Excavation work is complete enough to begin the foundation work.

Our new foundation forms go in place.  Notice the top
plates are two separate pieces now and we're using reinforcing blocks
to help stabilize the forms during the pour of concrete.

Monolithic insulated heated slab foundation.

We have built more than 50 of these types of foundations in
Maine over the last 13 years.

The utility room is remotely located in this home, so we built
a special insulated chase for the water and heat lines.

Sub-slab plumbing.

All ready for the big pour.  Complete vapor barrier
taped and sealed, two-layer 4" thick insulation, steel reinforcing,
heat tubing, water lines, and a lot more goes into the construction
of this kind of foundation. Everything is checked and carefully
inspected prior to pouring concrete.

We begin framing the walls.

House walls use the "DCC Frame" with 12" thick walls.

The exterior walls near completion.

Roof trusses go up next, this house has a lot of hip style roofs
with 2' overhangs.

We're working against the elements on this house, our crew works
all year 'round.

Roof sheathing is 5/8" thick and has a tongue and groove joint.

Primelock trim, Rite-flo drip edge, and ice and water membrane.

Working hard to get a roof on before the weather moves in.

As the roof nears completion, we begin with the interior prep for
plaster.  The electrician installs wiring, the plumber
installs the plumbing, ventilation ductwork is installed, and
outside vents are put in.

After mechanical rough-in, we install an air/vapor barrier
and 1 x 3 strapping on the walls and ceilings before the interior
wall framing.

Framing for a curved plaster wall.

Notice how the vapor barrier is complete over and around the
interior walls.

When we install a range hood vent, we install it in
the wall behind the cabinets, not in the cabinet above the
range.

Details, details, details.

This photo shows the back side of a tub/shower unit.
Notice where the lower pipe goes into the tub for the tub spout,
there is sealant installed around it so that water doesn't leak
behind the spout and out behind the unit.  Also, notice the use
of a brass waste and overflow, not a plastic one.  Here you can
also see the PEX water supply tubing going to the valve.  There
are no joints between the valve and the manifold where the tubing
originates, and those tubes are not branched off of another line,
they are directly off the manifold, so pressure and temperature will
not be affected by other plumbing use in the house.  I point out
these details because these are a few of the things that I believe make
a higher quality home, and they also happen to be the things you don't
see once the house is complete.  When we talk about the
differences in a DCC home, we are talking about "real" differences
in the actual construction of the home.  There are a hundred
small details like this in a DCC home that you may not find in
other custom homes.  It's very easy for a builder to go
EL CHEAPO on details like these, who's ever going to know?

The air/vapor barrier (white plastic) is used to prevent air
and moisture from getting into the walls and ceiling of the home from
the inside.  This is a step that is often overlooked, even in
expensive custom homes.  If not detailed correctly, problems
arise later on as heat and water vapor find their way into the insulation.
The next step here is to install the cellulose insulation that
will pack the walls with a dense R-45 and the ceilings with
over 30" of insulation at R-3.7 per inch.  I'll let you
do the math!  The idea is to provide an energy package
that is unrivaled in the industry.  We know that our
homeowners will never have to retrofit with more insulation!
Don't listen to those that talk about diminishing returns, that's
nonsense.  They were the type of people who, back in the
60's were recommending 4" or 6" of fiberglass insulation in attics.
How much money did that cost our society over the last 40 years
in energy costs, not to mention the impact on the environment?
My advice; put as much insulation as your framing system will allow.

A thick blanket of insulation wraps the walls of the home making
them the highest performance homes you can buy.

Yes, it's a ridiculous amount of insulation and it makes a
DCC home perform like no other.