) and other salts. The test also returned high levels of lead, sodium, and sulfate (lead .011 ppm, sodium 240 ppm and sulfate 340 ppm)–so not that suited to sensitive plants–especially food plants. Fortunately no radon, coliform or e. coli bacteria though!

What do these numbers MEAN? The best information I found regarding water quality and each item on the test list was from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. Each of these factsheets thoroughly discusses the impact and issues regarding the water test results and possible treatments. Generally for high levels of hardness (130) a water softener system is utilized exchanging the calcium carbonate and other minerals for sodium. Softened water is not recommended for drinking purposes, but our water also is high in sodium so a sodium system is a questionable remedy.

I researched several forums and websites that advertised water treatment systems and found a couple of vendors that had good reputations online. After researching the different media that is available to treat water, I decided the first thing was to get the water reasonably able to be used by the boiler and water heater. This meant reducing the levels of iron and manganese and doing something about the hardness–calcium carbonate.

Water is treated for iron with a greensand or birm filter. But these media have been superseded by new treatment media such as Filox and Mang-Ox. The latter media seemed to be the most recent and best due to its solid composition and long life. It is manufactured by Noble House Group. The online filter store, Clean Water Systems, (now Clean Water Store, is an online vendor for a system with this media and they were often recommended in various water issue forums. UPDATE: This vender has replaced the MangOx filter with a ProOx filter.

This filter will reduce the rust in the water but will not help with the lime and hardness. For that I decided to try an inexpensive electronic filter that is supposed to keep the calcium carbonate in suspension thus alleviating the deposits on pipes and fixtures. Some water companies especially pooh pooh this method but there is some evidence that it works as I heard from a fellow boiler classmate and from the New Hampshire information sheets. The Clearwave CW-125 Salt Free Electronic Water Conditioner from Amazon for $129 and hope that it will prevent scale buildup on the boiler.

Otherwise the installation of the filter took time and research, but it was relatively easy. The pressure tank also had to be reinstalled and I had to change both the leaking drain spigot and the ball valve because I could not get the reducing coupling out of the old one. The valve is 1 1/4 inch and the water supply I was using is 1″ so there was still a brass reducer. I kept everything lead free and brass, copper, or pex in the system. But there still seems to be one galvanized pipe that comes out of the pressure tank.

The Mang-Ox media came in three bags, packed separately, and the filter has gravel at the bottom. The Vortech tank has a central pipe and bottom screen that allow for better backflushing and the meter that the company recommended is the Fleck 7000STX, which I bought with an internal flow meter so that the system would backflush based on gallons used rather than time past–this is because we are not moved into the house yet. Also it will tell us how much water we are using which is a LEED recommendation. I had one issue with the meter setup–well two, I broke one of the washers for the rear slip in pipe connection but luckily had one that fit available from a broken union valve. I also could not get the buttons to respond to touch and thought the whole meter was broken, but a call to the company had me remove the cover and press the buttons directly and they worked fine. Apparently the touch controls on the cover can become misaligned in shipping. They aligned properly when I reinstalled the cover.

There is a formula for setting the hardness and the system capacity that results in the number of gallons between backflushes. The ratio is never really spelled out in the directions and neither is the fact that the number of gallons flashes with the time after setup so that is where you find out the result of the formula. I set the system for a capacity of 60 and a hardness of 100 to get a 600 gallon backflush interval. That was recommended by the vendor rep who was quite good at answering ALL of my specific questions by email. He also realized that I had the wrong installation instructions since I purchased the extra backflow tank that will also do a chlorine wash of the media to extend its life.

I used 1″ pex and sharkbite fittings for the system install–they make it easy to install and remove the piping if there is an error. The pipe is not very self-supporting though, so I used a 2×4 to hold up the connections between the filter and the drain spigot. I used a plant stand to hold up the after filter which for this system is only 5 micron–I have a ton of 5 micron filters already purchased so they recommend 1 micron but 5 will have to do for awhile.

Since the Mang-Ox filter does nothing for the calcium carbonate, hardness, TDS, or salts, I am considering installing a second filter as a carbon pre-filter to remove the chlorine and for a reverse osmosis system. I would route the RO waste water back into the water system to avoid more wasted water (other than the filter backwash water). Watts makes an RO system that sends the wasted water to the hot water tank. So I’m thinking of putting together a 1/2″ sized (as opposed to 1/4″) RO piping system that uses a more capable membrane than most residential systems, and trying to use it inline as a whole house system. Since the water pressure is only about 30 psi coming out of the existing system, I am hoping I can use one of the pumps I have already purchased to increase the water pressure to 70 psi at the RO membrane. But I have not yet quite figured out how to control the pump for the instantaneous demand. More research is required!

Mang Ox Install Media and Parts

Mang Ox Filter Ready to Load

Filter Installed

Well Water Entry and Pressure Tank Hookups

Filter Installed with backwash connected to the utility sink drain.

