49th Post – Roofing and plumbing

Week 10 of Construction

Our roof is up on the house just in time for a summer shower.  After picking out the color I left to bring our daughter to college.  When I came back I realized it is the same color we have on our house right now.  Oh well, I must like it. 

While I was away they also put in the plumbing lines and delivered the HRV’s.  As you see the three boxes, that is what will heat our home.

48th Post – Open House

Open House

Builders, contractors, architects and designers in the Portland, Oregon area we are having an Open House.  At this point of the build you will be able to see the double wall construction, spray insulation, ERV’s heating systems and much more.  Ted Nickell designer will be here to guild and share the concepts and design of Passive House construction.

The space is limited to 25.

The date is September 11^th 2010.

Time is 10:00 to 11:30

The cost is 20.00 and all proceeds will be donated to Habitat for Humanity of Portland Metro and McMinnville.

To RSVP please email kugler@hevanet.com with subject Open house.

Once you have registered you will be given directions and parking information.

47th Post – Placement of the roof trusses

WEEK 9 of Construction

The framing crew has done a spectacular job of installing the ceiling joists in the kitchen grand room/main living space.  It was complicated and they were very diligent about looking at plans.  The roofing trusses also were intricate and so they will be finishing up tomorrow.  Thank you Eugene and his crew!

I have placed contact information at the top of the blog for Subs and also product information. 

46th Post – Placement of the roof trusses

WEEK 8 of Construction – Friday

On Thursday, they finished putting up the sheeting on top of the ceiling joists for a place to set the trusses and insulation.

Early in the morning, the trusses are being delivered.  Now with the trusses up, the house is taking shape.

Ted Nickell, our designer, and Ethan Beck, our builder, were here today discussing our house and how the process of insulating will take place.  Ted feels that our home will be the most well insulated house in the US.  We will have R85 walls and an R120 ceiling.  They were also counting the bridge points and felt that there were only a hand-full and this was an incredible feat.

The only problem with the house being so well sealed, insulated and the 725 Serious windows is that I may not hear the birds or my lovely wind chimes!  But we feel that it is a small price to pay.

On a personal note, I want to thank our neighbor Kathy for taking pictures of our construction while we were away on vacation.  The wonders of technology.  We were in Idaho and she email the photos to us so we could continue the blog.  Thank you, Kathy!

45th Post – Construction of the exterior walls 2

WEEK 8 of Construction – Wednesday

The interior walls are all up.

This view is from the living room window.

44th Post – Construction of the exterior walls

WEEK 8 of Construction – Monday

Wow, on Friday they put together some of the walls on the deck.  Today they finshed the walls and put them up. 

They also put up a couple of interior walls for the double wall construction.  This will hold all the insulation in the walls for an R85!

43 Post - Construction of the garage

WEEK 7 of Construction – Thursday

The house has the decking and the outline of the interior spaces. 

The garage has the roof trusses up.

42 Post - Construction of the floor joists 2

WEEK 7 of Construction – Wednesday

They have finished with the joists on the house.  You can see the space between the the joists and the outside walls.  This is the start of the double wall construction where insulation will be blown in.

They have the walls up for the garage.


One other thing to note: We have to say how much we have appreciated the City of West Linn Building and Planning Department. They have been and continue to be great to work with, and our contractor, Ethan Beck, seconds this. Thanks, West Linn!

41st Post — Construction of the floor joists

Week 7 of construction

Today they put in the floor joists and started framing the garage. Soon the electrician and plumber will go to work, and the ERVs will be placed.

40th Post – Construction of the pony walls

Week 7 of construction - Monday

Today they built the pony wall on the cement foundation. 

They also started on the interior walls for the basement to hold up the floor joists.

39th Post – Basement insulation 4

WEEK 6 of Construction – Friday

On Thursday, forms were made to hold the supports for the floor joists.

Today the rat slab was poured for the foundation. The reason they call it a rat slab is to prevent mice and rats digging under the foundation wall and coming into your home.  There is just 3” inches of cement to make it easier for people to work on while servicing the mechanical elements of the house.

The total “R” value for the under the foundation is approximately 60.  Since we have R5 per inch and we have 12” of ridged insulation = R60.  This is all in place to prevent thermal bridging.

Next week building starts!  We are going to be very busy so I hope that we will be able to keep up the blog.

38th Post – Basement insulation 3

WEEK 6 of Construction – Wednesday

The final, third layer of foam insulation has been laid.




We've been told several times it looks like a swimming pool.

Next, the vapor barrier was put down and sealed.

Last, another layer of rigid blue insulation was glued down around the edge of the walls.












Be Blue - Protect the sky - Check to make sure you have insulation under your foundation.  You will lose a lot of heat under your house if you don't have enough.

37th Post – Basement insulation 2

WEEK 6 of Construction – Tuesday

Here is the difference between a normal build and our passive house.

To enlarge any picture double click - back arrow to return.

Normal – This is a picture of a house being built near us.

Foundation cement walls with 2 X 4 floor joists.  It has rock on the bottom with a vapor barrier on top.  The insulation is under the floor joists.

Our passive house -

We have a mini basement which is 3'3". It holds the plumbing and electrical.  

Here is the first step of the mini basement.   Crushed gravel is layed and packed down.  Under the gravel there are pipes that will take any water building up and away from the house. 

Next insulation is laid.

There are two layers of rigid insulation that were laid today and one more tomorrow.  The blue is a special weight bearing insulation.  This is the first step to prevent any bridging from occuring.

Bridging is the action where warmth is pulled to the cool temperature to become the same temp at the meeting point.  Bridging is one of the ways that houses lose heat. 

Here is Ethan Beck, our builder and Ted Nickell, our designer.

36th Post – Basement insulation

WEEK 6 of Construction - Monday

The insulation has been delivered for under the basement foundation.  It took two different trucks to deliver the material.  

Here is a picture of Ted Nickell, our designer.