Going fisching

For those of you who don't think The Architect is serious, here's proof of his intentions.


The insulation is delivered on monday. The feelers are out for the timber cladding. Red cedar, siberian melèze, or oak, what will it be? The Client prefers red cedar.
The cedar would be a nice choice. Especially as The Architect adores the heady vapours given off by freshly sawn red cedar. Perhaps this could be the antidote for insulation that smells like sewer gas?

Silent but deadly

Whist waiting further news on the building insulation front I perused the technical documentation concerning the product. Apparently small amounts of hydrogen sulfide* are trapped inside the bubbles of glass that go to make up the insulating foam. The H2S is a byproduct of the manufacturing process. On cutting or applying pressure to the foam slabs small amounts of H2S are released. The manufacturer advises strongly that the cutting takes place outdoors and not in a non ventilated enclosed space.

I wonder, how much pressure you have to apply for a release of H2S? Would the pressure of a strong wind on the façade do the trick? Imagine a house that farts when the wind blows......

As Buzz Aldrin would say 'bout as welcome as a fart in a space suit'.


*According to wikipedia - implicated in mass extinctions - there ya go!

Sourcing

The Architect is into ‘sourcing’ (as I believe it is now called across the water) all the materials for the facade. This is no mean feat and involves a lot of internet browsing, and faxing and sending of emails. Of course, for any ordinary project, you’d just turn up at the nearest do-it-yourself mega store with a list and a hire truck. Unfortunately for The Architect, he has chosen a panoply of apparently exotic materials (at least in the eyes of the average French builders merchant). Silly architect tempted by all those glossy pamphlets with the buy line ‘as used by Johnny Novelty in his latest you’ve never seen this one before project’.

Take for instance the insulation. Chosen for its quite impressive U value (keep warm factor for the uninitiated) the material comes in the form of black panels of solidified molten glass foam. The material is made in the USA and there is only one authorized dealer for the whole of France. As the only source for this amazing 21st century insulating material one would imagine that they would know all about the product. Well you’d be mistaken. They haven’t a clue.
I know it’s black. They know it’s black; So far so good. I know it needs an F bracket every 4th row. They’ve never heard of the F bracket. I know the glue comes in 13kilo tubs. They’ve only got 28kilo tubs……

Jennifer: ‘Ere Chantal, this blokes asking me for an F bracket, you ‘eard a that?’
Chantal: ‘Naa, never had an F bracket before’

3 days later and there’s still no quote. I suppose they’re out looking for an F bracket.