Phase 3- inside the 2nd floor part 2

Putting it back together. Erik reframed what he could. Erik shimmed every 16" to level out the 3" difference across the entire 2nd floor. This was huge. If he hadn't of done that, everything would have been off. Have a mentioned how truly talented he is?  Also, he reframed the interior walls, which were not bearing. This gave us a bit more space in the bathroom and reconfigured it so it feels much bigger. Adding a walk-in closet in the larger bedroom and reframing the other two bedrooms to include decent size closets and little niches for dressers. The 3 bedrooms will remain nearly the same size with a few changes. We had the 2nd floor re-wired for lighting and outlets and switches to update from the old frayed wiring to current codes. As soon as all the electrical was updated and framing, we had the underside of the roof and walls spray foam insulated.  Here are some photos of the framing and the new insulation below.

Fall Wrap-up-Part 3

That's the inside of the foam truck. Yah. I guess, we were lucky, it wasn't too cold this Fall. Although, the last weekend of October was bitter cold with that freak snow storm. It was awefully cold actually, since the electricians were here that Saturday wrapping up the job, the power was shut off for most of the day, and I was trying to study.Luckily, we didn't get too much snow either, since most people were without power on Sunday and Monday and we had it. Brand new wiring in fact. Finally, on Wednesday we got insulation.

Since the older 1/2 of the house, has nominal 2 x 4 construction we had a closed cell foam sprayed in there. Which gives us an R-21 at the wall. The closed cell also is a bit more rigid and stiffens the walls up a bit. Which also helps. The new construction, roof and 2nd floor got the open cell foam, since it expands more, this fills the entire 2 x 6 cavity and doesn't allow air & moisture to convect or condense in the wall. We are already seeing a difference with the boiler in the older section of the house, not continuously running all day either. Already, we are feeling like the house is more efficient.

Seal It!

Mama and Papa Canadien Geese with 5 babies, honking in the pond.

Tell em Bartlett! SEAL IT Insulation installed our foam insulation. We'll be toasty with our new windows and new insulation. It will keep out the critters too. This insulation is much better than batt insulation for several reasons- we'll double at least the R value in the walls and triple in the ceiling. The install is so tight, we won't be bothered by critters nesting in the walls. no more nut storage. The air quality with foam is much cleaner and does not contain fibers or added dust inside the house where the batt insulation does as it breaks down with time. It is a sustainable product as it outlasts the other insulations out there on the market. The install took a little over a day and a half and the guys were very clean and professional. Reggie was our lead installer and he was great. Best part about SEAL IT- they are a Maine based company (Brunswick), and it feels great to work with a local company. I recommend spending the extra on the foundations of your walls. This will definitely pay us back in savings this winter as well as our many years we'll be having at the house.

We will certainly be looking into the Tri-polymer they have for the existing part of the house - at some point, since it is great for retrofit installations and can be added to each stud bay from the exterior without having to gut the interior finishes- although with the noises I heard last night- we may be gutting the insides of this section too!! It sounds like it is something you want to do in the summer months- since the chemicals react best when it is at a warmer climate. But according to Reggie- it is perfect for historical renovations or retrofits-as it pushes whatever insulation that is currently in the walls, and fills the cavity completely like the spray foam.

Mike Conlyn the Portland representative was very sweet, he came by to make sure everything was okay with the installation and to make sure we were pleased with the work. Which we are of course. He happened to come around the corner of the house, just when Erik had taken a shot at a rodent exiting the house- Erik had wounded the bugger, so to put it out of it's misery Erik stepped on him.

Poor Mike...I am sure he was appalled- but left us with a Thank You card that included a Cabella's gift card- which read "for more ammo!"....gotta love Maine.