So how many Dremel heads did the Fairy go thru to grind those pockets... for those... are they some type of gem stones? That has got to be the crazy-coolest idea for tile decorating I've ever seen!

How many inches of foam block/board decking was required to meet your insulation roof code?

I dig the diffuser in the background of the chandelier. Is the whole house full of those commercial registers?

In my pre-housebuilding life, one of my mediums was stained glass and translating those skills to tilework came naturally. I used the same tools I would for glasswork, didn't have to buy a tile saw and lost a lot less blood :)

The roof insulation is 16" at it's thickest and tapers to a minimum of 10", plus another 1/2 as underlayment for the roof membrane. The 10-16 inches is EPS which has a lower R value than some of the alternatives, but It's an average of about R48. I believe this significantly exceeds what is required by code.

Funny, that diffuser is one of only two in our entire house (not counting the bath fans). Remember, we don't have ductwork, so the only ducting is one supply and one return for the air exchanger. It's nothing I requested or sourced, just what was sent with the rest of the components of the ERV but I do like it.

If I recall right, you are in MN or WS... similar to my frigid MI (if not more so).

12-18" of EPS would be plenty.

ERV, eh?

Let me guess: 1) No AC. Just fans and good window placement. 2) Forced air furnace. 3) ERV recycles the return air easily, because your house is almost totally "connected" (and hence the lack of ductwork).

I've been pondering whether to bother with AC in my house. Depending on house design (air flow, passive solar roasting, window placement, etc.) I've rarely required AC but maybe a week in the summer - what a waste! The only reason I ever have to worry about it is because of the wife's mandate.

Does your ERV act as the device to circulate the stale air back for expulsion to the outside? In the summer time, I assume it runs constant and the furnace blower is off? Why the ERV and not HRV? I thought ERVs were more suitable for hotter/humid climates like the south???

.. hand it to you Splat. Horseshoe magnets, ikea hacks - you can really MacGyver with the best of them.

MN, and we have a HRV not ERV.

The only ductwork in the house is for one supply and one return for the ERV because of the openness of everything. There is no furnace. A boiler supplies the hydronic radiant system that is our whole-house heating.

We have planned on using a ductless system for AC from the beginning and since we designed, sited and spec'd to maximize thermal efficiency, we felt it would be worthwhile to see how the house performs what our needs will be like during the upcoming cooling season before installing AC. I think there's a fair chance we won't care if we have it, particularly if we get right to work on getting the awnings up on the south exposures.

IMO, it would have been ridiculous to install ductwork just for AC, and the ductless systems (as I understand them) are ideal with floorplan like ours. I also like the idea that the heads can be selectively on or off depending on what rooms we are using.

1) HRV = ventilation/makeup air 2) Radiant = heat for both floors 3) Windows/fan/shading = cooling... for now. 4) Optional ductless (hi-vel tubing) AC = possible future cooling without having to protect for ductwork.

That's what I've been on the fence about with my house plans... mainly because I didn't want to go with a poured 2nd floor. I wanted to go with Warmboard until I found out how $$$ it was.

Will your radiant system also just pump cold water in the summer to help cool? Or would that just make your slab condense?

1) HRV: Ventilation. Make up air...that is a WHOLE nuther story related to kitchen, not HVAC, but since we have no combustion mechanics that can be negatively drafted (our WH is indirect, boiler is sealed intake/exhaust to outdoors), we don't have a make up air requirement.

Ductless AC is not the same thing as hi velocity mini-ducts. Those mini duct systems, from what I can tell, exist primarily for retrofitting central AC into homes that do not have ductwork because of electric heat, etc. In those situations, I guess I can see how they'd be a "solution", but they're also noisy and expensive to install On the other hand, ductless AC systems, (Mitsubishi, Samsung and other mfgr's) by all accounts, are efficient, practical, quiet and unobtrusive. Plus it's the perfect fit for our situation. Perhaps for yours as well.

From the little I've read on using a radiant system for cooling, it sounds like it has very limited practicality. In MN, if it's hot enough to need AC, it's also 100% humidity, so yes, condensate would be an issue. Besides, I hate having cold feet :)

1) Maybe I'm misusing the term makeup. Maybe I meant FRESH air. The HRV takes the old air and pushes it thru a heat exchanger before it is dumped outside, right? The exchanger has incoming air going thru the exchanger's other... circuit, which then picks up the heat from the air leaving. Is that how your's works? And what is your brand? Was there much research on which brand you selected? The only one I know is Lifebreath, but that's just because the local SIP folk seem to like that brand for some reason???

2) Ductless... you really mean ductless like the AC systems in hotels, right? The closet units that are totally self-contained and need an exterior wall to dump the heat, right? I always wondered why Spacepak and Uni-whatever meant by "ductless" (I suppose hose does not equal duct.). I see what you mean by the hi-velocity stuff being more retrofit to homes that cannot afford major tearup to install ductwork. I still don't know how those retrofits work as far as getting return air to a central local to be reheated or dumped to the outside. Is there a brand you prefer (got good references on, etc.)?

Thanks

Is this the type of system you have? http://www.eastcoastpetroleum.com/mrslim.htm

That's just unacceptably ugly to me. I hope splatgirl has some alternatives to recommend.