04 / 29 / 2021
Oh boy, have we learned some hard lessons this year. From what we can tell, our experiences in building a house are predictable, which is pretty frustrating, to say the least. But regardless of how many wrenches are thrown at our heads, we have continued to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge!
Let's see; since our last update, we've continued to install InSoFast panels to the exterior shell of the shipping containers to get the base layer of insulation. Then we add additional rigid foam insulation to meet the energy code requirements. There are three basic ways to insulate shipping containers, all inside, outside, or both interior and exterior. We chose to insulate all on the shell to capitalize on the unique details available in shipping containers that you wouldn't find in traditional stick-frame home construction. After completing insulation (most of the house is insulated, we still have a few areas to tackle), we've applied waterproofing tape to our seams and begun wrapping the house in Tyvek.
We've waterproofed and installed 33 windows and sliding doors. The oh-so-clever Jason constructed a davit to hoist the windows to our upper level, which was no easy feat considering our heaviest window was over 300lbs! Thankfully, we had some help from some kickass neighbors and friends for the heavier windows to help us lift and act as a counter-weight.
"We have stairs!" Jason built a beautiful staircase from Parallam beams, and we've all enjoyed not having to use a ladder to climb to our upper floor.
We've also had plumbers, electricians, and fireplace installers onsite and will share more details about that in our next post.
