@lithigin... It would be ok to vent through the roof and that is within our Residential Building Code. But, ours was never vented through the roof. The duct just ended inside the attic, near an existing attic vent to the outside. @lithigin and @artemis78... Well, I did not get to take a look at it in the attic. And, I would like to believe that it was a miscommunication, but they told me they ran the new vent duct into the attic next to but separate from existing ductwork so that it ended behind the attic vent to the outside. They said they also fastened a screen over the end of the duct. So, the unfortunate truth is that the cooktop vent ductwork was simply never truly vented to code. Whether or not it was vented to the outside, I guess, is in the semantics. The contractor and carpenter stand by their original work insisting that having the duct near the attic vent is appropriate as the attic vent goes to the outside. The dishonest part is that they led us to believe the cooktop duct had been vented to the outside TO CODE, when they knew it wasn't, even after my questioning them about it on several occasions. We did end up allowing them to correct the situation the way they suggested, through the outside wall. (At the time, I had asked them if a roof vent would be better, but they said it wasn't due to possible leak problems and my husband agreed with that.) So, now there is a separate grill vent directly below the existing attic vent. It works (the flaps lift up when the vent is turned on) and isn't particularly obvious or ugly from the street. I suppose once the new custom decorative chimney is up on the cooktop wall this won't seem nearly as bad as it does right now. (I have already found a fabricator and someone else to put it up --a recommendation from my real estate agent friend.) It's just that my trust was violated and it stings a lot right now. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I am going to have to spend some time learning how to post pics (thank goodness for the instructions!) so everyone can see the finished results. Thank you for taking time to respond to my post.

HORRENDOUS expexperience from start to finish. Placed a very simple order for cabinet pulls. After almost 2 WEEKS, I Recd the box with the wrong sized pulls. Call to customer service. Replacement order shipped out, and I had to use my own supplies to print their emailed return label. The second box arrives with AGAIN the WRONG sized pulls! Second call to CS. Use own supplies again to print a second return label. Then, I tell them to just cancel my order , Way too much hassle. These clowns cant even get prepackaged cabinet hardware right! Then, almost 3 weeks go by after I returned everything to them by UPS, and still no refund. SO…. once again I call CS. They have no explanation as to why my refund was never credited to my VISA account, and then it takes them almost another 5 days to issue the refund! ugh Never again, Build.com.

The MA code used to have its own unique and very forgiving chapter for existing houses. That code allowed an existing uninsulated exposed wall and/or rafter cavity to be fully filled with the equivalent of fiberglass insulation if not structurally modified. Appendix J of the new code (2009 IRC) has been amended by the Mass Amendments as quoted above. The fill-the-cavity rule is no longer to be found or at least I can't find it. That might be a good thing to ask more than one inspector because you might get more than one answer. Good luck with that. However, the prescriptive section of the Stretch Code (in towns where adopted) still has the fill-the-cavity rule: Option 2) Prescriptive path: partial house option (HERS rater not required) Any portions of a building modified by renovation must be brought up to code, or insulated to fill open wall/ceiling/floor cavities whichever is less. Any new windows, doors or skylights must meet Energy Star 5.0 standards. Any new ducted heating or cooling systems outside the insulated space must be tested and meet a maximum of 4% leakage to outside. Builders must complete the relevant portions of the Energy Star Homes Thermal checklist. ---------- I recommend using this standard even if your town has not adopted it. There should never be any ducted heating or cooling systems outside the insulated space of the house.

Hi Peter. That is very interesting information. Glad you found a way to completely finish one suite to live in. Did you have to cover all explosed spray foam insulation throughout the project, or just in the suite? Did the suite have drywall? We have always had certificate of occupancy, since we had it on the house before beginning the large addition/renovation project. Living conditions were quite poor for a while (i.e. home was freezing cold), but not so bad now (we have working heating and AC). The pressure to finish to drywall stage by the end of Sept is killing us. We have a five page list of jobs to do to get it all done by the deadline. Booking sub contractors is a challenge in the peak of building, and we had not planned on all of the labour costs we are forced to pay to meet the order and timeline imposed. There are many jobs we have to deal with ourselves (decisions to make, moving/clearing out our belongings, jobs that are 90% done that we prefer to complete ourselves vs pay for a labour charges at this stage). Carol