interiorfinishes

Finishing Strong

November 24, 2025

A photo of the house's windows glowing at night.

Here we are, at that last and most essential push. In all our blog posts, we have tried to communicate some of the major milestones that we have taken throughout the project. We have celebrated the resolution of single details that took months to work through, or simply described the various layers of structure, waterproofing, or insulation that we applied to the house. Much of this work, when everything is said and done, will be covered or buried. There was a lot of thought, effort, and care that went into those forgotten moments, so these last layers of finish need to convey that sentiment.

A photo of the cabinets in the kitchen core.
A photo of the back door detail.
A photo of the finishes located in the core bathroom.

We have been working this past month on the interior finish of the house, the exterior cladding for the porches, and the flooring.

A student puts the exterior porch siding
A student lays vinyl tile flooring.
Students smooth the top of the slab they poured for the condenser.
A photo of the closet doors fully installed.
A student gets help wiring the house condenser.
Big thanks to Mr. Marusich and John Marusich for helping us install our mini split and condenser!
A student stands in front of the shiplap they had been putting up.

The interior of the house has been finished with white-washed cedar ship lap boards. Whitewashing the boards meant that the boards were done the moment we put them on that wall and ceiling. It was an effort to reduce the amount of messy or wet work that would have to take place around the cores. It was incredibly rewarding to put the boards on the wall and know it was complete. The whitewashing also preserved the cedar’s natural beauty. This is a wooden house with a warm heart of mass timber in its center, clad on the exterior in a thin skin of corrugated metal. The interior finish should be understood as being wood without clashing or overpowering the Douglas Fir of the Cores.

A student uses a laser level to set the next row of shiplap.
A photo of the shiplap going up in the kitchen.
A photo of the shiplap applied to the attic hatch.
A photo of the closet doors in the primary bedroom.
A photo of the window bench at the back entry of the house.
A photo of the shiplap and ceiling fan in the primary bedroom.
A photo of the whitewashed shiplap.
A photo of the outlets and light fixture in the dining room.
A photo of the widows in the living room.
A photo of the attic ladder when it dropped down.

The porches are clad in cypress tongue-and-groove boards with a clear coat wood finish. It is here that you can read the transition from the thin metal skin of the facades to the warm wood aesthetic of the house. Any internal space is finished with wood, the porches being no exception. The porches are trimmed with 2×8 cypress boards left over from the Bathhouse project.

A photo of the metal meeting the cypress exterior siding.
A photo looking at the corner of the cantilever porch ceiling.
A photo of the trim around the window on the porch.
A photo looking out the back door onto the porch.
A photo of the back porch siding.
A perspective of the ack side of the house.

The flooring is LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tile) from Interface. We chose a neutral birch wood tone with a pattern that would dissolve over the floor area. It is a backdrop to complement the natural wood on the walls, ceiling, and cores. Thank you to Adam Whitley for coming out to teach us how to install the product!

A photo of the glue and flooring material.
A photo of the flooring meeting the core.
A photo of the flooring going around the core.
A photo of the center of the house.
A photo of the front opening inward

As we have applied the finishes, we have been following behind with the trim, cabinets, HVAC, lights, switches, and outlets. We have the order in for the countertops as well.

Mason helps students make final electrical connections.
A photo of the interior of the utility room.
A photo of the water heater in the utility room.
Students pretend to cook in kitchen.
A photo of the mirror in the bathroom.
A photo of the assembled kitchen cabinets.
Students turn the kitchen lights on as it gets darker outside.
A photo of the core from the living room.
A photo of the finished attic.

We have been working very hard to finish up the house, but we have also made time for more fun things. Recently, we got to have an amazing lighting demonstration at the CLT Core House, courtesy of Thomas Paterson. We also got to do a wonderful drawing and watercolor workshop with Dan Wheeler and Frank Harmon. Lastly, we put on a show at Rural Studio’s Halloween events; dressing up as OSHA inspectors and having the winning pumpkin of pumpkin carve!

