Once the foundation was waterproofed, the framing of the house began in earnest. One thing to keep in mind is that a regular house would be framed out and the exterior walls would be initially formed of plywood, but not with the Cape Cod Hemp House. The forthcoming hemp-lime replaces plywood sheathing, synthetic house wraps, and spray foam insulations while providing thermal resistance (R-Value), improving indoor air quality, and buffering heat and moisture. It’s also fire, mold, and pest-resistant, inherently air-tight, and sequesters carbon, but I am getting ahead of myself.
By early January, the full time framing crew was onsite every day — subfloors went down and walls flew up in a basic framing production, though at this point, the crew was still working off of a generator. As in a typical build, window beams and door frames were made of laminated veneer lumber, or LVLs. Atypical to a regular build, however, the frames for windows and doors at the Cape Cod Hemp House are built out wider than the opening to help carry the weight of the hemp-lime. As work progressed into the second floor, steel beams and gable ends started to give shape to the “north” building, or main part of the house.
The “north” and “south” buildings are connected by an interior walkway. Over the course of this month, the crew framed out the 22’x3’ skylight, which will allow natural light into this corridor, and laid Solitex. Solitex, provided by 475 High Performance Building Supply, is specific to green building in that it is Living Building Challenge Compliant, and Red List Free. It was used in this area below what will be a rubber roof due to this roof’s slight pitch.
Once each of the four gable ends of the house were erected, the framing crew tackled the roof, putting up a full length ridge on each building, along with rafters and dormers. Because the roof insulation at the Cape Cod Hemp House will also be spray applied hemp-lime, this took a little extra engineering and a few more 2x6s. Two-by-six beams run perpendicular-to and are affixed onto the interior side of the rafters. This will allow for the eventual placement of reed matting to hold up the hemp-lime when applied. The roof is one area where plywood will eventually become part of the envelope, but more on that in future weeks.
The forthcoming hemp-lime replaces plywood sheathing, synthetic house wraps, and spray foam insulations while providing thermal resistance (R-Value), improving indoor air quality, and buffering heat and moisture. It’s also fire, mold, and pest-resistant, inherently air-tight, and sequesters carbon...
As said before, most houses have plywood on the exterior of the studs as a part of the building envelope, and to keep the frame from racking. This is not the case at the Cape Cod Hemp House, so gussets with structural beams were used to maintain the structural integrity of the house. On the first floor, these structural beams are secured to the studs using 12” lag bolts that connect into the sill plates. Under other circumstances, these would be made from galvanized steel, but because of the corrosive nature of lime, the specification was for stainless steel. Each stud is tied to the sill plates using these bolts; definitely an added expense, but one that was deemed structurally necessary by the engineers. For the upper story, all studs are secured with stainless steel strapping.
Look for interior framing, deck framing, and installation of ROCKWOOL in the coming weeks.
