Tony Fallon Architecture

A new portion of the codes encourages Continuous Insulation.  Building with 2x wood framing leaves us with thermal bridges through our insulation to the tune of 25% for the walls or roofs.  Continuous insulation seeks to put a continuous blanket of insulation over the framing and thus gain a constant barrier to the elements.  Picture yourself with a nice warm blanket over all of you and one that covers only 75% at a cold, windy football game.

Achieving this is a bit of a challenge.  Thermally and with regards to moisture management, it is best to add a layer of foam on the exterior of the building.  This is less than optimal with regards to structure as often one winds up with the sheathing, which provides resistance to wracking, separated from the framing.  My ideal scenario is to have a double row of studs and rafters with cellulose blown into the cavity.  I like R.40 for the Walls and R.60 for the Roofs which translates into cavities of 12 inches and 18 inches respectively.  With one row of studs for the outside sheathing and another row of studs for the inside finish board separated by some number of inches, staggering makes it even better, we gain our continuous insulation while keeping the sheathing and the structural framing in direct contact with each other.  I like cellulose a lot since it is highly recycled, gains insulation capacities as the temperatures get to be colder, fills around all pipes and wires, seals against air infiltration very nicely, and is quite quiet.  If you fill the cavities at 3.5 pounds per cubic foot you don't have to worry about settling.  Do stay away from Cellulose Insulation with Ammonium Sulfate.  Do select Cellulose Insulation treated with Borate instead like National Fiber.  

Alternatively, and less ideally then the all cellulose, if someone is seeking to use a thinner wall, I like using 2x4 studs for the walls and then using Dow's Thermax on the inside.  This brings the wall thickness to 6 1/2 inches and will allow for using windows and doors that come from the factory with standard extension jambs.  This allows for the sheathing again to be directly attached to the wood framing but has the foam on the inboard.  I would not tape joints of the Thermax and rather rely on using a 1 perm paint on the finish board.  It is less than ideal as far as moisture management since foam can handle the occurrence of dew better than cellulose, however as long as you don't tape the joints of the thermax, the dew is handled in both walls in the cellulose identically and so is standard accepted practice.  National Fiber has many many installations over the years of this approach that have worked well.

I would suggest also in this alternative scenario to have 2 inches of Dow Thermax on the underside of the rafters.   I suggest Dow Thermax as it both has a radiant barrier with a shiny foil surface which contributes another form of insulation, radiant, in addition to the conduction barrier offered by cellulose.  Additionally Thermax is the only foam which has some acceptance left exposed to finish spaces depending on the situation and governing regulations.  In other words it is safer in the event of fire.  Most foam has to be covered by a 15 minute thermal barrier which can be a particular bother in an occasionally occupied attic or in a basement.

The other reason that I mention insulating the bottom of the rafters is that the new thinking on insulating a home is to do a continuous layer of protective insulation at the full perimeter of the home as you look at it straight ahead, in addition to what we are used to, as you look at it down from the sky.  IE it is now recommended that you insulate under the slab, the basement walls, and the slope of the roof whether the space under the slope is occupied or not.  This provides for a number of advantages.  Wrapping at the perimeter of the top and bottom of the building helps keep down the incidence of mold and mildew by pushing the occurrence of dew and dampness to the exterior.  Also now all of the heating and cooling ducts and pipes are in conditioned space and the incidence of condensation is much lower.  Sometimes with ducts in attics condensation can be so much that ceilings get damaged from the descending water.

Insulating the Foundation Wall is a challenge from both the standpoint of water and fire safety.  Most of the ICF systems require Gypsum Wallboard on the inside to protect occupants from foam.  Gypsum Wallboard in a Basement provides a lot food for mold.  One could use Georgia Pacific Dense Armor over a standard ICF, but please know that this is a fiberglass coated product and installation can lead to the same irritation topic that comes up with fiberglass insulation.  Also, going through the expense of finishing a basement when someone is not ready to seems other than optimal.  The foam industry has come up with some spray on things that are sometimes accepted, but I have really only found one that seems to me to meet code, Ure-k by International Cellulose.  This is a tricky thing to navigate as some of "what everyone is doing" is not code compliant when you look at how the code reads with regards to occupied space.   

On the least expensive side of insulating a basement wall continuously, one can just friction fit some Dow Thermax between the basement slab and the bottom of the framing covering a standard concrete foundation wall.  Above the top of the concrete one can then fill in between the framing with pieces of Thermax.  Thermax is also available in a white finish if you don't want to have the shiny shimmery look in your basement.  I would tape the seems for this application.  I did this in my own basement and it made a big difference from the original uninsulated concrete wall.  The two other options I like is an ICF that is made with cellulose and cement called Durisol.  With this ICF, there is no need to protect occupants from the ICF foam as there is none.  The other system that I like even more is Thermomass.  With Thermomass, there is a layer of foam, 2 to 4 inches and I recommend 4 inches, placed in the middle of a standard form.  The foam is pierced with a bed of nails look with polypropylene reinforcing bars that provide continuity between the two wythes of concrete on either side of the foam.  Rebar and a more wet mix are placed on either side of the foam.  The New England Rep for Thermomass, Dennis Purinton, 860 653 6664, is a great guy, has 20 years of experience as a foundation installer, and will show up on site to assist vendors just getting started with their first pours.  The Thermomass System allows for all the usual advantages concrete brings of stable sturdy stuff at the ground and in the basement with no concerns for lawnmowers bumping or water or moisture degrading the material. 

Under the slab I also recommend 4 inches of extruded polystyrene foam like Dow Styrafoam.  The thing that is very nice about the Thermomass System is that this under slab foam can be brought through the interior wythe of concrete to touch the foam in the middle of the wall gaining continuity where there is usually a big thermal bridge.  This takes some structural creativity with steel, but Thermomass has worked this out.

There is a new development that is just coming to market manufactured by Bradford Industries, Inc. of Lowell, Massachusetts that will provide protection far in excess of the 15 minute thermal barrier required to cover foam plastic insulation.  The contact there is Bob Pliskin at 978.459.4100 Extension 122.  This product, a fabric called PyroTarp-S, is made by their PyroTarp Division.  PyroTarp-S can be tacked onto the rafters whose cavities are sprayed with foam fully or partially.  It can also be tacked to the ribs of a foam ICF and cover the foam in the basement.  This fabric that is just out of testing, has a 4 hour rating, is tough tough stuff, and is going to be marketed for under 15 dollars per yard.  This is an important development as I have had to disapprove a number of submittals for products to be sprayed directly over the foam that did not meet the code.  The often used "flash and batt" where 2 inches or so of sprayed closed cell polystyrene is placed on the bottom of a roof deck and then the balance of the rafter cavity below this foam is filled with fiberglass batt or other insulation does not meet code for an attic with storage, since the batts do not provide a 15 minute thermal barrier.  PyroTarp's new product will solve this recent head scratching challenge of providing the 15 minute thermal barrier over foam in areas that we would rather not run 1/2 inch gypsum wallboard or 1/2 inch board sheathing.

With all this it is important to have ventilation, water barriers, and vapor barriers in the right place but that is beyond what I can get into for this article.  One thing to note on this is that the old standard of leaving the paper face of fiberglass insulation exposed to a basement or storage attic is really not a good idea.  The paper is adhered with Asphaltic Emulsion and so is quite flammable.  It is supposed to be likewise covered with gypsum wallboard or some other type of barrier.  Thermally and dew wise it is other than optimal to have the paper face exposed as well.

I hope you enjoy this article on continuous insulation as we all seek to keep the elements managed in our buildings and homes, continuously.

Some years ago we removed all of the insulation in our cape due to some mold challenges brought on by an attic fan.  As long as we were at it, we put in a lot of cellulose insulation and now pay less in heat and also benefit from being rid of the ice dam & icicle damages.  This added benefit was gained because we achieved a Uniform Roof Temperature.  Ice dams and icicles occur when snow melts from something other than a warm day or sunshine with everything moving all the way to the ground once it starts moving down the roof.  When the snow is melting from heat from the house, it turns back to ice when it hits the cold eave that is not heated since it overhangs the house.  Ice Dams damage interior finishes since the ice creeps back up under the shingles and icicles are dangerous to those on walkways below.

