Northfield, page 1
Introduction
| 9/2/99 - 12/22/99 |
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This is the story about building my house in Northfield, Massachusetts. The main focus will be on the masonry stove which
my dear friend, Brian Smith built. As you will see, it's a remarkable story and the stove a work of art. To put it in context,
I'm also including a little bit about the house in which it resides. I designed the house to be as energy efficient as I could
make it without going completely overboard. There were many basic and simple ways to do this: facing the house south
toward the sun, maximizing the windows in the south side of the house and minimizing the windows on the north side. The
house was framed at 24" o.c. with 2x6 walls and 1/2" solid insulation over the inside before putting up the sheetrock. Every
seam was taped and every joint was caulked (wall plates to deck, deck to wall, etc.). The house was pressure tested to
ensure that there was no leakage. A ground-source heat pump was installed to both heat and cool the house in addition to
the masonry stove to be used for heat...
my dear friend, Brian Smith built. As you will see, it's a remarkable story and the stove a work of art. To put it in context,
I'm also including a little bit about the house in which it resides. I designed the house to be as energy efficient as I could
make it without going completely overboard. There were many basic and simple ways to do this: facing the house south
toward the sun, maximizing the windows in the south side of the house and minimizing the windows on the north side. The
house was framed at 24" o.c. with 2x6 walls and 1/2" solid insulation over the inside before putting up the sheetrock. Every
seam was taped and every joint was caulked (wall plates to deck, deck to wall, etc.). The house was pressure tested to
ensure that there was no leakage. A ground-source heat pump was installed to both heat and cool the house in addition to
the masonry stove to be used for heat...
| 9/2/99 which will curve off to the right down there... |
| 9/15/99 Looking from the southwest at the house site. We're cutting into the right side of that little mound there... |
| 9/15/99 Firewood from clearing. That's nice straight-grained oak... |
| 9/15/99 Robin sitting in front of more firewood... |
| 9/20/99 In order to get a building permit, you have to show you have potable water so the well gets drilled first |
| 9/25/99 The well... 440 feet deep... |
| 10/1/99 Looking east from the well to the house site... |
| 10/13/99 Looking from the southwest. Robin standing on the mound that will be behind the house. |
| 10/15/99 Standing in the road looking at the bottom of the driveway... |
| 11/5/99 Looking west. Excavator on the hump, cutting down in front for the house. |
| 11/5/99 Standing in the road looking at the bottom of the driveway... |
| 11/5/99 Looking back down the driveway to the road |
| 11/5/99 Looking up the driveway from about the same spot as previous |
| 11/5/99 Looking up the driveway from the previous curve toward the house clearing |
| 11/6/99 Excavating for the house. |
| 11/6/99 Taking it from one side and dumping it on the other. Notice the "dirt" he's digging - it's all just broken rock! |
| 11/6/99 Doug Edson, the boss, checking things while Marlowe chews at the ledge with the excavator. |
| 11/6/99 Scratching at the ledge with the excavator, crunching out pieces of rock... |
| 11/6/99 Ledge. The excavator breaks it up and the bulldozer pushes the pieces around. Hard digging... |
| 11/6/99 Looking from the east. |
| 11/6/99 Looking from the west |
| 11/6/99 Ledge... |
| 11/8/99 Robin holding the front loader down... |
| 11/8/99 Digging the trench for the foundation wall. |
| 11/8/99 The trench in ledge... |
| 11/8/99 More trench. That's me walking toward the camera |
| 11/8/99 More trench. Smoke from chewing at the ledge with the excavator |
| 11/8/99 Doug checking progress... |
| 11/8/99 Chris & Doug checking progress... "Everything OK, Doug?" "Yup." |
| 11/9/99 Forming for the footings |
| 11/9/99 Pouring the footings. That's the south wall looking west... |
| 11/9/99 West wall looking north |
| 11/9/99 South wall looking east |
| 11/9/99 North wall looking east |
| 11/9/99 Deer tracks... |
| 11/10/99 Pouring foundation walls, the north wall We're doing a walk-out basement |
| 11/10/99 In order to get the cement truck high enough to pour down into the forms for the north wall, we had to fill behind the house more |
| 11/10/99 This is the north side of the hump behind the house... |
| 11/10/99 |
| <-- 11/15/99 All done. The big concrete pad in the middle is the footing for the fireplace. The house is oriented directly south, the north wall being the tall wall in back. 12/9/99 --> This is our stockpile of bricks that we will be using for the fireplace... |
| 12/9/99 Utility trench beside the driveway. Electrical and 6 phone lines in conduit |
| 12/9/99 Building the leach field for the septic system... |
| 12/14/99 overgrown with weeds soon... |
| 12/14/99 A retaining wall off the northeast corner of the house |
| 12/16/99 Backfilling the foundation. Septic tank in foreground. Basement slab poured |
| 12/22/99 Robin modeling the retaining wall. She looks chilly... |
| 12/22/99 Everything covered up and backfilled |
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| I really liked that bumper sticker. I'll have to try and find another one. "I used to care, but things have changed" (Bob Dylan) |