So Brick does a few things but they are minor in the grand scheme of things. Mostly the thermal mass helps as they heat up during the day and stay warm after the sun goes down so help to minimize wall heat loss (same with gain in summer). The R-value is about 1 but the thermal mass effect is a bit larger. I actually notice my loss more on the back wall which is not brick. I think there is probably an infiltration benefit with a brick wall but I can't say that for sure. Just looking at it , even with the weep holes, it looks to be a pretty effective air barrier compared to siding. You should easily be able to beat your spec house if you try. The only thing that $1800 doesn't include is the gas connection fee. I only used about $120 in gas last year but there is another $120 a year in connection costs. I try to justify that this fee is not really energy cost... In the country - orient your windows right. 1 inch foam (my biggest regret) on the walls and basic infiltration work (foaming windows and doors etc). I'm guessing no NG, so at least Seer 15 heat pumps. Get a geo quote but they are hard to justify generally. Use shade trees on those E/W walls (and south walls too as long as they are deciduous and not oaks or something that keeps leaves too long). Water? What is the motivation here? You should have a well? That is nature's best water reclaiming system. I priced a rain catchment and it was absurd. A well would have been cheaper and I am on city water. Code makes graywater difficult (although I don't know exactly which jurisdiction you are in). But generally NC is not Arizona so the benefits are minimal and jurisdictions have no need to be flexible. Shade/orient windows well/foam sheath/seer 15 - and you should have no problem getting below $1000 a year in HVAC costs. Lezarc - you must not drive much! Average car, average driving = $2000 a year - all carbon, mostly foreign (my house, mostly US uranium). Sure apples and oranges but perspective. You may not design cars but you decide what to buy....just tweaking you.

Well, you can feast your eyes on my attic; I'm thinking you might be facing something similar. I stared at these boards, which were/are painted dirty white, for nearly 20 years before I figured out what to do. Or rather, how to decide what to do. I have two rooms upstairs. One is done in narrow boards with tons of end-to-end joints hanging in the middle of nowhere, and it's bumpy and uneven and ugly as sin. There was nothing for it but to cover it up, which I've done with panelling on one wall, and in another part of the room with wallpaper. I've also started panelling the ceiling with 1/8" maple plywood but don't have a photo of that yet. My husband is not a fan of the wallpapered part, but it works for me. I plastered (oh yes I did) all the cracks, smoothed the wall as much as I could, and papered over it. Half the room so far. For the rest, I've discovered an underpaper that may spare me the plastering. First two photos here of the original look and the panelling. Pardon the mess; after 20 years there are no empty rooms, and the house is so messy I have trouble getting presentable photos! The other room, shown in the third photo, had wider boards, not so many joints, and was installed better, flatter. That, I decided I could paint. It is shown here partly done (and with only one coat on one wall); again, pardon the stuff. Yes, this is how I work my way around the room. I am nearly done the room now, and really liking it painted, much better than I expected. I REALLY hated it when it was white with the dark floor. Am also doing a hallway, in a creamsicle orange colour, and that is looking pretty good too. So one question is, is the installation of your boards nice enough to paint? I have to admit I don't recommend the papering (sounds like that's been tried!). I used a satin finish paint; the old paint was flat, and yuck. If the boards are just bad, then consider removal or covering with panelling. Or with gyproc. An unexpected pain in these rooms is the corners. How do the walls meet? Mine have huge uneven gaps and need corner moulding. It used to have a quarter round, which I hated and have replaced with a square 1x1. I also had holes that were cut in - to get into to the attic shoulder walls - and have had to devise covers for these. Another question you might want to consider is fire safety. It should be noted that gyproc will give you a bit more time than wood, I think. Ours is a small simple house and egress is comparatively straightforward. If yours is more complicated, and if grandkids are involved, you might want a better fire-rated wall material, and that would argue for removal and gyproc. I am not a fan of multiple layers on walls - had trouble even doing the 1/8 inch ply. Maybe we just have so little space I hate to lose even an inch, plus there is spacing out the moulding, and it's messy to get through. So if you are going to do drywall, I would tend toward removal of the beadboard. You could preserve it and use it instead as wainscot, perhaps. Or as fencing. Or as moulding. Or give it away. But wow, unpainted old beadboard? I bet it's nice wood if you refinish it, but I'm not sure I'd feel obligated to keep it on the walls as it is, holes and all. Wood can actually be used around a tub; it's more resilient with water than you'd think. Karin L

With radiant barrier, along with the 3/4" air space, you need a venting system in order for the trapped hot air to escape. One wat would be to have each cavatie,(air space), runn up and out continous running soffit venting if you have that. Screening the bottom of the cavaty will keep bugs and critters out of the air space. If you dont have soffit venting, you will have to come up with a plan to incorporate the cavaties into your attic if you have vented attic space. Radiant barrier will reflect the heat away from the wall, but you have to have an avenue for the heated air to escape keeping in mind hot air rises. It will also be instrumental in holding the heat in during the cold months with proper installing despite negative opinions. Our build is proof!

"....we will have plywood subfloor on slab."....Ummm???? I'm not a fan of using plywood over concrete. It often causes FAR more problems then it "solves". And I know MANY hardwood flooring professionals who shake their head at that sort of technique. My other concern about that statement: "...and he is putting some kind of moisture barrier underlayment under the flooring where we will have plywood subfloor on slab". That indicates a vapour barrier OVER plywood that is sitting on the slab. Oh. No. He. Didn't! When it comes to wooden subfloors, a vapour barrier is NOT allowed. A vapour RETARDANT is allowed (with caution)....but I'm still very worried about "plywood over slab" and then "vapour barrier over the plywood over the slab". These could be red flags. My spidy senses are tingling. I think you need to speak with someone who is NWFA certified to see how this whole plan is going to "work out". It *might work....or it could go south very quickly.