Just a suggestion for people to keep in mind when thinking about weather-proofing a home.

I was standing in what is to be the center hall of my once and future house, looking at the exterior wall next to which the main staircase will be built on Thursday. At the same time, one of the subcontractors who was spraying the foam insulation was nearby. When I saw daylight through the exterior wall that had just been sprayed, I called him over and asked him about it and what to do. The light was coming through a space between two framing timbers that was less than 1/8 inch wide, so it was not a big space. The insulation guy suggested that the right answer was either to do nothing or use silicone in between such cracks, which they did on some really "over the top houses" and which made the homes very tight. So, the uninsulated cracks are getting filled with silicone.

DW and I took care of most of the second floor this afternoon.