Try for 18 inches of cellulose on the flat and dense pack with proper vents at the sloped ceilings.
Or R.40 at walls and R.60 at Roof.

Tony Fallon Architecture is finishing the construction drawings for rebuilding a home on the site of one that burned in Strafford, New Hampshire.  The family of 8 has been living in Rochester with relatives and had a long negotiating process with the insurers of over a year.  Tony Fallon has donated the design of a new home which is larger than the original and utilizes some of the original foundation.  It has been a fun process with the lively and joyful kids careening around and hanging on when it was time to go.

Repurposing and Green are pretty good ideas and I welcome the flow of fondness to these arenas.  Architects in general are often working with existing structrures and giving them new life.  My first project was an existing ocean front cottage that was replaced.  That was what the customer came to me with as a directive and I suggested that instead we try to work with the existing and add on.  We did go down that road but in the end replace the existing and kept some of the same themes and features in the new home.  Working with other firms I worked on the conversion of the old Union Trust Buildling in Pittsburgh to become 2 Mellon Bank Center as well as taking the entire city block in Philadelphia that had been vacant for a long time and converted it to the Mellon Independence center.  I worked on a geothermal house in 2003 long before the genesis of the green good movement.

That which was the most rewarding has been joining in the saving of the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel.  I sat on a folding chair for a few hours and did a pen and ink sketch that was used to print up greeting cards for sale to raise funds for the hotel.  I also wrote a couple of letters to the editor and set up one of the annual AIA awards banquets to honor the Wentworth by the Sea.  In the end the hotel was kept and now it is brimming with business and gained the Marriott Hotel of the Year award last year for the hightest occupancy rate and the best food.  There has been a book written by Dennis Robinson on the Wentworth by the Sea and the only sketch of the dozens made from modern times that made the book was my sketch and it landed opposite the table of contents.

A long start to following up on a suggestion from one of my daughters about offering to assist people with repurposing their homes.  It is something that Architects can well assist with as they delve deep into the depths of the core of your home and assist you with bringing it forward with an entirely new genesis.  We base this on your needs, wants, and constraints and get beyond preformed partial solutions back to raw data.  Then we come forward with you to achieve common solutions that spring from the needs, wants, and constraints of those involved.  And always we come up with options that you weren't thinking about.  A recent one was the repurposing of a home that the organizers of http://lakesidelivingexpo.com had me do.  I wrote about this a bit earlier.  They deal with this type of thing a lot and were amazed about how quickly I gleaned the basics of what they wanted and how much farther I brought the ideas to an well spirited solution in the same fast fashion.

Yeah I can do that repurposing of your home thing with you and I know you'll like it.

I met with Blair and Suzette Anthony, organizers of The Lakeside Living Expo, last Wednesday about recreating their Summer Home at Weirs Beach.  It is a classic old two story with large overhangs and some gracious brackets holding up a roof over a the Avenue Entry.  The general setting is a tightly packed neighborhood of older homes within walking distance of the boardwalk and train station at Weirs Beach.  Blair has been coming to this home since he was nine.  Memories aplenty.  We opened up the Living Room to the porch, redid the Kitchen, isolated the bathroom from the Kitchen, and combined the bedrooms with the upper porch opening them up to direct lake views.  A Pantry was added and the Kitchen was opened to the Lake.  New colors were picked for the outside and a dressing area with walk in closet was added to the Master Bedroom.  "10 out of 10," both Blair and Suzette exclaimed.  "We wouldn't have thought of that and don't know how you knew what we wanted."  Good stuff.

