Building Green on Montrose

Walkability in Graduate Hospital

2010-02-28T22:34:00.002-05:00

Walkshed Philadelphia gives anyone the ability to explore Philadelphia neighborhoods according to the proximity of such neighborhood perks like coffee shops, pharmacies, grocery stores, parks, libraries, car share pods, bars, hardware stores, and more. Although 1/4-mile radius is the generally accepted distance that is defined as 'walkable', a 1-mile radius is used on this site.

Walkshed Philadelphia is the personal research project of Aaron Ogle, a software developer at Avencia. It's based upon the popular Walk Score site, but seeks to improve accuracy and relevance by allowing each user to customize the site based on their personal preferences. Since walkability can be a very subjective measure, each visitor can rank the elements that are most important to them so that they're more heavily weighed in the walkability calculations. For example, if you're a college student and would rather live closer to restaurants, bars, and transit than neighborhood parks and grocery stores, you can easily place more weight on those categories. The site also takes into account the actual walking distance that you'd have to travel to get to each location, rather than relying on a 1 mile radius on a map which doesn't reflect barriers to pedestrian movement like railroad lines or rivers.

According to the default priorities, Montrose Green has a walkability score of 74 out of 100.

Most areas in and around Center City will have high walkability rankings, no matter if higher importance is placed on libraries and coffee shops compared to pharmacies and restaurants. However, Walkshed is a helpful tool to explore neighborhoods in the City that you're less familiar with, especially if you're thinking about moving to a different area of town.

The data that we reviewed for Graduate Hospital seemed to be fairly accurate, but we noticed some missing players. For instance, when setting Montrose Green as the starting location, the site didn't show the relative proximity to the Italian Market even though it's within the 1 mi. boundary. Several popular neighborhood restaurants & cafes that are also within the 1 mi range weren't listed either, such as Pumpkin Restaurant near 17 & South Street.

Also missed were neighborhood favorites like:
May's Cafe- 1700 block of Christian Street
--best prices on lunch meat around
Pumpkin Market- 16oo block of South St, south side
--local produce & baked goods, their coffee shop now opens at 7am!
Pumpkin Cafe- 1600 block of South St, north side
--sandwiches and light fare using seasonal ingredients
Salsita - 1600 South St.
--just $10 for your first salsa class
Jamaican Jerk Hut- 1500 South St.
--BYO rum to mix with their fresh fruit drinks
Organic Community Garden- 1500 block of Christian St.
--opened summer 2009, garden plots available for rent
Govinda's Gourmet-To-Go- Broad & South St.
--amazing veggie wraps & sandwiches
Philly Kitchen Share- 1600 block of South St
--cooking classes & commercial kitchen rental space
Cafe L'aube - 1500 block of South Street
--typical independent coffee shop offerings

This is not an exhaustive list, so there may be other neighborhood amenities not represented on WalkShed. It's a shame that the fast food joints along Broad Street are listed, while somehow these unique local businesses weren't included in the data set. They certainly add a unique vibrancy to the neighborhood that is difficult to measure, so their omission seemed important to note. Hopefully future versions of this site will be updated to ensure a more accurate reflection of the goods & services available in Grad Hospital.

It's encouraging to see that carshare pods, hardware stores, and farmer's markets are included as categories on WalkShed, but we'd personally like to see a few more additions...like dog parks, childcare centers, and public restrooms. For those of us with young children & pets, these are wonderful amenities in the city that aren't normally equally distributed. How about bike racks or bike lanes? What else would YOU add to Walkshed? Does your neighborhood seem accurately represented?

SOSNA (South of South Neighborhood Assn.) hosted a discussion last fall about increasing pedestrian safety in our neighborhood. We don't know the details yet, but it sounds like the neighborhood association won a grant to implement some innovative improvements. Looking forward to learning more about their plans in Grad Hospital as walkability and pedestrian safety go hand in hand. To learn more about SOSNA, visit their website: www.southofsouth.org. Neighborhood meetings & locations as well as important updates are listed there.

FYI... For those less familiar with the name of our neighborhood, "Graduate Hospital" or simply "Grad Hospital" was the name of a hospital located in the north central part of the neighborhood. The hospital closed a few years ago and was subsequently bought by UPenn's health system. It now operates primarily as a rehabiliation center and has been renamed, but our neighborhood moniker lives on. Many residents weren't crazy about the name to begin with, but they can't seem to agree on a new one. The funny thing is, this neighborhood already goes by a number of other names. These include: Southwest Center City, South Square, SoSo (South of South), Naval Square, G-Ho (terrible, isn't it?), Marian Anderson Village, Schuylkill Southwest, and my all-time favorite... Northwest South Philly.

Whatever you call it, it's a great neighborhood and others seems to agree. Out of hundreds of neighborhoods in the Philly area, Grad Hospital made Philadelphia Magazines, "10 Awesome Places to Call Home" list for 2010.

Our snow-covered city

2010-02-07T00:48:00.005-05:00

This weekend Philadelphia was blanketed with over 2 feet of snow in one of the biggest winter storms in the city's history. A few details that show a glimpse of Philly's surreal transformation (from the vantage point of our roof and backyard, of course). For scale reference, notice the travel mug on the picnic table in the bottom image.

Montrose Green update...

2010-02-02T00:35:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been quite a while since our last post- we're long overdue for an update. We have finished the Montrose Green renovation and are in the final stages of wrapping up the LEED-H certification. We're still on track to achieve a Platinum level, as long as the final air infiltration & blower door testing goes smoothly. Lately we've primarily been preoccupied with designing and building our next project- this time for a client. The house is a 3-story infill on mid-block site in Graduate Hospital and is approximately 50% through construction. We've been photo documenting the progress and will be posting updates very soon at our new website: www.solibs.com. This site is still under development, but we'll be slowly transitioning to a new format that will allow us to report updates on multiple projects as our firm grows and we take on additional work.

In other news, we've recently decided to "temporarily" move into Montrose Green. Although we took the house off the MLS during the holidays, the home is still for sale by owner. We are taking this opportunity to test all the systems & appliances and monitor the utility bills (with a family of three) to see if we are indeed saving as much energy as we projected. With this winter season being the coldest in several years, it is proving a great testing ground. We'll report our findings as we compile the data, but so far, so good. Our unscientific report to date is that the house stays quite toasty, even on the bitter cold days. Because the HVAC sytem is zoned (1st floor- zone 1; 2nd & 3rd floors- zone 2) , and with the help of a tightly insulated envelope, numerous ceiling fans, and an open design, we can usually just heat the first floor and let the warm air rise up through the house.

The green roof and the stormwater planter have gone into dormancy for the season. Some of the sedums on the roof have turned a deep red color, but there's still some green visible. All of the other plants are doing well- with little to no maintenance. We are looking forward to the spring season when we'll get to witness the green roof and rain gardens bloom and mature.

As you can imagine, we're really enjoying our stay in the Montrose Green house. As the designers, it's an amazing learning opportunity as we're experiencing first hand every decision we made- for better or for worse. We're very satisfied with the vast majority of outcomes, but there are inevitably a handful of things we would do differently if given the opportunity. Overall, the layout works really well and the room sizes and storage space are more than adequate. The circulation is compact and the amount of natural light in the house is amazing...we usually don't turn any lights on during the day. The Caesarstone countertops in the kitchen and baths are extremely durable, with no worries about stains or scratches. We'd use that product again in a heartbeat. The chalkboard door in the kitchen is one of the other fun ideas that's working out almost exactly as planned. Having a powder room on the 1st floor, not having to trek down to the basement to do laundry, and having real closets are definitely a bonus. These aren't unique concepts, but are conveniences that older row homes often lack. The "green" features are more elusive to evaluate initially since they affect the energy usage/performance more than the day-to-day functionality or aesthetic of the home.

Up next...a critique of what we would change/do differently next time. We'll also share photos of some of the finishing touches as we continue to unpack & get settled. The plan is to open up the house again for tours later this spring, so stay tuned!

A sneak peek at a new SOLIBS project...

2009-11-10T22:18:00.007-05:00

So we've begun work on our next project! A new 3-story single-family residence that will be seeking a LEED-H Gold certification. The house is for a landscape architect and is located only a few blocks away from Montrose Green. Below are some renderings that show some of the design concepts.

South (or front) elevation.

We are exploring the idea of using a true 'rainscreen system' for the main facade. The 2-story bay, or bump-out, at the second and third floor bedrooms will be clad with flat-seam metal panels and the inset portion will have tongue and groove wood siding. Operable wood louvers in front of the third floor windows protect the glazing from the harsh summer sun.

North (or rear) elevation.

We located the kitchen in center of the house on the first floor and placed the living room at the rear. This allowed a strong connection between the living room and the rear yard. The back wall of the house is essentially all glass with large sliding panels that open up and join the indoor and outdoor spaces in the temperate months. There is a wood-sided bay, or bump-out, at the rear of the second floor (in what will be the client's office) that overlooks the yard. And off the master suite at the third floor there is a private deck. We are installing a white roof on top but designing the structure and waterproofing to be able to receive a green roof sometime in the future, which will be accessed by a spiral stair off the private deck.

Building section.

One great aspect about this house is that it sits on a lot that is fairly deep (roughly 70 feet) and thus the house is able to be almost 50 feet deep while still maintaining a large rear yard. What this allowed us to do is essentially pull the floor plan apart and incorporate a true 'solar chimney' (often referred to as a 'thermal chimney') in the middle of the house. The front and back portions of the house are effectively joined together by a bridge. At Montrose Green we used the stairwell in conjunction with the whole house fan to achieve a similar effect. In this house, we will have a motorized operable skylight at the top of the open shaft (opposed to a fan) that will open and close when needed. In addition to passive ventilation, the 'chimney' will bring natural light down into the kitchen as well as into other centrally located rooms at the second and third floors of the house.

Montrose Green wins streetscape competition

2009-10-19T00:03:00.006-04:00

We are very proud to announce that the stormwater planter at Montrose Green has won 1st place in the 2nd annual SOSNA (south of south neighborhood association) Streetscape Competition in the 'Tree Pit Garden' category. The prize was a beautiful Nandina shrub from a wonderful organic plant and flower shop in our neighborhood called The Window Box.

Thank you so much to SOSNA for this recognition. We are proud to be part of such a great neighborhood.

Also, if you are in the neighborhood this weekend, be sure to check out BLOKTOBERFEST on Saturday, October 24th, noon-8pm for fun, food, beer, and music.

"This day-long outdoor festival will feature representatives of select craft breweries from around the country showcasing their biggest and best fall beers, as well as delicious food from neighborhood vendors, and a great line-up of live music from local and nationally-touring acts."

Upcoming Events- 10/9 thru 10/11

2009-10-05T21:53:00.043-04:00

Join SoLibs & Bench Dog Design for several exciting events next weekend...

Philly Works- Opening Reception, Friday, October 9, 6-11pm
Bench Dog Design: Open Workshop Tour- Sunday, October 11, 12-4pm

--Scroll down for detailed information about each event--

Philly Works: Opening Reception
Friday, October 9, 6pm-11pm
(Exhibit runs from Wed. 10/7 to Sun. 10/11)
University of Pennsylvania, School of Design
34th and Walnut Streets, Meyerson Hall, Lower Gallery

Bench Dog Design will be exhibiting their work as part of this exhibition!

Philadelphia was known as "Workshop of the World" from around 1880 to 1920. At that time it was hard to find products for the everyday not being produced in the city and region. Just a century late it is far harder to find locally produced products. Philly Works is an installation of functional objects of all scales, quantities, and production techniques that are made in the Philadelphia region. Philly Works is a survey of design, manufacturing, and craft exhibited through a showcase of prototypes, limited editions, and mass-produced goods. Along with the objects, Philly Works will include documentation of the production spaces and the people who make the objects on display. The show will include a "corner store" where some of the many items can be purchased. This opening will be the launch date for the corresponding database and website that will be updated year round. Philly Works will illustrate the many ranges of production still alive today in hopes of inspiring new work, new connections, and to bring light to what is happening in the city.
Philly Works is presented by Made in Philly.

