My boss's house is built that way actually. Really labor intensive by comparison though as you're basically framing the house twice. The vapor barrier and exterior foam under the siding will take care of the bridging too.
Fyi floors are spray foam insulated, r-60.
Roof's going up!
And I asked the builders... 2x8 walls, 2x10 with the added 2x4's under the studs. Foam insulation to the T-1-11 between the 2x8's and the 2x4's to cut down on heat transfer out, and regular insulation underneath.
I'll stop by tomorrow during the day before work to see where they're at. Guessing the roof will be finished and most of it not all of the sheeting done outside.
I hope the Bluth Company is not building your house.
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They build a E36 M3ty model home.
In reply to JohnRW1621: YES! That was my first thought seeing the ladder truck.
Had to look it up, never watched arrested development.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Exposure
We have moose in the area for sure, judging by the droppings and hoof prints in the mud.
We also have a finished roof! Progress shots over the last 10 days
The outside is moving along well, but what about the inside?
Windows are here, going in soon
So let's head upstairs and start laying out the rooms!
I'm digging this house.
Another big piece showed up today, the one piece shower/tub. #notaballerbutIhatemoldalot
After snapping the lines for the upstairs a few days ago, the framing was mostly done today (hence the tub). Looking up from where the stairs will be.
The bathroom is to the right where the ladder is. Beyond that is the walk-in close for the master bedroom From the top of the stairs, going right to left in the picture, is the stairway opening, the doorway for the hall closet, and the door for the 3rd bedroom. You can see the door for the master bedroom.
Looking out from the 2nd bedroom. You can see the closet on the left, then the doorway looking in to the master.
Babe coming upstairs!
The view out of the master bedroom
Great view from the bathroom too!
The roof will be shingled today, and the windows will all get cut today too. The house is painted, and I for some reason forgot to take pictures of the color. Hoping to have most of the mechanicals in over the next two weeks.
Beautiful scenery!
What's up with the open corners?
I'm surprised at so little peak on the roof. Being Alaska and snow.
The further north I travel in New England, the more I see metal roofing. I was surprised, like Iceracer, by the mild slope and also when you mentioned shingles. Do they do residential metal roofing up there?
Still love this thread!
They do have metal roofing up here, but shingles on plywood are quieter and last longer. It actually doesn't snow that much in interior Alaska, it's just that what snow we get doesn't melt lol. The pitch isn't any more or less than most houses up here.
Corners will get covered after the insulation goes in, according to the contractors. They need to make sure the spray foam fully expands in to all of the corners I assume?
Tip on the fiberglass one piece - Make sure there is SOMETHING under it to provide a solid base, even if it's just something like the insulating foam. My one piece shower is just over air and it flexes and has cracked in one place.
Looks fabulous. Gawd, I love the north. I've been several times but usually in deep winter. Just got back from Dawson City, first time I've actually seen grass and leaves on a northern trip. I could totally disappear up there and become an off-the-grid hippie.
We're a battery system, solar panels, and a generator away from it with this build, so it's totally feasible. 
Do it! LOTS of jobs in Fairbanks too, and a lot of places will help move you up here too.
House is painted, windows are going in!
And there's even some progress inside, like stairs! And the framing for the half bath/utilities.
Plenty of natural light
Let's head upstairs
Tub's made it inside, but obviously not installed yet
Hanging out in the master bedroom
skierd wrote: We're a battery system, solar panels, and a generator away from it with this build, so it's totally feasible.
This is a really dumb question, bear with me: are y'all going to run 110v lighting or low voltage LED stuff? Reason I ask, I have often thought it would be a good idea to run a house like this on a low voltage lighting system that requires minimal power so that when the inevitable power outage happens you aren't stumbling around in the dark. Such a system would require a separate wiring system with batteries and a solar panel backup.
EDIT: Here's a sample of what I am talking about. http://www.cepro.com/article/lumencache_launches_end-to-end_low-voltage_led_lighting/
The fixtures run off Cat 5 cable since they don't need any more than that, the current replacement LEDs that screw into a 110v fixture drop the voltage at the lamp thus generating heat (wasted power) and still are dependent on that same 110v. You might not be able to generate/store enough power to run stoves dishwashers etc but at least you can see when it's time to go pee at 3AM. 
I just visited the "Wild Center" in Tupper Lake NY.
The run a large part of the operation by solar power. Very large array on the roof.
I read about some running 12v appliances... I stayed in a solar house for a few months on an Island in Panama... everything was run though a converter so ran on on 110v... lights where all CFL (about 5 years ago when they where the norm but a good bit more expensive and LED wasn't a thing yet)
I think another neat solar/off grid hack that I saw was using a chest freezer as a fridge, supposed to be MUCH more energy efficient than even the most efficient upright fridge, but then you have to figure out how to use it and need another box to freeze stuff
Standard 110v I believe, didn't even know the super low voltage stuff existed. We're having a transfer panel for a generator installed so time off power will be minimal.
Speaking of appliances, most places up here use propane powered appliances over 12v for various reasons. We're on grid so using standard appliances isn't a problem.
Any more progress in a month?
Curmudgeon wrote:
That was actually filmed in Washington. I use to eat pizza up the road from that cafe.
Some progress, though not as much as I would have hoped. The shortened already short building season has everyone running around doing as many jobs as possible...
We met with the propane company today to do a site survey for where we'll put the tank. It'll be behind the house kind of hidden in the trees, and we're leaning towards a 250gal tank. Should be enough to last us at least a year or more, depending on hot water usage and how cold the winter gets this year. Both our domestic hot water and hydronic (radiant floor) heat is coming from a Rinnai tankless condensing water heater. To put that in perspective, we were going through that much oil in 2 months at the house we rented last winter, and that was just for heat.
Appliances are in and waiting at the warehouse for the project to get to that point. Same with kitchen cabinets and countertops. So there's that. The bathroom has been roughed in, and 90% of the plumbing is in as is most of the wiring now:
Some progress outside too:
Deck going in, with gable over door, most of the window trim and flashing is on now too. As it progressed...
Kinda looks like a house now!
And they've started insulation too. 10" of spray foam!
That's all for now, the little pup is too tired to keep working
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