Image Gallery

Construction on the Mall

The Gable Home has been constructed on the National Mall and the whole team is very excited about the competition. For more details about the competition, view the blog.

Photograph of the house on the trailer at dawn with the Washington Monument in the background. Photograph of students preparing the concrete footings on the National Mall. Photograph of the lot where the house will reside during the competition. Photograph of the house in its final location for the competition. Photograph of the house under constructions. Students work to attached the solar panels and prepare the decking. Night photograph of the house with 12 of 40 solar panels installed. Photograph of the student electricians installing one of the solar panels. Photograph from the roof of the house showing a few of the solar panels and some of the neighboring houses.

Public Tours

We held a number of public tours while the house was on campus. We had public tours during our open house events as well as educational tours for college classes. The following images were gathered during these events.

Photograph of Cam playing his bag pipes as the exterior lights of the house were turned on. Photograph of the ribbon cutting at the Open House. Photograph of Mark speaking to a class on a tour of the Gable Home. Photograph of Allen showing how the coffee table can turn into two chairs. Photograph of Allen explaining the mechanical systems of the Gable Home. Photograph of Joe explaining the living room design to a touring family. Photograph of Mark and Emeritus Professor Jack Baker at the house. Photograph of a group of students enjoying the seating in the living room. Photograph of Jon turning on the electric candles. Photograph of the fire department filling up the water tanks so students can test the water systems.

Interior

We are happy with how the interiors of the Gable Home turned out. If you are interested in any products you see, be sure to check out the products page to learn more.

Photograph of the work bench in the porch area. Photograph of the entertainment center Interior photograph of the living room. All furniture donated by CB2. Interior photograph of the transition area between living room and kitchen. Photograph of the kitchen counter designed by Valcucine. Photograph of the kitchen counter with the entertainment center in the background. Photograph of the track lighting in the living and kitchen area. Photograph of the kitchen at night time. Photograph of the clothes wasing spinning through a cycle. Photograph of Mark testing the control system. Photograph of the bathroom with aluminum tiles, bamboo floors and Kohler fixtures. Photograph of the bathroom sink made of Lamboo. Photograph of the cabinetry and door in the bedroom. Photograph of the bed in the bedroom.

Landscaping

We set out all of our landscaping for the Open House, and the plants made for a nice improvement on the house.

Photograph of Jon talking on the phone on the north deck of the house. View of the house from the north-west. View of the west facade. View of the deck and landscaping. Low view of the tall grasses in front of the house. View of the south facade. View from the south-east corner of the house. Lower view of the house from the south-east corner. Close view of the plants on the north side of the home. Closer view of the plants on the south side of the home.

Exterior Lighting

The LED exterior lighting system has been installed. Below are a few photographs of the system in text mode.

Close-up photograph of an LED fixture. Photograph of a string of LED installed along the face of the house. View of the northwest part of the house at dusk, showing the exterior lighting wash behind the siding boards. View of the exterior lighting on the north side of the house at dusk. View of the exterior lighting on the north side of the house at night. View of the exteior lighting from the northeast part of the house at night, showing the exterior lighting was behind the siding boards. Closer view of the north side of the house at night. Close-up photograph of the wash lighting from behind the boards around the bedroom window.

Siding Installation

We are currently in the process of installing our siding boards. The north and west facades are complete and installation has begun on the south and east facades.

Photograph of a faculty member installing siding on the house. Photograph of the west facde of the building. Close-up of the west face of the house, showing the siding detail. Photograph of a faculty member completing the installation of the siding on the north facade. Photograph of grass growing through the spaces of the decking ramp. Photograph of the entire north facade, showing the progres of the siding installation. Close-up photograph of the detail around a window of the north facade. Photograph of the progress of the installation of the enclosure that will conceal the water resevoirs.

Solar Panel and Deck Installation

Solar panel installation is complete and they look really nice! A brief test confirmed that the panels were functioning properly. The decking was also installed and looks quite impressive.

