On the Rockwool, I installed 12 years ago in my house and I like it. Back then it was available and I even got the ginormous ones for the attic. Now it's slim pickens and Lowes just raised the price of the R15 from $58 a bag to $79 (2/24). Currently, for supply reasons and cost, I'm mixing Johns Manville mineral wool for the concrete walls, Knauf fiberglass everywhere else, and cellulose for the attic and the space above the garage where the living space is above. On that note, the basc gov site recommends insulation touching the floor above and the air gap toward the garage, but the building science site says the opposite will provide a warmer floor above. I'm going with the latter, plus it's easier for me. Seal the rim and then blow in about 10 inches of cellulose and call it good. There is also a guy on YT who somehow runs a vent from the duct into that space to heat it.
I recently replaced my fiberglass shower unit with an expanded tile shower. The tile guy recommended the shower valves should be located by the shower entry. Glad we did it!
Nice house! I would rather look at a house at that stage any day over just looking at completed homes. I built a master bathroom for my wife and I at our daughter’s house in Michigan with a rain head and hand held shower head as well as a linear drain, I did the same thing with the valve location and we really like it. I used a Grohe valve that turns on and off with push buttons and a separate temperature control knob that stays set where we want it. That way when you want to shower you just poke the button and go about getting ready and the shower is perfect when you get in. I also did the Ditra Heat under the shower tile. I only wish our bathroom at home was as nice.
Thank you for sharing. Appreciate you including such details. Could you share what your target ACH50 is for the air sealing? And are you able to share any tested outcomes (whether at the rough-in stage or after drywall)?
I have reached out to AeroBarrier on multiple occasions to try and get put in touch with a company local enough to us to do the job, as we wanted to use them for this house. Unfortunately, I was only successful in finding a local company that does the air duct sealing, not the whole house sealing. I'd LOVE to have them do one of our projects in the future if they end up with a local installer.
@@brianroadnight7813 the foam barely makes in between the studs, even if they used closed cell. Silicone, while more pricey, would have made a better fit and air seal. One can even make the argument that once the sheetrock is screwed in, that extra foam hanging forward could create air gaps between bays. The foam is already dry and hard, I'm going to assume they cut off the overage before drywall. If you have ever cut foam this close it tends to pull out what little made it into the gaps.
Great video. My comment is not about your video but about the codes. So we are required to make a house airtight by code, then we have to make a hole in the house and run an exhaust fan continuously to bring in fresh air by code? What am I missing because that sounds like insanity?
Not disagreeing with your comment just ranting lol. I understand the ERV concept. Make the house airtight to save energy. Then run a fan to bring in fresh air continuously through an ERV that costs about 2000 dollars to install. This does not include the cost of sealing the house and performing the required pressure blower test. Probably another 3000 dollars total. Then we have the extra insulation costs now required. For example R-49 in the attic. R-49 is 15 inches thick which doesn't fit in a 2 x 10 joist unless you use closed cell foam which is about an extra 8000 dollars over regular insulation just for the attic. Of course, you could go raised heel and then get away with R-38 which still doesn't fit in 2 x 10's so now you have to bump up to 2x12's or still go closed cell foam. The list of code changes forced on us that are not for the purpose of safety are out of control and make it exceptionally expensive to build a house with little return on the investment. Just my two cents worth of ranting lol. @@jeremymorrell
@@Deep_DiversI'm at the insulation stage of a small house for my son and have been trying to build affordable shelter yet not too cheap. I am tempted to seal in all the places like in this video, but then I get to looking and I see cracks everywhere and I'd be at it for months trying to make the house airtight. Then I think again, do I really want it airtight?
The problem we have is that in our state we are required to do a blower test. If you don't seal it up exceptionally well it won't pass the test and they won't give you an occupancy permit. If a blower test is required where you are be careful about not sealing everything. If it is not required you are lucky.@@zechariahhambone3841
The code now requires a blower pressure test in my area. Check to see if it is required in yours. If so, you need to seal the house or you won't pass the test. I know someone who failed the test and they couldn't get an occupancy permit. Cost thousands to fix after the fact. So be careful.@@zechariahhambone3841
Did they use caulk or spray foam for the air sealing details between the top and bottom plates and up the double and triple studs? Around the windows it's cleary spray foam but curious if they used spray foam as well elsewhere? (white sealing details). This looks really great!
