Thanks I hope its an efficient house. Apologies for not compressing pictures. To say this happened rather fast would be an understatement. On a monday my wife agreed the floor plan I had been working on would be good. So tuesday a friend introduced me to Dale Miller who builds houses and is expeirenced with foam block/concrete walls. He looks at my basic floor plan quizzes me, yes I have a road in, yes I have water and electric, yes I have the pad for the house built. So he came by for a look the next day, explains he's finishing up where there at, and that it's so muddy the people can't even get a road built in to there next project. He talked to the owner that was next in line, then on thursday told me they could start on monday! Most of the true details I strategically approved. Ok -- I just said yes to what the builder recommended. He did the structure, doors windows and roof. Logix block, 12" width, 6" of concrete inside. 2' wide footer, 1' deep. Then start up with the block. Having the block start well below the floor keeps the frost from penetrating through a foundation and under the floor. 5-6" concrete floor. My closet is the scaredy room, concrete walls and roof. Steel door. Some drain tiles under floor, drain tiles all the way around foundation. No windows over 3' wide, up to that can just be blocked out with plastic forms that become part of the structure to bolt windows and doors to. They had a bracing system that they screwed to the floor then anchored to the wall. this system also supported a catwalk. On windows, shingles, doors, and garage doors he recommended specific brands that "Have been in some of our houses about 25 years and haven't had any trouble". Brettski I believe you know more about the roof insulation than I do. It was applied to the underside of the roof 6"+ thick. Where the walls and roof meet they were very careful to seal it well. The logic behind this is that its easier to insulate against the outdoor temperature than the heat build up inside a normal attic. Add to this that the house is sealed up like a cooler. The outside is Nova brick. 2500 sq ft living plus roughly 200 sq ft of wall counted by the appraiser as living area because they measure the outside of the 12" thick walls.
