Shell Set

Control joints are cut into the slab.

The wall panels are assembled off-site in a controlled environment by computer.  This virtually eliminates wood waste and allows for faster on-site construction with less site disturbance.

A thick bead of glue is put down under and in between each wall panel.  This is an important measure against air infiltration that can't be done after the fact.  We'll caulk as well but having that continuous barrier is key.

Every wall section's sheathing extends down past the top of the stem wall.

The windows extend very near to the floor to bath more of the slab in winter sun.  The operable portion is located by the floor.  This allows us to cool the slab with cross ventilation during summer evenings.  The inoperable picture window above has better air sealing than a similar operable window.

Because the cement slab will serve as our finished floor we braced the wall sections from the outside.

The vast majority of the windows are clustered on the south side of the building.  This requires a floor plan with closets, bathrooms, utility areas, etc. along the north wall so that the living spaces are day lit.  The windows are "tuned" so that those facing south have a higher "Solar Heat Gain Coefficient" (0.5 to 0.7 vs. 0.3 in a typical modern window unit).  This results in a much larger percentage of the infrared spectrum reaching the thermal mass inside the building envelope.

The entire house has an inch of extruded polystyrene foam between the sheathing and house wrap.  This creates a "thermal break" so that the framing cannot conduct nearly as much heat out of the house.  Though the foam has an r-value of 5 its function as a thermal break increases the insulation value of the wall exponentially.  The house wrap allows water vapor to escape while keeping liquid moisture out.  Think of it as a "gore-tex" house (like an expensive pair of boots you can live in).

The floor trusses for the second floor are "web-trusses".  These allow for easy plumbing, wiring, and HVAC runs.  They also allow for long load bearing spans without the use of large beams (think old-growth trees).