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Vermont 2017

The 2017 FHB House is a production-built house in a small development of net-zero-ready houses in Wilder, Vermont, all with a focus on affordability and universal design principles. It’s designed to be quickly built and easily duplicated while meeting stringent air-sealing and performance standards and a strict budget.

Tools & Materials

Trimming the Windows

Preassembled Boral trim is pocketed screwed together.

By Tim Hammer
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Yesterday, while sitting around at coffee break, a couple of the guys where remarking how long they’d been working for us. One guy mentioned he had been with the company for 21 years. Not to be out done, I replied that I’d been with the company for 34 years. That’s impressive for a 34-old, right? When you are born into the family business, you take credit for as many years as you can. In my case, I’m taking credit for all of them.

I’ve experienced many changes during my years with the company. For example, becoming potty trained was revolutionary to me as I no longer felt awkward on a job site. The potty training, though, was second to the arrival of pocket screws on the construction scene. Pocket screws changed the way we approached our trim strategy on the interior and exterior of homes.

Boral TruExterior Trim can be drilled and pocket screwed just like wood, which meant we were able to keep our same methodology for trim. Measurements are taken of the windows and the trim fastened together on a table inside the house. The advantage to pocket screwing trim together is that the butt joints of the trim pieces will always remain nice and flush. Conversely, installing the trim piece-by-piece around the exterior of a window can lead to uneven edges at the joints. The buildup of tapes for air sealing and the nailing flange t make for a bumpy surface that causes the trim to roll when nailed.

Once screwed together, carry the trim to the window and screw it in place. It’s simple and provides an added touch of quality that will be enjoyed for years to come.

Preassembled window trim goes up quickly and sits flat over the flange and tape build up.

 

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Vermont 2017 Videos

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