As summer rolls into fall, we are continuing to work toward completing our project!
Jazzy Red or Mariana Trench Blue?
In our last blog post, we had recently gotten “dried in” and were beginning to work on flashing, as well as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing. Since then, we have made lots of progress and are thrilled with how things are coming together.
Our resident electrician, Sarah, has been hard at work running wires and installing everything in our mechanical / laundry space!
Electrifying!
After putting insulation on the roof and flashing on the exterior, we made a big pish, putting up our corrugated metal siding. The details all required careful thought and planning: aligning screw spacing, cutting out for openings, and considering how to apply the metal panels to the roof and walls. It was rewarding to see our layers of effort enclosed and finally finished.
At the end of August, we officially completed putting up our metal siding!
HIP HIP HOORAY!
After metal was complete, it was time for “Neckdown Week,” the time when we focus on upkeep and cleanup. We had many amazing helpers! We safely put away all of our scaffolding. We moved our insulation into the house in preparation for insulating in the coming weeks. And we dug trenches, every helper’s favorite task!
“I’ll just be here listening to my tunes.”Vintage!
We got our main water line trenched and connected, so we now have water on site!
We also dug trenches and spread gravel to prepare for pouring the concrete for our porches.
The team worked on formwork, vapor barrier, and rebar to prepare for the pour as well. Then, we poured our concrete and finished it, exposing the aggregate. We are so excited to have the porch concrete done. The porches have proven to be lovely spaces, and the front porch is even one team member’s favorite room in the house.
Now we are working on installing our exterior and interior doors, as well as final plumbing and electrical connections. We also grouted the tile in the bathroom recently and are thrilled with the finished look.
Door? Where?SEXY TILE!
Next up… insulation, then shiplap! Until next time!
The latest is in from the Myers’ Home project site! The team has squared away interior framing and are close to debuting their windows. This means it’s about time for the house to get its nerve center. The Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing train is leaving the station in Newbern.
One of the core walls containing plumbing for the bathroom and wiring for bedroom outlets
Becoming Plumbers…
With Riley offsite in the woodshop working on the custom window units, Madeline and Judith have been at the helm on site for the past few weeks. Madeline is taking the reins on plumbing the whole house, and ducting it too! Judith has got the power alongside her, running electrical wires, installing outlet and switch boxes, sorting circuits, and labeling everything.
Madeline crimping pex couplings
stubbing out plumbing to the attic upstairs
Installing the shower fixtures one morning
The plumbing contains stub-outs to the attic space allowing a bathroom to be built for future generations. These are beside the water heater, also in the attic to save space in the downstairs. Electrical decisions were also based on rooms that could serve different purposes across generations. Dedicated circuits are in place for AC units and the home is treated in zones of use.
label, label, LABEL
Sittin’ pretty installing fan boxes
Lighting the Way
This also entails a discussion in lighting the house, helped along by a new consultant to the Studio, Thomas Paterson of Lux Populi in Mexico City.
The flexible nature of Myers’ Home doesn’t stop at the plan, section, or material finishes. The team’s been applying their goal of generational expansion and flexibility to the lights in the house too. The home was studied in zones to determine lighting strategies, and tools (fixtures) were chosen to achieve these. The team is working to balance task lighting and spot lighting with the necessary amount of immediate switched light in a space.
The team mirrored lighting and fan locations in each zone for alignment no matter the scheme of flex walls. They then worked to place lights in the core such that it remains a hearth and can be the main source of immediate light in the home.
Interior lighting sketch render
Night lighting porch light
As these folks press on with electrical work, they’ll begin to test how to optimize the tools they’ve chosen for each flexible space.
It’s Getting Hot in Here…
Drywall looms and Myers’ Home Team must consider all that the wall must hold before it is sealed up. Wires and pipes have been run, the lights are set in their places. It’s time to stuff if full of foam and fiberglass. The insulation line for Myers’ Home is at the roof. This requires five and a half inches of spray-in, open-cell insulation. It’s one of the few jobs that the Studio hires out. Meanwhile, the team put up blocking framing upstairs and left the premises for a day. Upon return, the attic was cool as a cucumber and ready for windows.
The attic post spray-in insulation
The original intention for the home was to install a flash-and-batt insulation system downstairs. However, foam prices are cost-prohibitive and the team moved forward with Rockwool insulation in downstairs walls. Madeline, Riley, and volunteer Bess from Project Horseshoe Farm knocked out the ground floor in just a couple mornings!
Sheetrock City
The team put some quick blocking in place and documented each wall before making the call for sheetrock. The crew arrived first thing and got to it. By lunchtime, the first layer of finishes were all in place. All that remains for drywall is mudding and sanding to smooth everything over.
Drywall about to go up on the ceiling
Neckdown
Much of this happened over the course of Neckdown week—where new students knock out work around Hale County using, arguably, everything but their heads. Myers’ Home played host to a few helpers who helped begin more layers of finish materials in and out of the home. Many thanks to new 5th-year students Jackie, Hailey, Davis, Brenton, and Caitlyn, as well as 3rd-years Peter and Laura!
Window units ready to show their faces soon! In the meantime, the home is being battened down with flashing and prepped for siding as the summer slides on by. Check out Myers’ Home team’s brethren over at Rev. Walker’s Home as they also install windows and siding. Or jump to the Thermal Mass and Buoyancy Ventilation crew for some big moves upward! Best to all, over and out.
