Category Archives: 1. DIG TO DECK
Forms with rebar ready to fill
The formular 400 (pink XPS) has a compression strength of 40 PSI. The footing will be insulated from ground contact and thermal bridging to the soil.
Layering insulation under the footing
Dan Gregg, the foundation subcontractor, sets the the double layer of 2- inch thick foam sheets in an overlapping arrangement. This Formular 400 rigid foam insulation is XPS and will be used in limited amounts where the compressive strength is required.
Embedding utility conduit in stone
On this layer of tamped stone will sit the formular 400 rigid form insulation and the footing.
Events are moving quickly
All of our utilities will enter the house under the footing. Two inch conduit will carry all our services into the lower level utility room. The conduit is placed under the rigid foam insulation, and under the lower level slab.
In front is the additional excavation for the lower level frost wall beneath the future sliding door entrance.
Our great excavation begins
Our lower level will have nine foot ceilings. The depth of the excavation
is shown with Nicholas for scale.
We broke ground today
This Passive House is now active. That hole is my ground zero. Right here, on a map from the 1970s, is a circle for a cooling tower. Two utility companies tried to build a nuclear power plant in northern Columbia County, NY, on land that has been in my family for many generations. The community mobilized, lawyers did battle, and it was never built. The way we are building, in contrast, is energy-efficient by design.