Photograph of the solar panel array on an overcast day. Photograph of a student installing a solar panel on the roof. Photograph of the view from the top of the roof, looking at the solar panel arrays. Close-up photograph of the solar panel array on a sunny day. Photograph of the clips used to secure the solar panels to the roof. Photograph the solar panel inverter screen showing the power input from the solar panels. Photograph of the house with the decking and panels installed. Close-up photograph of the decking installed on the house. Photograph of the entire solar panel array reflecting sun light. Photograph of a student walking along the decking of the house.

Roof Installation

Here are some photographs of the standing seam roof, as well as some interior shots of the Optiwin windows and the construction of the plant garden over the water tanks.

Photograph of the Gable Home with the newly installed standing seam roof. Photograph of the site sign providing information about the project. Photograph of the standing seam roof on the house. Photograph of the large, fixed, optiwin window in what will become the kitchen area. Photograph showing the dual operable capabilities of the Optiwin operable windows. Photograph of students constructing the plant garden. Photograph of students constructing the plant garden above the water tanks.

Gable Home Arrives at U of I Campus

Photographs from the installation of the Gable Home at its temporary location on the campus of the University of Illinois. Students will finish construction of the house this summer and begin testing for the competition!

Photograph of the delivery truck backing the Gable Home onto the site as the crane prepares to life the house. Photograph of the house on the truck as it waits to be lifted by the crane. Photograph of the house as it is lifted off of the delivery truck by the crane. Photograph of the house as it is being slowly moved in place over the footings. Photograph of the house as finally preparations and footing adjustments are made for set down. Photograph of team members and workers as they wait for final adjustments to the footings so the house can be set down. Photograph of team members and workers slightly adjusting a footing under the house. Close up photograph of the house hovering above the footings. Photograph of a worker helping the crane position a roof cap on top of the house. Photograph of the Big 10 film crew on top of a boom lift filming the placement of the house.

Gable Home Construction at Homeway Homes

These photographs were taken during the frame construction at Homeway Homes. The frames are made of laminated bamboo generously donated to the project by Lamboo Inc.

Photograph of the Solar Decathlon Team inside the Lamboo frame of the Gable Home. Photograph of the team looking at the Lamboo frame of the house. Photograph of a group discussing and looking at the bathroom floor of the house. Photograph of a group inspecting the Lamboo framing elements. Photograph of the entire frame of the house. Photograph of a worker beginning construction on the ceiling. Photograph of a worker in the framing elements of the house. Photograph of students and faculty discussing the progress of the house.

Tour of Homeway Homes

Photographs taken during a tour of Homeway Homes' facilities.

Photograph of the team discussing the project in a conference room at Homeway Homes. Photograph of students touring the facilites. Photograph of students touring the facilites. Photograph of students touring the facilites. Photograph of a working spraying foam insulation. Photograph of the spray-foam insulation. Photograph of the construction systems at Homeway Homes. Photograph of the Homeway Homes facility.

Framing Construction

Photographs taken during the construction and erection of the lamboo framing elements.

Photograph of the single palet of Lamboo required for the entire structural frame of the house. Photograph of a joint of a lamboo framing element. Photograph of a joint of a lamboo framing element. Photograph of the connection of a framing element to the sole plate. Photograph of the system used to construction the framing elements. Photograph of the Lamboo frames installed. Photograph of the Lamboo frames installed. Photograph of the Lamboo frames installed.

Footings Construction

Photographs of the footing formwork preparation and concrete pouring.

Photograph of students discussing the footing design with the structural engineer. Photograph of a student carrying wood used for the construction of teh footing forms. Photograph of students constructing the footing forms. Photograph of students tying the footing reinforcement bars together. Photograph of the completed forms with reinforcement bars inside. Photograph of students installing the steel angles and bolts to the footing forms. Photograph of the steel angle and bolts installed on the footing forms. Photograph of a student leveling the forms prior to pouring. Photograph of the mixing truck as it prepares ot pour the concrete into the forms. Photograph of students working the concrete into the footing forms. Photograph of the students leveling the concrete in the forms. Photograph of the footings as they cure. Photograph of a student and faculty advisory removing the forms from the footings. Photograph of the completed footings. Photograph of a cart constructed for the transportation of the footings.