UPDATE: This connection does not meet code–there must be an airgap and trap between the backwash and the drain pipe. The easiest drainage for the backwash is directly into the floor drain with a 1″ gap between the 1/2″ pipe and the drain.

Drain and Chlorine Tank

Posted in House Systems, Plumbing | Comments Off

Slab Edge Continued

Posted on September 2, 2013 by ellen

The slab edge had to be sealed against radon. I had decided to use roofing tape (Eternabond Webseal) and after returning to see that the Sanitred had pulled away from the edges of the cement, it was an even more satisfying decision.

Sanitred pulled away from edge

First I had to break off the loose bits of concrete from the insulation covered with plastic and then vacuum the dust and gravel to clean the area. Then I applied the tape sealing the edge of the concrete to the plastic and the floor. Then I painted the tape with deck paint that is rated to work on canvas to both waterproof and protect the surface. The system seems to have worked fine and will hopefully stand up to the abuse of the rest of the deconstruction until we decide how to cover the perimeter with a decorative edge.

The painted slab edge is seen along the wall behind the piping.

Posted in Construction, House Systems, Radon Mitigation | Comments Off

LEED Expert Visits the Site!

Posted on September 1, 2013 by ellen

Yesterday a LEED expert and architect designer came from Washington DC to visit the project and give me a personal consultation gratis!! This unbelievable event was arranged by her mom, who with her husband had the house designed and built in 1984. Sarah grew up in a passive solar earth friendly home and it influenced her career choice. She is thrilled that the house has become a LEED gut remodel project.

One of the major issues that she addressed is the insulation requirements, although we also talked about the work done so far, ways to upgrade the windows and a plan to finish and verify the thermal envelope first, and then add the interior finishing work. She has experience with other gut remodels that proved the system of wall assembly with only a small opening in the drywall that was later patched and resealed. She verified that thermal imaging is one way of proving the insulation install meets Energy Star requirements, especially for Energy Star version 2. She recommended keeping the existing wall structure in the rear of the house and in fact everywhere that other reasons don’t require the removal of the drywall. If verifiable, the current wall is about R 25, more than adequate to meet the 5% over recommended insulation standard.

We would still need to condition the crawlspace, and upgrade the radon mitigation system in that part of the house from passive to active. We need to removed drywall so that the electrician can get to the wiring in the slab area, and we need to replace the windows and doors to finish the thermal envelope portion of the project, get it inspected, and then move on to the interior. It was wonderful to obtain her advice and forethought about the project. I can’t be more happy that the original owner responded to my request for information about the house. Her advice is to write up the insulation plan and submit it to my provider for review. If they have issues with the plan, we can meet together with the Washington D. C. rule makers to discuss options and finalize a plan.

What an amazing visit and amazing weekend! Thanks to the family who all came over to get their photos taken with the old house and its new owner.

First Family with Ellen

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Insulation Solutions?

Posted on August 4, 2013 by ellen

What is the best insulation for this remodel? That is the question.

Dense Pack and Batt Insulation

Used 3.5.inch polyiso

It is probably one of the most important decisions because not only is insulation expensive, it is a large part of the building envelope and has to meet several criteria to make the house energy efficient and to meet the Energy Star 3 guidelines. Part of the insulation layer should exclude air infiltration too. The only place that air should enter the building is where it is intended to enter. That is the reason for the ERV/HRV ventilation equipment that is recommended.

The spray foam insulation that we used under the slab forms an air barrier and provides about 6 R per inch. But it off-gasses and is flammable so it must be covered by drywall or concrete and it cannot be installed behind existing drywall. This was the best solution for under our concrete floor. We are not exposed to the off gassing and it was sprayed to mold around the wafflemat boxes. So it was a no brainer to choose spray there. While the Insulstar installer was at the house, he did an estimate for the rest of the remodel area for a 3″ depth. He said that is about the limit of what is required anyway and he would not put any more insulation in the cavity as a practical matter.

We not only have to insulate and provide an air barrier to the remodel area, we also may have to improve the insulation in the rear part of the house where we are not removing the drywall. I read that dense packed cellulose although not a complete air barrier, reduces air infiltration almost as well. So I got a quote for sprayed in dense pack for the entire house, not just the remodel area. This would require that we put up the drywall in the remodel area firstm otherwise we would have to pay extra for a membrane to hold the dense pack. The installers drill about 3″ holes in every cavity (with cross bracing in the roof that means extra cavities) and they pump essentially recycled paper treated with fireproofing into the spaces. The quote for the entire house without air sealing (this would have to be done before they pumped) was almost half of the cost of the 3″ of spray foam. Cellulose is considered a “green” material because it is recycled. It only provides about 3.5 r value per inch and the estimator said that the walls that crush the fiberglass would probably end up a bit less than that, given that the fiberglass batts would take up part of the space in the cavity. So the walls would be about R 19 which they probably are now but we seem to have a problem verifying the proper installation of the batts without removing the drywall!

