Welcome to week 2 of the build, the first full week of work. At the end of last week, the team successfully erected the first wall, setting the stage for construction of more exterior walls on Monday.

While the rest of us were hammering away, team member Diana took a few days off to get married. Congratulations Diana!

Framing the walls (donated by rk Miles) begins by creating a layout of dimensional lumber, 2 x 6s in our case, on the floor platform. Here, the group can easily measure, locate, and fasten together the various framing elements of the light frame construction. A brief vocab lesson on wall framing (layout terms may differ, the following list is what our team has been using): 

• Plates: horizontal pieces of wood 
  • Bottom plate: spans the entire wall at the bottom of the wall
  • Top plate: ditto, but on top
  • Sill plate: located where the the window sill will be
  • Header: at the top of window or door
• Studs: the vertical members that establish the wall’s height- various types!
  • Trimmer: small studs between the header and top plate
  • Common: full length studs (bottom to top plate) 
  • Jack: studs that spas bottom plate to header
  • Cripple: smaller studs between bottom plate and sill
• Blocking: smaller horizontal pieces that go between studs to maintain the proper distance

Now that everyone is an expert on wall framing, you can understand the need to check and double-check measurements, which means making decisions on elements of the home interior. Our team found kitchen appliances in order to determine the exact window location in the kitchen. To maximize natural lighting, we chose to place a window above the sink. After nailing together the wall assemblies, we used adhesive and nails to adhere the ZIP sheathing system (donated by rk Miles) . Four of the eight total walls were sheathed flat on the deck; the others were sheathed after being raised due to the added weight of the panels. The additional step of adhering these panels with construction adhesive (which wears rather than washes off your hands– learned the hard way) is taken so that the Paper House will be able to withstand the forces of being lifted and transported to its final location in Holyoke —- a key for modular construction transportation. 

Once a wall is lifted, it needs to be braced in place to make sure it is “plumb,” or completely vertical. This step is key to make sure that we have straight, even walls, which will not only be important for aesthetics and ease of drywalling, but also for the stability of the wall over time. 

By Wednesday, all the exterior walls were lifted, plumbed, and braced—ready for the next step of adding sheathing and air sealing tape. As the ZIP System is our primary air barrier, this proprietary tape is key to covering all seams and gaps where air could infiltrate or exfiltrate. This includes not only seams between panels but connections with window and door openings. Taping is a time intensive procedure that entails adhering, squeegeeing, and pressure rolling the tape. Aided by ladders and staging, the tape team was able to seal every possible air leakage point! A continuous airtight barrier is key to the building envelope’s passive strategy of controlling air leakage and a successful high performance design.

Interior walls started going up on Thursday, including the bathroom, bedroom walls, closets in each bedroom, and the entryway. Friday saw the start of the rafter assembly for the barnacle (see the drawing below for reference) and interior wall framing completed. The Paper House is really taking shape! 

In regards to our construction experience, our group has a wide range of skill levels. Nonetheless, each member plays a valuable role in the building process. Everyone is learning a lot! Thank you to the team for braving the weather and working swiftly to get this house up. Many thanks to Kent and Carl, our intrepid captains who guide us in the build and answer our many many questions.

We also would like to thank the many visitors we’ve had throughout the Build– from professors, friends, alums of the program, and curious neighbors. Discussing this project is part of the fun, and we’re so glad to share it with you! 

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