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Construction Timeline: (Mechanical Systems)
All those things that whir, spark and bubble are now added to the interior of
the house. (1/10/2003 - 2/8/2003) Note: Pictures of the HVAC systems have been moved to the
Equipment Room page.
NOTE: Newest pictures at the top.
Click on any image for an enlargement.
February 8, 2003.
The ceiling drywall starts going in, and the electrical is ready
to go. |
This sheetrock stuff is all very scientific. The ceiling
goes in first so that the remaining distance between the floor and
the ceiling is exactly 9 feet. This is spanned exactly by
two horizontal runs of 54" (4'6") dimensional sheetrock |
Click the image to see the unusual mounting pattern. Rather
than evenly spaced screws (not nails) the manufacturers recommend
pairs of screws at wider spacing. Hmm.
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The main electrical panel is all ready for the installation of the
circuit breakers. The wires have been run to all the lights,
switches and receptacles. The receptacle wires have even
been stripped and looped ready for the final hookup. |
I'm proudly displaying my inspection certificate which indicates
I'm all ready to go except for the final inspection.
Woo Hoo !
The inspectors in this area seem to be much more interested in
making sure the homes are built correctly, rather than just
satisfying the letter of the code.
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January 27, 2003.
Plumbing rough-in is complete. Electrical is just about
done. |
The electrical panel is in the corner of the sunroom.
Cables feed across the roof, or down the bulkhead created along
the main retaining wall. The inspection needs to be completed
before the lines are hooked up. We have an oversized junction box
because the small extra expense now is worth it for future growth. |
Here's a shot showing the various mechanical systems.
The two main insulated AC trunks are shown running one on top of
each other. These feed the supply and return registers.
Also seen is a set of power feeds and several recessed
down-lights. The oversized down-light cans ensure that there
is sufficient air space around any lamp to prevent overheating.
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Here's a closer shot of the two other sets of
down-lights used in the kitchen to light the counter and center
island.
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Once the electrical was complete, the crew started on the low
voltage wiring. I'm using a structured wiring cable that
contains 2 Cat 5e network cables and two RG59 Video Coax's.
The cables run from a central distribution hub, to 19 wall
plates throughout the house.
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The first few cable runs can be seen here going to the wiring
closet. This is a false wall cavity located between the
living room and bedroom.
The cavity will contain all the network and AV equipment for
the house. A removable false wall section in the bedroom
will provide full access to the closet.
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January 10, 2003.
Next, the roof starts being filled with insulated boxes and
tubes. Although Our Cool House uses the radiant
slab for heating, and maybe cooling one day, an air ducting system is
still needed. These ducts provide fresh air ventilation via Heat
Recovery Ventilator (HRV), and provide a means to dehumidify the air, or
provide supplemental heat. For more details see our HVAC
page. |
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January 10, 2003.
Inside the house, shiny copper tubes start appearing.. |
The bulk of the plumbing runs down the long concrete wall, but to
avoid a lot of drilling, Gary created a sofit along the back
wall, just below the ceiling. This provided a direct path
for the pipes, but kept them below the insulated ceiling (to
prevent freezing). |
I was impressed by how neat and regular the copper piping
was. I love a regular predictable layout. Plastic hole
inserts are used to prevent banging, and the metal braces also
have plastic pipe clips to avoid problems with dissimilar metals
(see next pic). |
In the laundry, we have all the usual fixtures (washer, sink etc.)
but we also tap off a hot and cold line and run it through the
slab to the kitchen island. You can see the white plastic
tubing disappearing into the slab just below the goose neck. |
Here the other ends of the two plastic pipes emerge from the slab
in the middle of the kitchen. The third gray pipe will be
used to bring power to the island for the dishwasher and disposal. |
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© 2000-2018, Phil and Lisa's relaxed lifestyle home.
An exercise in Energy Smart, Not So Big living.
www.OurCoolHouse.com - Ideas@OurCoolHouse.com
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This site is all about building a cool, energy efficient house,
that makes maximum use of earth sheltered design, passive solar heating and cooling,
geothermal exchange energy management, and right sizing of the house for it's designated use.
The home's placement is on a south-facing hillside in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.
This site describes the design process, the technologies used and the expected results.
We also have a comprehensive Links Page for anyone who is also interested in designing a
similar project.
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