Water is top-of-mind this week. Today’s site visit reveals that work is underway on the community well that will eventually serve us and our future neighbors. It’ll be several weeks before connections will be made to the house, but it’s good to see drilling is scheduled to commence this week. In the distance, our building […]
Foundation forms filled just in time
As it turns out, the foundation forms were set and filled just in time; storms again arrived overnight Thursday into Friday morning, dumping slightly more than another inch of rain on the area. Jesse called from Koball’s to confirm the crew was able to get back to the site just fine and were in the […]
Preparing the forms for concrete
Today is a fairly routine day for the concrete crew from Koball’s. They arrive and align the walls, then make room for the concrete ready-mix trucks from the plant in Rushford. The forms are topped off and pillar bases inside the house are squared and filled.
Other commitments kept us from watching the action today, […]
Placing the forms
It’s a quiet, cool, overcast morning as I arrive at the site around 8. Our ‘neighborhood’ wildlife have been up for hours, but still linger; songbirds singing, an owl ‘hooting’ across the valley, a deer or two strolling along the edge of the woods and into the nearby fields. It’s easy to imagine how the […]
Power to the site and forms delivered
The utility crew buried cables today and placed the power transformer, so we’re that much closer to having power at the site; they still need to connect to the grid and our electrician needs to place the temporary power junctions. We also received confirmation that a concrete crew is set to begin placing the foundation […]
Weather Delays
We’d hoped to be working on the foundation walls today, but weather and schedules haven’t aligned, so we wait…it’s not that we’re overly anxious, but really—a few consecutive sunny, dry days really would be helpful for anyone working outside these days! Though after nearly two years of more drought than rain, we’re generally happy with […]
Footings
Back on site this morning; today picks up where yesterday left off, with more sunshine than clouds—and a new group. A crew from Koball’s Poured Walls is on track to pour the footings today (before the next round of storms move in tonight and tomorrow!).
Just before setting the frames and forms, Jesse and Bruce […]
Breaking Ground
On one hand, it was just another in a series of gray, overcast days similar to what we’ve experienced for the past six weeks—underscored by the fact that May set numerous records for the amount of rain we’ve had this spring. On the other hand, it was the day we’ve been anticipating for three years—in […]
Lanesboro, Minnesota
Climate Zone 6 (cold/moist)
Latitude: 43° 44' 18'' N
Longitude: 91° 54' 48'' W
Net Treated Floor Area: 1,514 SF
Gross Square Footage (House only): 2,210 SF
Roof: R-99
Wall: R-61
Ground: R-53
Glazing: U-0.10 BTU / hour / sq. ft.
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC): 0.48”
Frame: U-0.19 BTU / hour / sq. ft.
Specific Primary Energy Demand (Source Energy Demand): 12.1 kBTU / sq. ft. / year
Specific Space Heat Demand: 7.0 kBTU/sq. ft. / year
Peak Heating Load: 7,047 BTU / hour
Space Cooling Demand: 0.44 kBTU / sq. ft. / year
Peak Cooling Load: 3,625 BTU / hour
Pressure Test Goal: Whole House Air Changes Per Hour (ACH) = 0.4 ACH 50