Insulation and Drywall

The house is progressing at light speed. With the various subcontractors likely not having many conflicting projects, we are feeling like a priority customer. All the electric and plumbing was completed a couple weeks ago, which allowed insulation to be put in and now the drywall is up, taped and ready for paint.

The exterior wall insulation has a great green story. Nate and Todd selected a cellulose insulation product that is made up of recycled newspapers that are mixed with non-toxic fire retardant materials. Most houses use a fiberglass based insulation product, but cellulose has much better energy savings properties. The R-value, which quantifies the insulation's efficiency, is much higher with cellulose insulation at close to 4 per inch compared to fiberglass that is closer to 2.5 per inch. The product achieves some of this efficiency by being blown in wet, which allows for a better seal and easier to work with. The term 'rock wool' keeps getting thrown around, which I am still not sure what that means (anyone can comment if they know).

The interior walls also have insulation, mainly for sound proofing. This was planned to be recycled denim, which looked like blue jeans that were puffed up through some interesting washing process. The insulation that ended up going in was something different, but felt similar. Likely, the plans were not read close enough, which we have experienced in a couple situations lately. Each situation has been related to minor items and the alternatives that were used have not been problematic. However, it does get to be an annoyance where we feel we need to watch the work more closely.

The drywall went up very quick. I am not aware of any interesting green stories here as it is seems to be a fairly standard material. We have heard of a couple products coming on the market made of recycled materials, but likely a hefty early adaptor price that would go with it.

The real eye opener is walking through a drywalled house. With everything now closed up, it really is starting to take shape as a house. You can start picturing moving into a place that you will call home.

The weather has not been very co-operative as of late with all the rain. During a recent visit we noticed that there was water that seeped into the house. It was localized to a small area and Nate and Todd had an inspector come in to verify through some infrared monitoring tool where the wet spots were so that the effected drywall and insulation could be replaced. The inspector called himself the Spaceman, which is pretty funny for anyone who watches the TV show '30 Rock'.

Another drawback is that we have decided not to move forward on an Energy Star rating for the house. Just as appliances can get an Energy Star rating, a house can get one. The problem was that there were a couple items that did not seem to be an issue for us on the best way to insulate the house, but the Energy Star rater recommended to us felt it was extremely problematic. Part of the issue was the rater himself, who seemed like someone that would be difficult to work with; however, the initial inspection and report we received from him was of good value.

The rating would have cost about $2500, in addition to the cost of addressing the Energy Star rater's concerns, which we did not feel was worth it. There were discussions about a $2000 tax credit, but no one was sure if this was the same tax credit that we already received from the solar thermal panel project. We will still get a Chicago Green Homes 3 Star rating and will be happy with that. Not a fun experience and glad it is behind us, but still a shame that we wanted to do the right thing and could not in a practical manner. The one thing I am starting to learn in the building trades, the customer is always wrong. Stinks for me working in a world where the customer is always right.