THE LAKEHOUSE
house. To me, it just said “warmth.”
This is exactly what we did to build up those walls and get to the R26.4 rating necessary: One layer of R14 Rockwool insulation; then a layer of 2½-inch Rockwool Comfortboard; then ¾-inch plywood; then Delta-Vent SA, vapour permeable, self-adhering, air- and water-resistant barrier; then ¾-inch wood strapping; then beautiful planks of western red cedar siding. Between the walls and floors, we used Rockwool Safe’n’Sound fire and sound insulation. Under the house, in the crawl space, under the roof in the attic and on the new foundation walls, we used 2lb. R31 spray foam insulation.
The next problem would be where to put the actual heating equipment, i.e. furnaces, air handlers, air-conditioning units and hot water tanks... no basement, remember. The solution was to build a mechanical room under the old “laundry porch.” The new underground room would be topped by a new all-season, mudroom–laundry room addition.
It was a brilliant solution, and watching the excavation of the new addition, the pouring of the foundations and the construction was our weekend entertainment from May until early August. Our general contractor,
Ray Ambraska, and our team lead,
Rik Ambraska, have led our trades to motor through a most difficult season for any construction.
In fact, since no one was going anywhere this summer, we wanted to hang out and watch from time to time. The solution for where to stay was to renovate the bunkie, including the bathroom. Cheap and cheerful, except wouldn’t it get awfully hot in there with only a couple of tiny windows? That would be addressed by our HVAC plan and by Carrier, the company that advised us on the equipment we would need, including a ductless, throughthe-wall AC unit in the bunkie. I’ve worked in that bunkie laying on my bed when it’s been at least 90 degrees outside. I LOVE the whisper-quiet AC unit, my mini bar fridge, new shower and Nespresso machine. Enough said.
The insulating is almost done. Fortunately, the hardest part, which required the spray foam crew to crawl under the house, was scheduled before the extreme heat set in.
For the design team, the biggest challenge of winterizing is the need to have everything that goes into those walls finalized before the house can be inspected and sealed up. Yes, that means sconce heights, wall-mounted faucets and the AV system wiring and plumbing, too.
Candace Thompson, who produced our CAD drawings, has been extremely patient. But now we have it! Version 16 of our electrical plan has all the sconces correctly located. Why, I wonder, have I “oversconced” this house anyway? More on that next time….
It’s the beginning of September as I write this. Nathan Crichton, our HVAC lead, has just shown me our mechanical room. It’s a thing of beauty! Our heating system uses hot water to heat four Carrier Infinity, Variable Speed Top Tier Fan Coil units, located in four zones of the house, including the attic. Cooling is supplied by Carrier Variable Speed, Top Tier Air Conditioners. An Infinity Ductless Mini-Split Cooling System heats and cools the bunkie.
For a better understanding of the system and how it works, please watch the video in our Lakehouse series.
The windows and doors are almost all in, and our beautiful western red cedar siding is going up now. All the insulation is complete and, one of these days, those boilers will actually fire up and the sweet feel of heat will come out through the shiny new ducts.
People keep asking me when it will be done. “There will be a turkey” is my answer. First, I thought it would be for Canadian Thanksgiving or maybe a U.S. bird in November... and now we’re hoping that a Christmas turkey will christen our new range. That’s my Christmas wish, in case you’re listening, Santa! Who ever thought “winterizing” could be so fascinating?
Next month, windows, floors and, soon... a kitchen!!