I have not seen any posts concerning Structural Insulated Panels yet. I chose SIP's because ICF does have some drawbacks and because I didn't want to spend a ton of money building my home. A word of caution concerning ICF. Make sure that if your contractor cuts your door and window openings in place, that they clean the cavity (that space where concrete will be poured) before pouring concrete. Any Styrofoam chips, leaves or dirt that remains at the bottom of the wall cavity at the time of pouring concrete will act as a barrier and will prevent your wall from being firmly attached to the foundation. And worse yet, these foam chips, leaves or dirt will create a pathway through which insects and rodents will later be able to get through. A word to the wise...

By building with ThermaSave SIP's, I will be eliminating many steps. The walls and roof go up in three days with four unskilled laborers. The house has no wood, no drywall on the inside of the exterior walls and no attic. The house is so well insulated that the A/C system can be downsized by as much as 50%. It is Energy Star compliant and qualifies for a $2,000 tax credit. I have already received my first quote, which is roughly $50 per square foot for the foundation, slab, second floor, exterior walls (envelope), roof panels, all connectors, cuts and erection. And that is for R-30 exterior walls and R-36 roof.

David

Hydronic heat and radiant heat are two different things. Hydronic is the type that has hot water running through a radiator. As forced air runs over the radiator coils, usually a base board type radiator, it warms the air in the room.

Radiant heat is the type that uses either electrical resistive wires or hot water plastic pipes that are covered with a thin layer of concrete and then some type of floor covering, usually tile or wood. This website will explain the advantages and disadvantages of both systems: speedheat.us

Angela,

It goes back to what I was saying in my earlier post.  You may have to contract with an architect located farther north who is experienced in timber frame and can produce prints for the county you live in.  Central Florida is not well known for timberframe homes. 

Phil,

I consulted the 2006 supplement to the 2004 Florida Building Code and found the following pertaining to gable roof overhangs:

R609.4.5 Gable Overhang. Gable overhangs up to two feet in width complying with Figure R609.4.5 shall be permitted.

I also attached the following graphic that is also found in the 2006 supplement:

Kenneth,

What you are saying makes sense to me. Not having insulation under your radiant-heat floor would allow your entire slab along with whatever is just below it to act as a thermal mass. The alternative would be to insulate and isolate your floor thermally, thus eliminating quite a bit of thermal mass. In such a case, your floor would heat up relatively quickly, but would also cool back down relatively quickly, because air has very little capacity to retain heat. With the uninsulated floor, there is more thermal mass to retain heat. The more heat the floor is able to retain, the longer it is going to stay relatively warm.

Jason,

We all appreciate your honesty. When I went into Home Depot last month to price out Jeldwen aluminum clad wood windows and Anderson windows, the guy behind the counter thought that it would be a good idea to also price out the American Craftsman (aka Silverline) windows. I can tell you that it is very hard to resist paying approx. $220 for an American craftsman vinyl window when a Jeldwen or Pella aluminum clad wood window costs more than double that price.  Jason, I want to be clear on this. Are you saying that if you had to do it all over again, you would have went with Pella (or Jeldwen)?

I also think that your experience is serving as a wake up call for those of us just starting out.  While we should not expect for things to go wrong, we should however be realistic and realise that things can and will go wrong.

And speaking of things going wrong; I would urge you to please take some sort of action to make sure that your new HVAC unit does not go the way of your garbage can. Suffice it to say that there is a large population of "my people" living and working in your area. And while I am ashamed to admit it, a fair number of "my people" have no conscience whatsoever. While the majority are honest, warm, loving individuals, unfortunately there are those who would not think twice about steeling a unit and reselling it.  They will not however be able to do that if the unit is defaced in some way or locked up in a cage.

Lisa and everyone,

I am in fact going nuts. But I like it like that way because I fit in with my friends better.

I digress. Upon closer examination, I see that whoever split up the big thread really did not split it up. If you will notice, the original "Looking for contractor consultant" thread is still there and in tact. What someone did was copy that thread and then split the copy into pieces. I don't know why they did that or what they were trying to accomplish. Folks, please feel free to email Mark at mark@ownerbuilderbook.com and ask him about the split up and feel free to make any suggestions you like as well. Mark has always responded to my emails and I am sure you will find him responsive as well.

In any event, my original request to Mark was that the giant thread be split up into logical subjects so that newcomers would find it easier to get information on any topic they want without having to go through 400something posts. The way it stands now, it is more confusing than ever. Oh well, such is life.