Decking Preparation

Some pictures illustrating the preparation of the reclaimed wood to be used for the Gable Home decking.

Photograph of students separating reclaimed silo wood to be used for decking boards. Photograph of a student removing nails from the reclaimed wood. Photograph of a stack of decking boards with buckets of nails removed from them. Photograph of a student cutting one end of the board square. Photograph of students scrubbing the decking boards clean. Photograph of a students using a power washer to spray the decking boards clean. Photograph of a students having fun with the power washer. Photograph of a student using a power washer to spray the decking boards clean. Photograph of a student cutting a decking board to its needed size. Photograph of a student cutting a decking board to its needed size. Photograph of students sanding the decking boards in order to improve staining application. A student is seen in the background moving stacks of decking boards. Photograph of students sanding the decking boards in order to improve staining application. Photograph of students applying linseed oil stain to the decking boards. Photograph of students applying linseed oil stain to the decking boards. Photograph of a student and faculty advisory installing the decking structure to the base of the mock-up.

Siding Preparation

Some pictures illustrating the preparation of the reclaimed wood to be used for the Gable Home siding.

Photograph of a student preparing the siding boards for cleaning. Photograph of a student scrubbing the siding boards. Photograph of the Silent Paint Remover as it heats the surface of a board to help paint removal. Photograph of a board after it has had several layers of paint scraped from it. Photograph of students scraping paint off boards and using the Silent Paint Remover. Photograph of a group of students cutting the siding boards to the appropriate size. Close up photograph of students cutting the siding boards to the appropriate size. Photograph of a student sanding a siding board to prepare the surface for painting. Photograph of a student testing different paint colors on a sample siding board. Photograph of the Cabot paint in cans to be used on the siding boards. Photograph of students sanding and dusting the boards immediately prior to painting them. Photograph of a student painting a siding board with a roller brush. Photograph of a student filling in narrow gaps in a siding board with a smaller paint brush. Photograph of a number of siding boards drying in the sun. Photograph of siding boards applied to the mock-up.

Mock-up

Some pictures illustrating the construction of a mock-up for the Gable Home. The purpose of the mock-up was to make sure the mechanical and electrical spaces worked correctly and had sufficient room.

Photograph of the beginning of mock-up construction with stacks of wood to be used in the mock-up construction. Photograph of students installing the floor joists. Photograph of the installed floor joists. Photograph of a student installing the floor deck. Phootgraph of students cutting the floor decking to the correct size for installation. Photograph of a constructed frame element of the house. Photograph of a student securing the joint of a frame element. Photograph of another student constructing the joint of a frame element. Photograph of three frame elements installed on the mock-up. Photograph of the mock-up with frames and interior OSB installed. Photograph of students installing the interior wall studs. Photograph of the installed interior walls. Photograph of students installing the exterior sheathing of the mock-up Photograph of a student painting the exterior sheathing of the mockup. Photograph of the exterior sheathing painted with prepared siding boards also painted. Photograph of students installing the exterior decking structure to the side of the mock-up.

Barn Siding Salvage

The barn siding shown here was salvaged during the deconstruction of a barn to be used as the siding of the Gable Home.

Photograph of the old farm barn prior to siding removal. Photograph of the barn structure revealed after removal of the siding. Close up photograph of the barn siding. Photograph of a student removing siding from the barn structure. Photograph of the old farm barn during siding removal. Photograph of the old farm barn during siding removal. Photograph of the group of students who assisted in the siding removal.

Grain Elevator Deconstruction

The wood shown in the pictures below was reclaimed during the deconstruction of a grain elevator to be used for the decking of the Gable Home.

Photograph of the grain elevator prior to deconstruction. Photograph of the grain elevator prior to deconstruction. Photograph of a wall of the grain elevator still standing during deconstruction. Photograph of stacks of sections of grain elevator wall. Photograph of a worker among the pieces of deconstructed grain elevator. Photograph of piles of deconstructed wood. Photograph of piles of deconstructed wood. Photograph of piles of deconstructed wood. Photograph of a students separating the dimensional lumber of a wall section.