Green Building in the Gunnison Valley

There is still progress being made on the house in Crested Butte South being build by Sleightholm Workshop despite the cold.  The past few months they have been roughing in the house getting it ready for insulation. Since my last post they have gotten the windows in and have begun to prep the outside of the house for the stucco finish.  They have put a vapor barrier on the roof and other key places to keep moisture from coming into contact with the wood structure which could lead to rotting and decreasing the structural integrity.  I myself have been working on air sealing the house to create a tight building envelop.  A tight building envelope is important in cold climate like the Gunnison valley because it decreases the air exchanged from the outside to the inside of the house, creating more cold air to heat.  I have been doing air sealing by putting caulk above and below the wall framing where it meets the floor and top plate (what the roof framing sits on).  This prevents air leaks in the house, keeping the all ready heated warm air in the house creating less air to heat.  Eventually we can measure the amount of air that is being transfered from outside to inside by doing a blower door test.  We will be doing a blower door test in the coming weeks after the house is insulated.