We have not done that in the past but would love to do it for a client-build project if we are given the budget to do so. We will 100% be doing it when we build our personal home, if we ever manage to get around to it!
where do you put dens shield ? why do you do vertical seams on laminations inside ? and why not sealm them outside instead ? why do batt insulation on inside of exterior foundation wall ? moisture will condense here, convection current set up,. and subsequent mold....you need to use solid foam or spray foam , not batt of any type. contractors wont put rock wool in even though superior as they don like working with it. Cellulose also superior, but they have higher margins on inadequately installed batts- while rockwool can achieve a pretty good friction fit, fiberglass bats never.
There is a a much easier way to build coffers like that using 7/16 osb. Double up sheets on floor draw pattern cut it out lift directly up nail to truss then blocking for depth then lift other cutout directly up and nail to blocking
spraying between studs and plates must be a joke. You air seal a building from exterior. Use liquid applied air/water barrier on top of the zip sheathing. How do you even install drywall with all that spray foam sticking out. Do your drywallers shave them off? If so your so called seal is gone because that spray foam doesn't expand into the stud. Such silly building practices.
On the Rockwool, I installed 12 years ago in my house and I like it. Back then it was available and I even got the ginormous ones for the attic. Now it's slim pickens and Lowes just raised the price of the R15 from $58 a bag to $79 (2/24). Currently, for supply reasons and cost, I'm mixing Johns Manville mineral wool for the concrete walls, Knauf fiberglass everywhere else, and cellulose for the attic and the space above the garage where the living space is above. On that note, the basc gov site recommends insulation touching the floor above and the air gap toward the garage, but the building science site says the opposite will provide a warmer floor above. I'm going with the latter, plus it's easier for me. Seal the rim and then blow in about 10 inches of cellulose and call it good. There is also a guy on YT who somehow runs a vent from the duct into that space to heat it.
Great job smart man 👍👍👍
Great idea with the shower valves! Nothing worse than getting hit with cold water in the shower!
I recently replaced my fiberglass shower unit with an expanded tile shower. The tile guy recommended the shower valves should be located by the shower entry. Glad we did it!
That ceiling detail looks amazing btw!
Thank you!
That ceiling detail is very nice.
That is a great idea for the shower valves
Thank you!
Amazing ceiling!!
Nice house! I would rather look at a house at that stage any day over just looking at completed homes. I built a master bathroom for my wife and I at our daughter’s house in Michigan with a rain head and hand held shower head as well as a linear drain, I did the same thing with the valve location and we really like it. I used a Grohe valve that turns on and off with push buttons and a separate temperature control knob that stays set where we want it. That way when you want to shower you just poke the button and go about getting ready and the shower is perfect when you get in. I also did the Ditra Heat under the shower tile. I only wish our bathroom at home was as nice.
That sounds amazing!!!! We will be doing a linear drain and heated floors in this one as well.
Thank you for sharing. Appreciate you including such details.
Could you share what your target ACH50 is for the air sealing? And are you able to share any tested outcomes (whether at the rough-in stage or after drywall)?
For air sealing, have you used a product like AeroBarrier before? Instead of manually foaming between studs, top/bottom plates, etc.
I have reached out to AeroBarrier on multiple occasions to try and get put in touch with a company local enough to us to do the job, as we wanted to use them for this house. Unfortunately, I was only successful in finding a local company that does the air duct sealing, not the whole house sealing. I'd LOVE to have them do one of our projects in the future if they end up with a local installer.
Does it mess folks up with hanging rock? Do they come back and shave the foam down?
I was wondering the same
Is that caulk or spray foam to seal top amd bottom plates?
On air sealing details: Once sheetrock is put onto those foam air seal spots its toast. Wouldn't using silicone have made more sense?
how does the drywall ruin the polyurethane closed cell foam?
