Bath/Utility

New Plan for bath and utility.

Based on

• existing dimensions of washer drier
• contender hot water tank
  

Plan for heated slab

It's almost time to pour the heated slab. Here's a footprint of the preparations for the slab. A previous post gives a nice overview of the foundation footprint.

Features include:

• A 4' perimeter of 2'' Styrofoam SM around the outside walls (light blue)
• A pantry area and storage area under the stairs which is to be unheated (dark blue)
  
• Manifold box (dark red)

Installation will include

• Compacted 1/2'' clear stone to fill the foundation
• 6 mm or thicker polyethylene vapor barrier
• 2'' Styrofoam SM
• Rebar grid to reinforce concrete and hold tubing in place
  
• 3 closed loop Pex tubing tied to rebar with plastic ties and attached to slab manifold
  
• 4'' poured concrete slab

References

• Slab on grade installation from Radiant floor heating company
• Radiant Heating: The Slab on Grade Installation - Video

East side of house enclosed

We had a wintertime lull in the construction (including an overnight 2-foot dump of snow that left us shoveling out the house site) so I've been a little despondent about progress lately. But things are on track again after two beautiful weeks of sunshine and maple-sap-producing temperatures (above freezing during day, below freezing at night). We've had steady progress with carpenters on the site 5 days a week, plus 2 days with the mason installing the brick chimney (next post). The lack of rain has meant a relatively dry site during the early thaw, with dry roads that let trucks and trailers make it up Pinnacle Road without carving huge ruts in what's usually a very muddy road.

Note that the carpenters took advantage of the scaffolding on the east side and installed the windows in the cathedral part of the house. These are fixed windows that cannot really be accessed otherwise. It's very tempting to get the porch on right away, but other projects await.

Revised wall system

The builder made a few alterations to the wall system on site. In particular, the sill system has been altered. Flooring and base boards are new to the design as well. The extra insulation needed for the foundation needed for the heated floor slab complicate the design a little. Obviously, styrofoam is not going to support the wall trusses.

On the other hand, the wall trusses are supported by the timber frame. It's still nice to have part of the wall trusses over the concrete foundation. The southern wall will feature a 4'9'' wide awning to allow full sun on the windows in the winter but little or no sun in the summer. To support the awning, 2'' x 8'' wall studs will be added in line with the trusses.

The photo shows a cross section of the wall system, including the sill board. The shiplapped siding will come down over the foundation insulation and will be sealed at the bottom (seal not shown) to prevent moisture infiltration.