Bench Dog Design: Open Workshop Tour
Sunday, October 11, 12-4pm, 2212 Sepviva Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19125

Bench Dog Design, a custom furniture design & fabrication shop that specializes in utilizing reclaimed timbers in their work, will be opening their workshop for tours. Located in the heart of Fishtown, their shop is housed within a larger warehouse that includes vintage motorcycle and car repair, a painting studio, metalworkers, and other craftsmen. This creative community provides a unique opportunity for collaboration and expression.

Using lumber salvaged from Philadelphia row homes, Bench Dog Design transforms discarded beams and joists into custom designed furniture. Bench Dog's commitment to reclaimed local materials ensures eco-friendly products with character. At the core of its foundation, Bench Dog values the integrity of the craft, thoughtful detailing, and quality design. To learn more, visit the blog: www.benchdog.wordpress.com.

Montrose Green recieves award from PHS

2009-09-19T10:15:00.013-04:00

We are very proud to announce that Montrose Green has won the 3rd place prize for the 2009 City Gardens Contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

We entered the stormwater planter, the rear yard rainwater harvesting/rain garden system, and the green roof into the contest as separate gardens but one interconnected hydrological system.

Although our three gardens are all very different, they have one common purpose (other than to delight): this is to successfully manage stormwater runoff by taking virtually every drop of water that falls on our property and making sure it finds its way into the ground below us instead of into the city sewer/stormwater system, which either goes to the water treatment plant (a place where stormwater does not need to go) or directly to the river (a place where it can go, but should find its way 'naturally' opposed to via a drainpipe). With the incredibly wet season we are experiencing here in Philly, we have had a wonderful opportunity to witness these systems at work. It is truly amazing to see how much water the green roof really absorbs and how much water the planters can infiltrate into the ground.

Click HERE to see a photo album of the garden highlights at Montrose Green. And please check out our previous posts about the:
- Stormwater planter
- Rainwater harvesting/rain garden system
- Green roof

Thank you to PHS and all the judges for coming out and ultimately selecting the gardens at Montrose Green for this award and congratulations to all the other winners. The Awards Ceremony will be held at the 2010 Philadelphia Flower Show on March 2nd.

And, of course, thank you to Brian Weinrich, Shift_Design, JIG, and Charlie Miller, for all their help with the design and installation of our gardens. We are extremely proud of the beautiful (and hardworking) gardens that we all helped create and hope they will serve as a model for other projects in the city.

Join us on PARK(ing) Day!

2009-09-17T23:45:00.005-04:00

"Providing temporary public open space...one parking spot at a time"

We'll be participating in PARK(ing) Day on Friday, September 18! This one-day global event is intended to call attention to the need for more public open (and green) space in urban areas. Learn more about the origins of PARK(ing) day here.

SoLibs will be claiming a parking space directly across the street from Montrose Green (1536 Montrose), on the north side of the block. Rumor has it that the original clawfoot tub from the renovation might play a prominent role in our temporary park...Justin & Christopher will be representing SoLibs throughout the day, so please stop by and visit if you're in the area.

The SoLibs crew will be focusing on WATER...simple strategies to conserve water, such as by using a rain barrel to capture rainfall for watering herbs/flowers, installing aeraters on your faucets, or replacing your toilet with a dual-flush or low-flow model. Learn how more elaborate systems like stormwater planters, rain gardens, and green roofs can all play a role in reducing the impact of stormwater (wastewater) on the City's overtaxed infrastructure.

Emily will be helping to organize a PARK(ing) Day installation in front of the Center for Architecture (1216 Arch Street) in conjunction with the Community Design Collaborative & AIA Philadelphia. Their design is an "Eco-Urban Backyard" and will focus on affordable ideas for incorporating recycled, reclaimed, and eco-friendly features into a small footprint like a patio or balcony. View their resource list to learn where to get FREE stuff for your own backyard, including rain barrels, compost, and mulch.

Want to see who else is participating? View a map of all 30+ Philly PARK(ing) Day installations.

See below for a sampling of some creative PARK(ing) Day installations from prior years:

Montrose Green: an overview.

2009-09-07T01:35:00.004-04:00

Bench Dog Design to host 'First Fridays' event

2009-08-29T23:39:00.010-04:00

Join us this Friday, Sept 4th, from 6-9pm, for our first official ‘Fishtown First Fridays’ gallery opening. We’ll be alongside other builders, artists, and craftsmen that share space in the Liberty Studios/Cycle Garage (our shop location). There will be plenty of beer, wine, and other libations. Hope to see you there!

How to get there:
Our address is 2212 Sepviva Street. MAP
Located just north of Old City: you can bike, drive, take the #5 bus, or the el (Berks stop)

Professional Photos

2009-08-26T10:14:00.002-04:00

Here are just a few highlights of the recent photo shoot we had with the photographer from Kurfiss Sotheby's. Check out our listing on the kurfiss website for more photos.

Photo credit: Michael Colavita

A good friend starts a new project

2009-08-25T10:50:00.001-04:00

Justin Tocci, our good friend and co-worker at Montrose Green, recently branched out to begin another project of his own. He has taken on a partial renovation of a rowhome located in Manayunk (a neighborhood just north of Philly) and things are moving along quite nicely. He is documenting the progress through a blog site: please click here to check it out.

Although he is focusing most of his time on the Manayunk project, he is continuing to work with SoLibs on a part-time basis as we work on the design of our next project: a 3-story rowhome located just a few blocks away from Montrose Green. More info on this later.

Justin is a talented designer and craftsman and I am sure the Manayunk renovation will come out beautifully. We wish him luck in his new endeavor.

Last week's storms...

2009-08-05T07:17:00.009-04:00

Last week's torrential storms really tested the stormwater strategies at Montrose Green. Over 4.5" of rainwater came down in just 1 hour. For Philly, this is a month's worth of rain! The video below shows the stormwater planter receiving runoff water from both the street and sidewalk. As you can see, there is still a pool of water puddling into the street, but much of the runoff is directed into the planter. Here it is allowed to collect and is held until it naturally percolates back into the ground. We did notice that after clearing the intake channels of debris- mostly from small fallen flowers from the tree above- the flow of water increased significantly. The planter did begin to fill up, but since the grade of the planter sits below street level and there is plenty of clean stone laid below the planter bed, the water was able to infiltrate adequately and any standing water disappeared within minutes.

The second video (below) is very short clip that show what typically happens in Philly in a heavy storm. This clip shows our neighbor's downspout completely overflowing where it meets the boot (the short cast iron pipe that leads into the ground.) Typically, the roof runoff on rowhouses is channeled through a downspout, into a boot, and directly into the city's stormwater/sewer pipe which goes to the water treatment plant, as opposed to making its way into the ground or to the river. You can imagine what the poor treatment plant must have been going through last week.

Essentially what is happening here is the main stormwater/sewer pipe that runs under the middle of the street is completely full due to the amount of intake and all the connections from rowhouses are backed up. Many times these connection pipes run through people's basements and this is how they get flooded- which happened all over the city last week. And since the system is 'combined'- stormwater AND sewer in the same pipe- what you get in your basement is, well...let's say, it's not pretty. At Montrose Green, our only piped connection to the city's stormwater system is from our emergency overflow drain in the backyard and we barely had any water going through that pipe to the street during the storm and even with all the infiltration we are doing near the house, we had no water in the basement. Whew!

Our rain barrel + rain garden system was also pushed to the max, even with the flow of water dramatically reduced by the green roof above (which can absorb a lot of water but eventually gets fully saturated). Below you can see an image of the completely full rain barrel, with water overflowing into the adjacent trough. The trough empties into a raised planter (rain garden) through a series of horizontal holes. Similar to the planter out front, we laid a large amount clean stone under the bed for drainage and even with all the water it was taking on, it never did fill up.

After we took this photo, we opened the valves at the bottom of the barrel to let some of the captured water flow into the yard as well as the planter to give some relief to the rain barrel. The rear yard is currently dirt/mulch- which is pervious- so any overflow water was able to be absorbed directly into the ground. Eventually we plan to have sand set concrete pavers installed which will still allow water to infiltrate naturally.

We're headed to Fishtown tonight...PostGreen Web Launch Party!

2009-07-30T12:11:00.012-04:00

Join us tonight at PostGreen's launch party to kick off the next phase of their development plans- 15 new, modern, green homes in the coming year- and their new website, where you can customize your very own green home online.

Thursday, July 30, 6pm
2424 E. York St
Philadelphia, PA 19125
More info: click here.

Christopher Stromberg & Dave Quadrini will be on hand as reps from Bench Dog Design for anyone interested in learning more about our custom furniture that utilizes wood reclaimed from Philadelphia homes & warehouses. Our workshop just a few blocks away in the same Fishtown neighborhood, so who knows...after a few beers, you just might be able to talk them into a tour.

If you can't see the slideshow below, click here to see final images of the 100k House Table, which was Bench Dog's first project commissioned by PostGreen. (A big thanks to Carryn Golden of Golden Silhouette for the photography expertise).

For anyone who doesn't know Chad & Nic personally, they're incredibly easy to work with and continually inspire us in their vision. We look forward to future collaborations...

Sunset Open House, Friday 7/24

2009-07-23T20:35:00.011-04:00

Please join us tomorrow evening for a special Open House!

Sunset Open House
Friday, July 24, 5-7:30pm
1536 Montrose St, Phila, PA, 19146
RSVP requested to krupp[at]kurfiss.com.

Sunset is at 7:22pm...
Enjoy local art, wine & cheese, and a skyline view from the green roof.
Learn about green building and the ways you can update your own home to be more energy-efficient.

For those who aren't able to attend, take a look at our latest photo album that documents the interior finish work, reclaimed wood vanity, salvaged pine paneling, kitchen cabinet installation, and custom rainwater harvesting system. If you live in the Philadelphia area, mark your calendar now for our two August Open House events, Sun. 8/9 from 11am-1pm & Sun. 8/23 from 2-4pm.

Contact Krupp[at]kurfiss.com or call 215.740.8355 if you are interested in scheduling a private showing of Montrose Green.

Some kind words from PHS / Philadelphia Green

2009-07-21T21:42:00.008-04:00

Click here to read the latest post from Philadelphia Green News - a blog published by Philadelphia Green which mentions Montrose Green and our recently constructed stormwater planter.

Philadelphia Green® is a program of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and is the nation’s most comprehensive urban greening program. Since 1974, Philadelphia Green has supported the development and ongoing care of community gardens, neighborhood parks and high-profile public green spaces in Philadelphia.

Sign up to receive RSS updates from Philadelphia Green News here and stay up-to-date on summer events in your neighborhood park, sign up to become a Tree Tender, learn about the City Harvest program, and the other innovative ways that Philadelphia Green & PHS are leading the green movement in Philadelphia.

The Artists

2009-07-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the two artists that provided the artwork for our recent Open House at Montrose Green. We have always been proponents of the powerful combination of art and architecture. These two artists share this philosophy: one through the expression of the material with which things are made, and the other through the expression of the people who inhabit our world.

The paintings and mixed-media pieces are the work of Marjorie Tether Arendt. "Marjorie’s paintings are inspired by structures and the materials from which they are made, including oils, paper, cardboard, encaustic and wood". Marjorie is also a fellow architect, mother of two (a big welcome to baby Rowan!), and friend of the family. We discovered Marjorie's work at an exhibition at AxD Gallery a couple of years back and were immediately drawn to it. We feel very privileged to have her work grace the spaces of our house. The hand crafted detail and creative exploration of various materials in her work continually amaze and inspire us. If you attended the Open House and are interested in any particular piece, or if you would like to come tour the house and see the artwork, please either post a comment on our blog or send and email directly to Marjorie at: wolf.margie[at]gmail.com.