@@brianroadnight7813 the foam barely makes in between the studs, even if they used closed cell. Silicone, while more pricey, would have made a better fit and air seal. One can even make the argument that once the sheetrock is screwed in, that extra foam hanging forward could create air gaps between bays. The foam is already dry and hard, I'm going to assume they cut off the overage before drywall. If you have ever cut foam this close it tends to pull out what little made it into the gaps.
Maybe even zip tape in some spots.
Great video. My comment is not about your video but about the codes. So we are required to make a house airtight by code, then we have to make a hole in the house and run an exhaust fan continuously to bring in fresh air by code? What am I missing because that sounds like insanity?
ERVs. You’re missing ERVs, but otherwise that’s correct
Not disagreeing with your comment just ranting lol. I understand the ERV concept. Make the house airtight to save energy. Then run a fan to bring in fresh air continuously through an ERV that costs about 2000 dollars to install. This does not include the cost of sealing the house and performing the required pressure blower test. Probably another 3000 dollars total. Then we have the extra insulation costs now required. For example R-49 in the attic. R-49 is 15 inches thick which doesn't fit in a 2 x 10 joist unless you use closed cell foam which is about an extra 8000 dollars over regular insulation just for the attic. Of course, you could go raised heel and then get away with R-38 which still doesn't fit in 2 x 10's so now you have to bump up to 2x12's or still go closed cell foam. The list of code changes forced on us that are not for the purpose of safety are out of control and make it exceptionally expensive to build a house with little return on the investment. Just my two cents worth of ranting lol. @@jeremymorrell
@@Deep_DiversI'm at the insulation stage of a small house for my son and have been trying to build affordable shelter yet not too cheap. I am tempted to seal in all the places like in this video, but then I get to looking and I see cracks everywhere and I'd be at it for months trying to make the house airtight. Then I think again, do I really want it airtight?
The problem we have is that in our state we are required to do a blower test. If you don't seal it up exceptionally well it won't pass the test and they won't give you an occupancy permit. If a blower test is required where you are be careful about not sealing everything. If it is not required you are lucky.@@zechariahhambone3841
The code now requires a blower pressure test in my area. Check to see if it is required in yours. If so, you need to seal the house or you won't pass the test. I know someone who failed the test and they couldn't get an occupancy permit. Cost thousands to fix after the fact. So be careful.@@zechariahhambone3841
Did they use caulk or spray foam for the air sealing details between the top and bottom plates and up the double and triple studs? Around the windows it's cleary spray foam but curious if they used spray foam as well elsewhere? (white sealing details). This looks really great!
spray foam
Is vapor barrier tape not needed on the horizontal seams between faced batts?
Do you very insulate between floors for sound control? Do you insulate all interior bathroom walls and common walls between any bedrooms?
We have not done that in the past but would love to do it for a client-build project if we are given the budget to do so. We will 100% be doing it when we build our personal home, if we ever manage to get around to it!
where do you put dens shield ? why do you do vertical seams on laminations inside ? and why not sealm them outside instead ? why do batt insulation on inside of exterior foundation wall ? moisture will condense here, convection current set up,. and subsequent mold....you need to use solid foam or spray foam , not batt of any type. contractors wont put rock wool in even though superior as they don like working with it. Cellulose also superior, but they have higher margins on inadequately installed batts- while rockwool can achieve a pretty good friction fit, fiberglass bats never.
There is a a much easier way to build coffers like that using 7/16 osb.
Double up sheets on floor draw pattern cut it out lift directly up nail to truss then blocking for depth then lift other cutout directly up and nail to blocking
What are the orange marks on the floor for?
Stay tuned for that answer on an upcoming video ;)
Do you build any small houses, such as 1500sqft?
We are open to building just about any size home a client would like us to build.
1500 sq ft is still big for me
Polyurethane insulation?
You probably already know this but, check out Matt Risinger’s channel. He has great videos on building homes.
spraying between studs and plates must be a joke. You air seal a building from exterior. Use liquid applied air/water barrier on top of the zip sheathing. How do you even install drywall with all that spray foam sticking out. Do your drywallers shave them off? If so your so called seal is gone because that spray foam doesn't expand into the stud. Such silly building practices.