I saw a couple from our church at the Lakeside Living Expo two weeks ago.  This morning I met them and delivered the construction drawings.  The family has two lakefront homes adjacent to each other.  One had been owned by someone else and had a right of way through their lot.  When this small camp that was closer to the water became available 5 years ago, they purchased it and rented it out.  The plan is now to rebuild on the existing footprint for the couple's main smaller home.  The larger home up the hill will be for guests and other family members as well as large holiday functions.  The bee was in the bonnet to get this out and it was a fun quick design project.  This Lakefront Raised Cape will allow for the family to enjoy the proximity to the lake with views and breezes even more.

Thanks Blair and Suzette for a great show!  I have just returned from my first appointment coming out of the expo and have another tomorrow afternoon. 

I tried a couple of different things with the booth at the Lakeside Living Expo and wound up with a projector showing a looped display of three dimensional digital models of a variety of homes that I have designed.  I eventually figured out to keep the screen of the laptop dark so there was only one screen to look at.  Combined with the slide show was a table with take away summary sheets of some of the waterfront homes that I have designed and 5 boards on easels.  For the most part the food gift was pecans but on Sunday I brought some watermelon which was a hit, especially with some children.  There was a lot of positive commentary for the work and the presentation.  One of my favorites came from one of the people from the booth beside me at Bryant Paving.  They commented about not only how much they liked my work but how different all of the projects looked.  I strive to facilitate what the owners are after as opposed to fitting them into one of my pigeon holes.  My son Patrick picked out the winner of the $60 dollar gift certificate to the Cava Tapas Bar in Portsmouth that I helped layout and is in a building that I designed.  www.cavatapasandwinebar.com/       

Tony Fallon Architecture designed two additions to the Studley Home in Rochester, New Hampshire.  The second addition was drawn in 2004 and the owner has just announced they are going ahead with constructing the second addition.  The origninal Gambrel large landmark home was originally added onto with a 12 room addition in keeping with the gambrel motif.  This next addition carries on the same form with 14 more rooms and a large Octagon shaped gathering room.  The first addition was a "background" move.  This next addition ties it all together into a striking overall facility.

Tony Fallon Architecture is returning to the Lakeside Living Expo on July 16,17, & 18th.  This high profile event at Gunstock Ski Area in Gilford, New Hampshire is an exhibition rich in resources for those with lake homes and the rest of us who hope to hear the loons at night.  Please see     http://www.lakesidelivingexpo.com Hope to meet you!

This is the first anniversary of Tony Fallon being the minutes taker for the New Hampshire Commercial Board of Realtors monthly Seacoast Marketing Session at Pease Tradeport.  At these meetings, 30 or so commercial brokers and affiliated businesspeople get together and exchange leads and resources to help achieve deals.  The meetings occur on the third Friday of each month at Pease Tradeport in the Third Floor conference room at One New Hampshire Avenue from 8:00 to 10:00.  A genuine breakfast is usually provided and most of the first half hour is devoted to chit chat and eating.  The business begins just a bit before 8:30 and includes three rounds of information sharing.  The first is the cash board where people share pictures of investors that they have seeking particular investment types, locations, and values.  The second round is listings where brokers tell of listings that they are just bringing to market or for some other reason would like to hilight.  The last round is haves and wants where brokers can discuss any situation they wish.  At each round the broker is limited to two topics.  Affiliates like me are allowed a brief pitch at each round and may pass around brochures.  NHCIBOR is interested in more commercial brokers attending these sessions, so please join in.  I email the minutes to those who have attended in the past and within a couple of weeks they are posted on the http://nhcibor.com website.  David Choate of Grubb & Ellis Coldstream Commercial Brokers, 603-661-5500, chairs the meeting and is the person to contact if you are interested in sponsoring the breakfast.  Breakfast Sponsors are able to give a startoff sales pitch of 5 minutes or so.

There is a similar marketing session in Manchester on the Fourth Wednesday of each month at the Greater Manchester Nashua Board of Realtors Conference Room at 166 South River Road in Bedford, New Hampshire.  This is also NHCIBOR sponsored and is entitled the Statewide Marketing Session.   Another similar meeting is sponsored by MCAR at 8:30  in Portland, Maine at the AAA building on Marginal Way in the council of government's offices.  These three meetings are open to all.  Of course they would like people to eventually to sign up as members or affiliate members.