National press on “Green Building” efforts…

Our company recently got some national press for our efforts in green building.  The magazine is “EcoHome” published by Hanley Wood.  The article was featured on the cover.  This project is a 6-unit condo building in a downtown Indianapolis area where we have worked for quite some time.  The project received a “gold” rating from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and their green certification rating system.  The NAHB system is similar to LEED and also requires a 3rd party verifier to ensure that the claims you are making are backed up with proper execution.

Above is a photo of the project featured in the article.  These condos are 11 blocks east of the circle and range in cost from $280k – $340k.  All have rooftop decks (incredible views), 2 car attached garages and highly finished interiors.  Only one of these is left for sale.

Yes, the photo of me in this article is quite possibly the worst ever.  Peaked your interest?  Click here to view the web version of the article.  The article is on page 18.

Hands On…

Progress on my own personal home has continued.  We moved in a couple weeks ago (I promise, more finish shots coming soon) but there was still some work to do and mainly on the outside.  However, one of the few inside projects was finishing up the fireplace hearth and surround areas.  We had originally planned to use some Indiana Limestone or other native material to accent the area, but the budget got tight towards the end of the job.  Thus, I chose to use some pigmented, cast concrete since that was something that I could do myself and keep the budget in check.  This, along with the hardwood floors, are the only things I “self performed” on my home.  I work with a bunch of very talented craftsmen and I certainly appreciate their work and skill, even more so, after building my home.

Below are some shots of the process and the results.

Exterior forms were installed, all the joints taped (so the concrete &/or moisture would not leak out onto the hardwoods) and everything was checked for level.  Then I installed some special fiberboard material (you can see my hand float sitting on it) that keeps the heat, from the fireplace, from reaching the wood substrate below.  The exact materials and thickness was specified by the fireplace manufacturer.   Since the interior is finished and clean, I mixed all the concrete by hand out in the garage, added the pigment (a charcoal color) and then carried it all inside in 5 gallon buckets.  Here you can see me about 1/2 way through packing the forms full of the concrete material.  (sorry for the photo quality – I used my phone)

After everything was poured I had to trowel it smooth several times that evening.  Towards the end we used some different techniques to expose some of the aggregate and give the concrete a softer, warmer feel.  Then I stripped all the forms and cleaned up (except for the paint touch ups you can see on the wall).  The finished hearth stands about 3″ above the hardwood floor.  This height was a result of the thick, special, heat board that had to be installed plus another 1″ of concrete above that.

I then installed the surround pieces (that were completed in the same manner) with some thinset material so we would get a good, solid bond.  The result is nice and clean but still has a warm feel.  There is still some grout/touch-up work to complete on the hearth (which you can see if you look closely) but overall the installation is complete.

My energy audit is complete, but my final LEED-H paperwork is still pending a couple more items.  Those should be wrapped up in the coming weeks and then we will submit for the final LEED-H certification, of which I am currently targeting a “Gold” level.  I will update that more in the coming weeks.  Further, our company is getting ready to start construction on another green home that will take some of what I learned on my home, and take it to an even higher level.  Exciting stuff.  You should start to see posts on that home in the coming weeks as well.

Exterior Landscaping…

The exterior landscaping at my own personal home is largely complete so I wanted to share some pictures.  If you remember from the very early posts, this lot was quite challenging and so yard space, grade, trees and other site conditions really limited the amount of usable space we would have even though the lot is fairly large.  This lead us to do several things differently than most projects.  First, we limited the amount of turf/sod by only installing it at the front & side areas.  This is a an area approximately 30×50 and the remainder of the site will be left “native” woodland.   This way the small yard area will be manageable to maintain and irrigate.  I plan for all grass, and other plantings, to be watered from rain-barrels so I don’t have to use municipally treated water.  Those rain-barrels are not yet installed but I will try and remember to post on them once that is complete.  The second thing we did differently was to chose plants that were native to the area or held up well to the conditions in our area.  This will limit the amount of watering that will be required during the dry, hot months.  Lastly, we created a “front porch” area inside the landscaping of lot.  This area is shown below and is where I think we will spend a lot of our time outdoors.  Due to building setbacks and the challenges of the lot, this “front porch” area was best completed with landscaping so that some of the codes and stipulations did not apply (as they would of had the area been constructed).  I think it turned out nicely…

Above is a picture of the patio area for the home.  This is at the front of the home serves as our porch.  This area extends into the “building setback” area of our lot so we did this entirely out of landscaping materials and screened the front of this with plantings.  Using this approach allowed us the space we wanted and we complied with the building regulations.  A good design solution, I think…  We plan on have a couple chairs out here and maybe a small firepit?

Above you can see the front yard and patio area in context.  The area visible is almost 100% of the sod/yard space we have, which is plenty for one kid and a dog.  I can also mow and keep up with something this small, so I’m pleased.  Yes, we planned it this way.  I am not a yard guy…  The arborvitae are the plants we used to help screen the patio/porch area.  Once they grow for a year or so they should form a fairly nice hedge that will provide privacy for the space.  These plants are easily pruned and I intend on keeping them about this height and only allowing growth to the density/width.  The idea is that when seated, you can be shielded from the street.  However, if standing, you can engage the street and neighbors.  It is a public/private space that way and I think another example of a good design solution.  Note that the house is not yet painted.  The “color” that is visible now is just the factory prime coat that the materials have when they ship out for install.  I do have a small test color up (off to the left of the large window, low-ish) but the painter is not available until another week or two.

