More Progress....

Summer vacation is over and the kids are attending their new school.  Since we haven't moved yet, our morning routine consists of getting up early and driving the boys to the new house where they are picked up by the school bus to ride with our new neighborhood's children. That gives Paul and I, well mostly Paul, an early start on the day's projects like painting or working on his solar hot water system.

Painting the staircase stringers

Coatings

Since the envelope of a Passive house is tightly sealed, creating a healthy indoor air environment is very important.  We have focused on no or low VOC paints, stains, and clear coatings for the walls and wood work.  Paul found an interesting product from Vermont Natural Coatings for the wood doors and trim. http://www.vermontnaturalcoatings.com/ This low VOC product uses whey protein, a natural byproduct of cheese making and renewable resource, in place of chemicals commonly used in other finishes like benzene and formaldehyde. As Paul and I primed and painted the stringers and risers for the staircase with low VOC paints, we commented on how the paint smelled like Wrigley's spearmint gum. A far cry from the last time I painted an apartment in NYC in the 1990's and was practically asphyxiated by the fumes. I'm so glad that environmental health awareness is improving.

Power

Another milestone was reached two days ago when CL&P came to connect the power to the house.  We have been running power from a temporary box at the street but now we can plug a drill or a saw, even a light into an outlet in the house. Shortly the solar array will be completed and connected. A special 2 way meter will then be installed to  monitor our production and usage of electricity.

Kitchens and Bathrooms

The kitchen cabinets have been installed and the templating date for the stone counter tops is scheduled for next week. The bathroom tile is being installed and it looks beautiful.

I took another bold step today and scheduled an appointment for an estimate by a moving company and a potential moving date.  I'm not telling what the date is yet, Murphy's law.