The large beautiful photographs are the work of our good friend Nema Etebar. Nema's photographs capture..."philadelphia soul.. interest in people and how they move, smile, dance, worry or not with their thoughts/are forever... photo-picture :: picture-photo... bringing back moments and memoirs.. into the streets, this city in time as time dose...has changed life". Nema has a remarkable way of vividly capturing the essence of a character in time and place. Please check out his website at: http://www.nemaetebar.com/. Make sure you take time to scroll through the various sections of his portfolio. You can also visit his JPG site to vote on your favorite photos. Although we love his images of Philly local color...the shots from his recent trip to India are truly amazing. If you attended the Open House and are interested in any particular piece, or if you would like to come tour the house and see the photos, please either post a comment on our blog or send and email directly to Nema at: nemaetebar[at] gmail.com.

Many thanks to Margie and Nema for loaning their work and enlightening our spaces.

Open House- this Saturday, 7/11

2009-07-10T08:15:00.003-04:00

Hope to see everyone on Saturday afternoon from 3-8pm!
Montrose Green: Open House
1536 Montrose Street, 19146

A big thanks to our event supporters, recognized below.

Triumph Brewing Company
Whole Foods Market
Pumpkin Restaurant/Market/Cafe
Betty's Tasty Buttons
C & R Building Supply

Local music by Chris Devenney of New Pony, Christopher Farrell of Rit Mo Collective, and Kaveh Saidi. Local artwork on display by Marjorie Tether Arendt (painting/mixed media) and Nema Etebar (photography).

For those not able to walk/bike/take public transit...

Parking will be available nearby:
C&R Building Supply
1600 Washington Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Signs will guide you back to Montrose Green (1.5 blocks away)

How to build a Stormwater Planter...

2009-07-03T16:21:00.007-04:00

We have successfully installed a stormwater planter in front of Montrose Green. And what exactly is a "stormwater planter", you ask? Well, it's similar to the tree wells that you typically see in the sidewalks running along the city streets, but bigger and constructed much differently. Here is a portion of a previous blog post explaining a bit about stormwater planters and how we were inspired to install one at Montrose Green...

(from June 18, 2008) "The Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds has embarked on an ambitious program to install stormwater planters that are designed to capture and infiltrate street run-off. There was a presentation of this at PHS (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society) recently that Emily and I attended...The concept is pretty simple: basically, instead of having continuous impervious paving along the street (with the occasional tree), we can create small stretches of pervious planting beds (up to 20' long) that will infiltrate sidewalk and street run-off. There is also a scheme to do an island 'bump out' that essentially takes the place of a parking space and replaces it with a lush vegetated area that can capture run-off. Obviously, these also greatly enhance the aesthetic of the street as well as contribute to better air quality."

The basic Stormwater Planter diagram, in section...

Here's a link (click here) to an informative document that describes stormwater planters in greater detail.

So it didn't take much for us to be convinced that installing a stormwater planter at Montrose Green would be a worthwhile venture. When it came time to bust up and re-pour our sidewalk a few weeks ago, we marked off an area along the street roughly 3'-6" wide x 15'-0" long and didn't pour any concrete there. After the sidewalk was set in the remaining area, we began the construction process. Because neither of us are plant experts, the first thing we did was to team up with a great landscape designer to help us with the planter construction as well as the plant selection. We met Brian Weinrich through our contractor, Merlin, who is also helping Brian renovate his own house in South Philly. Brian actually works for the City Planning Commission, so between his landscape background and involvement with urban issues, he was definitely excited about helping us out with the planter. Below are his initial concept sketches (with planting options) as well as his final colored plan.

The curved stone path running through the middle of the planter represents a dry "riverbed" that will fill up during heavy rains. You can also see that we decided to go with three different trees and various arrangements of ground coverings....all of which need to be wet tolerant, due to the amount of water the planter will take on after a big storm.

One of the most challenging parts of this endeavor was the fact we had to dig the planter well by hand due to the utilities -gas and water lines- underneath. Above you can see me (on the left) and Anastasio (from Merlin's crew) digging away. The recommended planter depth is roughly 3'-0" deep. Ugh! It took us a couple days, but we finally got it all cleared out.

Above is a series of photos showing the steps involved in adding the drainage bed of fabric-wrapped 'clean stone'. Step 1: the cleared out planter, Step 2: we laid permeable landscape fabric down, leaving a few feet of extra material in all sides, Step 3: fill the well with 18" of clean stone, Step 4: wrap the extra fabric up and over the top of the stone, essentially fully encasing the the stone as to prevent any dirt from getting into the drainage bed, compromising its effectiveness. This portion of the planter allows large amounts of water to infiltrate and recharge the ground water system below.

When it came time to select the plants and the soil mixture, we utilized two sources: One was a large nursery out in Lancaster County (where we got the trees and a few of the larger plants) and the other was our favorite local nursery, Greensgrow Farms, up in the Fishtown area of Philly. We have been going to Greensgrow for years, enjoying their nursery and farmstand, and have also been proud members of their unique CSA. Above, you can see the various bags of material we used for the soil mixture. Brian felt a nice variety of compost (mushroom and leaf), shredded woods, soil conditioner, and sand would make for a rich, well-drained mix for the plants. You can also see a few of the native annuals & ground coverings we purchased. For the trees, we selected a Sweetbay Magnolia, a White Fringe, and a Serviceberry (or Juneberry) which all have different qualities.

Here's a great little clip of the truck (from Cava Building Supplies) delivering over 3 tons of clean stone. I will be honest in saying I was pretty nervous when I saw how much stone dumped out of the back of that truck. I felt we had way too much. In the end, we only needed about 2-1/2 tons but were able to utilize the rest in the back yard rain garden.

So after a long weekend of planting, our stormwater planter came to life...Above you can see Brian (top center image) knee deep into the planting process. And to make extra sure we were planting the correct species - the trees, along with almost all of the other plantings, came from PHS's list of plant species recommended for stormwater planters. It's not published on their website yet, but we have our sources. The recommended species list includes native plants that are hydrophillic (water-loving), as well as hardy & salt-tolerant due to their proximity to the harsh conditions of street life.

Above are some detail shots of the planter. Hard to believe this is front of a Philly rowhome, huh? We are very pleased with the outcome. Thanks so much to Brian for all his expertise and hard work. In fact we were so excited about our planter that we entered it (along with the green roof and the rear yard rain garden) into the PHS "City Gardens Contest". Wish us luck!

Togo Construction - our finish carpenters

2009-07-01T14:00:00.007-04:00

So it's funny how some things come about. Emily and I have been practicing architecture for several years now...about 4 of them in Philly. We have made a lot of connections in the construction industry. So when it came down to finding the right team of carpenters to help us finish Montrose Green, you'd think they would come through our numerous connections "in the business" right? Well, not exactly.

About a month ago, Emily and I were strolling through our neighborhood (Grad Hospital) with my in-laws and we dropped into a new artisan confections shop called Betty's Speakeasy (aka Betty's Tasty Buttons). Needless to say, the amazing selection of sweets made with local ingredients was the main attraction. But we also took note, as architects inevitably do, of the design details of the space. In addition to noticing the use of reclaimed wood floors for trim, custom concrete countertops, and other unique features...we also admired the craft in which the details were executed. Emily asked the owner about the carpentry work and she gave us the contact info for Togo Construction. She highly recommended the company, especially if we were looking for unique designs constructed with reclaimed materials. We smiled and gave her the address to our blog.

Togo Construction is owned and operated by Lance Morabito. In case you were wondering, the name 'Togo' comes from a classic modern couch designed in the early '70's by Michael Ducaroy. Now what does the Togo couch have to do with Lance's company? Not much, actually. He just really likes the couch and thought it was a catchy name. Fair enough.

Anyway, we called Lance the following day to see if he might be interested in helping us out at Montrose Green. He met us the next day, walked through the house, expressed a genuine interest in what we're doing, and has been on-site just about every day since then. His 'second' carpenter, Dave Palmer, has also been continually involved and the two of them are doing some really great work.

I hope that Lance knew what he was getting into when he agreed help to finish out a design/build project being run by the owner who is also the architect...and on-site everyday. Let's just say that I get fairly particular sometimes regarding design details. The great thing is that Lance seems to be just as particular about the way his work is constructed. Finding a carpenter (never mind two of them) that are totally into modern detailing and all its nuances who have the tools, skills, and creative insight to successfully execute those details is a rare find these days. Lance also has a genuine interest in working with reclaimed materials and finding new and creative ways to incorporate them into the project.

Togo recently completed all the trim work for the house. You can see below a few images of the 'nearly finished' details. The door/window/baseboard detail that we used is considered a 'museum' or 'gallery' trim detail. Basically, all the wood trim sits flush with the face of the drywall and is separated by a continuous 1/4" reveal (the obligatory modern detail). It took a lot of discussion and some trial and error to figure out the cleanest way to build this detail, but in the end it came out beautifully. These images are from the third floor which is being touched up with a final coat of joint compound (or spackle). The shot with the ceiling fan is looking through one of the bedroom transoms.

Togo Construction is currently working on the rear yard cedar fence (images below). I have had the design of this fence in my head for a long time, so I'm pretty excited to finally see it come to life. Lance also appears to have a fascination with pouring concrete, so we're now discussing going back to one of our original ideas of pouring concrete pavers for the rear yard patio that would incorporate 50% slag in the mix along with some color pigment.

Below are a few shots of Lance and Dave working on the details of the cedar fence.

Finding high quality craftsman who take pride in their work is a real treat. Along with Merlin and LCB Construction (our GC), we are excited to have Togo Construction as part of the SoLibs team.

Open House...July 11th, 3-8pm!

2009-06-28T22:03:00.012-04:00

Please join us for our upcoming Open House Party!

Montrose Green: Open House Party
Saturday, July 11th, 3-8pm
1536 Montrose Street
Philly, PA 19146

We'll be leading tours of the Montrose Green project throughout the afternoon and welcome anyone who is interested to stop by and see the finished project in person. The SoLibs team will be on-site all afternoon and will be joined by our realtor, David Krupp, as well as several members of the design & construction crew to mark the completion of the project. It's been a crazy year and we want you to come help us celebrate!

We'll have a variety of local food & beverages on hand to share and to top off the event, there will be live music on the back patio. Should be a fun time for all...Please let our realtor know if you can make it. RSVP requested to: krupp@kurfiss.com.

Hope to see you on the 11th!

Caesarstone countertops installed

2009-06-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Below you can see the Caesarstone countertops arriving by truck. Our friends at K Group coordinated the process...overseeing the template, fabrication, and installation. (They partner with Master Countertops who actually fabricate and install the material). The second image shows the guys grinding the material after they scribed it on site so it will fit tight to our floors. This piece is for one of the 'turndowns' (where the end of the countertops turn and continue down to the floor) in the kitchen.

Below are a couple of shots of the countertops installed in the kitchen, a detail of the 'turndown' at the dishwasher, and a shot of the master bathroom sink and faucet. The install went off without a hitch and everything looks great. We were most concerned with the seam in the material at the ends of the counter where we decided to turn it and run it down to the floor. They did a great job at putting it all together. Our original plan was to mitre the corners but it was not feasible with this particular line of Caesarstone due to the fact that it contains glass and it began to chip and pop out after a few tests in the shop. We ultimately went with a 'butt joint' detail which still came out nice after they polished it up.

One important green strategy we developed in regards to the Caesarstone (outside of the material itself- read more about that in a previous post) was the maximization of the slab dimensions. We actually designed the width of our two kitchen countertops and all of bathroom vanities to coordinate with the manufactured width and length of the Caesarstone slab. By carefully mapping out all of our counters to fit within the slab dimensions, we determined that we would only need to purchase two slabs for the whole project. After some shifting around and coordination at the fabricators, we were able to successfully provide countertops for the entire kitchen (including 'turndowns') and all three bathrooms...all within two slabs with virtually no waste factor.

