June 2016 - Metal Siding Installed

So on the long east & west facing facades, I chose to use prefinished corrugated metal panels. There was quite a bit of deliberation on the color of the panels, especially since the color is basically permanent. I knew I wanted something in the gray to bronze range to try and blend in with the color of the adjacent trees. I also wanted a more squared off profile to the panel, not just the standard wavy corrugated stuff. We ending up using the M-Loc panel from Central States Manufacturing in Charcoal. The color blends in with the gray of the tree trunks/bark quite well, which I hopes kind of tempers the visual impact of the house some. I think I would have liked the corrugations to have a little closer spacing, maybe 4" as opposed to the 6"; the 6" looks a little wide for the house. Anyway, we are happy with it and it feels good to have most of the exterior cladding installed. For the fasicas, we chose to use Jeld-Wen's MiraTEC trim, which is supposed to be pretty good stuff. It does have to be painted, but it is a small enough area, that it shouldn't be a big deal. And since we are planning on painting it green, if we don't like it we can change it later!

Front (south) facade.

Office/Guest Room

West facade.

Rear (north) facade.

We also got all the roof edge metal from Central States Mfg. as well, and as I write this in early July, we are 95% complete with all of that. I really like the low-slope TPO roofing, but it has been a pain working out all of the details. Considering that we had all the roof membrane in place at the first of the year, and we are still not finished, it is taking forever.

June 2016 - Masonry Veneer Complete

We have finished up the exterior masonry veneer system on the two towers. As a reminder, we are using the Enduramax system that we got from our friends at Adams Products. We showed the foam panels and clips installed in a previous post, so here are a couple of images with the masonry units in place and the mortaring underway. David and Parrish from Adams were kind enough to drive out to the jobsite and bring us a mortar gun to use (and show us how to use it). The mortar gun was a BIG help, I can't imagine having to do all this with a mortar bag; my forearms ache just thinking about it. Adams made the units for me in a standard gray block color, and we are using a stack bond and charcoal mortar here like we did in the basement.

This is the largest panel of masonry units. Here they are installed, but not mortared in yet.

Here is a shot of the front with the front entrance tower mortared in place.

May 2016 - NCSU On-Site Facility Tour

So, I had been really curious about the design of septic systems, and I wanted to make sure I knew what I needed to as far as the system for the new house. The soil in my leach field area isn't great, so I wanted to install the best system I could to avoid any future issues. I was having a hard time finding information about the different type of systems and tanks used, until I found out that NCSU has an On-Site Waste Water Demonstration and Training Facility. Jonathan Godfrey, who heads up the facility, gave me a tour and filled in all my blanks about on-site wastewater systems. The facility is off Lake Wheeler Road in south Raleigh, and they have all the different treatments systems setup where they can be demonstrated in operation, just above ground so you can see it. Here are some photos I took of some of the displays that were relevant to my install.

Traditional concrete septic tank.

Newest technology plastic tank (Infiltrator IM-1060).

One type of pressure manifold.

Another type of pressure manifold.

A third type of pressure manifold.

May 2016 - Drawings

After my last post of the 3D model images, I guess I could post the drawings too, in case anyone is curious and wants to see them. The entire west side of the house has been redesigned, so see the revision sketches at the bottom for the revised layout.

May 2016 - Sketchup Massing Images

I realized that I never have shown any images of what the house is supposed to look like. Here are some old 3D images of an earlier massing/ shading model I did. It is not very detailed or that accurate, but it give an idea what the end result will look like.

May 2016 - Cladding Underway

We have begun the cladding installation work. The entire house is being wrapped in 2" rigid foam (mostly Dow Scoreboard) and then furred out with treated wood. This creates a back ventilated rain-screen facade. For the ventilation at the top and bottom of the wall, we are using Cor-A-Vent SV-5 vent strips. The furring is being attached with FastenMaster HeadLok screws.

First of wall furring system installed. These long walls will be covered in prefinished corrugated metal.

The whole west facade.

Here are some more shots of the Enduramax masonry veneer system being installed. The interlocking foam panels go up, and then the stainless steel clips are installed. The clips serve two purposes: one is to hold the foam on the wall, and the other is to anchor the veneer to the wall. What is hare to see is the "fingers" on the clips that will be embedded into the wall mortar, providing for the anchorage.

Tower adjacent to the front door.

Same tower, opposite side (looking west).

Rear tower.

Old photo closeup of the panel with the clips.

May 2016 - More Windows

Got the remainder of the Marvin Integrity doors and windows installed, and they look great. Big thanks to Kelly at Talbert Building Supply and Sharon with Marvin Windows for all the help.

Office.

Rear view. (I have grass!)

Living Room on the left, Dining Room on the right.

The view out of Misha's room.

Living Room to the left, kitchen to the right.

Dining Room on left, Living Room on right.

Gallery.

April 2016 - Window and Patios

We got a lot of stuff started this month, just not much finished! The windows were delivered; I ended up using the Integrity line of Marvin windows. The commercial grade aluminum units I was planning on using didn't work out. The Integrity units are really nice, and the added bonus is that they have a 7-10 day lead time! We also started the Enduramax masonry veneer system from Oldcastle/ Adams Products. The system is designed as a fulled anchored masonry veneer over a layer of continuous insulation with built in drainage channels. We had to install the first course of the system in order to pour the concrete patios around the house; and we had to pour the patios before installing the majority of the Integrity Sliding Doors.

Windows and Door at the Gallery, overlooking the big rock.

Patio slab prep. Also, the beginnings of the install of the Enduramax masonry veneer system.

More patio slab prep - there are nine of these patio areas.

Living room patio slabs poured.

Misha on the Bobcat again!