Real Work

Now some real work is getting done. You can hopefully see that the roof is totally done, the glass block windows are done, the brick has started and we are getting our retaining walls done in the back. We originally were going to use retaining wall block, but Kristi wanted to use boulders because she liked to look better. It cuts down on the gardening area, but we will still have some room. Oh, and we have started insulating, the blue stuff between the studs is a spray in foam that expands, so as the insulators spray it in, it fills all the small voids and cracks. It is an excellent insulator for both temperature and noise. We are building our home to energy star standards, so when it is built (according to our energy inspector) it will be 36% more energy efficient that a home built to the standard building codes. Overall is has been an added cost of about $4,000; however, we qualify federal tax credits and rebates from Rocky Mountain Power and Questar Gas. The value of the tax credits and the rebates is about $3,800, so the true added cost is insignificant on a mortgage; furthermore, we will have a significant savings in utility costs. We find it to be a wise investment.