Insulation

 R-49 insulation has been blown into the attic. Miller's Insulation arrived at 9am and by noon they were gone. Over 16 inches of fiberglass insulation blown in.




We are now ready for winter. Speaking of winter, the low temperature yesterday was 24°F. But inside the adobe the temperatue of the trombe walls was 70-74° and the room temperatures were in the 60's - with no heater. This passive solar thing realy works

Scratch Coat of Stucco

Saturday morning the process began.

Sunday morning it looked like this.

The first coat of stucco, the scratch coat, has been applied.  In an instant, one day really, it looks like a real home.  After a few days of curing the second, brown coat will be applied.  Finally, after some more curing the color coat will complete the stucco process.  That will finish the outside work.

Stucco Ready!

South elevation, looking North.

Window trim detail.

The stucco contractor has installed the felt paper, chicken wire, and metal lath to all the areas that will be stuccoed.  It took almost three days but they did a beautiful job.  All the small detail on the south side slowed the process.

The state inspector has given the job his approval so all is ready to start applying the stucco tomorrow.   All the surfaces shown in black will be stucco.  It is a three step process: the scratch coat (heaviest), the brown coat, and the color coat.  In our case we have chosen to use an acrylic color coat to prevent or minimize cracks.

North elevation, looking South.

Since the trim has all been painted, once the color coat is applied the outside of the adobe is all complete.

Windows, Doors, and Roof!





Yeilding Adobe w/window, doors, and roof.

  We finally have the home "weathered in." Now we don't have to worry about rain and the damage it can do to our adobes. The roof is a solid sheet of white 60 mil Dow TPO roofing system. Under the TPO on top of the roof decking is 1/2 inch foil lined foam insulation. That is in addition to the R-49 blown-in insulation in the roof cavity.





Territorial Trim



The windows are getting their "territorial trim" that represents the style preferred by the residents during the late 1800's when many were new arrivals down the Santa Fe Trail.



The "trombe walls", the walls under glass that will help heat the rooms during sunny winter days, are being sealed and tinted a darker color, before the glass in installed, to increase the heat they generate. 





Tinted Trombe Wall



  The light colored square at the bottom of the trombe wall is the color sample of the stucco we are using on the outside walls.  We tried to match the color of the soil on our land.  The stucco will cover the parapets and chimney as well as the outside walls so there will not be so much white showing as it looks in the photo.



Dressing the walls.



Before

Adobe walls can look a little ugly when they are first layed up.  However, with a little mud and a lot of care they soon look beautiful.  We have decided to keep our inside walls exosed.





After



The fireplace also looks a little rough to begin with.  But it will be the only use of stucco inside the house.