Rockwool continuous instillation has begun on the Alley House. Rockwool prevents thermal bridging through the wood studs among other benefits. Sheetrocking on the interior is almost completed.
The student design build team is working diligently on the kitchen cabinetry to finish by the instillation date. David Calvin, a woodworker and cabinet maker has been working with us on the kitchen cabinetry for the Alley House and will continue to work with us on the built-ins for the flexible work/play space on the second […]
Progress on the Alley House is steadily moving forward. The HVAC and ERV have been installed and Tara Kelly, Product Marketing Manager from Greenheck and Tony Rossi, our consultant engineer did an inspection on the ERV. Insulation Netting The insulation sub-contractor, Go Green Insulation, Inc. also began installing the netting for the cellulose insulation […]
It was a great day to see positive results decreasing the air infiltration to the Alley House by using AeroBarrier. Nick Budd ran the show setting up the air test as faculty and students observed. To understand how this works, you need to imagine a balloon, where the air inside the balloon is at a […]
The framing of the Alley House is completed! A “Topping Out” celebration was held on Monday, December 19th. Originally a Scandinavian tradition, the practice of “topping out” a new building can be traced to the ancient rite of placing a tree atop a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in its construction. An […]
Framing continues. The rafters are installed, the roof is on, and the windows are in.
The Alley House Team has been working with Olympia Stone out of Zionsville, IN, to make final selections for the house’s quartz countertop. Quartz was selected for the unit’s countertops because of its sustainable qualities and ability to have unique colors and textures. Quartz is durable, easy to clean, manufactured with recycled content, and is […]
The Alley House uses a system of framing known as advance framing. This is a building technique used to optimize material usage by using 2×6 at 24” on center, compared to traditional framing of 2x4s at 16” on center. This makes better use of typical sheathing sizes resulting in less waste and labor. This larger […]
The Alley House uses an innovative slab manufactured by Legalett, known as a shallow frost, protected slab. The typical home slab in Indianapolis and areas with similar climates consists of concrete footers, and concrete foundation walls that must be buried up to two feet below the frost line, followed by a concrete slab. The foundation […]
We’ve broken ground for the Alley House! The student’s two-family house that’s being built for the 2023 Solar Decathlon’s Design + Build competition. During this project students and faculty look for innovative methods to build a high performance, passive house certified, zero energy home. One of the innovations implemented into the design is a frost […]