Custom stair railings installed

2009-06-21T22:33:00.022-04:00

Last Friday, Bill Curran came to install the steel handrails at our stairwells, just in time for the DVGBC Green Home tour on Saturday, 6/20. We had a great turnout of about 35 people who stopped by to see the house- our project was the 2nd stop on a tour that also included Bancroft Green, Thin Flats, and Market Flats. Nearly everyone braved the rain to climb up our timber ladder to the green roof for a glimpse of the skyline and the sedum plants in full bloom. Click here for a slideshow compiled by one of the tour-goers. (Thanks, Brandon for sharing your photos!)

Below are some shots of the steel guys working out the details and then clamping and site welding the rails in place. The tolerances that these guys work to is pretty amazing. They site measure and then cut almost all the steel in their shop and are usually within a 1/16" when they come to put it all together on site.

Below you can see the how the stair rail turns and connects to the guard rail at the second floor. Bill and I went over a number of different ways to execute this and worked out the details in his shop. We think it came out pretty nice.

Here are a couple of shots of the stair and railing from the first floor. We pulled back the protective cardboard on the floor temporarily so you can see how the cherry floors and the exposed brick look against the black steel rails and reclaimed timber treads. The treads you see here are temporary (made from old pine timbers found in the alleyway behind the house), but look very similar to the final reclaimed oak timbers which still need to be planed down and cleaned up before being installed.

A modern rain barrel!

2009-06-07T16:37:00.006-04:00

Wanted to take a step back to explain more about the conceptual/big picture reasons for integrating a rainwater harvesting system in the Montrose Green project...as we mentioned before, the idea is to capture water in order to reuse it for plant irrigation while also reducing the volume and the speed of stormwater run off so that it can naturally percolate back into the ground, replenishing the groundwater.

The green roof already does a tremendous service in respect to slowing down stormwater. Excess water that is not absorbed by the plants or given back through evapotranspiration, slowly drains to a screened scupper box at the low point of the roof where it enters into a downspout, then drips down into the rear yard where it has time to be reabsorbed into the ground. Our proposed rainwater harvesting and rain garden system handle this excess water and continue to slow its speed. These simple strategies ensure that little to no run off will end up in the City's sewer system, which is already overtaxed and undersized.

In the event of a huge storm, one in which the green roof gets totally saturated and the rainwater collector and the rain garden both fill up... the excess water will next flow over the planter wall and into the rear yard, which will be comprised of permeable pavers that will allow for the water to percolate through. If there is still excess runoff, which is unlikely, the water will flow into an emergency overflow drain which runs to the City sewer system (this is why I say we are "essentially" disconnected).

Have you ever spend hours trolling the internet trying to find a decent looking rain barrel, let alone a simple, modern one? To the left is a detail shot of our prototype, commercial-grade, stainless steel rainwater collector, custom designed by Philly firm, Shift_Design, and locally fabricated. A movable panel on top allows it to be closed off for the winter without detaching the entire system. Additional detail images follow.

We are in the process of installing the whole system this week... so stay tuned for more updates.

Rainwater harvesting system update

2009-06-05T11:09:00.001-04:00

We've recently found a unique opportunity to team up with two friends of ours, Mario Gentile & Gavin Riggall, who have started a new design studio that specializes in "exterior architectural systems". Their firm, Shift_Design, will be designing & fabricating a custom rainwater harvesting system for the rear yard at Montrose Green. We've always had an idea of what we wanted to do (check out an earlier post here), but have not had the time to hash out all the details or schedule in the construction.

So a couple of weeks ago, Mario and I were talking about the progress of Montrose Green and other on goings. As he began to tell me what he & Gavin had planned for their design firm, the wheels began turning in my head. I quickly realized that this would be the perfect collaboration. After sending them the conceptual plan for our rear yard and discussing what our ultimate goals would be, they went to work. About a week later they came back to us with the design shown below...pretty nice, huh!

The design is still in the development stages, but essentially here's what you're looking at:

The wall that this system works off of is the concrete block dividing wall between our rear yard and the neighbors to the east of us. On the upper left of the rendering, you can see our downspout connecting directly into a custom designed and locally fabricated stainless steel rain water collector. The collector (or holding tank) is elevated above the ground about 20" and has a screen along the top as well as three outlets - one at the top and two at the bottom. The outlet at the top is an overflow outlet which connects to a long stainless steel trough with a horizontal line of holes punched along the front side. Vertical steel rods hang from these holes and extend down into the rain garden (in this case, an elevated planter box filled with wet tolerant plants). When the trough fills up with water, the water will slowly trickle down the metal rods into the planter area. In addition to providing a simple path for excess water to flow downward, the rods also provide a structured framework for vines to grow upward.

One of the outlets at the bottom of the holding tank will be a spigot (for filling watering cans and such) and the other will provide a fixed connection hose, with a shutoff valve, that feeds directly into the rain garden. The intention here is to allow for a way to bypass the trough system and direct water directly into the rain garden. This hose will also allow the holding tank to be drained seasonally.

The design also incorporates a bench that cantilevers off the top of the low planter wall- this will likely be made of wood. A horizontal slat system on the wall provides an area to hang planter boxes and potted plants which can be organized numerous ways and rearranged throughout the year.

The ultimate idea here is two-fold and fairly simple:
1) to harvest rainwater for irrigation in the rear yard and
2) to slow down stormwater runoff and allow it to sink in and recharge the groundwater below our building.

We are very excited to be collaborating with other local architects and installing a system that will be fabricated right here in Philly. As this design continues to evolve, we'll post more updates. Shift_Design is in the early stages of developing their product line, but expect to have both off-the-shelf & customizable packages available later this summer. If you're interested in working with them, please contact Mario Gentile directly: mgentile[at]jxnstudio.com.

DVGBC Green Home Tour

2009-06-02T00:15:00.008-04:00

Montrose Green will be featured on the upcoming Delaware Valley Green Building Council's (DVGBC) Green Homes Tour on June 20th. We will be one of four stops on the tour which includes nearby Bancroft Green and two projects by Onion Flats in Northern Liberties. Please check out the website for more information about registering for the tour. Hope to see you at the house!

Green Home Tour - Sustainable City - green strategies for urban living

Join the Delaware Valley Green Building Council Residential Circle to examine three very different answers to building Green in the City. Thin Flats in Northern Liberties - the first LEED Platinum Duplex in the country. Bancroft Green, just south of South Street, are new energy efficient townhomes; Montrose Green, on nearby Montrose Street, aims for LEED Platinum status and is an innovative re-working of a Philadelphia rowhome. We will also visit New Market, LEED gold pending.

Tour Date: Saturday June 20, 2009
Time: 10am – 1pm +/-

Price: DVGBC Members-$15, Non-Members-$20, DVGBC Students-$10, Student Non-Members-$15

Contacts/Info: info@dvgbc.org

Introducing... Bench Dog Design

2009-05-28T21:35:00.001-04:00

We are pleased to announce our latest venture...

Bench Dog Design is a custom furniture design + fabrication shop located in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philly. The mission of our shop, stated above with logo, continues the legacy of quality design and sustainable practices set forth in the Montrose project but at the smaller scale of uniquely crafted works of art. Bench Dog is a partnership between the members of Southern Liberties, LLC (Christopher + Emily Stromberg) and our good friends and longtime collaborators David Quadrini and Jenny Yip. We have opened up a full-scale wood shop (actually located within a large metal shop) and will be building prototypes as well as commissioned pieces including dining room tables, coffee tables, shelving units, benches, built-ins, etc. We are also planning a line modern, efficient, multi-functional children's furniture this fall.

And we have good news... We recently completed our first commission: a dining/conference room table for the 100K House, located just around the corner from our shop. The good folks at Post Green offered us the opportunity to design and build a table for them using recycled steel and reclaimed timbers (a couple of which were actually from the Montrose house), and we jumped at the chance. With such similar philosophies of sustainable design, the collaboration made perfect sense. Check out the great blog post they did about the table. We were able to finish it by their ribbon cutting ceremony on 03/31 and it appeared to be a big hit.

Please check our website...and make sure you go to the Flickr site to see all the photos. We recently had a good friend take some professional photos of the table which will soon be up on our website. If you or anyone you know is interested in a custom-designed piece of furniture made from local reclaimed timbers...give us a call!

Preview- 3D renderings of Montrose Green

2009-05-25T00:52:00.017-04:00

We recently generated several 3D renderings of Montrose Green in order to help better illustrate how the house is put together and generally how it works. We are pretty excited about how they're coming along. We still need to add some notes to the drawings to help explain them, but we figured we would go ahead and post the progress images.

The rendering on the right shows the extent of the original rowhome (below) and how it relates to the new addition (floating above). You can see that we have added a significant amount of square footage to the house...we basically doubled its size. This rendering also shows the 4' wide alley, or easement, next to the house that we paved with reclaimed brick from the old facade as well as the extent of the stormwater planter out front (in green).

The rendering on the top left indicates the new elements that make up the building skin (i.e. the green roof, the third floor metal mansard roof, the fiber-cement panels at the third floor and rear addition, and the sun shades at the south facade.) In the rendering, these elements are pulled away from the house in order to show their location relative to the overall design.

The rendering at the bottom left is a building section cut through the center of the house. The ultimate intention for this drawing is to show how all the 'systems' in the house work (i.e. passive and active ventilation, daylighting, HVAC, water management, etc.

Many thanks to our friend and coworker, Justin, for taking the time to create these images.

Facade update

2009-05-14T00:04:00.010-04:00

A quick post to show everyone the latest shot of the front facade with the new (old) Bluestone steps and sidewalk. This was taken around twilight on one of the beautiful Philly spring evenings that we're enjoying these days.

We're almost finished installing the floors (it's taking forever!) and have a team of carpenters coming next week to help us knock out the rest of the trim. Almost all of the tile is done. Many thanks to Merlin (our GC) for jumping in and helping us out with the tile installation.

The appliances arrive on Friday so the kitchen needs to be set (most of it is assembled) so the fixtures can go in their respective places - one reason we MUST have the floors done asap. We ended up going with the Cafe line from GE for the kitchen appliances. We liked the simple, modern and professional feel of the appliances as well as all the great write-ups. Moderately priced too.

We went with Whirlpool Duet Sport (stackable) for the Washer/Dryer. We had our sights set on the LG Tromm until we saw this frightening news piece. Sometimes procrastination pays off.

It's beginning to feel that the end is surely near. Famous last words, huh.

Green Roof Revival

2009-05-03T02:23:00.012-04:00

The Spring season has brought us many welcomed changes: sunshine, warm breezes, and much needed rain. Along with these has come the amazing revival of our green roof. After long months of hibernation, the sedums are rapidly filling in. I have to admit, I was somewhat skeptical all winter as to whether the tiny plants would survive the harsh season. Well, as you can see in the side-by-side images below, the tiny plants aren't so tiny anymore.

The images (above left) show the plugs just after installation- each was about 1-3" tall. They grew a bit in the fall, but the bulk of the growth has happened in the last couple of months. While each plug has grown in height, they have also grown tremendously in width, shooting off multiple stems from each plant (above right).

With the spring showers, there has really been no need for watering. Depending on how dry our Philly summer is this year, we may need to supplement with additional water to ensure that the plants are fully established. Since this will be their first summer, we want to make sure they're strong enough to survive the heat. After the plants are fully established, no additional watering will be necessary. Sedum plants are classified as "succulents" because they hold water in their leaves and are drought-tolerant.

JIG (our green roof installers) had initially estimated that it would take roughly two growing seasons to fill in and create a continuous "carpet" of plants and it seems we are well on our way to accomplishing that. The type of green roof we installed is a Type II: Aromatic Garden by Roofscapes, Inc (the Philadelphia-based green roof engineering firm founded by Charlie Miller). JIG is the certified local installer of Roofscapes green roof systems. You can read more about our green roof installation in our previous post from last September.

Needless to say, as we rapidly approach the completion of work on the home's interior, we are thoroughly enjoying our lunch break spot up on the deck.

