MCM has fabricated custom structural steel components for Team Ontario/BC, and these await assembly in the shop.

Roof-mounted pv support elements and clips (left). Steel supports for main living space floor panels (right).

Custom floor mounted electrical boxes (left). Exterior deck panels await final assembly (below right).

Team Ontario/BC’s electrician, Robin from Red Electric from Kitchener, Ontario, is in today doing the electrical rough-in, and is working on carefully measured conduit bends to keep the install clean and precise. The electrical installation will occur in phases to accommodate HVAC and solar pv installation.

Robin measuring conduit beside the main breaker panel (left) and the installed meter (right)

Custom braided cables that supply power to our exterior shading combine power and data supply for shading controllers and our ALIS (Adaptive Living Interface System).

Braided power/data cables ready to be installed

Team Ontario/BC’s custom designed wood curtainwall frames are now coming together and look fantastic.

Wood curtainwall vertical mullions (left); end detail of wood curtainwall sills (right)

MCM’s team is putting together the wood curtainwall panels in the shop. In the meantime, the floor panels have been closed and foaming is being completed to make them structurally sound R-60 sandwich panels.

Wood curtainwall being assembled (left); Structurally insulated floor and roof panels (right)

Team Ontario/BC’s densepack framing is progressing and the lavatory wall mount carrier has been installed. On site, Brad checks all of the dimensions to make sure the framing matches the drawings.

Densepack framing (left); Verifying dimensions at the entry (right)

Installation of the breakformed steel drainage pan in the shower and how to frame a thermally broken exterior corner (this one’s for UW Prof Terri Boake).

Stainless drainage pan at shower (right); Exterior corner framing detail at densepack (left)

Team Ontario/BC is very excited to hear that our B1 model custom kitchen partially donated by Bulthaup has arrived. It will be stored in Bulthaup’s warehouse until we are ready to install it. Many thanks to Antje and Stefan of Bulthaup Canada for their continued support of the team and the North House project!

The structural framing on the “densepack” - Team Ontario/BC’s main service and structural module for the house - is now well underway. We are proud to be using all Canadian wood in the North House, including FSC^© certified framing lumber from Tembec and plywood sheathing from SFI® certified West Fraser Timber Co.

Lumber framing (left); Plywood sheathing (right)

Team Ontario/BC decathletes and faculty leads are spending almost every day now at MCM’s shop, where they are working quickly on multiple fronts to fabricate the components for the North House. The wall and roof panels have been foamed with environmentally responsible soya based foam insulation, donated by Demilec. Jack and Brad review the corner detail of the panels.

Foaming of the floor and roof panels (left); Corner detail (right)

Outside, the floor of the densepack has been framed and also foamed. In the foreground is the integrated shower drainage pan. The steel chassis is supporting the whole assembly and this will tie in to the deck panel modules.

Densepack floor framing (left); Steel chassis with decking connections (right)

In another part of the shop, the exterior deck steel components are complete and await assembly into easily handled panel modules. The stainless drainage pans for the entry and the shower have just been break-formed and will be placed in the densepack the next day.

Exterior deck components (left); Freshly breakformed stainless steel drainage pans(right)

Jack and his crew are also moving along with the wood curtainwall. The Douglas Fir mullions with Poplar cores have been milled, glued and clamped.

Wood curtainwall mullions

Viessmann’s donation to Team Ontario/BC of vacuum tube solar collectors has arrived and we can’t wait to see them on the building. These will use the sun’s energy to heat all of our water.

Chords of Canadian quarter-sawn Douglas Fir Lumber, generously supplied to Team Ontario/BC by A&M Wood Specialty of Cambridge, Ontario, await in MCM’s shop to be milled into the custom glass curtainwall frames and interior millwork.

Quarter-Sawn Douglas Fir

Team Ontario/BC has received our first shipment from light fixtures donated by Canlyte have arrived that include both low energy fluorescents and some of their newest LED fixtures. Canlyte has been extremely helpful in helping us develop our lighting design and helping us choose appropriate fixtures from their wide range of brands.