Lisa,

I believe that your question boils down to personal preference and budget. To quote Jason, one system is not necessarily better then another, just different. I do believe that the floating floor system would keep your floor from developing [as many] settlement cracks and would keep the inside somewhat dryer and better insulated. Having said that, if you are not going to use tiles (ceramic, porcelain), a floating floor is not really necessary.

I am having a bit of difficulty relating to some of the costs per s.f. that I am hearing, because my plans are (if I don't haul off and purchase a manufactured home at $50 per s.f.) to OWNER-BUILD. I have already gotten two estimates from two contractors to build the dried in envelope with SIP's over a monolithic slab. Both have come in at approx $31 per s.f.. I am wondering if it is actually going to cost me another $70 per s.f. to finish off my dried in envelope?!! Tell me it isn't so.

Lisa, don't quote me on it, but it sounds like your contractor is subcontracting your walls and then marking them up. If so, this would explain his reluctance to use poured walls. Except for perhaps the main and sub-panels, wiring is not run inside CMU walls. So I don't understand why your contractor is saying that poured walls are more difficult. As far as building to a higher standard; the only standard that I know of is whatever standard (code) applies to your county. You either meet code or fail the inspection. I don't know what the term "higher standard" means, unless he is talking about finishing your walls and ceiling to a level 4 or 5 as opposed to the "standard" knockdown and texture; and your floors are laser leveled.

In my opinion, if your contractor uses subcontractors and then marks up the price of the subs, that does not qualify as owner-building. To me, owner-building is pulling your own permits, contracting your own plumber, electrician, mechanical contractor, roofer, framer, drywaller, etc. And then getting a discount from the contractor for installing your own switches, cover plates, receptacles, toilets, faucets and sinks; doing your own caulking, priming and painting and (if possible) your own trim; hanging your own doors and windows; and putting down your own floor. Am I way off base by thinking this way? I would be interested in hearing others' opinions.

Del,

I would love to turn this forum into something really fun, boat building. But I can feel the back of my neck burning as I type this post,.....if you know what I mean.

If you don't mind, I will like to PM you with my ideas.

Lisa,

Tilt-up is a term that is most often used to describe mostly commercial construction, where the walls are actually poured on site. Formwork is erected right on top of the slab, poured, and then "tilted" into place by a large crane. Superior Walls (Weaver Precast) does "precast" concrete. See illustration:

Lisa, you will be happy to know that I spoke with the Lady at PCW about 4 months ago about pouring my walls in Tallahassee. Although I do not remember her name right now, I do remember her being a super-nice lady. To the point where she spent 45 minutes with me on the phone. Real upstanding lady in my humble opinion. She was even willing to send her crew to Tallahassee for me, although they normally do not venture out that far from home.

Lisa, please don't take the following as a criticism or an indirct insult, for that is not my intention. The following is just an observation, my opinion. The O.B. experience can be frustrating at times, but can also be an absolute joy as well. Trying to maintain a certain level of joy sometimes is going to end up costing you money. It is inevitable. Meet with some more vendors ON SITE and get detailed fixed proposals good for X number of days. If a contingency arises, decide whether the additional cost of the contingency is worth it or not. Ask yourself what is the probability that you can do SIGNIFICANTLY better and come out ahead by changing the game plan, taking into account all the factors. Stated plainly: Put a price on peace and tranquility.

Jason,

You may also want to try gcocarpet.com and ifloor.com. You may possibly be able to end up with an upgraded carpet for perhaps the same amount of money. It may be worth a try.

Also, I am very grateful to Jason for mentioning the gas tankless water heater. I am going to have one installed, a through-wall model. They cost a little bit more than an electric tankless, but save a ton of money on the electric bill. What you have been saying about targeting where you spend your money and focusing on the water heater instead of the HVAC is very true.

I am going to purchase a 15 SEER HVAC unit instead of an 18 SEER and reinvest the savings into the tankless gas water heater, about $1,400 for a really good one. I am also purchasing a gas stove and ventless fireplace. The gas company will bury the tank. The rental fee on the tank is $50 per year. They will run lines to the appliances for $200 per appliance. My thinking is that an electrician would have charged me much more than $200 per appliance to install breakers and run electrical lines to these high-amp appliances. Plus I will save on my energy bill, because gas is produced domestically.