A third option in the remodeled part of the house is to buy recycled polyiso board insulation (from Repurposed Materials where I bought the XPS for the slab perimeter) and cut it to fit after spraying an air barrier layer. This is advertised as very high R value per inch, about 6.5, although that degrades a bit over time to maybe 5.5. But testing has shown that this r value is measured at 72 degrees F. and the r value actually decreases as the outdoor temperature falls. So at zero degrees F. the insulation value can be as low as 17 for 4″ although this increases to 21 at 35 degrees. Building Science concludes that in cold climates the actual performance of polyiso is about 5 r value per inch. They recommend using a layer of insulation that is more cold tolerant in addition to the polyiso.

I would also have to cut the polyiso boards to fit between the rafters and studs. I could use a hot wire cutter and try to cut it outside to reduce exposure to the fumes that melting it would give off. The recycled stuff comes in bundles of 12 or 384 square ft. for $300. I could get some with aluminum sheeting that would improve the air barrier too. The ceiling in the remodel area alone would be about 1250 square ft. so one layer of foam would take about 3 1/3 bundles or just under $1200 to fit with 4″ of insulation. Just about the cheapest but the most labor intensive solution for R 20. Two layers in the 11.5 inch rafters would be double of course for about R40 where R38 is the recommended minimum. To fill the whole ceiling in the remodel area with used polyiso would cost about $3500 plus the labor of cutting and fitting for a conservative R value of 46 to 58 or so. That is not counting the stud walls which would be about 600 extra square ft. of 5.5 inches or another $1500 for R 22 to R 27.5 (at zero degrees) where the minimum is R 20. There is an extra 1″ of polyiso with the reflective coating on the exterior wall for another 4 or 5 R value.

This treatment could only be installed where the drywall has been removed or “wasted”. Adding the drywall to the waste stream, given that there is no way to recycle it, would detract from the LEED objectives for the building. This is a double-edged sword problem and I’m not sure how to solve it. And then there is the required air barrier issue to resolve, especially wherever the drywall is not being removed. The question is whether the existing wall structure will pass Energy Star and qualify the house for LEED.

Update!

There is a fourth choice for insulation. Rock wool batts from Roxul. This option is a bit more dense than fiberglass batt and costs about the same with a slightly higher R-value of 23/22. It has a reasonable recycled content and comes in 5 1/2 inch depths either 15 1/2″ or 23″ wide. The online calculator estimate is for 22 of the narrow batts for the walls and I added 68 for the ceiling for 1250 square ft. in a double layer for approximately $4500 in cost. The total R value would be about 28 in the walls and 46 in the ceiling where the drywall is being removed.

I am considering sheathing the gutted interior with either XPS or polyiso too. That would bridge the conduction through the rafters and studs, especially where there are no cavities to fill with insulation. We did this with EPS for the stud walls and ceiling of our home in Indiana and except for the many holes that renters seemed to need for TV cables, the walls have performed well.

There is still the possibility that we would not need to add any insulation to the rear of the house since the fiberglass/polyiso/plastic vapor-air barrier already establishes an R value of 24 or 25 which meets Energy Star guidelines. This area’s rating could be proven with Thermography following RESNET interim guidelines.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Planning | Comments Off

Sweet Serendipity and Awnings

Posted on July 29, 2013 by ellen

House Awnings

Amazingly I met the woman who with her husband originally had the house designed and built. I knew the original owners’ names from the county website and found out a bit about them from a neighbor. I found that the lady was living right in Arvada, but was too shy to try to call her. So I decided to see if she was on Face Book! She was, so I messaged her and when she noticed the message she answered me. We have met and she visited the house.

It is a wonderful house and I was sorry for her to see how dilapidated the former owners let it get. She said that they seemed to have no interest in the energy efficiency of the house, the special blinds that were covering the windows are gone, the awning covers are gone, most of her flower gardens and many of the trees she and her husband planted are gone too. Of course the floor was not buckled when she sold the house either. But we speculate that the french drain at the rear of the house has failed in some way and water got under the slab from there.

There is a new water handling system in the southeast corner that seems to take the water away from the house there and the former owners did try to use some kind of metal poles to reinforce the foundation in the front, which was probably unnecessary since it is a cassion foundation. They also put the bamboo flooring in the rear of the house which is a nice addition, even though the trim is missing in many areas. The roof has been replaced too. Originally it was a shake roof and now it is dimensional shingle and the flat roof is heat treated asphalt. They also painted the kids room bright red and orange which was a bit jarring as well as the turquoise trim in the kitchen area!

Her husband unfortunately passed away unexpectedly and she ended up selling the house because it did require a great deal of maintenance. He used to oil the cedar siding and roof shingles yearly, and the lack of that treatment for the past decade is obvious now. They were so energy efficient that the heat rarely came on in the solar areas of the house. He also has sensors throughout the house that were connected to a computer system that showed temperatures in all the areas in real time on a diagram of the house. That was smart house technology way ahead of its time.

