Counters and Tiles and Stairs, Oh My!

It has been a busy couple of weeks at our Connecticut Passive House. The folks from Ageis Solar finished up the installation of the PV solar system and in what felt like a ceremonial gesture, we were presented with a binder containing the manual. As soon as the town building inspector comes and the CL&P meter is swapped out with a two way meter, we can flip the big red toggle switch and will be in the solar electricity generating business. The system was tested for few minutes a couple of weeks ago and according to the meter we generated one kW hr of power (it read 000001).

The tile installer has finished the bathroom tile and it turned out beautifully. The vanities will go in tomorrow.

The kitchen counter tops were installed today. I love them. They are a wonderful swirly granite that really compliment the organic feel of the decor.

Our custom staircase is being assembled tomorrow. It was designed by Jamie Wolf of Wolfworks. It is a great centerpiece to the house. It has a real industrial feel with ash wood stringers and 4" thick open treads contrasting the metal railings and hardware.



Thick stair treads

Paul and I have been busy at the house every day. We designed and built custom closet interior for the boy's closets. We spent lots of time clear coating all of the wood trim. I wood filled every nail hole in every baseboard in the house. Tomorrow we cut and hang the pantry closet shelves.

The weather is starting to get a little chilly in Southern New England. We have been keeping the windows of the house open during the day while we work. The ERV is not turned on yet. Still too much construction dust. All of these photos were taken with natural light. The light fixtures go in next week. This is a bright sunny house and I anticipate that we will be toasty warm this winter. That statement is a demonstration of my faith in Passive House design. I guess we'll know soon enough.