Below you can see the recently installed steel support posts and railing (courtesy of our trusty steel fabricator, Bill Curran) that surround the roof deck. The final step will be to install the galvanized aircraft cable that spans in between the posts.

More reclaimed material

2009-04-27T22:55:00.015-04:00

After a long search, we recently secured a set of reclaimed bluestone steps for the front entry. And after an unexpected phone call, we were able to attain some sizable slabs of slate for the rear yard as well.

The stone steps for the front entry are Pennsylvania Bluestone, a fairly soft stone that polishes up beautifully. Originally, they were the entry steps (two steps and a landing) off another, larger house that was demolished. We purchased the set from Provenance Architectural Salvage, who also has a tremendous selection of other reclaimed material as well. The best thing about the steps is that they are over 4 ft wide. The existing steps at the Montrose House were removed a long time ago and brought to a marble shop on Washington Avenue to be refinished. The only problem we saw with reusing them on this project is that we now have a larger front door (over a 3 ft wide opening) and the old steps were only about 33-34" wide. We never felt it would look right to have a door wider than the steps. Locating salvaged steps wider than 36" turned out to be a more difficult search than we originally imagined.

As for the original Montrose steps?? Well... they are actually going to be installed in front of our own rowhouse, which has 2 steep concrete steps. Because our doorway is only 31" wide (real fun for couches!) the Montrose steps will work nicely. And we will always have a reminder of the project.

The images below show us loading up the stone steps at Provenance. They needed to be loaded with a forklift as each step weighs about 400-500 lbs and the landing is around 1,000 lbs. We will be cutting the steps down to an even 4 ft in order to get rid of some of the broken edges.

Also, our new sidewalk is now poured and the stormwater planter is framed out. More on that in an upcoming post.

Now you can see in the image on the bottom right that the steps are resting on some other stone. Well...last week, through a connection from an artist friend of ours, Andrew Jevremovic of Octo Studio, we were able to get a hold of some beautiful old slabs of slate. Andrew is currently working with another designer to help renovate a bar at the corner of Girard Ave and Montgomery Ave, and they alerted us to all the extra slate from the demo that they needed to get rid of but wanted to go to a good use.

Well, it just so happens that we have been mulling over paving ideas for the rear yard at the Montrose house. So, off we went...to the rescue! Of course, this venture turned out to be no easy task. You see, the slabs were all about 2 ft x 3 ft and about 3" thick, each weighing 200-300 pounds or more. It would not have been that difficult except that all the stone was in the basement of the bar and was the old floor that they had broken out. The only way out was up a narrow old stair. When I got to the site, I was initially hoping that the slabs would be larger for paving purposes, but then I quickly realized that if they were any bigger, I don't think we could have carried them.

Below are some pictures of Justin, Merlin, and me loading the slate slabs out of the building and onto the truck. And then back at the house, looking rather pleased to be unloading the last stone.

For the backyard paving, we have been going back and forth about what type of material to use...flyash cement pavers, porous concrete, a recycled material of some sort...as well as reclaimed stone. As time goes by, we keep coming back to the idea that a reclaimed material would be the most appropriate. Additionally, the rear facade of the house has a very clean, contemporary look with the vertical running bond fiber-cement panels, so a more 'natural' feel to the ground treatment would balance out the overall feel of the space. Stay tuned for the final decision.

Wood floor installation

2009-04-19T02:22:00.010-04:00

Well, we are knee deep (no pun intended) into installing the cherry floors. The quality of the wood is impressive. Cherry tends to have a lot of sap wood, a light colored portion in the wood, which results in drastic variations in the color as it takes stains and finishes different from the heartwood. But we are about halfway through the installation and frankly there seems to be no evidence of sapwood anywhere. The color match I gave them is dead on and the finish is gorgeous. I am also glad we went with the wider planks (6") . It has a more classic feel.

Below you can see what the bundled floors looked like after we hauled them into the house. Also, there is a glimpse of the finished third floor...pardon our dust!

We had a couple of great carpenters, from our friends at K Group, help us out with the third floor as we had not installed floors ourselves before. We wanted to acquire the technique as well as some of the tricks when it comes to installing floors. The guys were very helpful and now we are on our own, making our way through the rest of the house.

Since ordering these floors I have since turned at least 4 other individuals onto the Collins Companies as a source for their projects. It turned out to be a great find.

Of course, except for one minor detail.

As I might have mentioned before, the mill at Collins is not set up to do end-matching (tongue and grove on the ends of the boards...just like the sides). Therefore, the ends of the floor boards would simply butt together when they meet. Well, with a 6" wide plank, this simply won't fly. You see, if you did lay them just as they were delivered, you would inevitably get 'cupping' at the ends of the boards...if not immediately, it would occur within the first few months. This would be disastrous.

So, the gluttons for punishment we are (or maybe just diligent), we decided the only way to resolve this was to double biscuit the ends of every board using a biscuit jointer. Essentially, this creates the T&G situation needed to keep the boards stable. We created a jig and are going through the stacks of floor boards in a production line like manner...as you can see below. Our good friend Justin, who is pretty much helping us full time now, can take all the credit for being so incredibly organized in stacking the biscuited boards.

I have been talking to the guys at Collins about this dilemma and they are being very receptive. I told them that no 'end matching' would inevitably be a reason why folks don't buy their product. They have since begun taking steps to get their mill set up for end matching (go figure, it's after we're done!) and hope to be set up soon.

We will have some more updates on the floors very soon as well as the tile, which is going in now. We also have some interesting adventures to relay regarding procurement of the reclaimed stone for the front steps and the rear yard. Stay tuned!

Steel Stair Installation

2009-04-06T09:49:00.002-04:00

A few photos of the steel stair installation...The whole process was completed in just a few hours. After the hardwood floors are installed, Bill Curran & his crew will return to install the steel railings. The final step is to clean the steel by hand (an eco-friendly cleaning agent like SimpleGreen was recommended) and to apply a coat of beeswax to give the metal a slight sheen and more finished look. The wood treads in the images are temporary 2x4s- the final ones will be fabricated from reclaimed oak beams and will be about 3" thick. We are extremely pleased with how the stair turned out and will post additional images after the railings and final treads are installed. enjoy!

Check out this video....these guys make it look so easy.

Green Real Estate

2009-03-20T08:15:00.002-04:00

The past month has been very hectic as we try to wrap up the major work on the house so that we can begin to install the final finishes & fixtures. Our goal is to have the house 'substantially complete' by the end of March! We are rapidly approaching our one-year anniversary of construction and are approximately 6 months behind schedule. As architects, we should follow our own rule of doubling whatever time you think a project is going to take, then add 3 more months to be on the safe side. Ha. While it turned out to be fairly accurate for this project, the next one should go so much faster now that we've identified a team of subcontractors and suppliers that we've had a good experience working with and who are truly on board with our green initiatives. We've learned a few valuable lessons along the way as well...but more on that later.

We've been meeting with a number of realtors recently that have various levels of expertise in marketing green real estate and in green buildings in general. A new green certification has recently emerged in the real estate industry. After completing three sessions of specialized training, either online or in the classroom, a broker can become a certified EcoBroker. By gaining an introduction to eco-friendly principles and products, these real estate professionals work to help "you save money and live comfortably through energy-efficiency and environmentally sensitive choices." The EcoBroker designation was founded in 2002, but has rapidly taken off in the last several years. Search for an EcoBroker in your area here. Of course, just because a person becomes a certified EcoBroker does not mean they are green building experts. In the end, it is best to meet with the individual in person and talk through, in detail, all the sustainable strategies you are either looking for or looking to sell and how they compare to 'conventional' building techniques.

While it's definitely a different real estate world out there in comparison to when we started this project (or even in comparison to last summer), we are confident that this house has a number of unique features to offer that will help it stand apart from the crowd. If you have been following our blog, I am sure you are aware of this. Now as with many other things in the world of sustainability, the real estate market is being inundated with anything and everything 'green'. As we are strong supporters of "every little bit helps", there needs to be a distinction (and your realtor should recognize this) between a truly sustainably designed and built home and one that simply has bamboo floors (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

To date, nearly all of the new green homes for sale in Philadelphia have been located in the Northern Liberties/Fishtown area or the suburbs. The Montrose house is walking distance to Rittenhouse Square, the Avenue of the Arts, City Hall, and plenty of shopping and dining...not to mention the stunning view of all of it from our roof deck. We plan to officially list the house with a realtor at the end of the month, just in time for the April house-hunting season. For now, you can read our 'by owner' Philly Craigslist ad here. Please spread the word if you know anyone in the market for a unique, eco-friendly home. We'd be happy to give a tour.

Final drainline work

2009-03-18T08:47:00.002-04:00

Joel Cohen and his crew recently completed the replacement of the sanitary line that runs from the basement of our house to the city sewer line in the street. The previous pipe had been improperly connected at the basement. In lieu of using a coupling to attach the drain line to the pipe on the exterior, a previous owner had just poured concrete into the larger pipe to attach the two. Hmmm...smart thinking, guys. This made it a little bit more difficult for us to replace the lines, but Joel and his crew (basically, his son) got the job done. The photo below shows the existing cast iron pipe under the sidewalk which was completely rotted out.

It's unclear how long this pipe has been in this condition. We had shut the water off at the property in anticipation of not needing it for a year or so while we were going through the design & permitting stages of the project. Apparently the condition of drain pipes rapidly deteriorates when water is completely shut off, as occasional flushing of the pipes ensures that minerals do not build-up enough to cause damage. The next set of photos shows the new ABS connection line and the vertical ventilation shaft that rises up to the level of the sidewalk.

Since looking at photos of sanitary lines isn't necessarily everyone's idea of a good time, we'll end on a few fun pictures. Along with tearing up the sidewalks comes the inevitable large machinery. Our son, Nicholas, is almost 2 yrs old and like many boys his age- or any age for that matter- he has a new-found obsession with anything with wheels, wings, propellers, or tracks. David (Joel's son) noticed how enamored Nicholas was with the backhoe and offered to lift him up for a ride. Nicholas helped him with the controls for a few minutes and was wide-eyed the entire time. Lucky kid!

Roof deck modifications + cornice work

2009-03-16T11:02:00.001-04:00

With the help of our friends, we recently completed an extension for the roof deck that will allow a small landing opposite the roof hatch & ladder. The plants in this area were not thriving due to increased foot traffic whenever anyone accessed the roof. The elongated platform should give a little more breathing room by the roof hatch. We also had to modify the steel railings and posts which will wrap around to enclose the new landing area. Once those are in place, we'll tackle the installation of the cables. We have purchased a few off-the-shelf components to allow us to test-run a small portion. If all goes well, the end result will be an open, clean, & economical railing solution. The main goal is to preserve that beautiful Philly skyline view while providing a safe place for socializing.

Painting the cornice is another small task that we tackled ourselves. Everyone took a turn here- testing our balance on a somewhat wobbly set of pump jacks on a very cold day. In the photos below you'll see our friend Justin, me (Emily), & Christopher each taking a turn. Turns out that Christopher had the strongest nerves, as Justin and I conveniently let him to paint the edges farthest away from the scaffolding. We're no dummies.

Go Green Expo- this weekend!

2009-03-12T18:23:00.004-04:00

Friday- Sunday, March 13-15
PA Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street, Hall B

Join us this weekend at the Go Green Expo!
The SOLIBS crew will be sharing a booth with K Group, a green construction firm. Weekend passes are just $10 (online ticketing has already closed, so buy them at the door). Kids under 12/Seniors/Students receive Free admission.

Called the nation's premier eco-friendly tradeshow, Go Green Expo is coming to the PA Convention Center this weekend. Sponsored in part by NBC, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly.com, Go Green Expo will showcase the latest and greatest in all things green, from fuel-efficient cars and natural personal care products to greener gadgets that help us live more sustainably. In addition to over 200 different exhibits, Go Green Expo will also host a variety of panels and keynote speakers. Mayor Nutter will be doing a ribbon cutting on Friday at 10am to kick off the show and Philadelphia Office of Sustainability head, Mark Alan Hughes is giving a keynote address on Friday at 1pm.