Jason, practically all the lighting in my home will be compact fluorescent or T5 fluorescent cove lighting. Between this and the gas appliances, I am hoping that my electrical quote will not be so high. Plus, I can install the fixtures and outlets myself. I cannot afford a $25,000 electrician bill. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks

David

Jason,

The gas company was going to charge me $50 per year for the tank, not per month. Perhaps their burial fee is not so steep, I don't know. 

I have been to Stock Building Supply four times already. This is my take: they are great if you need lumber or any type of wood or polyurethane trim or architectural detail or a good price on high-end wooden doors, but they are absolutely horrible with customer support when it comes to windows. I tried to get a price on a split-arch-top casement window by JELD-WEN. The guy was reluctant to take my order at first, and then eventually lost it. 

Folks, the following information can save you a lot of time and aggravation when it comes to purchasing windows: If you need an off-the-shelf 3x5 window or 2/8x6/8 door, you can go to Home Depot for Therma-Tru, Silver Line (American Craftsman), JELD-WEN or Andersen; or you can go to Lowe's for Pella or Better Bilt. However, if you need something with a bit more style like a hexagon, eyebrow or arch window, please don’t bother with these stores. They will not be able to help you! Better yet, forget they exist and read the next paragraph.

Pella has their own showroom/retail store here in Orlando, 350 W. State Road 434, Longwood, Fl 32750. Phone number is 407-831-0600. 

Andersen also has their own showroom/retail store, Manning Building Supplies Inc., 1600 W. New Hampshire St., Orlando, Fl 32804. Phone number is 407-822-3999.

Folks, these companies care enough about their product to make sure that there are folks out in the field that can use their software programs, answer your questions and give you on-the-spot quotes. When I start my remodeling business, I do not plan on going into Home Depot or Lowe's very often. I am going to stick with places like these where you can get the help you need on the spot. After all, time is money.

Phillip,

I already have priced out the doors you are mentioning.  I went into Home Depot (gagging) two days ago to get a price on the exact JELD-WEN door you are quoting, 2x3 lites, low-E, 6x8. After about 20 minutes on the phone to JELD-WEN, the Home Depot guy told me the door was $9,700. I don't think so! Phillip, make sure that the price they quoted you is correct.

In any event, the door that I showed in my earlier post does not cost $4,000. It costs $2,700. It is from MAI (Moulding Associates, Inc.) maidoors.com This company was entrusted by the Biltmore Estate to build their doors. My door is Miami/Dade approved. Delta Regency eyebrow pair door, pre-hung, 6/0x8/0 overall, 2x3 true divided lites, insulated beveled glass, LVL door construction, true mahogany door. I can get it factory-finished for another $800. One of the reasons that I do not necessarily need (or want) a fiberglass door is because my entryway is partially enclosed. There is a formula that you use when working with wooden entry doors. The right-angle distance from the drip edge (or gutter) of your entry enclosure roof to its supporting wall should be roughly equal to the distance as measured from the door threshold to the point on the wall above the door as mentioned above. In other words, if the drip edge or leading edge of your entry enclosure is 10’ above the walkway, then its roof or overhead should extend out roughly 10’ from the wall. If the door faces due east or west, it will only get about two hours of sun a day at most. If it faces south or north, it will not get any sun at all.

Ah! You are probably thinking, what if the door gets wet! One of my many passions is wooden boats. I am sure that you have heard of Chris-Craft. This company was founded by Chris Smith in 1927. Why do you think that Chris chose mahogany to build his world famous boats? That species is impervious to water. Boston Whaler also uses mahogany in the bench seats of their dinghies. The point is if you have a proper entry enclosure and a proper finish on the door, the door should last longer than the house. And when you look at the door, you will know for sure that you are looking at real mahogany with its rich, deep and varied tones and subtle grain.

Bottom line is, why pay more for less? I am beginning to hate JELD-WEN, and favor Andersen and Pella for windows and MAI for doors. The battle lines are being drawn as we speak.

David

Phillip,

I got my MAI price from Stock Building Supply (407) 291-2641. It would appear that Mcphillips Mfg. is selling the same exact mahogany arch-top doors as a company called Doorsdoorsdoors.com. I have a theory. I believe that Mcphillips and doorsdoorsdoors.com are both buying mahogany arch-top blanks from the same source by the container load from South America. They then hang them, mark them up, insert your choice of glass and sell them to you at a hefty profit. This would be my guess. Jason may know more about this type of thing than I do, as he deals with millwork a lot.