Students test lighting strategies on fellow student.
Thomas Patterson shines light onto the ceiling of the CLT Core House.
Thomas Patterson teaches a lighting demonstration at the CLT Core House.
A collage of watercolor paintings and hand sketches.
A photo of the teams carved pumpkins.
CLT Core House team dressed as OSHA inspectors

Things are coming together. The next time you read our blog should be the last. Exciting times at the CLT Core House!

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Surface Level Thinking

October 25, 2021

The Myers’ Home team has made it to the top layer of finishes. Almost every material and layer they apply at this point is completely visible and the finish surface in the home. So they’re watching their step with the mud and taking some extra care in details.

Painting the Day Away

After sheetrock is complete, the team and their helpers scrub up the drywall mud and prepare to begin painting. While the home’s core, outer walls, and to-be-built flex walls are designed using different materials, they’ll all be painted white to reduce noise. It also provides a clean surface, should the homeowner want to paint it to personal preference.

  • a good mopping for Myers’ Home
  • Thanks to the 5th-Years!
  • Madeline prepping to paint
  • Tongue and groove seams take some extra care

The sheetrock is the cleanest surface on the outer edges of the home. It contains most electrical for the possible rooms and is more workable for openings like windows and doors. The board surface on the home’s core—the kitchen, bath, and stair—is a durable tongue-and-groove board. These surfaces are interacted with more often and need added durability. The flex walls that partition bed and living space will be plywood, and primed white. These walls will be anchored in only a few points should the home configuration need to change years down the road.

Just a Trim, Please

  • Sanding upper trim in the kitchen
  • Installing trim around the south window

Once the walls have their first coat, trim can be installed around the whole house. As materials change, so does trim design strategy. The baseboards run along sheetrock surfaces, and where board material begins, the trim moves to the top edge of the ceiling. Windows are trimmed out on their edges.

Last Call on Windows

Speaking of windows, all of the custom window units are installed and Riley is adding the last few components post-install. Each of the operable and fixed windows get their own trim box, also constructed of cypress. These are taped off and kept natural as the last coat of paint is applied to the surrounding wall.

  • Riley installs backer rod to seal window gaps
  • The window in the last stages of paint
  • The wall wash detail in the shower, lovely morning light!

Steel-Clad Sensibility

Meanwhile, the exterior of the house is getting the full treatment. Siding is starting to be installed on the two gable ends and back of the house. The lower twelve feet of front face will be clad after construction of the porch slab. This prevents siding from being dinged and damaged during concrete pours and metalwork. The porch structure will then be used as a platform to finish the top few feet of siding.

However, the installation process is straightforward for the other three sides. Panels are pre-drilled with screw holes, openings for windows and vents are cut, if necessary. Then the panels are moved into place, overlap length checked, and screwed in from overlap edge over. This prevents most bubbling in the panel as the lines of screws progress over.

  • Riley manning the boom lift
  • Making cuts for the gable angle
  • The backside of the home
  • South face siding with a sneak peak of the porch footprint!

The Thermal Mass & Buoyancy Ventilation team has also kindly lent their rental boom lift. The Myers’ Home team is using this lift to install siding high on the gable ends. It’s certainly a much smoother route than multi-story scaffolding! They also used it to install the last few pieces of flashing around windows. The flashing details on this house are in the same family as those used on the roof. To maintain the tight shell, window openings are designed to be sharp and clean.

On Deck

The team is now on their last big push for the interior. They’re building flex walls, preparing for stair treads, painting cabinets, and making the rounds on finish electrical and plumbing. Soon, all lights will be on and water will be flowing!

  • The kitchen space; here come the cabinets!
  • Bedroom/living area pre-flex wall

On the outside, these folks are on standby for porch plans. Imminently, they’re headed up the road to Birmingham for some porch fabrication. This means steel cutting, drilling, and welding! Before that they’ll be boots in the mud again digging for the footings and pavers of the porch. More on that soon, thanks for keeping up!

  • Swamp Sunflowers are blooming at Myers’ Home!
  • Riley, Judith, and Madeline in their new medicine cabinet
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