Above is a shot of the detail work on the stone wall and patio that was completed.  I have worked with Cory at True North Landscaping for the past 3-4 years and I would highly recommend them.  Good work at a fair price and you will not meet nicer people.  They also do work with rain water harvesting and cisterns.  I would encourage you to check them out.

Not pictured are three nice, tall (14′ ?) trees that we installed on the south side of the home.  These trees are deciduous, so they will help shade the home in the summer and we will get the heat gain from the sun in the winter (when the leaves have fallen).  Shading the home with trees, limiting the sod areas, using drought tolerant plants and installing rain-barrels will all help with my LEED certification that I am completing for the home.  I am still projecting a “Gold” rating but that process is not complete and will not be for another month or two as I have to get all my paperwork in line and have one more inspection from my LEED verifier.

Plumbing Installations & Bath Finishes…

At my own personal home the bathroom counters were recently installed which allowed most of the plumbing work to be completed.  Below are a couple notes and explanations of what was used on my own personal home and note that many of these products are used on many of our other projects.

Not the most glamorous photo, I know, but we are in the middle of construction, ok?  Above you can see that the counter-top, sink, faucet & toilet have been set.  The faucet is a Hansgrohe unit that is EPA “Water Sense” certified to ensure responsible water usage at each of the bath areas (this same faucet is used at the master bathroom too, pics of that later).  The toilets that have been used in the home (and seen above) are the Sterling “Dual Flush” units that allow the user to select different flush setting depending on, er… um… “the business” completed at that moment.  Depending on which publication you read, the water savings can be anywhere from 3000-5000 gallons of water saved every year per user.  That is a huge number especially considering that this number is only the water usage and not the power, infrastructure and other costs of treating that waste water.  This is a very, very simple upgrade that can be completed ($100-$150 per toilet) that can have a large impact.  We will also recieve LEED credits for the use of some of these fixtures which will help us in reaching our goal of “Gold” for our completed home.

Here you can see the same cherry cabinet, chrome faucet & floor tile as we have used in the other parts of the home.  I like keeping the material selections to a minimum through out the home as I believe it imparts a clean, simple aesthetic to the project.  The counter-top in both the bathrooms is a different material from the kitchen (granite).  It is a limestone material named “Jura Grey” which relates really well to the tile, has a natural feel and offers a really unique look.  Note that limestone is softer than granite and so use should probably be restricted to bathroom or other lower use areas.  We have had marble (another softer stone) in bathrooms before and it held up well.  I am sure that this limestone will be fine as well.

Many of the other finishes will be occuring this week and then we will have the inspections (bank, city, etc…), the final energy audit and the final inspection for the LEED certification.

Interior Finishes Continue…

The interior finishes continue to be installed at my own personal home.  Below is some detail about the process and the ideas behind the decisions.

Above you can see the cabinets starting to be installed.  You can also see the (still) missing window (the bare OSB panel) that still needs to be installed.  That window is missing due to a mistake that was made between my supplier and myself (yes, I’ll take a big portion of that blame).  While work continues, it is a pain.  The missing window has affected siding, exterior trims, insulation, interior trims and if it takes much longer to get it in – it will affect my painter too.  Just an example of how missing client specifications, materials (as in this case) or other issues can affect timelines and schedules of any project. Other than that, the project continues nicely.

Above is another shot of the kitchen.  You can see the space for the refrigerator unit and some of the upper cabinets that have been set.  The other upper cabinets are yet to be installed because they sit down on the countertop.  The countertops will be granite (more on that later) and so they take a couple weeks to fabricate and install after the cabinets are completed.  The cabinets have a simple, shaker appearance and are Cherry with a light stain applied.  The cherry will darken and become more red with time & UV exposure (note for your own project that most woods change with time and UV exposure).

The tile work has also started.  Here you can see that the master shower pan has been installed.  This is a custom concrete pan that is poured by my tile installers.  The wall has a water proofing membrane applied to it (it is all the black stuff on the walls) and the shower pan is made to slope to the drain.  After these installations the tile will be installed and fully grouted.  My wife and I chose an Italian porcelain tile product to be installed – as it looks just like stone - with all the advantages of porcelain tile with through-body-color technology.  More pics of the tile as it is installed…

Interior trims are also starting to be installed and the doors have been hung.  Above you can see some of the window trims & stair parts that were installed today.  We use MDF (medium density fiberboard) for most of the trims as it is very stable, available in long lengths & paints up nicely.  Do note that some MDF (typically the material produced overseas) have high concentrations of urea-formaldehyde and VOC’s which are exactly what you do not want to install inside your home.  As we always do at The ReDevelopment Group, we work with suppliers to ensure the specification of materials meets our goals for each project.  In this case we used a supplier that has access to MDF that is manufactured here in the USA and the levels of the VOC and Urea-formaldehyde are below the thresholds required for our LEED-H certification.  More importantly, the levels are so low that I am comfortable installing them in my own home.  Also note that most VOC’s and other pollutants can be sealed by paint (as all these trims will be) so any remaining (and unwanted) polutants should be encapsulated.

The interior trims will take around 1 1/2 weeks to complete.  Next comes the interior painting, floor finish and then all the mechanical finishes.  Although it looks a long way from complete – the home is about 40-50  (calendar) days from completion.  More updates soon.