In the Boston suburb of Wayland, Mass., crews from Auburndale Builders are building the company’s first Passive House project. The building’s form is somewhat unusual for a Passive House — instead of sticking to a simple, boxy form to simplify the construction details and energy analysis, designer Donald Grose has drawn a dramatic, but traditional building with a cut-up footprint and a fourteen-pitch hipped roof.
JLC and Coastal Connection have been following the job, and this week, we take a look at the framing of the steep roof system. The structure involves a huge LVL bearing ridge beam and LVL hips, supported by a site-built truss assembly. The rafters are 20-inch wood I-joists; cavities will be filled with dense-blown fiberglass insulation, then the roof will be topped with an additional layer of Roxul rockwool insulation, for a total R-value of R-120 or better. For a look at the framing in progress, see the slideshow.
