Our construction journey encountered an unexpected ‘a snow day in July’—thanks to a rainy Monday, as coined by Professor Fiocchi. However, we hit the ground running on Tuesday to make up for lost time. This week was all about strapping—hidden strips of wood (also known as furring strips) that will soon support the finish siding, transforming our framework into a real house. Simultaneously, our team continued with electrical rough-ins to prepare for an upcoming inspection.

Despite a shortened week due to the 4th of July holiday, our team made every movement count. This week, we navigated the complexities of insulation, weather barriers, and electrical layouts.

Returning to the site after the long weekend, we encountered an unfortunate situation. The plastic covering on the barnacle had come loose in the wind and rain, resulting in water infiltration. Water entered not only into the polyiso insulation boards, but also between the foil covered insulation and the water resistant ZIP sheathing. The shady location of the barnacle meant that there was no opportunity for the insulation to dry. We instead addressed this issue by:

1. Removing the insulation
2. Letting it dry out in the sun
3. Taping up screw holes from the initial polyiso install in the ZIP Board
4. Reattaching the dried insulation

Over the past few weeks, the weather has been keeping us on our toes. From gentle drizzles to torrential downpours, from crisp mornings to sun-drenched afternoons, our team has experienced the full gamut of New England summer weather. The diverse range of conditions has helped illustrate the importance of our high-performance design choices—choices that ensure interior comfort while minimizing energy consumption in this climate.

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.