It finally looks like a house! Here's a look at the final push to the get the dry box up before the snow flies
Posted 12.02.2009 at 2:45 pm
17 Comments
Green Dream: The Full Box
A snap from our time-lapse rig shows all the third-floor and roof panels in place and the Zip board going on . . .
John B. Carnett
I can't believe it, but the entire box is now up. All the wall and roof panels have been installed. As you may recall the second floor was a bit of a learning curve for everyone, but when it came to the last level, everything went together as expected. LightShip Group, the firm making the panels, took all the field experiences that we had with the first install, went back to the shop and turned out 100 percent perfect panels for my third floor walls and roof. Click the gallery for shots of the third floor and it's curved roof section going up, and see more details about the build after the jump.
Here are a few highlights from the final push:
• Light Ship eliminated the “C” channels that had been on all the interior walls and instead used a two-inch angle. That really helped speed up the install process: We no longer had to cut channel in the field. Rather, we just had to unscrew and flip around the angle that was already on the panel from the factory. It was a brilliant solution, but it was too late for all my exterior walls that have the “C” channel. Any cold that hits the outside of the channel goes right under the panel and into the interior with no thermal break. I intend to fix this by running a strip of Aspen Aerogel along the entire interior where the channel enters the house to create a thermal break. Like I say, lessons learned.
• Lightship also provided pre-cut metal corner connections for all the panels this time around. That saved a bunch of time as we could just slap down the metal and go without having to stop to cut raw material. My chop saw can finally rest.
• They also designed an in-house crane hoist bracket that allowed multi-wall panels to be connected on the ground then lifted into position as single units.
• My third floor roof is 11 inches thick and it carries itself all the way down the roof to the north vertical wall over a curved radius. That not only gives me an incredibly high R-50 insulation rating for the roof, but also for the back wall. It’s an amazing feeling to stand in a corner of a building that is under construction and feel warm.
• I elected to use the same panel material in four-inch thickness for my interior walls. This allowed everything to go up at the same time and was a really effective way to deal with the ceiling curve connecting to the interior walls. You can imagine how long it would take to frame that kind of radius with typical 2x4 framing methods. I ended up with very tight walls between the roof and the interior, which will help control not just temperature but sound as well for a very peaceful bedroom.
• During the third-floor install I started counting the number of cans of 12 oz spray foam that we used. It took more than 81 cans to connect all the panels. Lesson learned: Remember to include spray foam in your budget!
• Just as soon as the Kama panels were installed, we began getting Zip board on the roof and exposed walls. The curved corner on the roof was too tight for the zip board so we used 1/4-inch AC plywood in two offset layers then covered it with a waterproof membrane, which matched up perfectly to the Zip Board.
I’m looking forward to getting the doors, windows and metal roof on next. In the meantime, check out the gallery of the third floor going up here.
John B. Carnett, PopSci's staff photographer, is using the latest green technology to build his dream home. Follow along as the project progresses on his Green Dream blog: popsci.com/green-dream
Want to read more articles like this, plus tips and tricks, home hacks, DIY projects, and more? Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!
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looks awsome, what are the odds on the river flooding?
I would like to see a screen shot of a spreadsheet proving it's "greeness".
That is, an unbiased and fair comparison of total carbon emissions required to build this house compared to a traditional stick frame, straw bale house (with frame), and adobe or litecrete. In addition the carbon emissions to heat/cool the house for say the next 100 years.
3DTOPO, I second that. It sounds like it will take about 1,000 years to offset the aditional cost of just building this house. Does anyone else see this as a rich guys waste of money?
I see this as a step in a direction. Which is more than has been done in a while to start to build green houses that last a long time, and can also be mass produced. just a step though, got a long way to go.
3DTOPO & Are YouKidding...wash off the petrulli, let go of the tree and join us all back on planet earth. Really, here is a guy that embraces new - realativly unproven green technology - on his own dime, and builds a home... giving the world real time data i.e. a case study. Exactly what have you two done as far as implementing energy efficient green building technology? The movement dosen't need more arm chair quaterbacks, it needs more John Carnetts...ready to roll up their sleeves and DO something!
"Greenteck": Nothing has been shown to justify why it is green. I am an engineer, so I would like to see some real numbers.
It seems that Carnett thinks his house is green because the material vendors told him so.
Is it really green? How green is it? I would like to see some real world numbers, otherwise it is just a "green gimmick" and not worth considering.
You are the one that needs to come back to reality - you prefer to pretend that it is green then really find out the truth.
I have built an energy efficient green home - I am just not sponsored from PopSci or the material vendors.
"3DTOPO" I'm building this home for my family and paying for it with hard earned money and my own labor- this is not a sponsored project- Many parts of my project are an experiment and I'm risking my money so that I can not only end up with a personal home - but one that others can learn from during my process-
Please post in this area great experiences that you had with your Green Home so that we can all learn from your process- your experiences.
