Our office has been the unlucky space of our new house. An early change in elevation on the plans resulted in the first set of floor trusses being too tall to align with the stairs. We caught this and corrected it by using an SIP (factory-built structural insulated panel) for the flooring. However, this resulted in the original ledger board and steel support being exposed in the room. At first, we didn't think this would be a problem, but the steel seemed to draw the cold in and created condensation.
We loved the look of the concrete wall but were afraid we would have to add insulation and cover it up. Then, our general contractor Benedict and Associates, Plummer Concrete and my wife, Stacy, came up with a solution that solved the problem and retained the look of concrete.
We covered the wall with rigid insulation and then covered that with sheets of Hardiboard siding. Stacy designed a grid pattern turning the sheets horizontally and using the unprimed side of the Hardiboard, which features a random line pattern, as the finished side. Corey Benedict then installed it using oversized fasteners laid out in a grid pattern.
I like the super-cool finish better than the original concrete. We were back in business, and Stacy was able to get her computer running and set up her office.
Jason Hammond is at hammond@mojosolo.com
