Energy Efficient Housing Research Group

EEHR

Raising the Roof

Over the past week, Envinity installed the roof trusses to the GreenBuild homes. Similar to the walls, the roofs use ZIP panels to combine the sheathing and the weather resistive barrier into one building element. The interior framing use a combination of construction techniques. The previous post described the Optimum Value Engineered wall framing; the second floor structure uses open-web trusses with 16″ spacing while the roof uses manufactured trusses with 24″ spacing. The second floor structure is closer together to provide a bit more rigidity to the floor.

Framing

Over the past two weeks, the Envinity team has endured the cold and framed two homes! Each home is constructed with 2×6 studs using Optimum Value Engineering (“Advanced”) framing techniques, meaning that studs are aligned 24″ apart rather than 16″, which is seen in most residential construction. This allows Envinity to use less wood and leaves more room in the wall for insulation. The homes also have insulation on the exterior of the walls. The homes use a 2″ ZIP panel that combines the weather resistive barrier, the structural sheathing, and exterior insulation into one building element. The panel Envinity is using has a 1/2″ ZIP panel glued to 1 1/2″ polyisocyanurate insulation. When completed, the full wall will have a total R-value (the insulation value) of 28; the building code requires a home to have a wall R-value of at least 20, so the walls of these homes are nearly 50% more insulated!

Pouring the Floor Slab

Today, the construction crew poured the concrete floor slabs for both homes. This wraps up the foundation of the homes; over the next several weeks, the team will begin framing the homes. Be sure to stay tuned as construction will surely speed up!

Insulating Under the Slab

The construction crew completed installation of the underslab insulation today. This insulation, 2 inches of extruded polystyrene (XPS), will keep heat from escaping the concrete floor slab into the ground, and it will help to keep the concrete slab dry. Below the insulation is a layer of crushed stone to ensure that all water is able to drain away from the slab, keeping it dry and free of cracks. Before Envinity pours the concrete slab, they will lay down overlapping sheets of 6 mil polyethylene as a final layer to protect the concrete slab from water and moisture. All of this protection will make the slab warmer but will also keep it lasting for decades without issues of cracking or breaking.

Plugging in the Home

Over the past several days, the construction crew has been prepping service lines that will lay under the concrete floor slab. Things like the water and sewage lines will need to connect back to shared lines located along University Drive, but they will not be fully connected until later in the construction process.

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