The frame is ready and we’re about to order the SIPs. We have most of the “parts” that we need now for our house, but…………NO FOUNDATION!
This has got to be the worst winter we’ve seen in years. Probably the worst time we could have ever imagined to start construction on a house. We still have some snow on the property, and the forecast is for the possibility of more of the same. It’s only 3 weeks until spring, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready for it.
The SIPs are made by a company in Indiana. They convert house plans from conventional stick built walls to SIPs…structural insulated panels. All the outer walls will be constructed on their site and trucked here for our house. They are made by sandwiching polyurethane between sheets of OSB. The walls will have all the window and door openings pre-cut when they arrive on site, so once you order, they’d better be right. They can be changed on site, but you don’t want to do that. The beauty is how quickly they enclose your timber frame. They just wrap around the outside and thicker ones form the roof and PRESTO……….your new house is almost dried in and fully insulated.
All the weight of the roof is transferred to the outside walls, so interior walls can be placed anywhere you like without worry about load-bearing. This is what makes timber frame houses so unique. They can be as open as you like. Another great thing is that you can hang a picture anywhere and not have to search for studs. There are none.
I’ve worked out a tile design that is going to look really neat in the front entry foyer. Got plenty of time to do “stuff” like that, so I guess that’s good news. The driveway seems to be settling some, and we hope it will be useable soon. Getting kinda tired of hauling groceries up 48 steps to our temporary home.
I am so ready to do the “fun” things. Really tired of talking about waterproofing, termites and foundation walls. I wanna build some walls and hang some sheetrock! Yeah!
Here’s hoping spring really is just around the corner.