Hi everyone,

My wife and I are pursuing new construction (3000sqft) here in northeast PA.  Before I get to that, I will share where we've been.

My current house was built in 1999.  Two years ago, we performed a complete exterior renovation:

    Chrispitude's house renovation pics

It consisted of:

• 2" closed-cell spray foam in walls
• open-cell spray foam overtop existing fiberglass batts in vaulted ceiling over living room
• open-cell spray foam in attic
  
• triple-pane, double-glazed windows
• Certainteed fiber-cement siding over 1/2" Dow SIS structural sheathing to reduce framing transmission
• 3-ton Hallowell Acadia cold-weather heat pump

You can see pictures of everything in the photo album link above.  The price tag was high, but we figured on living here for a long time.  To give you an idea of energy efficiency, I spent a total of $306 for heating for the winter of 2009-2010.  You can read the details of my HVAC install at

    HVAC-Talk thread: 3-ton Hallowell installed in northeastern PA

We are now expecting a new addition to our family, and are looking to move to a larger house, and a more populated area with better daycare options, shorter parent commutes, etc.  The new construction will be 3000sqft in the Allentown PA area.  I am really sold on the cold weather heating performance of the Hallowell Acadia, but they only have 3-ton and 4-ton models.  I think with the right construction materials and techniques, a 4-ton will be right-sized for the job.

I've spent several hours reading through the forums, and my head is about to explode with information.  I see many very knowledgeable people here, and many options given for many different parts of the country, but I confess I don't have a clue where to start for my project in this locale.

The lot is open with no trees.  We'll be using Superior Walls for the foundations.  Thanks to these forums, I've read about Superior's XI (extra-insulated) foundation panels, and will look into them.  Closed-cell spray foam in the walls will be a bit pricey at this size.  Also thanks to these forums, I've read about the noise-blocking and fire-retardant properties of cellulose.  I'm actually leaning towards 1" Dow SIS structural sheathing panels with wet-blown cellulose insulation in the 2x6 cavity.  The HardiPlank installation instructions do permit installation on up to 1" foam sheathing.  That just leaves me with the windows and roof.

For the roof, my thinking at this point is to do open-cell spray foam to make the attic a conditioned space, and make absolutely sure there is no infiltration path where the cellulose and foam join up.  Since it's new construction, I can make sure no perf soffit is used.  My wife wants a gray asphalt roof shingle, but she's willing to go as light a color as she feels will work with her color scheme.  I am very much open to ideas for the attic.  I use our current attic for storage, and the spray foam made a huge difference in lowering the summertime temperatures of the attic.  Before, it would get so hot that all my stored boxes fell apart because the packing tape adhesive completely failed.  With the spray foam, everything holds up great in the attic now.  I'd love to get that same conditioned storage capability in the new house.

For windows, I can talk to the builder and see what he recommends first, then do some research on those alternatives.  He recommended single-hung windows as they provide less air infiltration than double-hung.  We have double-hung windows now and never use the top slider since they're a pain to use with the wood blinds in the way.  I'm fine with single-hung, but I'm unsure how much money I should be spending on windows relative to the walls or attic.  Is there a rough proportion of dollar investment I should use?

All feedback is welcomed.  I tried to learn as much as I could and make some decisions before asking for additional thoughts.  Thank you!

 - Chris

Hi Chris

I am also getting ready to start construction of a 3000 sf home in Malvern. I have selected many of the same products you have listed and would love to trade some ideas since we are both building in same part of country. Feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Best of luck with your project.

John

A couple of suggestions: 

Compare Superior Walls XI to Thermomass for energy efficiency.  I have used Superior Walls and like them.  The R-value of the Superior Walls can be improved by spraying foam between the studs.  But this places all of the insulation in the heated space with the concrete outside.  However, Thermomass places the foam between two wythes of concrete so the Thermal Mass can be effective.

Casements are usually tighter than single-hung windows but do cost more.  Fiberglass frames and sashes should be more energy efficient and last longer than wood.

I have heard of fiberglass or cellulose being placed over flash foam but have not heard of open-cell foam being sprayed on top of fiberglass batts.  No problems?  Or did I misunderstand which went where?

Posted By Alton on 22 Aug 2010 10:28 AM

I have heard of fiberglass or cellulose being placed over flash foam but have not heard of open-cell foam being sprayed on top of fiberglass batts.  No problems?  Or did I misunderstand which went where?

Hi Alton,

Thanks for the pointer to Thermomass walls!  I'll check them out.

On the left side of my house, there is a vaulted ceiling where the roof pitch is a bit steeper than the inside ceiling pitch.  When the contractor popped the plywood off the roof to spray that area, they saw that the original builder fiberglass was resting down against the ceiling.  So, instead of removing that and spraying, they decided to spray right over it to achieve some extra R-value.

Here's a picture I took:

picture of framing cavity above vaulted ceiling

The attic was done conventionally, sprayed from the inside up against the roof deck.

 - Chris

I realized that perhaps I should pursue geothermal instead, since there's a 30% tax credit (with no cap) and the best time to do it is during new construction when landscaping isn't an issue. My builder did some calling around. The first quote came in at 35k for a 4-ton water-source system. That includes the ductwork fabrication too, but good golly that seems like a high number. The company said that they need four vertical wells in my area because they have soil collapse issues during deeper drilling. Two other water-sourced companies did not answer, and my builder left messages on their machines.

I asked my builder to check with a local Earthlinked dealer too, to get a price on a DX system. Maybe the lessened drilling requirements for DX will come out in my favor.

Did they even look at using open loop?

I'd use quite a few fixed windows.

Is your lot big enough for a loop field, instead of vertical wells? I saw one house that was on a city lot, the contractor dug down about 16' deep for part of the loop field, back filled it partially about 8', then installed the other part of the loop field. That one was about 8' deep.

You may want to give St. James Windows a look at. Dollar for dollar by far and away the best windows I could find. Their casement window frames use foam within the cavity insulated at R26 value. They are a small company located in Fort Wayne, In. http://www.stjamescompany.com/. Just to give you an idea on my house they were 30% cheaper than Anderson 400 series and I believe much better constructed with the foam cavity.

I would like to congratulate you for a new addition in your family and I would like to wish you best of luck for your coming baby.

Yes, congratulations to your new home and new arrival.