Tom,

Please keep in mind that ThermaSave is not a wall or single component, it is a whole-house building system that includes the walls, roof and second floor in two-story homes. I would also add that when comparing systems, you should be a bit more specific than just declaring one system to be “A LOT” cheaper than another. Please make some attempt to quantify your response. People take the information on these posts very seriously.

Please allow me to compare the erection of a ThermaSave dried-in envelope to a CMU (cement masonry units, or “concrete block”) dried-in envelope.

ThermaSave panel home erection: A delivery truck delivers the ThermaSave panels to the job site. Two or three unskilled laborers erect the wall panels and roof panels and ridge beams in approximately three days. You are now ready to install your windows and doors and texture the inside and outside of your exterior walls.

CMU’s (concrete block) home erection: Delivery trucks deliver concrete block, door and window headers, lots of sand, Portland cement, rebar, roof trusses, roof decking, attic insulation, furring strips, rigid-insulation boards, vapor retarder and drywall to the job site. A masonry crew prepares the mortar and erects the concrete block walls and headers. They also attach the rebar at all inside and outside corners, cells surrounding all doors and windows, all along the header and vertically every 10’. Once the wall is set, they carefully mark the locations where the truss ties will be installed and call for a concrete truck. They then use a concrete pump or a bucket and fill the header with concrete. While the concrete is still wet, they insert the truss ties on the marks. Now the framing crew installs the roof trusses and fastens the roof deck to the trusses.

Once the roof deck has been installed and dried in, an insulation contractor installs attic insulation, and a framing crew installs furring strips, ¾” rigid-insulation boards and vapor retarder to the exterior walls. Next, the drywall crew comes in and hangs drywall onto the furring strips. Also, a stucco crew installs a scratch coat in preparation for your stucco texture coat (a scratch coat is the first coat of cement that goes onto the concrete block exterior). After several weeks have gone by, you are finally ready to install your windows and doors and texture the inside and outside of your exterior walls.

Tom, your use of the word cheap is a bit vague. Could you now give me the cost per square foot of livable space for a dried-in concrete-masonry-unit home, as described above? Please include all materials and labor. Let's use a hypothetical home, single story, 32x44, 10-foot walls, 4/12 pitch roof, R-32 sprayed-on foam insulation in attic. Please do not include the cost of mineral roll or roof shingles. As soon as you have completed your analysis, I will tell you what the comparative cost is for a ThermaSave home.

Cheryl,

One of the problems with this forum is that folks are free to post whatever they like. I am seeing a definite tendency on the part of some folks to grossly oversimplify the matter and sort of shoot from the hip and say whatever feels good. I have been guilty of that myself at times. 

All the properties that I developed in East Orange County had sumps, including the one that I owned at 18450 Hewlett Road in Bithlo. Please allow me to expound a bit about septic tanks, drainfields and sumps. As you already know, gravity feeds the waste water into the septic tank. The septic tank has a baffle inside that does not allow solid waste to float down the pipe and into your drainfield. Many people believe that the septic tank maintains itself and never needs pumping out. This is only true if you invest in one of the high-tech septic tanks that Jason mentioned earlier. If not, you will need to have your septic tank pumped out an average of once every 3-5 years for a family of four. If you do not, the solid waste will eventually clog your $5,000 drainfield and you will have to pay big bucks to have it removed and install another.

What I am proposing is this: Build your house on a monolithic slab (as opposed to three or four feet above grade on a stem wall), and have a sump pump installed. Just make sure that you put a PVC union on the pipe going to your pump: acehardware.com. In the event that it does fail, a new sump pump costs approx. $175 and should last you anywhere from 5 to 10 years (my dad’s sump pump is 14 years old and still going). You can purchase it at Lowe's or Ace and install it yourself in under two hours. When you have your septic tank pumped out, replace the sump at the same time. Sort of like when you change the timing belt on your car, you also change the water pump (you are doing it that way, right?) Here’s the math:

New sump pump every three years for 30 years: $1,750
Raise your home up with a stem wall and lots of dirt: $20,000

There is a money-saving added bonus to having a sump pump deliver the water to your drainfield. If gravity feeds the water to your drainfield, the sand in your drainfield will begin clogging closest to the distribution box and then work its way back. Your drainfield will have a tendency to clog quicker. With a sump pump, it pumps water at a rate of approx. 2,500 g.p.m., which means that it will distribute water to a larger portion of your drainfield each time it pumps. This will make your drainfield last 50 years instead of just 25.