To view event details, visit www.gogreenexpo.com.
To see the complete panel discussion & speaker schedule, click here.

Our very own Christopher Stromberg will be participating in a panel discussion called "Building Green Does Not Need to Cost More" on Friday, March 13 at 11am. He will be joined by Bill DeFalco of E3 Bank, Andrew Kleeman of EOS Energy Solutions, and Johnny McDonald of Onion Flats.

And the final flooring selection is...

2009-03-12T08:00:00.006-04:00

American Black Cherry!

After considering the several FSC Certified hardwood flooring options from The Collins Companies, we decided that Black Cherry will best suit our needs for this project. We received the samples a few days ago and the Cherry was absolutely beautiful. And seeing that the Collins Pennsylvania Forest is home to the "finest Black Cherry hardwood forests in the world", how could we pass up this opportunity to source our lumber locally from PA?

Upon deciding on the Cherry, there were only two decisions left to make: whether to go with prefinished vs. unfinished floors and what size planks to use.

After weighing the pros and cons of the different finishing options, we decided to go with the prefinished boards. There were four main reasons for this: 1) it is much more cost effective to prefinish--about 1/3 of the cost of finishing on-site, 2) prefinished floors tend to be more durable because the coats are applied in a very controlled environment and in thin, multiple layers (rather than mopping on thick layers) which results in a very clean, smooth look, 3) we simply could not come to terms with going through all the effort we've exerted to keep the house clean and chemical free, and then introduce drum sanders and finishing chemicals. Right now the house is nearly done and painted with non-toxic paint- the two just didn't seem to fit. 4) Time- unfinished boards would require losing about a week's worth of work time in the house due to the drying times when no one can else be in the house. We are already behind schedule so this was important to us.

Of course, there are a couple of advantages to getting unfinished wood planks and finishing them on-site. 1) You can get a more cohesive visual surface when you spread the finish over the planks after they are laid. The seams between the boards become a little less pronounced. This of course comes down to the "look" you are going for. 2) The floors tend to be more "waterproof" when finished on-site. The reason for this is that if water is spilled on the floor (and sits for some time) it can make it's way through the seams between the boards. With prefinished boards, you don't have any barrier to stop the water from migrating through. When you cover the entire floor with a continuous layer of polyurethane, you create a protective seal against moisture. However, if you get quality made floors that have a very tight tongue & groove seam that lock into place, you should have adequate protection against migrating moisture.

We requested a sample of the clear coat finished cherry as well as a 'cherry stained' cherry. Since our original plan was to compliment the wood window color (deep Chestnut) with the wood floor color, the 'cherry stained' cherry worked out perfectly. Cherry will also naturally darken over time which will only enhance its appeal. We went with a medium luster (28) and also requested the info regarding what products they use for finishing- all are VOC compliant. The process is actually a five coat finish that results in a beautiful and very durable surface.

It is true that American Black Cherry is not one of the hardest woods. Having a Janka wood hardness scale rating of 950, it ranks just below Black Walnut and above Longleaf Pine. The difference with this particular wood is that it is the highest quality American Black Cherry you can find. The samples we received were some of the densest cherry I have ever seen. The floors will inevitably show wear and tear over the years (which is one of the great features of Cherry in that it only gets better with age) but its good to know that we are installing such a high quality wood.

The other choice we needed to make was the plank size. We had a choice between 2-3/4" and 5-1/2" wide planks. After seeing the samples we decided to go with the 5-3/4" wide planks. The cost was really not that much more in the end and who wouldn't want wider planks?

The flooring should be arriving in about two weeks. We are planning on installing the floors ourselves. The good thing is that with wider planks it should take us less time...at least, we hope.

Rear facade & yard update

2009-03-10T23:42:00.002-04:00

The sunshades (sometimes referred to as brie soleil - a French word meaning "sun breaker") were finally completed on the south facade and all of the fiber-cement panels have now been installed. Our metal roofer, Jason, was also at the house a few weeks ago installing the metal coping around the perimeter of the roof. He fabricated the coping from Zalmag, which is the same material that we used for the folded metal panels at the front mansard. By thinking ahead and ordering extra, we were able to have enough material for both. Check out our previous blog entries on Zalmag here and here. The whole profile of the house looks much cleaner now.

The only thing left to do on the rear facade is to install the final galvanized metal downspout that will attach directly to a rain barrel, with an overflow to the rain garden. We also intend to paint the exterior housing of the whole house fan the same color as the fiber-cement panels which will make it blend in a bit more. One other aesthetic decision that remains is whether to leave the sunshades as-is or to paint them. They're made from exterior grade FSC-certified spruce lumber so they can be left unfinished if desired. If we paint the sunshades, it would allow us to caulk a few of the connections that weren't at tight as we'd like. Of course we're contemplating all this after all the scaffolding has already come down, making it a little more tricky to access the sunshades themselves...but it is possible.

As of this week, we are finally getting the new layer of stucco on the side of the house (the outline of the original house) now that the temperature has warmed up a little. That will wrap up the major exterior work on the building, with the exception of the front steps, refinishing the front sidewalk, and installing the stormwater planter.

The photo below shows the formwork for the concrete curb around the rear patio. The curb will provide support for the sand-set paver area as well as help control any excess runoff and prevent unnecessary erosion. 4x4 wooden fence posts will be embedded into the concrete to ensure that they're strongly anchored. We're planning to build a 6' high vertical tongue & groove fence, with a gate that opens onto the utility easement. This will make it easy to bring trash & recycling from the backyard to the front curb without having to haul it through the house.

More updates soon- we have simply been too busy these past few weeks to keep up!

Rethinking the floors

2009-02-11T09:26:00.019-05:00

So I have been going back and forth lately about what the best flooring material would be for the house. For a long time we have had our minds set on the carbonized strand bamboo. Please see our earlier blog post describing the difference between strand bamboo and regular bamboo floors. It's a really great product: durable, beautiful, (relatively) inexpensive, and ...sustainable. It's this last one that I am grappling with. The other day, a good friend of mine and I were talking shop and we got on the topic of how everyone thinks that bamboo is the best thing since sliced bread. But frankly speaking, there are aspects of it that aren't necessarily "green" (relatively speaking, of course).

As with many sustainable products these days, there are a few different ways to look at the aspects. One is that it is a rapidly renewable resource: extremely fast growing (by the day , no lie), versatile, durable, easy to harvest. But another side is that (now this only relates to growing bamboo in the US) is that it can be an invasive species that can take over a native ecosystem as fast as Kudzu. Now the reason I say "can be" is that not all bamboo is invasive. Check out this short article on the different types: clumping (non-invasive) and running (invasive), but not a lot of people know the difference and if you grow the wrong kind and don't maintain it...it can out of control very quickly.

Yet another aspect (and maybe the most important to me) is the fact that it comes from the other side of the world. The carbon footprint left by us ordering these floors for our little house here in Philly is pretty substantial. Now there are more sustainable harvesting practices than others. I heard from our good friends at the Environmental Home Store (who have a great selection sustainably-minded floors, among the many other great products they sell, including a variety of non-toxic paints... which I will be discussing shortly) that it is often better to source bamboo from Vietnam rather that China. Well, in the end that is good knowledge to have and a responsible way to look at material sourcing. But we are still back to the same problem.

We have tried very hard to build this house sustainably as well as locally. So, in returning to the conversation between my friend and I, we asked ourselves...why do we need to look so far away? We must have options close to home. And we do. I am speaking of beautiful, FSC certified hardwoods grown where else than in the great state of Pennsylvania. Not too many people, it seems, know of the lumber company located in western Pennsylvania called The Collins Companies. Founded in 1855 in PA, they have been practicing sustainable forestry since the beginning and were "the first privately owned forest products company in the United States to be comprehensively evaluated and independently certified by the Scientific Certification System (SCS) under the principles and criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)". And not only is their wood FSC certified...its "Single Source" (opposed to "Mixed Sources") and Collins will provide all the Chain of Custody paperwork you need for LEED. Additionally, they are Pennsylvania's second largest private land owner. From the Collins website:

"Kane Hardwood, a Collins company, manages the 126,000-acre FSC-certified Collins Pennsylvania Forest. These lands sit in the center of the finest black cherry hardwood forests in the world, the Allegheny Mountains of northern Pennsylvania. Mixed with red and white oak, soft and hard maple, ash, beech, yellow poplar, and basswood, this thriving hardwood forest is the result of the Collins family’s commitment to sustainable forestry, ecosystem management, and natural biodiversity."

How many loggers have you heard say things like that??

So you're now wondering...okay great,but how does the cost compare? It has to be more, right? After all it is Single Source FSC certified. Well, I just got the price quote for FSC T&G hardwood flooring options (including Oak, Maple, Ash, and Cherry). If you want it pre-finished the price comes in almost HALF the cost of the carbonized strand bamboo (which is more than your typical bamboo) per square foot. For unfinished (if you are up for the challenge) you can get it for about a 1/3 of the cost of the strand. Also, I am sourcing all the trim work from them too. FSC 1x3 and 1x4 Poplar from 6'-16' lengths is coming in around HALF the price of the big box home improvement stores. How is this possible and why do so few people know about it? Honestly, its beyond me.

Additionally, the folks at the Collins Companies are extremely nice and very helpful. And even though they ship their wood all over the US, they love the idea of keeping their products in PA. How can you beat the fact that it's grown (responsibly) in western Pennsylvania, milled on site, finished a couple of hours away, then put on a truck and driven only about 5 hours to arrive at our house in Philly.

So, we are now awaiting a few samples so we can choose a species and a finish. In the end, the bamboo is still a great product and we look forward to using it in another project but we feel this could be the right avenue for us go for this project.

Philly's Green Roof Tax Credit

2009-02-08T11:47:00.002-05:00

Turns out that in April of 2007, Philadelphia passed its first 'green roof' tax credit program. Who knew? Not a lot of people, it seems. In the 18+ months since the legislation was approved, only one application has crossed the desk of the Philadelphia Department of Revenue. Due to a recent change in leadership, it's not even clear whether that initial application was ever approved.

Last week, I attended an AIA Committee on the Environment/DVGBC event at the Center for Architecture with Joe Procopio from Philadelphia's Dept. of Revenue. From this point forward, he will be the primary reviewer of all incoming green roof tax credit applications. Interestingly enough, this program is not being coordinated through the Office of Sustainability. If there are any future modifications to the bill, I hope the two offices will coordinate as it would make sense to consider the effect of tax incentives from a broader perspective.

While it's encouraging to find out that the City is providing sizable incentives for installing vegetated roofs, it was disappointing to find out that the program's scope isn't very broad. According to the program requirements, the tax credit is applied to the Business Privilege Tax. Most applicants will likely be either developers or landlords. A typical homeowner or condo association will NOT qualify for the credit since they don't pay BPT.

Here's the deal:

1) To qualify, first you must own or operate a business within the City of Philadelphia and therefore pay the Business Privilege Tax. This is required because the incentive is issued in the form of "a credit against the Business Privilege Tax of 25% of all costs actually incurred to construct the Green Roof, provided that the total credit shall not exceed $100,000."

2) Next, you must follow all normal procedures in regards to obtaining a building permit from L&I and an engineer's certification that the structure can support the weight of a green roof.

3) The green roof must cover 50% of the building's rooftop or 75% of 'Eligible Roof Top Space', defined as the total space available to support a Green Roof, as certified by a structural engineer.

4) After the building permit and engineering report are in hand, the Green Roof Tax Credit Application can be filed with the Revenue Department.

5) If the Revenue Department approves the application, the taxpayer must agree to maintain the Green Roof for 5 years after its completion (this applies even if the property is sold, so it's advisable to include a provision and/or additional fee for maintenance in the sales contract).

This bill was originally sponsored by Councilman Jim Kenny, and Mr. Procopio did mention that any concerns about the legislation should be presented to City Council for consideration. It seems that if there is enough support, an expansion or modification of the bill might be possible.