Of course she mentioned that the awning material (as well as the insulated curtains) were an important part of the energy efficient design and I was feeling hot with the sun working at cross purposes with my new swamp cooler installation, so I decided to replace the awnings temporarily. I bought a cheap silver reflective tarp and some grommets and cut the tarp into strips to apply to the awning frames. But I found that the existing grommets were an unusual oval size and the round grommets were not going to fit. I was having this dilemma when we met for coffee and she suggested I just staple them up, they were temporary anyway, right? Well, of course I realized, I was trying to reproduce the original system cheaply so I might as well just staple them. Great idea and a big help to have someone to talk to about the house!

I used stainless staples so they won’t rust and enjoyed seeing the sun blocked from the window areas on the lower south side of the house. That effectively reduces the solar gain in the home keeping it cooler. I have not done the upper awnings but there is little sun that is shining in through them right now so I’m good until I remove them in fall. We plan to eventually replace the awning system with the architect’s rendition of new awning construction and porch roof.

Tarp not quite long enough. The gap is where it is pieced.

Stapled on the framework

Posted in Energy Efficiency | Comments Off

FTDS: Follow the directions stupid?

Posted on July 29, 2013 by ellen

Well, yes, the stain came with directions, what to do when the colors overlapped, what to do when the stain beaded up on the surface, etc. etc. I read these and then proceeded to lose focus on them and had several of the difficulties mentioned and then didn’t use the suggested remedies. So the stain looks pretty awful in the utility room as the first coat put on with the foam textrure roller was horrible and I tried to etch it again and reapply. Then I got it sponged on and it beaded up and streaked. It was a learning experience, right?

Utility Room Floor

I don’t even have a photo of the disaster area that was my Fix for this. On the rest of the floor I avoided surface beading for the most part by going over the sponged areas with a cloth to rub it in or remove the excess. The only problem was that I had streak marks where the stain layers overlapped. The directions said to spray this area with water before it dried and blend the layers together but I didn’t do that or even remember the remedy. I just proceeded thinking at least it didn’t look as bad as the utility room!

Stained floor gold “latte” coat.

The overlap is apparent in this photo.

Streaks in floor

The gold or latte color went on first and mostly soaked into the floor, the brown coat tended to bead up so I had to go over it with a rag as described. In some spots the brown was too light and the streaking too evident, so I put on a second coat wiping it up again as I went. That tended to dilute the areas that were darker and lighter and blend them together better.

Another view of the brown “Espresso” stain.

The seal coat went on with a napped roller although it also is supposed to soak into the concrete too so in some spots it beaded up as well leaving a mottled surface of white spots.

Seal coat

A partial second coat of the sealer didn’t seem to help this mottling so I gave up.

Sealer beaded up too

The spotted areas of the seal coat might dry and disappear. If not I will have to actually follow the directions and buff it out or use a 3m pad to remove the excess and swipe it again if the sealer is removed.

I intended to buff it anyway. I believe I can also put a top coat of liquid wax on this sealer and buff that for more shine. When I reread the instructions after the job, I was surprised that I had forgotten them in the flurry of activity to get the job done. I am not unhappy with the results even with the issues I had applying the stain. I would definitely use two colors in the future, the gold shining up through the brown gives the floor more depth and the natural differences in the concrete surface are enhanced by the double color in my estimation. Good enough is the enemy of best.

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Old Hickory Furniture

Posted on July 5, 2013 by ellen

Historic photo of the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone

Even though the house is not ready for furniture, it is part of the overall look and feel of the project and I knew from the beginning that our vision of a Colorado cabin would include rustic furniture and trim. I love to shop for used materials and furniture is no exception. But I know that you can’t wait until you NEED an item to acquire it, you have to plan ahead or buy new stuff. So I have been on the lookout since we bought the house for items that fit the “vision” or will direct it.

We fell in love with Old Hickory when we first visited the lodge at Yellowstone National Park. The use of natural wood with the bark showing is amazing there. If you stay in the older part of the inn and look down from the balcony, you feel as though you are in a forest of branches. It is amazing. The Inn was originally furnished with Old Hickory furniture when it was made in Martinsville, Indiana. The location of the factory has changed, but they still use hickory with the bark on for the legs and arms of tables, chairs, couches, desks, etc. In Brown County, Indiana there are some artisans who also build furniture with the local hickory wood. There are other sources of this type of furniture but Indiana is the main production state.

I purchased a full set of Old Hickory and had it shipped from the University of Washington surplus center to start the collection. Although I already had one table purchased many years ago at an Indiana auction and a TV cabinet we bought on clearance for our house in Arizona. The set was a fortunate Google find, just looking around. Someone had purchased it at one of their auctions and had not claimed it so it was sold so reasonably that I was able to pay for a shipping container to bring it all the way to Colorado. Then I found a local ad in the Denver area for chairs and a few decorative items too. I’m still on the lookout for a few more pieces.

