Building a modern farmhouse in Cleveland Ohio is much different than building in Austin Texas. In this video, Matt Risinger, master builder, visits a new building site in Cleveland Ohio where a modern farmhouse is going up. In the interior, Advantech flooring is installed, as well as a subfloor, which means a basement. Advantech flooring and foam glue are used in the home. Zip sheathing is used for thermal bridging, using 1-inch panels. The product works well here as you're not sheathing the house then putting on exterior insulation. It's done in just one step. In the video, the backside of the insulation covers the zip sheathing that's taped and sealed on the outside, creating an airtight shell. In the cold climate of Cleveland, it's important to eliminate some of the heat loss that happens with wood framing. To do so, there's foam in the headers and sheathing on the header as well, creating an R-12 header. In addition to the Zip sheathing, their flashing tape is around the whole window and on the sills there's a fast flash liquid. There's also a spray wrap which is used as a regular exterior wall water resistive barrier, used when a concrete foundation is exposed. In this case it covers the cinder block to add protection. The only mechanicals exposed are plumbing pips and a few recessed cans since there is a full basement where the mechanicals are housed, while ductwork runs up to the second floor and up into the attic. Risinger points out that a pre-done set of stairs is covered and finds out that the builder brought in white oak treads, poplar risers and stringers and protect them as much as possible. Bringing them in early in the project provides early access to the upstairs. Pre-building saves installation time. Rockwall is used for sound transmission and in between interior walls, while spray foam is going on the exterior walls. In the basement, there are two giant windows and 2-inch rigid foam is used on the exterior basement walls, with 2 x 4s put up tight against that and no other insulation or cost is required. While closed-cell foam would work, it would triple the cost. Although options are explored, the most reasonable is the one chosen. Check out this video and see why building in Cleveland calls for a different set of solutions.