In our discussion about the typical costs of a green roof, the concensus was that "all costs actually incurred to construct the Green Roof" would potentially include structural improvements, design/engineering fees, and other soft costs in addition to the actual cost of materials and labor.

So, how does this affect us? Well, it appears that Southern Liberties, LLC (that's us) should qualify for the green roof tax credit on the Montrose project. We already have all of the required certifications, so all that is left to do is submit the application. We totaled up all the expenses involved with the green roof and determined that it cost us about $10K start to finish. Our green roof covers 80% of our 600 SF roof (480SF) which works out to about $20/SF. (The materials and labor alone were $15/SF). This means that we should qualify for about a $2,500 credit towards our BPT liability, which can be spread out over a number of years if desired.

Download a copy of Philly's Green Roof Tax Credit application here.
View the Department of Revenue's summary of the program & application process here.
Read the original legislation here, Bill #070072 and Resolution #070079.
Read related testimony here, including a mention of other potential green roof incentives (i.e. reduced stormwater fees and homeowner inclusions).

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Post them for all to see.

Snow-covered Green Roof

2009-02-04T22:53:00.006-05:00

Ever wonder what a green roof looks like in the dead of winter?

This photo was actually taken last week, so there should be a few additional inches of the fluffy white stuff after last night's storm. We hope the sedum plants are surviving these frigid temperatures and being blanketed by all this snow. The plants seemed pretty established after several months of moderate weather last fall and were planted at what is considered an 'ideal' time of year- September. We'll find out for sure come spring.

More project updates to come soon. Promise.

The steel stair arrives

2009-01-19T22:00:00.002-05:00

Bill Curran dropped off the steel stair a couple of days ago. It took about 4 guys to haul it inside as it weighs around 350 lbs. This is the open-riser stair that runs from the first to the second floor. It looks really great. Bill and his guys did a beautiful job. Everything is very precise and the welds are clean and nicely hidden. He won't be dropping off the railings until later, when all the floors are installed and the walls are painted.

There's Bill, in the bottom left corner, admiring his work.

What you see here is the framework for the stair, without the wood treads attached. You can see the two stringers that run the full length and the open steel "frames" at each step. These frames act as a cradle for the wood tread to rest on. The treads will be attached with screws (from below) and will overhang the frames. You can also see that there are steel plates on either end. This is how the stair will be attached to the top and bottom wood headers. When we go to install the final stair, we'll remove the temporary wood stair and hoist the steel stair into place. I think we are going to use the temporary treads from the old stair on the new one until the final treads are ready to go in.

We could not really afford to get the metal stair and railings "powder coated", so the final finish will involve simply cleaning the raw metal with a degreaser and steel wool then applying a coat of beeswax. Although a powder coated finish is very nice, we actually prefer the more natural look of the wax finish, which allows the character of the material to show through.

I am getting ready to plane down the reclaimed timbers that will eventually become the treads. We have a couple of different choices for the wood. We have Pine, Fir, and Oak beams. The Pine might be too soft but the Fir could work. To be honest, I am not much of an Oak fan, mostly due to the look of the grain, but I planed down a scrap piece of a 2.5"x11" oak beam to 2"x10" (our tread size), and it looks amazing.

What's nice is that it appears most of the 100 yr old beams are quartersawn, opposed to plain (or flat) sawn. Most people are used to seeing plainsawn oak which has a very wide, pronounced grain. To find wood this size that was milled in this manner is a treat. Along with it's beauty, quartersawn wood is much more stable and will take a finish better. I brushed a coat of polyurethane on one side of the planed beam and it turned a gorgeous honey color. I snapped a couple of pictures (below) that show the size and color as well as a close-up of the grain. We will most likely end up using this Oak for the treads, but if not, I am sure we'll find a place for it somewhere else in the house.

Wrapping up the exterior cladding

2009-01-17T11:55:00.026-05:00

We are just about finished with the installation of the fiber-cement panels (from Certainteed) the only thing left to do is caulk the joints. The other remaining tasks for the exterior are installing the sunshades and the continuous metal cap flashing at the parapet. You can see in the rear facade image to the left that we have already installed ledgers and metal straps above the windows which will support the weight of the sunshades.

The black plastic downspout at the right side of the image is a temporary solution that will soon be replaced by a smooth galvanized pipe that will empty into a rain barrel. Also, we are planning to paint the cover for the whole house fan (top right) either the same gray color as the fiber-cement siding or black to match the window frames. The sunshades, made of exterior grade FSC spruce, will be left with a natural wood finish.

In the end, we are very pleased with the way the panels look. There was a slight change in the fastening system relative to what was originally intended. We had planned on using nails to fasten the panels (as per manufacturer) but as our contractor began to install the panels, he realized that he was not getting the attachment strength that we needed. A few times the panels began to pull away from the sheathing. The problem was partly due to slight undulations in the surface of the sheathing and partly due to the large surface area of the panels which are 2' x 8' in size.

The fiber-cement panels are very rigid and offer little room for any flexing. They tend to want to flatten back out if the surface is not perfectly flat, eventually breaking the caulk seal. A couple of panels even ended up breaking at the beginning due to the bending stress in addition to the impact of the hammer. We found that attaching the panels with stainless steel screws (which is also approved by the manufacturer) using a hammer drill gave us a much more secure connection.

Due to budget constraints, we are not using a rain screen system (which would involve furring strips or vertical runners and therefore would eliminate the flex issue) but instead we are simply attaching the panels directly to the sheathing, caulking only the top and side joints, while allowing any moisture to find its way down and vent out the bottom of the panels. We're hoping to explore a true rain screen system in the next project, possibly using Vaproshield (opposed to Tyvek, which we used and is great product but is white in color and not great if at all visible) for the waterproof membrane and a recycled composite (like Trex) for the vertical channels.

The image to the left shows where the east wall at the third floor (the party wall) meets our metal mansard roof at the front.

The exposed fasteners are more pronounced than we originally envisioned (the nails would have been flush with the face of the panels), but we love the look of it. The evenly-spaced screw heads along with the softly textured, concrete-colored FC panels are reminiscent of poured-in-place concrete with snap-ties (similar to the image below). We realize the appearance might not appeal to everyone, but we feel it embodies the modern aesthetic of the 'new addition' portion of the house.

Inspiration from Re-Nest

2009-01-08T22:45:00.006-05:00

Stephanie from Apartment Therapy's Re-Nest posted an article today about our project. Check it out here. For anyone who's not familiar with Apartment Therapy, it's a great design resource especially geared towards small spaces. Re-Nest is part of the Apartment Therapy 'family' and focuses on green home design. Since we have a 20-month old son, we also love ohdeedoh for their clever approach to design and children. Be sure to return often as these sites are all updated frequently. Many thanks to our good friend Summer for sending in the suggestion!

The new year is a great time to get inspired and to re-evaluate one of the most important spaces that surrounds us: our home. While trying to take that to heart by undertaking some small projects to update our own house, we've been doing more thinking recently about the types of finishes that we'd like to use in the Montrose House and the overall feel that we'd like the space to reflect. Yes, we are modernists at heart but we also like a house to be warm and livable at the same time. It's a fine line to walk sometimes. More on all this in the upcoming weeks...

NBC Channel 10 News segment

2009-01-06T09:17:00.007-05:00

Here's a link to the video clip on NBC's site: NBC Philadelphia.com: Greening History. You can also view it right here:

Our 'green renovation' news segment aired bright and early this morning, Wednesday Jan. 07, at 5:45am and 6:45am. It will also air again on Sunday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 am. Thanks to Terry Ruggles of Channel 10 for considering the Montrose House for their segment.

Work on the house slowed considerably over the holiday. Today we're meeting with our contractor at the house to pick up where we left off before the break and determine what outstanding work is left to do on his end. We'll also be heading up to Chinatown to meet with our stair fabricator to iron out some last minute questions on the dimensions and detailing of the steel stair. If all goes well, it should be ready to install by next week! Things are picking back up now and we'll post more updates shortly.

local news update & next steps

2008-12-18T08:38:00.006-05:00

We just received word that the local NBC Channel 10 'Green Rehab' segment should be airing either next Wednesday, December 24th or the following Wednesday, the 31st. We will be posting a copy on the blog, so don't worry if you miss it.

This week we've been continually trying to get PGW to turn on the gas, which has required calling them numerous times. Supposedly the foreman has us on the schedule today (third time this week) to install the meter. Hopefully, today is the day and we'll have some heat!

As soon as all the drywall is mudded and taped and the systems are operational, our contract with Merlin, our GC, will basically end. He'll turn the house over to us to wrap up, as our plan has been to handle purchasing & installing most of the finishes and fixtures ourselves to save money. We will retain Merlin to help us occasionally, as his expertise and advice will be essential in the areas where our experience is lacking. I'll feel much better having him and/or his subs close by when it comes time to install the plumbing fixtures (something we've never done before) and a number of other items. Toilets are one thing you definitely want to get right the first time!

Over the holidays, Merlin's coworker, Nate, will be prepping the drywall openings and pre-cutting most of the trim for the doors and windows. After we get back into town, our first task will be to begin installing the trim around all of the openings. The baseboards won't go in until after the bamboo floors are laid. Our trim detail is going to require quite a bit of work as we are going with what is sometimes called a "museum trim" detail - where the trim board is actually flush with the drywall (opposed to being applied on top of it) and there is a 1/4" reveal where the edge of the trim meets the edge of the drywall. If this sounds confusing, no worries...we will explain this later in more detail.

Bill Curran is now fabricating our steel stair and is set to install before New Year's. This will be quite a milestone and we'll be sure to post before/after and progress photos.

We also have some exciting developments to share related to Southern Liberties branching off into the realm of custom furniture design and fabrication. We'll share more about that in January.

Starting to look like a house...kind of

2008-12-15T16:06:00.004-05:00

In case you didn't make it to the Open House, here's shot of what the main living space looks like with most of the drywall up, as of a couple of days ago. You can see the sawhorses and plywood that served as our layout table for the Open House as well as the sections of drywall we left off to show various internal elements of the project. That's Emily casually posing at the bar and providing some scale.

Tomorrow we start on all the prep work for the window and door trim.

Thank you...

2008-12-10T13:56:00.004-05:00

A big thanks to everyone who braved the cold weather last Saturday to join us at our Open House & Construction Tour. We estimate that at least 60-70 people participated which was an amazing turnout! We've also received emails from quite a few people who weren't able to make it. After the holidays, we'll pick another Saturday afternoon to give anyone else interested in touring the house the opportunity to stop by before we get too much farther along.

Tomorrow morning we're filming a news segment with local NBC news anchor Terry Ruggles about green rehabs in Philadelphia. As soon as we have more information about when the segment will air, we'll post it here!

Next on our plate: ordering the kitchen cabinets, fabricating the custom steel stair, & finalizing the remainder of the plumbing fixtures in the house.

Open House & Construction Tour today!

2008-12-06T12:05:00.004-05:00

Don't forget to stop by this afternoon for our Open House & Construction Tour! We're looking forward to hearing everyone's feedback and suggestions as we enter the next phase of the project and start getting into the installing the final finishes, fixtures, and working out the remaining details.

While we weren't able to get our furnace hooked up yet, the house will be nice and toasty with a temporary heater in the basement. And Dunkin' Donuts is just a block away if anyone needs to use the facilities.

We're looking forward to being able to work at night and on the weekends, now that we have power. The other night, I saw the house for the first time with lights on through the all windows. I must say...it was pretty impressive. Now that all the masonry openings have been cut along the side and remaining windows are in, the whole building has taken on a much different feel, especially at night. We've made some progress on the water as the meter is installed, but we can't get a temporary sink/toilet hooked up until the sanitary line is completed.

