![\"clearstory\"](\"http:\/\/jcremin.com\/house\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/clearstory.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSince our focus became finding ways to save money, the first major item to get the axe was the basement.\u00a0 We always wanted a handicapped accessible house, which meant that our floor plan put all of the essential rooms on the main level, leaving only a spare bedroom, the utility room, and a huge unused area in the basement.\u00a0 The extra space would have been nice (future home theater, for example) but the large price tag for the foundation, extra materials, and labor made it impractical, since it was highly unlikely we would utilize the space.\u00a0 With the floor space we recovered by eliminating the stairs to the basement, we only had to make our main floor a few feet larger to accommodate a spare bedroom and utility room.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the elimination of 50% of our square footage still put us over budget, but at least the numbers were starting to get closer.<\/p>\n
Then in April 2013, after doing research on energy efficient alternatives to spray foam, I ran across a method of construction known as REMOTE, which stands for R<\/strong>esidential E<\/strong>xterior M<\/strong>embrane O<\/strong>utside-insulation TE<\/strong>chnique – yeah, I know, that was probably your first guess, right?\u00a0 In simple words, this method essentially means that you put the majority of your insulation on the outside of your house, using 4×8 sheets of rigid foam board insulation.\u00a0 Not only are the walls covered with foam, but so is the roof, providing a foam shell which fully encloses the house, offering excellent energy efficiency. In case you are having a hard time imaging what I’m talking about, here’s a picture to help explain:<\/p>\n