Hickory TV Cabinet on clearance at a Robb and Stuckey furniture outlet several years ago.

Hickory Coffee Table

Hickory Couch missing one cushion

Hickory Hall Table

Hickory Love Seat

Hickory Round Table

One of 2 square tables for the dining area.

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LEEDing Ideas

Posted on July 5, 2013 by ellen

What do we have to do to get LEED certified? I had given up on LEED soon after our Design Charrette, but Energy Logic and Carissa Sawyer stayed with me and encouraged me to continue. So far we have tried to follow LEED guidelines wherever we could. We are definitely at a pause between the push to replace the floor and the next steps. So where are we in the LEED process?

Besides an ongoing conversation about whether “gut remodel” means that all the drywall has to be wasted to uncover the studs, or whether “open up” means just opening the stud cavities to install a new “thermal barrier”. We still hope to qualify as a LEED gut remodel by packing the walls and cathedral ceilings with dense pack cellulose that both seals and insulates the stud spaces.

There are several ideas that the current version of LEED fosters and gives points to homes for if they are implemented. Even if we eventually don’t qualify for a gut remodel, we will be doing well to implement each of these areas. A new LEED version (4) is set to take effect in the fall but our project will remain under the current requirements.

The LEED for Homes categories are, Innovation in Design, Location and Linkages, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Awareness and Education. Each category has a minimum standard that must be met and in addition there are several areas that allow points to be added to a score upon which the level of LEED certification is based.

There is a self scoring tool that also helps remind the project owner where measures should be taken to provide for a well designed and executed energy efficient home. I recently reviewed this site and scored our work so far as well as scoring our plans to be sure we have every step covered as we continue on this project. UPDATE: The scoring tool that I used has been removed from the site.

I tried conscientiously to complete the first category: Innovation and Design. The two prerequisites are a preliminary rating and a durability plan with a management plan to be sure the durability designs are met. This was part of securing a certified LEED provider, who will eventually conduct the final rating and all the third party evaluations for the home and who becomes the “owner” of the project for LEED purposes.

For us, that is Energy Logic as described previously and I am sure they are one of the best LEED providers anywhere. They helped us conduct a preliminary rating, prepared the LEED spreadsheet for our project, and helped create the durability plan. Points are gained in ID for putting together an integrated project team, including a separate LEED AP professional, and holding a design charrette. One point is earned if the solar orientation is within 15 degrees of due south, and we hope to also have some innovation points for our use of waffle mat and for excess points from over reaching in some other categories such as Materials and Resources. We earned 6 points in ID and hope to earn about 4 more for innovation.

Location and Linkages provides extra points if your project is part of a LEED neighborhood development, which would be nice but we are not. But we can prove we are not on prime agricultural land, park land, flood plain, unique habitat, or wetlands. We are in a location that is over 75% filled in and is already developed. We have existing water and sewer lines although we are not hooked up to them, and have close access to open space. We do not, however have a transit stop within 1/2 mile of our house. The city has bus transportation but the closest stops are 1.7 miles away. But we earned 7 points in LL.

These are the two categories that we have basically finished but there are several more that we need to pay attention to as the project progresses. So we might be about 1/5 there!

In Sustainable Sites the prerequisites are to institute erosion control and introduce no invasive plants. We have very little site disturbance so no erosion and we also get a point just because the remodel leaves more than 40% of the lot area undisturbed, but we are also ineligible for any points for high-density development. Our landscape plan includes no conventional turf, incorporates over 90% drought tolerant plants and will shade the driveway which is our only impermeable hardscape, more than 50%. We plan to have native plant cover, which will provide erosion control throughout the lot, and have a system to control 100% of the water runoff from the roof.

We are in an area of only slight risk from termites for which we have a solid concrete top to the poured foundation walls. But we have wood within 12″ of the ground and wood to concrete contact so we can only gain one point by having all plantings 24″ from the building and sealing all potential pest entry points. That should give us a total of 13 points in SS.

Water Efficiency is next. We would like to be able to harvest rainwater, and utilize grey water but both are illegal in Colorado at the present time. Some people with wells can use rainwater but they must not be able to hook up to city water and we can for a rather large fee. It seems there could be a challenge to that law based on ability to pay the fee but it won’t be from us. We may be able to hook up a pump to our washing machine to use the water outside as long as it never goes above ground. So that is a maybe. That would not be a difficult system to install and we would gain one point. And we could utilize roof rainwater if we had a green roof that would reduce the amount of runoff without capturing the water illegally. The second area of WE is the landscape irrigation plan that was developed for us by our landscape design firm, Conservation Seeding and Restoration. That irrigation plan is a part of the project that our third party rater will evaluate for the points we hope to gain in this area. And finally the most water efficient fixtures and faucets will be installed to save as much water as possible with modern technology. This is probably a no-brainer in this day and age. We have calculated a probable 16 points in WE.

