Home Improvement Today?

I’ll keep that in mind, he recommended a 3 position service disconnect for the outside (on (city) off, and generator) that would actually power the whole panel and let us switch off the breakers we don’t need.

We have natural gas currently but I’m not sure if I want to go diesel or natural gas, I want to talk to the fire marshall and see if city gas was interrupted during our larger storms.

 

Where we're at

Final rake wall stood up , trusses all erected , 1/2 the roof sheeted , skylights framed . Rest of the roof will get sheeted tomorrow then we'll peel & stick the whole thing with Titanium PSU30

 

I’m actually in the middle of upgrading my service to a 200a lol
New 40 spot panel+meter socket w/ disconnect and 4 spots for breakers + mast + weather head+ flashing + ground rods + wire+ random hardware was like 650$

Then the 20a arc fault interrupter breakers are like $25 apiece lol

Ready for inspection and hookup

 

*i also posted this in a separate thread in this section*

Do any of y'all know anything about house building/ building science?

I'm trying to figure out a way to tell the builder of the place I'm buying that they need to make the attic unvented and conditioned, because the air handler and ducting is up there. Right now, all of the roofs I'm seeing are vented and unconditioned, which is horribly inefficient when the attic inevitably gets to 140° in the summer and all the ductwork is up there. People have mentioned in articles that moisture could be an issue, but if the attic is properly sealed and the ceiling insulation is removed, the temp and humidity should be fine. A supply vent could be added to the attic just to be certain.


I'm wondering how to tell if the HVAC system pulls in fresh air. Because things I'm reading say that sealing the attic could cause air quality issues. A non issue if the HVAC pulls in fresh air, but I'm not sure how to tell. Here's some pictures if that helps.





And as you can see, the attic is totally vented. Stupid when the HVAC system is up there, especially in the south.

 

Do you have any vents on the side walls? I can't see in your pictures. If so the cheapest and best route would be a solar gable fan. A quality one is around $350. I installed one in my attic and another in my garage.

It made a huge difference in keeping my attic space cool. They are also very quiet compared to an AC version.



The HVAC unit is installed in our garage but the ducting out and return run through our attic as well. The garage also gets hot but not as bad since I insulated it and installed a second solar fan. I recently had the HVAC replaced and they insulated and sealed the box that the unit sits on. The return goes into the box and pulls the air in from underneath.

 

You need a personal assistant. Mine is also known as wife.

 

This is false economy. If the attic is properly vented then the AC is essentially in the shade and the venting is insulated. If you seal up the attic and try to condition it your AC will not be able to keep up with the sun beating down on that roof. Good luck getting the builder to go back and undo work already done.

 

This

@ThunderOne



Not really, but I am a certified HERS/Energy Star Rater

Keep that attic outside of the building envelope and fully vented. Moisture destroys homes and the venting helps prevent this.
You’re gonna spend a lot of money to condition that space with no real benefit. Your ductwork looks well insulated, u could throw a couple fiberglass batts over it if you’re concerned. I seriously doubt they intentionally left a return open in the attic lol.

A radiant barrier stapled underneath your top rafters could help, and a powered vent fan could as well.

Your insulation over your ceiling looks a bit fuct tho lol. Poorly installed r13 from the looks of it. I would make sure the builder addresses this.

 

Bottom left bare wire hooked to ground bar

 

The Shuttle was fine it was an O-ring assembly on the SRBs that contained a potentially catastrophic flaw...

NASA should have never flown that mission and followed directives of the Manufacture and current weather conditions resulting in the loss of seven outstanding crew members.

 

Outside into the meter socket/box which is then grounded with a #4 copper wire tied to 2 ground rods

 

In new construction we ground to the rebar, most remodels we have 2 ground rods.

 

It’s set up like this


With 2 ground rods outside

 

That’s code here too