Thermacore Panels Insulate Timberframe Home
From Jessica Arrant, News Tribune
When it is time to build a new home, one thing to consider is insulation needs.
Dan and Kim Basler, Jefferson City, had looked at various styles of log homes for several years, but when they went to talk with Woodhenge Timberframes about their choices they were presented with the concept of Thermocore.
Thermocore is a building product made of polyurethane insulated core with interior and exterior skins of oriented stand board. Panels of Thermocore are desinged to the home owner's specifications and put in the house using cranes.
They decided to design their home incorporating both Timberframe and Thermocore. The three Timberframes that make up the living room weigh 2,500 pounds each. The frames are made of solid oak, and outside the couple put up a set of frames made from cedar. To compliment the wood cabin feel, the living room space is paneled with clear-coated aspen.
"We wanted something a little more unique than a stick-frame house," Kim said. "We had really liked log home setups but we were trying to do something easier, not harder."
The Thermocore panels come preassembled with all of the wiring and spaces for windows in place. Each panel is roughly 8 feet long and 20 feet high.
"The hardest part is preplanning all the stuff for the outside walls," Kim said.
To build correctly using Thermocore, the homeowner has to be very precise about where things like electrical outlets will be because any extra holes will decrease insulation R-values. The Baslers wall panels an R-value of 28 and the roof has an R-value of 40 with a tall cathedral ceiling and no attic. An average new home will have R-values of about 14 in the walls and 38 in the attic.
Kim said that although it cost more initially, the added R-value has cut down on some of their energy needs and she anticipated it lowering her long-term energy costs. Another couple had been looking into Thermocore when the Baslers decided to go with it; the other couple decided to build a traditional stick frame home and their bills, according to Kim, were considerably higher than hers in the last two years.
"We've really grown to enjoy it," she said. "When we were building it, people would come out to watch because they were interested in building Thermocore homes. There are a couple of others in the area now."