Meeting Energy Star for Homes 2.0 is a prerequisite for Energy and Atmosphere. But in this category there are two paths, prescriptive and performance. We are not sure which we will qualify for. I would like to meet all the Energy Star 3.0 guidelines and perhaps the prescriptive would gain us the most points, but we need to maintain solar gain with our south facing windows so perhaps the best system for us will be a good HERS rating. For this category, the options are to have a well installed insulation system meeting or exceeding the 2004 standards for the region, sealing the building against air infiltration, and install highly efficient heating and hot water systems.

We thought we had an efficient water distribution system for 2 points but our loop is longer than 40 ft. plus 2 x the ceiling height for the upper level. I think we have about an 130 ft. loop and that disqualifies our system from the LEED points. (It appears our system design would qualify under version 4 though!) We insulated the hot water pipes to at least R-4 (R-7) and will install energy star appliances and lighting, with a low water use washing machine.

But the most points are gained in this category from installing energy PRODUCING system, such as photovoltaic and or wind generators. We would LIKE to install a wind generator depending on the level of average wind. We also would like to install solar panels and have been reading for years about these systems so this is our chance to finally put some in. However the cost of each of these systems within our remodel time frame may eliminate them from our project. But our goal over time will still be a zero energy use home, or as close as we can come to that ideal. That would mean keeping all our energy use low so that we can provide over 30% of our energy through site installed renewable means. But without points for providing our own power we would have 24 points in EA.

I would like to really shine in the category of Materials and Resources since we are reusing and purchasing used as much of the home remodel materials as possible. We are looking for local products for all of the interior finishing. Plus we are recycling as much of the waste as we can. By reusing our framing lumber, we meet the prerequisite to not order extra lumber. But still to use the existing lumber as efficiently as possible we will have a detailed framing document that will outline how long the pieces must be to fit and how many are needed for each wall. But for framing efficiencies we hope we can gain all the points for the installation of ceiling, roof and floor structures that we are changing, and for using studs at greater than 16″ on center and earn the entire 16 points.

Indoor Environmental Quality is another category that provides a prescriptive path through the EPA Indoor airPLUS program. The first requirement of airPLUS is to meet Energy Star 3.0 and then other requirements very similar to the performance on individual measures in this LEED EQ category. The EQ prerequisites are to vent all combustion appliances and install carbon monoxide detectors as well as to provide basic exhaust in kitchens and bathrooms. Radon mitigation is also required in high risk areas, like Colorado and reducing pollution from an attached garage by not including any heat or air ducts in the space. Enhanced exhaust controls such as humidistats earn an extra point.

Room by room heat and cooling load calculation are necessary for proper sizing of heating and cooling equipment. Other ideas are to provide a zoned heating system with flow control on any radiators and an energy recovery ventilation system with a high MERV air filtration system and humidity control where necessary. Reducing exposure to outdoor air contaminants include controlling contaminants during construction and conducting a pre-occupancy air flush. Additional ongoing air quality measures are to provide for entry shoe storage, a central vacuum system that vents to the outdoors, and sealing the garage well from the living areas as well as installing an exhaust fan. With third party testing of the ventilation and exhaust systems we hope to gain 19 points in EQ.

Finally Awareness and Education requires a 1 hour energy walk through for the new homeowners. Since I have taken training in the LEED system, we will qualify for Enhanced training as well as basic. I will be creating a home-owner’s building manager’s manual with all the manuals for installed equipment and other information about getting the most out of the energy efficient features of the house, and this website, as well as any published articles, presentations or open houses we have that feature LEED characteristics will qualify for the minimum of three such events in public education and awareness for a total of 3 points in AE.

These LEED ideas, when incorporated into this remodel would total 104 points with 18 more possible points for innovation, renewable energy, etc. For a 3 bedroom house of 2213 square feet, we would need 94 points for a Platinum rating according to the project spreadsheet. But there are a lot of hurdles yet to overcome to get there.

Our Target–maybe 2014?

Posted in LEED Project | Comments Off

Hot Town in the Summertime

Posted on July 1, 2013 by ellen

Denver has a particularly temperate climate but it does get hot and even humid there. Last summer there were several stifling days while I worked tearing out the walls. So I was planning to find a cooling solution for this summer.

I thought about installing an ERV as it is a device we want to add anyway. LEED recommends using an Energy Recovery Ventilator (or Heat Recovery Ventilator that is essentially the same technology but does not exchange humidity while recovering heat from the exhausted air) to bring adequate amounts of outside air into a tightly sealed house. These devices do not control temperature, they only introduce tempered air (tempered by the existing air in the home that is being exhausted.) So another source of cooling would be required. I’ll continue to plan for an ERV, but at this stage of construction, we are not ready to add one.

