Stuffing

During the school year, I tend to be at Owl Manor every morning, giving the various members of our crew the opportunity to run questions by me and discuss anything that came up during the previous day’s work.  However, part of the recent “news blackout” here was the result of my temporary banishment from the site for two weeks of interior insulation.

Suiting up for insulation

In addition to the exterior SIP panels that enclose the envelope of the house, the (giant) wall cavities and ceilings needed to be filled ~ not only by choice, but also by decree of building code.  If you can think of a material used in modern-day insulation work, chances are, it’s been used somewhere inside Owl Manor.  Remember, the house was originally insulated with shredded paper ~ believed to be useful in 1914, but a century later, good only for feeding fire. (Shudder.)

Speaking of fire, working with closed-cell foam insulation requires major

Layers of closed-cell spray foam

attention to safety.  The co-mingling of two chemicals is what makes the foam expand ~ think about how that hair mousse grows when you shoot it into your palm.  The byproduct of this particular chemical reaction is heat.  Because the bays in our walls are so deep, for safety reasons, they would have to be filled in layers or at risk of

Sprayed attic ready for trimming

combustion.  Thus, the two-week project to insulate.

By now, the sight of an attic like this filled with what looks like oozing goo is not so unusual in the home-building world.  I remain fascinated by what it looks like after it is all trimmed up.  It looks like the giant cake-froster has come through and smoothed it all.

Foam is only one material you will find here.  Look to the ceiling in the master bedroom and you will also see batting for soundproofing of the playroom above, (which could someday become

Each color a different type of insulation in the master

the Darling Girl’s bedroom when she wants to move farther from her parents and her parents eschew whatever music she decides to blare) as well as mineral wool around the chimney for its fire-retardant qualities.

The newly insulated interior walls are giving definition to rooms that

Framing morphs into walls

have seemed rather borderless throughout these long months.  Certainly the whole house is quieter now, as sounds that used to travel from one end of the building to the other are muffled by these soft dividers.

Next up, another inspection and then we come to a rather major milestone:

All “frosted” with “buttercream”

drywall.  That’s when Owl Manor will really take shape again as a series of rooms, doorways and halls.   I am told we will be moving into fast-forward mode as soon as that happens.  I’m not certain what that will feel like after all this time.  But whatever new challenges that brings ~ I am sure the devil will be in the details and this space is rife with details ~ I am ready!