November 16, 2008. The house is all one story except for this little dug-out portion. The final finish on the walls will be stucco. The blue house wrap was used because the foundation underneath is waterproofed down below ground level and up a couple of feet above that (check out the black stuff). If water were to somehow get underneath the stucco into the Durisol wall it could seep it's way down and be trapped inside the waterproofed portion with no place to go. That would not hurt the Durisol, but it would not make for a good situation to have water in there. The house wrap, which repels water but still breaths, provides an "apron" overlapping the waterproofed portion of the Durasol Blocks enabling any water that did happen to get inside the final stucco exterior to run down outside the wrap and the waterproofing. It just provides extra insurance against trapped water. Black tar paper and metal lath will go on next and the stucco will be applied after that.

November 16, 2008. Long overhangs all around the house to block direct Texas sun. Final finish will be stucco.

November 16, 2008.

November 16, 2008. Energy efficient windows--all operable and screened for cross ventilation.

Carport vs. Garage

November 16, 2008. The Carport.
Fumes from an enclosed garage will eventually seep their way into your house if there are common walls. We didn't want that, so we chose a carport. The covering is all we really need anyway.

November 7, 2008. This is what you see when you enter.

November 7, 2008.

November 7, 2008.

November 3, 2008.

10/31/08. Fireplace innards going up through steel roof trusses.

October 31, 2008

10/29/08

October 19, 2008.

October 17, 2008

October 17, 2008. Beginning installation of steel roof trusses.

September 24, 2008.

August 31, 2008. All the trees around the house were protected.

August 31, 2008.

August 26, 2008.

The Outer Walls

8/6/08 The exterior walls are made from these building blocks which are called Durisol http://www.durisolbuild.com. They are made from recycled waste wood that has been "mineralized." That's a layer of rock wool you can see on the outside portion of the inner cavity of the block for extra insulation. The blocks are dry-stacked up a few courses then filled with concrete. They have an R-rating of 14, which doesn't sound like much, but the number is deceiving. Typical insulation may have a higher R-rating but that doesn't take into account the wood studs every few feet which significantly lower the overall wall's R-rating! Additionally, a Durisol wall will hold it's thermal mass which regulates temperature flows. Foam ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) blocks do not do this as effectively.
Our Durisol blocks even go down below the dirt level to insulate the slab edge. The rock wool, however is not used below ground because of water considerations. The blocks without the rock wool provide an R-rating of 8 to the slab. Most slabs have no insulation at all.

7/29/08

7/29/08. Rows of Durisol are dry-stacked then concrete is poured inside to make the wall one monolithic structure. Rebar comes up through the center for reinforcement.

Foundation Poured

Old swimming pool in foreground. 7/17/08


7/17/08


7/17/08


July 2008 foundation is poured

July 1, 2008. The pool from the old house was saved. It will be a cistern holding rainwater for irrigation. The plan is to create a void with plastic milk-crate-like stackable structural cubes, then cover the entire group with material allowing water to collect and be retrieved.

New Foundation

6/3/08 Piers were dug