What is Green? Green home building means very different things to different people- Our home was designed to be a passive and active solar house- to some people a passive solar house might be Green- Our home wants to reduce the environmental impact- is that a general statement? Sure- Is it Green? Sure- Are we trying to reduce waste during the build? Sure- Can I calculate the waste material that was produced at the factory to produce our panels? No. Can I tell you that building a house out of 2x6's is more expensive and less energy efficient than building with panels? YES. Do ALL factory panel systems deliver the client a "tighter" box with less waste? YES. What about trying to reduce the energy that the house will be required to use? Is that Green? I'd say a big YES! Is using less copper wire in the house Green? YES. What about my recycled 100 year old Hemlock siding? The point is that it is a Green Dream- I'm building a house for my family on a very tight budget- It's an experiment that I'm willing to share with everyone- As the house grows and the material and technology begins to function together- real results will come to the surface- I will make those results public and open for review- I'm about discovery as a two way street- Open up and share your experiences with products and technology- Let's all grow smarter together-
Staff Photographer
Popular Science Magazine
sounds to me like john said put up or shut up.
Dear John,
I really enjoy this Green Dream blog! I've been working on a corporate campus project and they're using a tray system with materials and drainage strategies similar to yours. I do have some questions about your experiences thus far.
Did you or someone involved with the project perform HVAC load calculations or an energy model analysis that accounted for the green roof? I know you commented on the insulating properties, but there's also the benefit of reduced heat island effect i.e. less of a temperature difference between your roof and the surroundings which readers may not be aware of.
Also, the green roofs I've dealt with have been fairly large (greater than 3,000 sq. ft.) and as a result the structural steel beneath them was much more robust and actually impacted the ceiling space of the level below. Having not fully anticipated this, our design team found itself fighting for space to fit ducts and pipes up above the ceiling. Did you have to make any compromises in your design because you went with the green roof?
Congrats on the progress to date. I'm looking forward to when you start planting. It's great to see a plan come together.
"theycallmebrant" My kama roof panels are 11" thick and are sitting right on top of my steel- The steel beams are 10" tall- My ceiling height is 9' 10"- so I have tons of room- I'm leaving the steel exposed and building box runs to hide any HVAC / electric, etc. The only real issue with having the green roof for us was that the additional load impacted my budget- I could have reduced my total steel requirement- But on the other hand we were able to use the steel to create a more open floor plan so the total trade off was well worth it- All my HVAC loads were done with the R-50 roof alone and did not include the added effects that I'll get with the additional insulation (from the tapered insulation / heat island). In some areas the tapered insulation brings my R value to 70. These are small runs so I did not include them- As your aware you can run some of the most advanced software in the world but at some point you just gotta build it- and then see how it performs- I intend to report back on the actual real world experiences- Thanks- J
Staff Photographer
Popular Science Magazine
Building a passive home and a green home are not the same thing. Perhaps a better title for this series would be "Passive Building" however I doubt that would have the same trendy marketing appeal as "Green Dream".
It may have less waste onsite, but what about the waste that was generated that you cannot see?
A traditional stick frame super insulated using straw bales for insulation could have a higher R value, with a lower monetary and environment costs as your fabricated panels. Have you made that comparison?
How much energy was consumed creating all of the steel? How much energy was consumed for all of the concrete? How much energy for all of the construction including transportation of material, the cranes and all of the workers?
Will the home last long enough for it "pay off"? Judging by the proximity of the river, I suspect the answer is a big "NO". Looks like you are in the flood plane of a 20-year flood zone.
You admit that you don't have any real numbers, so how is it possible to certify that your house truly is green? I would expect it is not nearly as green as a straw bale or adobe both of which are a true standard for a green home.
Regarding straw bale. I've seen two homes built with straw bale in different areas of the country burn down. After the fire died there were a whole lot of dead mice that had been living in the straw bale. One house burned down before it was finished. There is a long way to go with straw bale.
The building looks interesting, almost like container building. I am looking froward to viewing the finished product both internally and externally. A photograph from facing away from the river and perhaps and Ariel shot would give a better feel for the project.
www.plastmo.co.uk
The green Dream. Fantastic! Using containers as a base for a home is awesome and is now increasing in popularity. Three stories will little footprint on the earth is a feat to be proud and worthy of applaud.
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The green Dream. Fantastic! Using containers as a base for a home is awesome and is now increasing in popularity. Three stories will little footprint on the earth is a feat to be proud and worthy of applaud.
www.promdresspicture.com
Byggnaden verkar intressant, nästan som container byggnad. Jag ser överförts till visning den färdiga produkten både internt och externt. Ett fotografi från vänd bort från floden och kanske och Ariel sköt skulle ge en bättre känsla för projektet.
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L'edificio sembra interessante, quasi come la costruzione del contenitore. Sto cercando degli esercizi per la visualizzazione del prodotto finito, sia internamente che esternamente. Una fotografia di fronte lontano dal fiume e, forse, e girato Ariel darebbe una sensazione migliore per il progetto.
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