Nailed It!

Posted on July 21, 2025 by Ben Leinfelder

by Bianca Saliba De Assis

Monday

The second session of the build has officially begun! To get everyone familiar with the site and all the tools, we split into teams of two to build modules of the porch and deck. Nailing the joist hangers of the porch and deck so that the top of the joists would align with the top of the ledger board took a few tries.

After lunch, it started to rain, which we believed to be a sign of good luck for our project. Since the rain showed no signs of stopping and we wanted to keep working, we opted to do some work on the inside of the house. Some of us placed nail plates to protect the electrical wires, for when we begin to install the drywall. While others taped around the electrical wires to cover the holes they run through in order to create an air barrier.

Tuesday

Before we could begin to install the siding, we first had to attach the porch, deck, and porch roof to the house. This is only temporary, though, because they will all be detached when Casita de Vida is transported to its permanent location in Holyoke. For the moment, we staked provisional footers to support the porch and deck. Krish, David, and Brody (picture on the left) attached the posts that support the porch roof to the temporary footers.

Thank you to Ed, Kyle, and Noah from John Thomas Plumbing and Heating! Not only did they install our plumbing, but they also took time to teach us. We all got to shadow one of them and learn how to do some of the work they were doing.

Yukiho and I got to shadow Noah, who was installing the bathroom shower plumbing. He taught us about a shower valve. For example, we learned about the four connection points of a shower valve. The connection points on the sides are for hot and cold water supply, there is one for each. The top connection point is to bring water to the shower head. The bottom connection is to bring water to the tub filler. In the case of Casita de Vida, there is only a shower, so the connection point for the tub filler has a cap on it. We crimped the crimp rings to connect the PEX pipes to the fittings. After we finished that, we insulated the PEX pipes.

Wednesday

Jacob and I ran a 6-gauge 3-conductor electrical wire underneath the house for the range. One side went through the bottom plate in the kitchen, and the other through the bottom plate below the electrical panel. We also installed the bathroom fan and its ductwork. We screwed the joints together and wrapped foil tape around them to ensure a proper connection. The two of us cut a 4-inch hole for where the bathroom fan would vent outside the house. This required precise measurements so that the hole would not interfere with the strapping on the outside.

Thursday

Yukiho and Eren (left picture) began assembling a door for the front gable end of the house, which will give access to the attic when the house is finished. Anna (right picture) continued nailing the strapping up to prepare for the installation of our siding.

After Brody, Anna, and David finished putting up the strapping all around the house, they started installing pieces of Cor-A-Vent at the front of the house. Then they started placing the boards of our board and batten siding around the window at the front of the house.

Friday

David (pictured on the left) painted the edges of the frieze boards while Jacob (pictured on the right) painted the drip caps to prepare them for installation.

Jacob and I used a Multimeter to conduct a continuity test on all the electrical wires of the house. Our results showed that all wires had continuity and that none of them had breaks.

After that, we joined Krish and David to help staple Insulweb netting to the studs ahead of our insulation, which will be installed next week.

Truss the Process

Posted on June 16, 2025 by Ben Leinfelder

by Ava Rhodes

On Monday, we set out to begin the interior wall framing, starting with the staircase, then moving on to the bathroom, bedroom closet, and finally the kitchen and entry wall. While six of us tackled the framing, a few others went up onto the roof to install Advantech ceiling planks. We did this so that when it came time to install the roof trusses, we’d have a safe surface to walk on.

Tuesday brought rain, but we pushed through and finished the interior wall framing. While some of us completed the final wall sections, others began working on the window bucks to frame out the rough openings for the windows.

On Wednesday, the weather cleared up and we started the taping process for the weather barrier. Last week, a SIGA representative visited the job site to demonstrate best practices for installing their weather barrier and tape products. Using these new skills, we attached the weather barrier to the exterior wall sheathing. The installation followed a lapping technique, starting from the bottom of the wall and working upward to ensure the tape layers shed water properly. The barrier is water resistant from the outside but vapor open, allowing the walls to dry. We wrapped the entire exterior envelope, then carefully cut the openings for the windows and doors.

