Poem Homes

April 2, 2025: We never, ever had a dumpster at our construction site. Of course, we had our share of waste: this is America and things tend to come well packaged. But, we never resorted to a dumpster and never paid someone to haul our trash away. How did we do it? This is not ours. It's from a new home construction site similar in size and type to ours....

Dumpster April 2, 2025: We never, ever had a dumpster at our construction site. Of course, we had our share of waste: this is America and things tend to come well packaged. But, we never resorted to a dumps…

April 25, 2025: New homeowners Laura and JC were already comfortably settled in when we asked to come back and perform a final blower door test. We all enjoyed our visit, cups of freshly brewed coffee, and the work of testing, calibrating, and fine-tuning. Our crew today was lead by Joe Paprocki from Trinity Environmental and aided by Joe Nagan from…...

Final Blower Door Test April 25, 2025: New homeowners Laura and JC were already comfortably settled in when we asked to come back and perform a final blower door test. We all enjoyed our visit, cups of freshly brewed cof…

March 17-April 2, 2025: What if you could install HVAC equipment that's less than half in size compared to your neighbors? You can when you build like we do. The smaller check you cut to your installer is the first payoff you get for doing a bang-up job with your thermal envelope, explained in my blog post Testing Our Work…...

Slimmed Down Mechanicals March 17-April 2, 2025: What if you could install HVAC equipment that’s less than half in size compared to your neighbors? You can when you build like we do. The smaller check you cut to your…

February 8-April 2, 2025: With the walls and ceilings gleaming white with fresh paint, we turned our attention to the dusty and dull floor while mentally lining up all the pretty, useful things like cabinets and doors and wood trim that will smooth out the remaining rough edges and make it possible for life to feel calm and orderly. We sanded out the few bad spots in the slab with a hand tool called a masonry brick....

Spit + Polish February 8-April 2, 2025: With the walls and ceilings gleaming white with fresh paint, we turned our attention to the dusty and dull floor while mentally lining up all the pretty, useful things lik…

December 12, 2024-February 7, 2025: With full confidence that we'd done everything we could to seal up the mechanical penetrations and building material seams, our "weekend warrior" crew began wrapping the walls with v***r retarder; of course caulking and taping as we went. For a better understanding of how important this work is, see the previous blog post "Testing Our Work"...

Drywall + Insulation December 12, 2024-February 7, 2025: With full confidence that we’d done everything we could to seal up the mechanical penetrations and building material seams, our “weekend warrior& #822…

September 25-December 11, 2024: As the mechanical contractors installed their wires, ducts, and pipes our "weekend warrior" crew (me, JC, Laura, and assorted friends and family) were right behind them doing what we do best: AIR-SEALING. The task of meticulously caulking, taping, and spray foaming any and all type of joints between building materials is what differentiates our job site from the average one....

Testing Our Work September 25-December 11, 2024: As the mechanical contractors installed their wires, ducts, and pipes our “weekend warrior” crew (me, JC, Laura, and assorted friends and family) were ri…

September 4-November 22, 2024: While roofing and siding work continued on the exterior, our crew jumped back indoors to build out the perimeter and partition walls so that the mechanical trades could continue their work. The rooms took shape quickly. The soffit and blocking took more time. For the perimeter walls, the framing crew first tacked the strip of blue v***r barrier, previously draped over the exterior stud wall during exterior framing (see picture, right), to the underside of the trusses....

Interior Framing September 4-November 22, 2024: While roofing and siding work continued on the exterior, our crew jumped back indoors to build out the perimeter and partition walls so that the mechanical trades cou…

August 21-December18: The work of installing high quality, durable, and attractive roofing, siding, soffits, and trims extended over several months as weather and time permitted. Choosing materials that met these criteria, while also weighing the environmental impacts and the impact on my budget came with some compromises. There was no debate in my mind about what type of roofing to choose: it had to be standing seam steel....

Roofing, Siding, and Soffits August 21-December18: The work of installing high quality, durable, and attractive roofing, siding, soffits, and trims extended over several months as weather and time permitted. Choosing materials…

August 23 - September 6: Taking delivery of a house full of new windows and doors comes with an air of celebration. It means the hard work of getting the walls and roof up is done and the worry of securing housewrap and tarps over the awaiting holes is over. From inside, we'll finally be able to appreciate the views, framed by the window sash, that will be enjoyed for years to come....

Windows + Doors August 23 – September 6: Taking delivery of a house full of new windows and doors comes with an air of celebration. It means the hard work of getting the walls and roof up is done and the wor…

August 1 - August 30: As soon as the exterior of the house was buttoned up against the weather, our "weekend warrior" crew set to work prepping for the house and garage slab pours. We had a lot of steps ahead of us to create an air-sealed, v***r-sealed, and thermally-sealed assembly prior to the Big Day. For slab insulation, I special ordered several pallets of InsulFoam Type II EPS (expanded polystyrene) sheet foam, in 4" thickness for the house and 2" thickness for the garage....

Insulated Concrete Slabs August 1 – August 30: As soon as the exterior of the house was buttoned up against the weather, our “weekend warrior” crew set to work prepping for the house and garage slab pours…

July 15 - Aug 4: Taping, folding, rolling out and wrapping are all satisfying and essential steps to creating a durable, energy efficient home that offers a healthy indoor environment for decades to come. The natural forces of nature wear down any building, but with diligence, water, wind, and moisture-laden air can be stopped, temperature swings slowed, and bugs and dust firmly denied entry....

Exterior Air + Water Barriers July 15 – Aug 4: Taping, folding, rolling out and wrapping are all satisfying and essential steps to creating a durable, energy efficient home that offers a healthy indoor environment for dec…

June 4-July 22, 2024: As soon as the cedar sills were set, the crew laid out their stud pattern on the plates and began framing up the walls. Working on rough gravel instead of a typical (flat and smooth) wood subfloor wasn't as difficult or time-consuming as predicted, but it did mean that the wall couldn't simply be framed, sheathed, and tipped up: each section had to be hand-carried into place....

Exterior Framing June 4-July 22, 2024: As soon as the cedar sills were set, the crew laid out their stud pattern on the plates and began framing up the walls. Working on rough gravel instead of a typical (flat and …