For this summer the best solution seems to be a used evaporative (swamp) cooler. My son-in-law is quite happy with the low energy use and cooling capacity of the cooler that is installed on the roof of his house. An evaporative cooler does take some attention to run effectively.

Master Cool Evaporative Cooler

The cooler I found on craigslist is 5500 cfm, so enough to cool at least 1800 square ft. It was made by Adobe Air around 2006 if the serial numbers included the year of manufacture. Arizona used to be the capital of swamp coolers and there are still some homes cooled only by one of these devices which use a pump, fan and running water but no refrigerant. Evaporative coolers use a relatively low amount of energy to cool but are limited by the difference between dry bulb (the temperature measured with a dry thermometer) and wet bulb (the temperature of yes, a wet thermometer in the hot air.) In areas of low humidity, just wetting the air that is blown into the house will cool it up to 30 degrees or so, and usually below comfort levels. However, if the air already holds water because it is humid, then the wet bulb temperature is not significantly lower than the dry and the devices don’t provide much cooling.

Adobe Air was located in Phoenix and was the largest manufacturer of these devices but unfortunately they went out of business and sold their brand MasterCool to Champion, a company that still makes coolers but does not utilize some of the technologies that Adobe Air pioneered. When they were at their peak, they made the most efficient and reliable coolers on the market. It is difficult to find a modern evaportive cooler that used the technologies they employed. There is a company in Colorado, called Coolerado, that makes only a commercial cooler at this time that uses more advanced technologies. And the Speakman company, famous for its showerheads, sold their OAsys brand to a company in Nevada who still manufactures this more sophisticated design that was invented at UC Davis, but these coolers are expensive. Way too expensive to be a temporary solution, cooling for construction work this summer.

The windows in the house are either awning or casement and are not particularly conducive to a window air cooler, but Dave suggested the front door instead. We intend to replace the front door anyway so I will build an insulated panel to fit the space for the old front door and put the cooler in the covered area in front of that door. I will run water to it from an outdoor spigot through some of the leftover pex pipe and plug it into an outlet inside. Hopefully I will learn from Rob how best to run it to keep the house cool on hot summer days.

Update: The install went well, just bought the poly line for about $5.00. Attached to the faucet adapter that came with the cooler, but it seems to have a steady drip at the connection. Oiled the motor and had to push the blower a bit to get it started but it is working fine. I had to move the location to one of the awning windows because the entry area blocked the free flow of air to the cooler. The awning window was attached to the opener with screws so it was not difficult to remove.

Of course after the first day it started to rain so it was not as effective as on dry hot days. I used old pipe insulation around the window trim to get it sealed and stuffed the surrounding area with pipe insulation and XPS. It appears to have sealed reasonably well. Had to make screens to keep the windows open while the cooler is operating too. The cooler blows air into the house and unless inside air can escape at about the same rate, the cooler can’t replace the warmer inside air with cooled air. (An air conditioner removes the warm air as it operates.) I also put a screen behind the inside grille of the cooler because I noticed several mosquitoes in the house. Don’t think they had time to breed in the water, but the water might attract them. The screening should shut out any bugs crawling or flying through the unit.

I kept the cooler running 24 hours a day unlike my kids who turn theirs off during the day and let the house stay shut up and cool until the hot afternoon temperatures overtake it. I found that under construction, the house was losing the overnight cool by early afternoon hours and constant cooler air movement made it more comfortable to work in the house. It is a successful temporary solution for the summertime.

Evaporative Cooler Install

Evaporative Cooler in Awning Window Opening

Posted in Deconstruction, Energy Efficiency, House Systems | Comments Off

Slab Edge Issue

Posted on June 30, 2013 by ellen

Slab edge, 3″ of XPS covered by the vapor barrier.

Slab edge, in front of the south facing windows.
The edge is double width here due to a concrete ledge.

I was determined that insulating the slab would take precedence over esthetics. Despite Alberto’s misgivings, I was convinced I could solve this slab edge problem by covering the edge of the extruded polyurethane insulation in some manner after the floor was laid. I didn’t really think about the opening to the soils that was created all around the edge. The green advice that I read said that minimizing this insulation at the edge of the slab was short-sighted. The edge is one of the most leaky areas of the house. But they didn’t have a good solution for covering the area after the slab was poured. So besides staining and sealing the floor, I now have to seal the edge of the slab in a way that will exclude radon gas and hopefully be reasonably esthetic too.

The product I found after much searching online was Sanitread. They make a three part system for waterproofing and radon sealing a basement. However they have a rubberized caulking product for filling holes and cracks in foundation walls called LRB (Liquid Rubber Base) and a thickening agent called TAV.