I hope this helps.

David

Cheryl,

Your house has 3,095 square feet of exterior wall @10', without discounting for door and window openings.

Here are the roof calcs:
@ 4/12 pitch: 5,250 s.f.
@ 5/12 pitch: 5,400 s.f.
@ 6/12 pitch: 5,600 s.f.

At an average $4.50 per square foot, worst-case scenario is $39,000 for materials for your 10' walls and a 6/12 pitch roof. Add another estimated $20,000 (this may be a bit high) for erection costs and $10,000 for cuts and fasteners, and that gives you a cost of $17 per square foot under roof (this includes the garage) for a dried-in, insulated envelope (minus the roofing materials). This would include a 10' ThermaSave wall between the garage and the interior of the home. Does that sound expensive to you?

On your floor plan, I would like to compliment you as well. A few suggestions: And please understand that they are just suggestions, not criticism. There are no rights or wrongs when it comes to architecture (David says as he cuts his tongue clean off ).

I agree with Jason. The living and dining areas kind of smack you in the face as soon as you walk in. I would consider relocating the front porch roof a bit to the right until the entry door is centered in the middle of the porch. I would also change the dimensions of the porch to 10x16 instead of 8x20. It will look more contemporary and provide better coverage. I would then eliminate the 2.5x6 closet to the left of the entry door. This will allow you to create a foyer by simply adding a 4' wall running somewhere between the dining area and the front entrance. The foyer is the perfect area to create a “landing pad”. This is an area that has a stylish table with centerpiece on one wall and a chest of drawers on the opposing wall, sitting atop a tile mosaic. What a pretty picture. You can use the chest of drawers to store your car keys, purse, sunglasses, folders, kids, husband, etc. It can be an antique, eclectic or contemporary piece.

Your kitchen is ripe for an island. Eliminating that wall between the kitchen and family room would really bring the family and guests closer together and be more conducive to free-flowing conversation. As the very least, I would relocate the pantry so that is positioned between the dining area and the kitchen. It would give it more of feeling of a formal dining room as opposed to a dining area, and it would automatically open up the living room. The door between the dining room and garage is really killing the dining room space. I would consider relocating it to the game room.

Your floor plan includes three bedrooms, one master bedroom, 3.5 bathrooms, a 525-square-foot game room and two offices. It really is a novel use of space for a house with 3,340 square feet of air-conditioned space. I do not usually see these types of features and in these quantities until I get into the 5,000+ square-foot range. One thing I do see in the master bedroom of homes that size is very large walk-in closets, double-sink basins, glass-enclosed shower stalls, windows on two of the bedroom walls (in other words, the master bedroom is exposed to two exterior walls), at least one window in the bathroom, and access to the screened porch from the bedroom via a sliding glass or French door. If for whatever reason you were to ever need to sell your house, rest assured that buyers will be looking for these features in a home the size of yours.

David

Cheryl,

I understand completely. At one time, I lived in a community with mobile homes and in a mobile home. It is miraculous what you can do with 6’ PVC fencing that is strategically placed on the property line between your window and the neighbor's house.  

I used 3D Home Architect by IMSI to design my home: broderbund.com.

If anyone has that program, or you can view .bmf or .fpt or .dxf or .vrml files and you would like to critique my floor plan, please let me know. I just have to put a few finishing touches on it and I will be done.

Tell us a little about your property. What are the dimensions of the land you are working with? What compass heading does the front of the house face? Describe any nice features and where they are located, etc. It is possible that you can shift things around a bit and get some really nice views of the farm.

Here are two .jpg's of the first floor of my house. You have to imagine yourself hovering over the first floor at a height of 30 feet. The first picture is from above the back screen room looking towards the front foyer. The dining and kitchen is to the left and the living room is to the right. There is a large pantry/storage and laundry behind the kitchen to the right of the screen porch. The stairs are to the left next to the living room. There is a half-bath underneath the staircase, although you cannot see it in the picture. The reason that the foyer extends out so far out is because it is concealing the support beams for the glulam floor joists for the second floor. The openings in the foyer are 10' wide with an arch that starts at 9' and tops out at 10' in the center.

The second picture is from above the front entryway, before you enter the home. From here you can see the triple sliding-glass door that leads to the back porch and the half-bath door under the stairway. I made the kitchen undersized on purpose. The vast majority of the items needed in the kitchen will be stored in the 9x9 pantry behind the kitchen.

