Window flashing and more about stove choice

Last night was lovely in Musquash, so I decided to get off my lazy butt and take some pictures of the house: All kinds of stuff going on with the well and septic. Our septic got approved, so yay! for that.

You can see where we've started putting tyvek and strapping around the windows in preparation for their installation.

We also discovered this awesome window flashing called 'Blue skin' which is basically a thick adhesive rubber strip that you stick on top of the tyvek and strapping around the windows and doors to keep moisture out. It prevents drafts, keeps moisture out, and self seals around punctures. Below is the corner of the window to the left of the door, above. It sometimes takes some practice to figure out how to use the materials correctly. ;)

To address Chris's comment re. the woodstove: The Alderlea does come in a larger size (the T6 for 3000 sq ft homes), but the larger stove is no wider, and it only allows peices of wood 2" longer than the T5. And of course it's more expensive. We talked to a number of people about it and decided to go with the T5 for a number of reasons:

1) Houses insulated such as ours with cathedral ceilings show a temperature gradient from floor to ceiling of less than half a degree. Yes heat rises, but you have fewer drafts and no cold spots, which means that everywhere is pretty much the same temperature.

2) It is recommended to use a smaller woodstove than your floorspace would dictate when your house is well insulated and when it's passive solar. Our floorspace is 2000 sq ft - and our stove choices were between stoves for 2000 sq ft and 3000 sq ft.

3) If your house is smaller than your woodstove can heat, you can't burn it properly (get it really going) or your house will overheat. Not burning it properly results in a less efficient burn (more particulate in the smoke and more offgas), and a lower lifespan of the stove.

4) We found a used (but basically brand new) T5 that was $1000 cheaper than a new T6.

Various family members have been betting how many cords of wood we'll burn next winter. They've been all over the map with their guesses - what do you guys think? :)