Special consideration was given in the selection of which Spray Foam Insulation to use as not all Spray Foams are alike. Icynene provides two types of spray foam, a water based propelled open cell and a chemical based propelled closed cell. The propellant used impacted our canary differently. One was tolerable, the other not. Though the closed cell has a …
Roof Substrate Canary Considerations
Traditionally roof substrates are made of CDX plywood. However the glues used in manufacturing the CDX plywood gas off slowly and impact many canaries, despite being covered with underlayment above and insulation below. A safer product is corrugated metal decking material, 20g typically. This is available in custom cut lengths similar to standing seam metal panel roofing. Other alternatives to …
Andersen Windows
Though installation of the windows and doors posed its own issues, selecting the window and door material proved almost daunting. Our canary is highly reactive to soft woods – one of the main reasons this first build is concrete and steel. As most standard wood windows are made from pine or other softwood, an extensive search was conducted for manufacturers …
The Mechanicals
Much thought went into where to place the mechanicals and electrical so as to minimize their impact on the life of a canary. For this build, we decided on a completely separate utility building. This building will house the electrical panel, the telecommunications panel and devices, the radiant floor heat distribution panels and manifolds, hot water heater device and water filtration requirements. The building is approximately 10×12 and sits 8’ away from the house itself. Placing the mechanicals in a separate building maximizes the reduction of impact to canaries. But the services still must make it into the house even if the devices are situated outside of the house.
