Today the framing of the second floor began, and measures were taken to provide proper drainage from the building.
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Tim uses a custom tool to measure for Hemcrete.
David Madera stopped by to discuss Hemcrete.
A strip drain is placed at the bottom of each wall.
Gravel is shoveled into the Eastern trench.
Wast Wall Framing
The Advantek subfloor for the ground level was installed today.
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Subfloor Installation View from Northeast
Subfloor Installation View from East
This week, Matt and his crew continued to frame. The bottom plate was bolted to the slab, and the TJI joists were installed.
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Detail of Bottom Plate at Termite Barrier
The bottom plate is bolted to the AAC through the Advantek.
North wall framing with termite barrier visible.
The second floor structure starts with 16" TJIs.
East and North Framing with Rim Band on Top
Today, the concrete slab was scored on a three foot grid, to prevent cracking. David Madera and Greg Flavell of Hemp Technologies also helped us to perform a full-size Hemcrete test.
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Scored Concrete Slab
Scored Concrete Slab
Hemcrete Mix
12" Hemcrete Form
Completed Hemcrete Wall
Today, JBS Construction came back to pour the concrete slab over the vapor barrier.
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JBS places a matrix of rebar over the hardened foam.
Concrete Pour in Mechanical Room
Jeff and Jackson Buscher
JBS Smoothing the Slab
Slab at Corner
New Storm Drain
New Box for Replaced Storm Drain
Today, Home Energy Partners came out to spray the closed-cell insulation for the slab and exterior walls.
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Advantek sheathing and brick mold are installed first to stop the foam and eventually to support the Hemcrete.
Brick Mold Installation
Home Energy Partners Spraying North Wall
Home Energy Partners Spraying North Wall
Home Energy Partners Spraying Underslab Foam Insulation
Home Energy Partners Spraying Underslab Foam Insulation
Spray Foam Insulation around Ground Loop Stub-out
Spray Foam Insulation on CMU
Today, another 20 mil. vapor barrier was spread over gravel, in preparation for the insulation and concrete slab.
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Drain and Insulation with Gravel
Finished Gravel
Vapor Barrier at CMU
All penetrations through the vapor barrier are carefully sealed.
Finished Vapor Barrier
We are big fans of earthen floors. They are softer than concrete and in many locales can be made using mostly materials harvested directly from the site. The problem is that they are labor intensive, requiring a lot of layers and an extended installation period. We are experimenting with using compressed earth blocks for some of the floors in our Nauhaus prototype project. These blocks are made from subsoil dug from the site. Test blocks are made to determine how much, if any, Portland cement needs to be added to the dry soil mix. The blocks are then compressed by either a hand or hydraulic press like the one pictured here. This machine is capable of pumping out 2,000 blocks per day. After the blocks are allowed to cure for several weeks they can be laid like pavers over a properly designed substrate. We’ll keep you posted with how this works out in our prototype.