Thursday was a day to remember as we installed the roof trusses. Ben had thoughtfully mapped out a safe process for the install. We formed an assembly line: two people on the ground moved the trusses to the base of the scaffolding, two on the scaffolding lifted each truss up to the platform, then three people raised them to the roof. Ben, Caroline, and Ivy guided each truss into position and secured it temporarily with a 2×4 brace on either side. This process continued until all trusses were in place. We then began blocking between the trusses to ensure consistent spacing and removal of the temporary braces. While some of us worked on blocking, others installed the 40-foot LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) planks along both long sides of the house. These LVLs were lifted to the roof and fastened to the base of the trusses, tying the trusses together and providing critical support for the eventual crane lift of the roof envelope.

Friday was dedicated to tying up loose ends. We patched up punctures in the weather barrier caused by temporary roof supports, finished installing Advantech on top of the interior walls to provide backing for future drywall, wrapped up truss blocking, and completed taping around the window openings.

This week marked a major milestone: the installation of the roof trusses. It felt monumental, transforming the structure from a box into a gable-roofed home seemingly overnight. It was incredibly fulfilling to be part of this effort with such a skilled and dedicated group. I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished together.

CNS Advisory Board visits the site

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Ben Leinfelder

by Natalia Smiarowski

On Friday, the College of Natural Sciences Advisory Board came to the site and were able to ask questions about the project and speak to us about the UMass DesignBuild Program. We presented renders from the design stage of the project, showed our scale model of what the house will look like when complete and brought out the full construction document set for them to leaf through (35+ pages). During the board visit, we spoke with the members of the board about our experiences in the program during the construction and design process. It was an enthusiastic group of knowledgeable, inquisitive people and they showed genuine interest in what we were building.

*The CNS advisory board (yes, with matching sunglasses)*

Later on Friday, we finished sheathing the house and installed the second half of the ceiling trusses, tying all the exterior double stud walls together. We were also able to begin building our interior walls and the bucks for our window rough openings.

SIGA Workshop

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Ben Leinfelder

by Natalia Smiarowski

On Thursday we spent half our day with Marc from SIGA. He was extremely helpful in his explanation on the different tapes and membranes we will be using to protect the house from the weather as well as air seal the living space. With Marc’s instruction we installed the Majvest 500 SA membrane and taped our window mock-up with Rissan, Wigluv and Fentrim tapes! Each of us was able to participate in the steps on how to lap to the weather around a window or door opening. Although it was the hottest day yet, much was learned, and progress was made.

*Getting an into to SIGA’s self-adhered exterior membrane*

*A big thank you to Marc – and SIGA – for coming out to lead a highly informative and productive workshop!*

Earlier in the week…

On Monday we had our ceiling and roof trusses delivered from UFP Site Built. We were able to tie together our south and north walls, ensuring structural stability. By the end of the day, we were able to place half our ceiling trusses onto the walls, securing them in place. However, before we were able to do so, we had to install a strip of Intello Smart Membrane to connect the interior and exterior air barriers.

*Adding Intello to ensure air barrier continuity from exterior to interior*

We spent the second half of the day installing CDX plywood to sheath the exterior walls. Each panel was fastened to studs and blocking, with the perimeter on a tight 4” on-center spacing and the 8” on-center. Once the sheathing went up you could see the inside of the home really beginning to come together. We continued sheathing into the rest of the week, with the house fully sheathed by Friday!

*Ceiling trusses installed and walls [mostly] sheathed*

Wall Week!

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Ben Leinfelder

by Marvelous Akande

This week was all about the wall!

Monday was Memorial Day, so the group did not meet up for the day.

On Tuesday, we had our floor inspected. Our third-party inspector from PFS TECO came to examine our work from last week to make sure we had followed the stamped plans and relevant building codes. This is part of the program’s recent MA certification as a manufactured building producer that allows our classmates to perform finish work in the second half of the summer before delivering the house to Holyoke. The inspector was very thorough and we made a few adjustments to reinforce our 3-ply girders with additional fasteners based on their feedback. Right after, we put up our first set of walls on the north side of the house and by the end of the day, most of the exterior walls were up!

*Raising our first wall in manageable sections*

Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to framing more exterior walls. Since we are building a double-stud wall system, the process takes a bit longer; we are building twice as many walls! We worked steadily both days to get everything plumbed, squared, level and straight before securing with temporary bracing.

*Carl observing the day’s progress on his his way home*

*Lily and Caroline plumbing an interior wall*

On Friday, we wrapped up as much wall work as possible. We focused on adding blocking in preparation for sheathing and started installing the double top plates to tie sections together and prepare for the ceiling trusses – donated by UFP Site Built – to come next. If you look at the image below, you’ll also notice an open section where the straw bale panels – donated by Rare Forms in Easthampton – will be installed next.