Saturday, October 23, 2010

Update October 2010




October 2010 - that is NOT snow on the roof behind him!

The view from Dad's current home in Vermont.

The crisp fall air is driving us to try our best to quickly finish up dad's first floor space as fast as we can and get him moved in. We have seen a few snow flurries, and are thankful for even the short remaining warmer days.
The heat in on the the building's first floor, and insulating and flooring systems are to be finished SOON. At the moment I am considering Marmoleum, or real linoleum flooring for the kitchen, dining room, front entry way and two bathrooms - one is the half bath between the studio and the caregiver/guest room, the other for dad's fully handicapped bath. Marmoleum has fabulous color and is easy to clean, and hold up to wear and tear. However color schemes and choices seem harder than I thought it would be! Paint color, flooring choices and colors, cabinetry, lighting - so many decisions! We seem to be researching and looking for distributors and information for hours each day. Dad seems to enjoy visiting, although we have spent more time out and enjoying drives with us enjoying the foliage colors and local fare dinners now and then. I love going for walks with him, encouraging him to get out and exercise by walking outdoors.




The Garn wood boiler's first lighting and fire. The boiler will heat both the 3200 sf studio/living space for dad, and eventually, our home. We love that it has low smoke and particulate emissions and that it does not smolder. It burns clean and even and lives in it's own little building. We still have to insulate up around the Garn boiler itself, which will happen when the insulators are here.
To find out more about this amazing energy efficient boiler see this link on GARN:
http://www.garn.com/index.wml

Work continues on the studio/living space for dad this Fall. Trying to get all the mechanical systems into the ceilings: (electrical, communication/life safety and building security lines, plumbing, ac lines and drains, heat recovery ventilator, floor radiant tuning, central vac) all must be put in before insulating is a major undertaking. Access to the mechanical in the ceilings is non-existant once the insulation has been installed between floors and into the second floor ceiling/roof.

Doug using expandable foam around the windows to sealing any air penetration gaps before the cellulose insulation starts. We are quite happy with our Serious Glass windows and are amazed every day with how they are performing. I have stood on the floor with bare feet, with one foot in the sun, and one foot in the shade and have not felt any noticeable temperature difference. We are getting R-11 in our fixed windows, with 99.5% UV protection. We really love the windows!

To find out more about our energy efficient windows and Serious Glass and Serious Materials click on this link:
http://www.seriouswindows.com/
and/or
http://www.seriouswindows.com/html/technology.html