Winter visit to building site in Vermont

The insulation is almost completely installed. This house will be very easy to heat and cool. Joe uses Rockwool insulation which is better than fiberglass at insulating from temperatures as well as noise. The house already has a cozy feel. They don't even have to heat it continuously to keep it warm as they are working.

Our downstairs bedroom in the northwest corner of the house with rockwool insulation

Rockwool looks like cloth. It's gray, looks soft, and comes in batts. Over the top of the rockwool, they put rigid foil board which adds a vapor barrier and more insulation.

Upstairs bedroom on the south side

Even the cellar is insulated. The radiant heat in the floor will heat the concrete.

The cellar walls have rigid panels of insulation

The old bathroom in the upstairs of the original house was tiny. If the term "powder room" had been around in the 1950s, it would definitely fit into that category (in terms of size, but maybe not in elegance).

The old bathroom fit into the hallway. No windows, just a sink & toilet.

The new bathroom has its own dormer (not a full dormer for the house, but a dormer the full width of the bathroom itself, with two windows looking out to the woods in the back of the property). It will have a tub/shower, a double sink vanity (and of course a toilet). It sits in the same place as the old bathroom, just a bit wider and deeper, a little more centered in the hallway between the two bedrooms.

John, Joe's brother who works with him, says his favorite place in the house is the front dormer upstairs. Mine too. He said he goes there first thing every morning to look out at the view. I am so lucky to have builders who are loving the house too.

P.S. the plumber has started his work and I could see pipes going to the kitchen sink, the upstairs bathroom, the downstairs bathroom.

We made a change today in the location of the washer/dryer. Joe suggested putting it in the mudroom closet instead of in full view at the end of the mudroom/laundry area. I agree! Why not hide them when not in use. In a way it gives us more room in the mudroom to use it for that purpose. We'll just switch the two areas a bit and instead of a bench in the corner, we'll have a bench that looks out the mudroom window. Nice! Joe has good suggestions.