I too am building in the DC area. There are not many places offering quality foam sprays here. Some are closed cell which were out of our budget. Icynene was also more expensive- that from a company out of Manassas. We went with a company in MD using soy based foam. Demilic Sealation800 is what we used ang it was half the price of the closed cell and about 25% less than the Icynene. I had several companies come out for our home. The thickness of the spray can be determined for the R value you are looking for. We went with the entire home envelope which made getting a fresh air system mandatory. Make sure you request a COMPLETE and THOROUGH caulking of every nick and cranny. I had to make my company come back are recualk floor to wall cracks, window sill slits, etc. Demand a quality job- YOu are the one paying for it!! Also, the ability of the guy spraying should be monitored. They don't tell you but if he does not allow the spray to "set" before moving down the wall it will literally seperate from the stud and you will have a gap. We also had to have the company come back out and fill in those gaps. Hope this helps.

Its fairly typical that older houses are fitted with high velocity air conditioning systems because they have existing hot water heat either as radiators or baseboard, so I don't see why a new build should be any different.

Perhaps off topic. Ours is a two-person kitchen most days and is still under construction; most finishing is not done so no other people would want to eat there, except during entertaining. We've found that the table nook in kitchen near dining room is not being used as anticipated--it's not being used for meals, but then, we're still getting used to the nook on path to dining room--a real change from past habit. DH eats breakfast at peninsula (functions like an island) most of the time and I breakfast in dining room. Suppers are at dining table; lunches move many places but not the nook. We've put a rectangular antique drop-leaf table into nook, which we can open up on each side when necessary, but the folded-down surface is like a sofa table. One thing I've noticed is that I use that surface to off-load accumulate stuff from peninsula, a good thing for life on the peninsula where I'm cooking regularly. I also lift one of the sides of the table surface when I do recipe reading, since my shelves with cookbook collection are right there. And houseplants! and flower arrangements! They are on nook table but seen from adjacent lobby. Right now there are 6 amaryllis pots in various stages of growth on nook table. Glad to have them away from the cooking area where they would otherwise be in the way of kitchen activities. Tomorrow will be the maiden voyage of the new kitchen with a potentially large crowd. We expect historic reenactors to take over the kitchen to make historic punches and flips. I plan to serve the beverages from the nook table in crock pots, bowls, and pitchers; the nook has relatively washable surfaces (including non-carpeted floor), and, better still, it clears the peninsula for pot luck supper items so different cooks can be working on stocking the peninsula of food for buffet supper while others imbibe at table. Nook area is adjacent to dining room and on the route to deeper rooms of the house, so the beverage people won't hang out in the kitchen, a real change from past kitchen, if things work as hoped. Beverage cooks will be able to put out their beverages without disturbance and supper cooks will work separately within the kitchen, I think. Cross my fingers. fyi: Yes, you're probably thinking that I don't cook quite the same things as the typical GW'er and I suppose I don't serve typically either. Tomorrow I'm serving "Yard of Flannel" (something like hot eggnog) from Napoleonic Era which requires hot ale, whipped eggs, spices and brandy, more. I hope to be able to monitor this offering without being in the way, because of this nook setup. More items that will be served: syllabub, another flip, homemade hard cyder, buttterbeere (will it be like the Leaky Cauldron fave?), and a concoction with booze and fruit. Entrees typically include wild game, historic cheeses and breads, puddings, wild rice, Boston baked beans. And of course desserts and more historic booze. Hope the weather cooperates or I will have a lot of stuff for the freezer. Next month we will have a somewhat less eccentric crowd for a pot luck meal and the nook table will probably be used for hors d'ouvers, again keeping the frequenters of the nook table out of the working kitchen. We will serve their buffet meal on the peninsula much as we will tomorrow. Have already tried this serving option a couple times and it seems to work well. I don't regret the nook table setup, but as I said, I may not be using the space as others might.

Don't listen to these people! I have done this successfully with my oversized driveway. Cover your blacktop with a layer of paper and cardboard, as much as you can. This will attract worms. Put weeds, lawn and yard clippings, food scraps and leaves on top. Then ask a tree service to come and dump a huge load of woodchips. They do this for free. Rake the chips so it makes about a seven inch thick layer. Get another truckload if you need to. The woodchips contain mycelium which will get a beneficial fungal network started. Woodchips can cause nitrogen depletion so to replace the nitrogen you pee in a large pickle jar (yes!) and then dilute it into a watering can, one part pee to 10 parts water. Fertilze your woodchips often with this. Pee is high in nitrogen. In 18 months, this will all decompose and you will have a 4 inch deep layer of vermicompost. Keep adding more yard waste, leaves, and woodchips for a thicker layer. You can grow shallow rooted plants in this. I've successfully grown zinnias, squash, and strawberries so far with only a four inch layer. I get full sun there. I'm so impressed I've started to cover more of the driveway. I am on a slight hill. I have edged it all with rocks to hold it in place. I cannot predict how your drainage will be if your land is flat.