What a Day!

Everyone was here today, it seemed. Marc dug in the water line from the well to the house in preparation for the gas line.

The usual suspects Bob, Jay and Dennis were doing their excellent work--Dennis and Jay putting the finishing touches on the garage roof and supervising the grill; Bob attempting to keep everything under control and in perspective all while putting in the central vac system.

The insulation guys were doing prep, installation and education.

And on top ofevery thing else, a portion of the senior class at Conserve School taking a class in sustainability was given a tour by Charlie, our contractor.

We here at Houthpith believe in the power of education and were well pleased to find out that these fine young people would use our project to further their interests in sustainability.

The class came prepared for Charlie's instruction as seen below:

Haz mat suits were recommended, but these young people willingly accepted the risk of contamination.

Of course, as is our wont here at Houthpith, we are just kidding.

These are their Senior portraits.

Here's Charlie in action:

Charlie's Class from Northpith on Vimeo.

But on to more important matters, such as insulation.

We (the generic 'we' including the building crew, sub-contractors and law enforcement) are using cellulose insulation. According to Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge, "the word cellulose comes from the French word for a living cellule and glucose, which is sugar. Building insulation is low-thermal-conductivity material used to separate the internal climate and sounds of a building from the external climate and sounds. Cellulose insulation is plant fiber used in wall and roof cavities to separate the inside and outside of the building thermally and acoustically."

(Editor's worthless note: Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello is insulated with cellulose.)

Applegate is one of the premier brands of cellulose insulation. See their website here. (Don't miss the 1200 degree test video.) Another use of this insulation evidently is to protect one's hand when using a blowtorch to burn off countless layers of skin.

The insulation is blown in through the use of powerful motors located in their truck. The material is wetted as its installed to expand it slightly and provide adhesive qualities.

OK, this next part I'm going to sound like I know what I'm talking about. Let me assure you, I don't.

Because the cellulose is made up of so many different materials, including newspaper, it contains many, many little pockets of air, which act as the insulators. The R value of the walls will be a minimum of 27. The ceilings, get this, R-90.

I sometimes feels as though our body heat and breath will heat the house. (More on that later.)

Here's a closer look at this stuff:

Student Cellulose from Northpith on Vimeo.

The insulation guys were informative and helpful, encouraging the kids to apply the cellulose themselves and assisting with their technique.

After applying the stuff to the walls the whole thing is smoothed out with the rotating bar held together with bicycle handle grips.

The students, well one of them, jumped in with gusto. Eventually they all gave it a try including this writer. The cleanup went well.

And in other news, it's time to play . . .

. . .

. . .

PICK OUT THE STAIN (YET AGAIN!)

This time it's floor stain. You have five concrete stains to choose from beginning from the left.

#1 I'm calling Baby Poop

#2 is Car Grease

#3 (above and below the pinkish square) is Concrete

#4 is Dried Blood

#5 is No Country for This Stain

It must be stated that stains in the picture are darker than they appear to the eye.

Pick out the stain you like best. Let the Pith know in the Comments section.

Prizes include the undying thanks of grateful homeowners.