The ceiling height for the first floor will be 11' with the exception of the foyer, which will be 12'. I will be using Joist 2000 open-web joists to support the second floor. This will allow me to run my electrical, plumbing and HVAC with no problem. I plan to install strip cove lighting along the walls of the foyer and recessed compact-fluorescent lighting in the kitchen and dining. There will be a light fixture above the dining table and a ceiling fan with light kit in the lining room. Notice the ventless fireplace in the living room. I am considering purchasing a straight cool-split system for cooling and letting the fireplace do all the heating.

I invite your comments. I have been working on it for months and I still come up with improvements on an almost-daily basis. I apologize if the quality is not good enough. This is the first time that I have downloaded jpg's to this site. Sometime tomorrow, I will download some pictures of the second floor.

David

Phillip,

Very nice floor plan. I would be interested to see what the final cost per s.f. turns out to be on that floor plan. If we were competing to see who can build their house for the MOST amount of money, I imagine yours would probably rank pretty high up there. I am trying hard to go in the opposite direction without going too overboard.

Phillip, I know a thing or two about travertine. I had it installed throughout my whole house. I made the mistake of purchasing commercial grade in light and medium. What a disaster!! I also bought a profile blade for my wet saw and turned the tiles into tile baseboards. That turned out well.  Everyone loves it when they see it.

For those who may not have had the good fortune (or misfortune) to have travertine installed before: please make sure and buy first quality (not commercial) double (I said DOUBLE) filled and honed, with no inclusions, and have it installed by not just a tile professional, but someone with a lot of experience laying out and installing travertine in particular. We are not talking thinset here, folks. The process is to first lay down either self-leveling compound or a mud bed. Then an uncoupling membrane such as Ditra: schluter.com, and then laying down the stone with a premium white medium-bed mortar. And every tile must be meticulously back-buttered. We are talking in excess of $10 per s.f. just for the installation. 

A word about travertine. General rule is, the darker the color, the denser the material. So my advice is to try and stay away from light colors. Stick to medium or Noche. Durango is really nice, if you can afford it. And concerning the seal or no-seal debate, I come down on the side of no seal, except in the kitchen. Despite popular opinion, travertine tile is not porous. I repeat; travertine is not porous! It is however, very delicate.

I love travertine. I just can’t afford it for my new home. Phillip, if you are interested in the travertine baseboard thing and don’t want to pay a ton of money for it, please let me know. I’ll bet we can work something out.

David

Phillip,

You are going to have a lot of sweat equity when you are done with this home. I would think that you stand a very good chance of cracking at least a few travertine tiles in three years if you install them on a new concrete floor with no uncoupling membrane. That would be my uneducated guess. I know that polymer-modified medium-bed mortars have their limits. Have you heard of Red Gard by Custom Building Products? custombuildingproducts.com/ProductCatalog/SurfacePrep

It is a crack suppression (I know what all of you are thinking. STOP IT!) membrane and waterproofing membrane that you paint on with a roller. The stuff is great. Custom Building Products put a lot of research and testing into this product. I built a shower stall with regular drywall and then went over the entire enclosure including the floor with two coats of Red Gard. The only thing getting wet in my shower is me and the tile.

As I said, I love travertine, but I had such a bad experience with my install and the poor quality of my commercial 18x18 Turkish travertine that now I am scared of installing it again. I have a lot of lippage. That, plus the fact that I would really need to see a pro putting it down before I would have the confidence to do it myself. I have read John Bridge’s Tile Your World, but it does not go into depth about travertine. Could you briefly describe the method you use to put it down? I would be grateful.

Also, I just purchased Punch Professional Home Design Suite today $70 at Best Buy. It is great. It does everything. But a word of caution here folks. You will need to install a graphics card and lots of memory in your computer to run this monster.

And a final note. I finally had a meeting today with Oscar, owner of ThermaSave of Florida. This gentleman is one of the most fascinating individuals that I have ever met. He showed me a scale model of a ThermaSave house he is going to build for himself. All of our houses would probably fit inside of it with room to spare. I am going to write about my visit to the ThermaSave Vero Beach factory and the ThermaSave panel itself once I get into work tomorrow morning. For those of you looking to build with quality materials and still come in under budget, or just wanting to add onto an existing structure, you are going to find it fascinating. Stay tuned!

David