This product is considered low in VOC. (83 g/l) but still requires good ventilation during application. It is a quartz silicate material that reacts with water to form a runny liquid, (like Elmer’s glue) that can be thickened with TAV to provide a good caulk consistency. The manufacturer claims the material remains elastic and creates a permanent bond to concrete. This is an expensive product though, according to the crack filling calculator, I would need 13 gallons of LRB and enough thickener to reach the correct viscosity to fill 265 perimeter feet about 3″ wide. If I could get by with 10 gallons and 5 gallons of thickener, the cost of the material would be about $1000 plus shipping. But I may have to coat the edge with the Permaflex liquid too. I have ordered a sample pack that will answer some of my questions about how to use the product and whether it will fill in the edge.

Other companies that offer radon sealing caulks seem to limit their products to narrow crack solutions. These typically come in a tube to be used in a caulking gun and are not meant to fill in a wide flat area like the slab edge.

Emecole makes a radon caulk for narrow cracks. Some of their products are availlable to the do it yourself types directly from their website.

Foundation Armor makes a two component joint filler that is not specifically formulated to exclude radon.

Titebond makes a similar radon sealant. It is low VOC and sold on green building supply sites.

Smalley and Company has a location in Denver and they sell a large variety of caulks and sealants, some of which may be less expensive but do the same job as Sanitred. But their list of products is long and either each product site would have to be investigated or the experts at Smalley and Company contacted to figure out which might fill this area and seal out radon.

There are also some spray on insulation products that might work on this area. A product called Ecoseal is available only to insulation professionals and sounds like it would be thin enough to just cover the edge of the slab. It is produced by Knaupf insulation. It is made to seal all joints at studs, rafters and joists before putting in batt insulation but it is also rated to block radon and is elastomeric so it will stay flexible. I filled out the form to order a sample so I hope I can try it out. There are two installers in the Denver area that have websites to find out more; Big Al’s Insulation and RG Insulation

Update: Sanitred works! The 8 oz. of Liquid Base and 4 oz. of thickener yielded about 18″ or .3 sq. ft. of coverage. But its VOC is over 50 and the cost estimate after trying the sample is $1200 with shipping. It is definitely a reasonable consistency to spread over the 3″ gap and sticks well to both the cement slab and the wall. The substance creates a bond with these two sides and then spans the rest with an impermeable barrier. It can be covered with their Permaflex paint that would cost another $120 with shipping.

Sanitred Liquid Rubber Base-expensive, and not a very attractive option

I read in the EPA design documents for radon control that any polyurethane caulk is considered capable of excluding radon. An air barrier is essentially a radon barrier. So I began to investigate less expensive options. There are several acrylic and poly based roof coatings that I considered, but during that search Eternabond Roofing Tape was an option. I have experience with Eternabond on our RV and I realized that it would also span the area between the two concrete sides, has adequate stickiness to place over the PVC and foam, and will provide an air and water proof barrier over the gap. The Webseal tape is meant to be painted or coated over so I chose that in 4″ and 6″ rolls. There are approximately 180 lineal ft. of wall that has the 3″ or 6″ gap, the rest of the 265 ft. perimeter is interior walls that can be caulked with gunned polyurethane, so for less than $200 I purchased enough tape to cover the gap. My supplier for Eternabond was Big Rock Roofing Supply. UPDATE: No longer in business–check Amazon instead.

I spent quite a bit of time researching what to coat the tape with. (Although not at Smalley and Company). I decided to look for an elastomeric coating that is low or no VOC and I prefer a color that would blend in with the stained floor. I would have liked to use Rustoleum’s Sierra 2 part epoxy paint, but it did not come in brown and I could not find a kit of just one gallon of both parts online, at least not in the tile red color that appeared to be closest to brown. Home Depot and Lowes do not carry this version of Rustoleum’s epoxy paint in the Denver, Colorado area. So I decided to use a one part Duckback acrylic deck paint that is <50 VOC and had decent reviews. A gallon should provide at least two coats to cover the 50 square ft. or so of perimeter.

Here were the best candidates I found for the perimeter solution:

Square Ft. of Perimeter	50

Perimeter Treatment	Amount in oz/ft	Coverage in sq. ft.	Total	Total x Coverage		Gal	Cost	VOC
Sanigard Sample	8	0.3	50	166.9	1333.3	10.4	$1200	Medium
Through the Roof Caulk	32	3	50	16.7	533.3	4.2	$268	High 190
Eternabond Webseal Roof Tape	50	50 lin. ft.	150	Plus remainder of 6″ roll on hand			$276	No
Covered by:
Sierra Epoxy Paint	256	100	50	0.50	128.00	1.00	$150	No
Duckback Paint	128	100	50	0.50	64.00	0.50	$59	Low 50

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Shutterfly Book

Posted on June 29, 2013 by ellen

Shutterfly book title page

This is an online copy of a book I created to show off the house and commemorate the major milestone of getting the broken floor in the house replaced.

This link will open a new window that will take some time to load. It is a Shutterfly share site and there is a full screen option on the Arvada House book slideshow.

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