Posts by Tim Biebel

The interior air barrier is installed before framing the interior walls. A continuous air barrier is critical to a high-performance home. At the ProHOME, and most of our recent builds, we rely on Intello Plus membrane to carry the bulk of the workload when it comes to air sealing. Installing some of the Intello happens…

The crew foreman likes the new nail guns. “Hey, did your deodorant give out?” I heard one guy on the crew ask another as they were stapling 1×3 strapping over the Intello Plus membrane in a tight space on the second floor of the ProHOME on a hot, humid afternoon. “Yup, I think so!” came…

Thick walls mean tying together inner and outer rough openings. We are always tinkering with our framing techniques to try and improve them, but one that has worked well for the double-stud wall is to wrap the rough openings for doors and windows with Zip System sheathing and tape. It connects the inner and outer…

The ProHOME includes a clever approach to creating 20-in.-deep rafter bays for extra dense-pack cellulose insulation. For the most part, the roof framing of the ProHOME is standard:  2×12 rafters and 3.5-in.-by-16-in. Eastern Parallam PSL ridge beams provided by Weyerhaeuser make up the brunt of the framing. In addition, 6×6 Parallam posts on either side…

Dense-packed rafter bays need rigid vents.   The roof slopes in the ProHOME are dense-packed with 20 in. of cellulose. To provide adequate roof ventilation there is a ¾-in.-high air channel in each rafter bay directly under the roof sheathing. Dense-pack cellulose and cheap Styrofoam vent baffles don’t mix, so we use 7/16-in. OSB to…

Hanging a floor system off balloon-framed walls isn’t too different from platform framing. The floor system is comprised of Weyerhaeuser’s TJI joists, Microllam LVLs for ledgers, Timberstrand LSL Rim Board, and Huber’s Advantech flooring. Microllams are used where joist hangers are needed to support the TJIs and the LSL rim board is used along the…

How we start framing with permanent power installed Ideally, we want to have the permanent power operational before we begin framing. But, the utility meter needs to be installed on the building, at least in this area of the country. That poses a bit of a challenge: How can the meter permanently be mounted when…

Insulation is critical, but a continuous air barrier is just as important. A few years ago, we began using 15 mil-thick plastic as part of our under slab air and vapor strategy. Plastic that thick may seem like overkill to some, but I’ve remodeled multiple houses where the scope of the project required removing concrete…

The 2017 ProHOME is a part of an eight-house development of affordable, net-zero homes. In 2015, we set out to build the first ever net-zero community of homes in Vermont that could be priced as close to the surrounding existing market as possible. A local site contractor owned a 2.5 acre parcel of land which…