Due to some travel it's been over a week since my prior post, so here is an update on what has been going on at the house.

On Monday (9/21) we met with Laura for the second Energy Star site visit. The second visit is the post-insulation, pre-drywall visit. Because we had opted for the blown-in insulation in the walls and spray foam insulation in selected places, there was not a whole lot to check at this visit.

Throughout the week, the drywall was hung. Here are some pictures taken Wednesday (9/23) in the middle of the project:

The stone on the garage walls and front pillars was also installed, and the fiber cement siding is now completely installed.

By Sunday, the drywall was taped and mudded.

One drywall upgrade that we added was "Quiet Rock" on the wall between the back bedroom and the master bath, and between the office and the adjoining bathroom and laundry room. This product is the same thickness as traditional drywall, but has additional mass to cut down sound transmission. This, along with the insulation in the walls, should make the rooms adjacent to the bathrooms and laundry rooms a bit quieter.

In addition, during the week, some trees between our home and Graber Pond were removed. This is reportedly to improve the habitat for the endangered blanding turtle. A nice side-effect is an improvement of our view of the pond. This picture is taken from the back bedroom window: