INSULATION DONE NEW HOUSE UPDATE

Here's the latest update.  Last week they completed the insulation of the exterior walls or what they call the "thermal envelope" of the house.

Here is the house.  The red lines are that envelope.  They are all the exterior walls and the parts of the house that will be 'conditioned' with a/c and heat.

Here are some photos:

This is the foyer, with the temporary front door.  You can see through the walls to the study and all of the exterior portions that are insulated.  The side on the left is the kitchen wall (where the sink will be) that is the exterior of the front porch.

Here is the inside wall of the garage.  They don't insulate the exterior walls of the garage because you don't want hot car engines holding in and trapping heat.  Plus the space is not conditioned so there would be no way to pull humidity from it, etc.  It's easier to seal the inside away from that.

This is the wall to the outside porch.  It's fully insulated and the doors/windows are double paned and filled with argon gas to keep them as insulated as much as possible.  Since it will be screened in, it will naturally be a little warmer in the Winter and a little cooler in the Summer.

The master bedroom.  We have three exterior walls here.  Well, the one on the right side of the photo is the portion of the screened porch wall.  Again, windows here are double paned, low-e, and insulated.

Here is the pantry, the insulated wall is the one to the garage.  You can also see the laundry room which is on the back outside wall.

This is the dining room and here you can see into the attic where the entire underside of the roof decking is also spray foam insulated.

Here is a better picture of that.  There is also radiant barrier decking.  They say the attic space should be surprisingly cool in Summer and warm in Winter.

This is the garage attic access, you can see the end of the house up there, so that keeps the two attic spaces separated.  Often, a house will have all this insulation on walls down below, but then, in the attic, it's all one space from one end to the other.  Not here.  By closing this off, it ensures that no heat or cool air leaks into the other attic space above the living ares.

Another detail from our architectural plans regarding the insulation on the exterior walls and the roof.

This is a closeup of the spray foam closed cell insulation that they use throughout.

From the builder, here's an explanation that goes into a little more detail about how they try to build such an energy efficient home:

Building a “tight” home is easier said than done, but with some forethought and know-how it’s completely doable. The reward for the effort is a home with incredible efficiency. As a homeowner, this translates to significant energy savings and lower utility bills. So how do we build a tight home? By controlling the free flow of air. This is accomplished by using numerous air-sealing techniques, including the following:

1. Ladder tees at intersections between an adjoining internal wall and an external wall, in “T” fashion. This technique allows foam insulation to backfill what would otherwise remain an empty cavity if conventional building practices were used.
2. California corners are built at external wall corners. Similar to ladder tees, this technique allows foam insulation into an otherwise inaccessible space.
3. Polycell foam insulation is used around windows, exterior toe plates, and exterior doors. Micro gaps in these places allow unwanted air leakage. By sealing them with insulating foam, air exchange is stopped.
4. Flashing tape adheres to a window opening’s head, jam, and sill. This technique helps to seal windows against weather and external air infiltration.
5. Insulation is used to fill all external walls to complete the thermal envelope, keeping climatized air in and seasonal air out. 
6. Insulated headers are built using R3 foam sheathing instead of plywood spacers. This technique minimizes heat exchange with ambient temperatures outside.

The next thing done will be one of the most exciting parts to see since the exterior painting.

Here's a clue:

We can't wait to see it!