Gallery Of Homes: Black

Our final air leakage test came in at .97 air changes per hour at 50 pascals of vacuum which simulates a 20 mph wind on all 4 sides and top of the building.  1.5 to 4 ACH50 is classified as a high performance home.  .97 is off the chart and could be considered a super high performance home. 

The plastering crew laid plastic over the pool and inflated it with a fan to create a bubble enclosure to protect them from the rain.  Plaster is being sprayed on the walls.

Workmen wear studded shoe paks to protect the fresh plaster as they trowel it smooth.

Mick shoots the gunite pool shell for cox pools.

Angie Cooper and Joe Jones of Gulf Power conduct a door fan test before we cover up the walls.  We're testing for air tightness here.  The door fan draws a vacuum on the thermal envelope which simulates a 20 mph wind on all 4 sides and top of the building.  During the vacuum test we caulked and foamed any areas of air leakage revealed by the test.  We tested 3.9 ACH (air changes per hour) @ 50 pascals of vacuum (20 mph simulation) which is very air tight considering 7.0 ACH50 is classified as energy efficient for a modern finished home.  I believe the zip-wall sheathing and foam attic insulation had a lot to do with the good results.  We'll test again when the home is complete.  When drywall is installed there should be substantial reduction in air leakage.  We can test at this stage because we have a foamed attic which defines the thermal envelope at the underside of the roof decking.  In the case of a conventionally insulated attic we would have to test after drywall has been installed.  This is another advantage of foam attic insulation.  It's much more air tight and that is the biggest factor in the cost of heating and cooling.  The goal here is to dramatically reduce the amount of outside air that enters the building and has to be conditioned.

Daniel pats down the fabric to achieve consolidation and proper density of the fiberglass he his blowing into the cell.  This insures uniform R-23 R value.  Note the open cell foam attic insulation.  These are two important components of a high performance energy efficient home.

Roof is complete, ready to start stucco gables and brick veneer.

We're using the green zip wall sheathing to reduce air infiltration and make the home much more energy efficient.  The black peal and seal subroof protects the home from water damage if some shingles should get damaged or blown off during a hurricane.

Setting the trusses.

Wayne nails off a jack truss.

Zipwall has a green coating which acts as a secondary moisture barrier and provides superior air infiltration prevention properties.

Terry, Blue, Wayne, and Larry set the front wall.  Wayne is tapping the bottom plate to line the holes up with the anchor bolts.

Junior directs the boom operator to move the hose.  Since it was a cold day the concrete would normally cure very slow.  Calcium was added to the mix which causes the concrete to heat up and accelerate the curing to counteract the low temperature. You can see the wire mesh slab reinforcement in the lower left.  The little black "chairs" hold the mesh up so it stays in the middle of the slab for greater strength.

Junior works the hose while Mike controls the boom and Roy works around a pipe in the slab.  The pipe is for a hose bibb on the back porch.

Junior operates the vibratory screed while George and Kurt work the concrete behind him.  Mike is in the background controlling the boom pump.  The screed consolodates the concrete, removing air, and making the mix denser.

Roy bull floats the concrete which pushes the rocks down and forces the cement to rise to the surface.

Gomez sets the anchor bolts which are used to attach the walls to the slab.

Renno cuts notches in the blocks so the hold down straps come out of the blocks along the outside edge of the wall.

Kurt operates the rotary trowel which puts the final finish on the concrete.  You can see the swirl marks on the bottom right showing how each pass overlaps the other.  Next he will run the trowel in the same pattern 90 degrees to the first pattern.  This is called a cross pattern which produces the best result, removing all the little humps and dips in the surface.  Kurt is turning the knob on the handle which adjusts the pitch of the blades, flatter to cut, higher to finish.

Gomez lays up a corner block.

Gomez checks the height on a corner block with a laser.  You can see the yellow laser head in the background.  The head shoots a level rotating laser beam which can be read on the target attached to the rod.  A string line is run between corners, then the block is laid up to the string line between corners.  All corners are laser checked to ensure a level foundation.

Junior and Roy pour the foundation footings.

Roy, Junior, and Kurt pour the footings.

4BR, 3.5 BA, study, LR, family room, game room, and 3 car garage.  3475 SF living