4230 Raleigh Street Contstruction Update – HVAC, Plumbing, & Roof
Friday, 20 February 2009 by Dave
Things are continuing to move along at 4230 Raleigh Street. Now that framing is mostly complete we won’t be seeing as much visible progress from the exterior but we are moving right along on the interior. The front porch has finally been framed and the house is taking shape from the curb. The exterior brick installation will begin in the short term as we’re almost finished with all the penetrations through the exterior sheathing (plumbing vents, fireplace, etc.). The roll off dumpster is set to be delivered today as well. We have been unable to get a dumpster situated on the site due to the trees in the hell strip out front as well as the need for access by the trades. We should be getting all the construction debris taken care of this weekend. Now that the house is closed in we’ll be taking down the construction fencing as well in the short term.
Here’s a view from straight on as well.
We’re moving right along on the interior. Below you can see the HVAC duct work running through the first floor walls up to the second floor. Our homes are Energy Star Certified and Built Green and one of the most important parts of both of these programs is having an air tight and energy efficient heating and cooling system. All the duct seams are not only mechanically fastened but are also sealed with a mastic of sorts to prevent any leaking of conditioned air into the wall cavity while it travels from the furnace to the vents throughout the house.
Our sealed combustion gas fireplace is being installed. The Anderson four panel sliding glass doors combined with the windows surrounding the fireplace will bring in extensive natural light to the open living area and kitchen.
The rough plumbing is almost complete as well. As you can see here, we’ve gone with full copper plumbing for the supply lines vs the plastic that is typically used in new construction in the area. Once again we felt that it was something that we would have wanted if we were to live in the house and copper has been proven to outlast any other material for the application. A big part of our vision is to build houses that are not only well designed and cosmetically pleasing but to build a house that will outlast typical new construction by a considerable margin. Something can be built with the highest end tile and appliances but it isn’t very sustainable if the home’s systems aren’t built to last. Life-cycle costs are something that most new home buyers don’t take into consideration but they should.
Our 92% efficient Carrier furnace has been installed. We will be going with a tankless hot water heater which will be installed shortly on the wall to the left of the furnace.
The garage is sided and ready for the roofing to be installed. We’ve gone with a 30 year dimensional composite shingle from Tamko for the roof. The house is ready for felt and roofing as well. Once the roof has been finished up we can get the interior electrical work going and we’ll be on our way to drywall.
The garage door was being installed as well.
We’re only about 2 weeks from listing the house on the MLS. Our experience tells us that waiting till rough drywall is prudent in that the spaces throughout the home aren’t easily visualized until that stage. Things are getting much closer to completion at this point and it’s been satisfying to see the house start to really come along.
