Some parts of construction are more exciting than others. We saw a lot of progress in the first few months and each time we were on site things looked different. But once the shell of the house was in place it was time for the majority of the work to move inside for the rough-in of the utilities. This has been a slower process where the daily work is not nearly as evident. We have also been very distracted with the beginning of the school year and all the new adjustments that has brought to our family.
Our good friend’s family owns a heating & plumbing company (Hagan Heating & Plumbing) so we were excited to bring them on to work on our house. They started first since they had both ductwork and piping to install.
The house design definitely made their job a lot harder than usual. The open plan didn’t leave a lot of great options for the main ductwork runs. But John and his family/team were great about thinking it through and working out something that would both function well and work with the architecture of the house. It was ideal that they did plumbing as well as HVAC because they coordinated the two. Our cousins, Donald and Steph, built a house last year and had told us stories about having to cut out plumbing to get ductwork in and then having to pay to have the plumbing redone. We were glad to avoid those headaches!
The house will have a geothermal system. The unit we are getting is the most efficient one offered by Water Furnace (series 7). The motor is continuously variable which means we should always be using as little energy as possible. We are also separating the house into 5 different zones which ensures you aren’t over heating or cooling certain areas of the house based on what is being called for in the room with the thermostat.
Once plumbing and HVAC rough in was complete, the electricians came in. Even though I had put together an electrical plan we walked through the house with them to be sure we had everything accounted for. This was one thing that Joe was pretty passionate about. He is really into making the house as smart and secure as possible so of course we ended up adding a few things that I hadn’t thought about. I’m sure once we move in we will think of a half dozen other items that we should have added too. We are using all LED lighting to conserve energy and are planning for future solar on the garage roof. As I mentioned before, my goal is to be net-zero someday which would mean we are making as much energy as we are using throughout the year.
There were some things happening outside during the rough-in stage. One of the most exciting was the framing of the wrap around deck.
The deck and overhang really help to break down the scale of the house and also provides space for our family to interact with nature in different ways. A covered area on the front of the house offers space to be during inclement weather and the large area outside the kitchen offers space for outdoor dining and entertaining. The deck was something we almost cut out at the beginning but you will see in an upcoming blog post that we are putting some sweat equity into the deck to make it happen now.
When I/we first moved into my home, I was unsure about the geothermal. That was 25 years ago. The first 2 years were raw for the previous owners and we struggled a bit our first 2 years. It was all because the builder installed the loop outside and it was newer technology. Also shortly after the house was built the builder went belly up and left the state. UGH.
This past year, so 27 years later, the unit was not functioning. I made the decision to replace it with…another geothermal. I love it! It is not without its issues but my georthermal group is honest and dependable and when you spend that kind of money you better get the service you need now! Bleeding out bubbles and making sure the loop is pure of water and just the right amount of “antifreeze” is the key!
If/when I build that will be the option I take! Great choice! Quitest heat and cool around.