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

The sheet rock has been installed

2008-12-06T07:05:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the drywall crew arrived bright and early. We were expecting 3-4 workers, but instead a crew of 6 was waiting in front of the house with their tools in hand. We had all the drywall staged in the house the previous day right after it arrived from Green Depot. These guys work amazingly fast. By mid-afternoon, they had finished the 3rd floor, most of the 2nd floor, and were starting on downstairs. Our contractor decided to go with 4'x12' sheets instead of the standard 4'x8' ones. When hanging them horizontally, we ended up with less waste as most walls in the house are not more than 10' or 11' in length.

The bathrooms are wrapped with water-resistant board on both the walls and the ceilings for extra protection (it's not uncommon to find it used only on the walls).

While I knew this stage would be a big milestone in the project, it always surprises me how much drywall can transform a space. No matter how many times I go through this process, it's exciting every time. There's something about being able to 'see' the walls that makes the house seems much more finished than before. We're leaving the drywall as is for now, without taping and mudding the joints as we know that we have just one day before the open house. We also left certain areas open throughout the house, without any drywall, so that people can get a sense of what's underneath and see some of the structure and building systems.

Now for the final clean up....urh,...

Bio-based Insulation in action!

2008-12-05T23:30:00.005-05:00

A few days ago, the crew from Northend Barriers arrived with their trendy Bio-Based trailer and generator, ready to knock out our little row house project in just a day.

We were lucky to get them, as Northend is currently booked straight through the spring, installing BioBased on a number of very large jobs. Because our project is several months behind schedule, we were afraid that we might have lost our place on the list. After a few pleading phone calls from us and our contractor, reminding them that we've been in touch periodically with schedule updates, the good guys at Northend finally agreed to fit us in between two of their larger jobs. Two men dressed from head to toe in white jumpsuits arrived mid-morning and stayed on until nearly 9pm to finish the job. The suits are primarily projection to keep the guys clean and adhesive-free. The foam itself is not hazardous to the touch but is very sticky.

Check out this stuff out in action!

After learning more about the cost difference between closed cell and open cell spray foam, we specified a combination of the two for the project, depending on the thickness of the wall, its location, and the desired R-value. By making these changes, we were able to reduce the overall quote by about 40%. The closed cell foam is roughly twice as much money as the open cell, and we had originally planned to use closed cell throughout. Finally, something has turned out to be LESS expensive than we had anticipated. It's a good thing.

After installation, the foam is shaved off so that it's level with the studs, and fills the void between the studs. In reality, the stuff is rarely perfect as there is some variation in depth and consistency (at least in our case). We had the crew save the scraps, which can be used to fill up any major gaps- such as behind pipes or other hard to reach areas- or thrown into a typical unconditioned attic space to beef up the existing insulation. We have a few quirky spaces where new and old construction meet and were able to fill in a few holes by using the leftovers, and a few cans of that off-the-shelf expandable foam. We still have about 8 bags left in the back yard and will probably offer it up on Craigslist or Freecycle soon.

By the end of the day, the only casualty was our truck, which had been parked out front for a few hours. Turns out there was a small gap between the brick facade and the cornice. The foam made its way through the crack, through the air outside, and down onto the side of our truck. The foam part came off easily, but the adhesive part was the problem. It looks like it will scrape off of the glass fairly easily with a razor blade, but we're still waiting to hear back from our contact at Northend Barrier (Tom Purcell) to find out how (and if) this stuff can be removed from the truck body without damaging the paint job.

The lessons learned on this job (other than keeping the truck far, far away) are that next time we would strongly consider waiting until the heat is turned on to spray the foam. The next day, we noticed several places where the foam pulled away from the studs about 1/4" due to the temperature differential. The foam is heated and pressurized in canisters before being sprayed into the wall cavities. The house itself was definitely cold, especially so after sundown, when the work continued late into the night. Because of the scheduling difficulties, we were hesitant to wait any longer and it was unclear when the next opportunity would be to get a crew. We filled some of the gaps ourselves the next day but Northend has agreed to come back and hit the larger areas. We decided to hold off on "taping and mudding" the drywall for a few days so we could simply remove the drywall screws and pop the boards off in the areas that need more insulation.

The other downfall to the spray foam is that it could make rewiring extremely difficult (especially the #1701, the closed cell). Also, for architects that are used to working with precise, exact materials, this stuff is not going to be in your comfort zone. The stuff is messy and blobby and the control is modest at best. The overspray can't help but get in places it shouldn't, like J-boxes and around pipes. It has a life of its own. I admit, it does take some getting used to. The performance is where the spray foam excels- we've been able to achieve R-20 in just a 2x4 stud wall. And in a renovation project, we feel comfortable knowing that the foam is going to keep the old envelope (and the new) super tight and efficient.

Drywall...with a conscience

2008-12-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

A colleague of mine at Philadelphia University recently told me about a new drywall plant in PA that is actually built right next to a coal-fired power plant in order to readily capture the synthetic gypsum byproduct for use in their drywall. I am looking into sourcing all our drywall from this plant.

United States Gypsum Corporation
Lycoming Mall Dr
Washingtonville, PA 17754
(About 2.5 hours from Philadelphia)

The facility produces wallboard using recaptured gypsum, uses 100 percent recycled paper for the surfaces of the finished wallboard products, recycles 100 percent of its production waste and feature a closed-loop liquid effluent system, which translates to zero discharge into nearby waterways. It was purposefully located right across the road form the Montour (coal-fired) Power Plant. At the power plant, scrubbers (the environmental controls that remove the sulfur dioxide from the emissions of coal-fired power plants) work by spraying a mixture of crushed limestone and water onto the exhaust gas before it goes out the plant’s chimney. The limestone and water react with the sulfur in the plant’s exhaust to form synthetic gypsum, which is collected and shipped to the USG facility that is across the road from the power plant.

OR...if that doesn't pan out

Green Depot actually stocks drywall that contains 95% recycled coal ash that they get from another Pennsylvania drywall plant (also USG, I believe) that employs the same process as the Washingtonville plant, it's just not right across the street from the power plant.

The price per sheet is virtually the same as any other drywall. We are going to look into both options but seeing that we need have drywall on site in two days...it looks like we might be giving Green Depot a call. It's nice to know they're close by.

Fiber-cement panel mock up

2008-11-30T07:30:00.001-05:00

Our sub-contractor (Danny from Longboard Contracting) will begin installing the fiber-cement panels on Monday. I don't know if I mentioned this in an earlier post, but we decided to go with panels by Certainteed. Most fiber-cement products on the market are by James Hardie (as in "Hardiplank") which is a great product. Both Hardi and Certainteed products contain recycled content, are manufactured locally, and are extremely durable. The main reason we decided to go with Certainteed was the fact that, in addition to the recycled content, they guarantee a minimum of 30% recycled fly ash in their mix. Another reason was the better color selection as well as their finish. All pre-finished Hardipanels have a slight sheen that we weren't crazy about.

The irony, of course, is that we eventually chose the unfinished (just primed) panel from Certainteed because the primed finish closely resembled a concrete color had a great subtle texture to it. The image to the left shows the mock-up of the F-C panels and the window trim detail on the rear facade of the house.

Now you do have to eventually finish the panel (either paint or seal) in order to retain the 50 year warranty, but Certainteed gives you a two year window to do this before they'll void their warranty. Hardipanel is also available in a primed finish, but they only give you a 3 month window before you have to finish it. To me, this says something about the manufacturer's confidence in the durability of the raw material, although I am sure that Hardi's product would hold up just fine. Eventually the owner of the house will have to make a decision on whether to paint the panels or simply seal them, if they want to keep the warranty. The beauty of the primed panels is that they could also be painted subtly different colors to form kind of a patchwork pattern, if desired.

Either way, we are excited to see the panels go up as this is the final stage of the exterior cladding. Danny has been great to work with so far and has helped us find the best way to achieve the look we want. He's not the 'cheapest' installer out there, but he has a great reputation and it is very important that this part of the project be done well...so it's worth it.

Opening up the west wall

2008-11-28T23:05:00.005-05:00

Well, I don't know why it took so long but we finally were able to cut the openings in the west wall (the existing brick masonry wall) that will house the new windows in the Dining Room & Living Room on the first floor and the bathroom on the second floor. Maybe the GC was waiting till the end so he could make a quick getaway when the whole house came crashing down. Ha, ha. But seriously, the whole process went fairly smooth and was fascinating to watch. The old wall held up nicely while they installed the concrete lintels. We tried to save most of the bricks but many of them broke during removal. The remnants will make their way to CWM's yard for crushing.

We have two big windows (side by side w/ a column in between that you can see in the upper right image) that will be going in the dining room wall and a long double awning that will be going high on the living room wall (this is the opening the guys are placing the lintel in and you can see it in the upper left image). The bottom left image shows the full opening for the windows in the bathroom at the second floor. These will actually be two casement side by side with a column in between (aligned with the windows above and below) but the column is not built yet.

The remaining windows will be installed on Saturday. We are so lucky to be able to have windows on the side of the house. I was amazed to see how much light the openings let into the first floor space. And although these windows are on the west wall and could get a lot of harsh western sun, we are benefiting greatly from the large shade tree next door as well as the neighboring houses that are tall enough (3-stories) to block much of the direct sun in the late afternoon but far enough away (roughly 20' due to the alley and their yards) to still allow plenty of light in.

The metal roof panels are in

2008-11-26T21:48:00.006-05:00

The sheet metal fabricator/installer (Jason Pacetti) finished installing the Zalmag metal roof panels on the mansard today. We purchased the metal in coil stock (3 tightly wound rolls - 20"wide x 150' long) and then had the flat seam folded panels fabricated here in Philly. Every chance we get we try to have the raw materials shipped and then have a local fabricator make the product. There is still an embodied energy involved but this way we are injecting money into the local Philadelphia economy instead of having the products made somewhere else. Additionally, we form a relationship with local tradesmen.

We are very happy with the roof and Jason did a great job on the panels. One lesson we learned here was that the next time we decide to use metal roof panels we will get the material in sheets (4'x8', for example) instead of coil. The reason we got the 20" wide coil was to maximize the material, eliminate waste, and it was a bit cheaper. Because we would not have to rip it (lengthwise) but simply cut the length of the panel we wanted (crosswise) as it was unrolled, there would be no waste. We ultimately wanted an 18"x36" panel. A 20"W piece of metal actually yields an 18"W panel after the two long edges are folded. So by cutting the roll into 38" pieces we would have our ideal size panel. Sounds easy enough, huh?

Not so much in the end. You see the material came wound so tightly that the fabricator had a really hard time straightening in out. He had some concern with "oil canning" (warping you sometimes see on metal roofs) since the panels were a fairly large size. He was going to try to "reverse roll it" but he felt it might get scratched. In the end, he had to work the metal a great deal to make the panels look good (and he did a great job and never raised his price). Also, when dealing with a coil you run the risk of any small dent or ding on the end of the coil repeating itself over and over as you unroll it.

Lastly, we are very pleased with the connection details (folded seams, turning of corners, meeting the windows, etc) that Jason came up with. He took the time to do it right. It is refreshing to work with someone who really cares about quality and gets excited about working on a project where the client cares as well.

We love the metal but would never get it in coil stock again if we planned on making flat panels. Next time, we figure if we can live with a 14"x30" panel we could divide up a 4'x8' sheet and have virtually no waste.

Here's a link to the metal (Zalmag) manufacturer: http://www.millenniumtiles.com/

Update on the roof hatch

2008-11-24T10:00:00.002-05:00

Well, last week we finally said goodbye to our old plywood roof hatch. Our beautiful new hatch arrived last Monday and it took a total of about 20 minutes to install with some weatherstripping, silicone, and a few screws. The fit was perfect. It lets a ton of light into the space (not that it really needed it) and with the hydraulic arms, it opens very smoothly. I feel pretty confident about the insulation value due to the overlapped connection and the double insulated dome. I like the fact that it's not frosted, so on clear days and nights you can look up and see the sky. See previous post for full description of the hatch.

All inspections passed

2008-11-23T00:01:00.011-05:00

We have successfully passed all of our construction inspections. We are now ready for spray foam insulation (which will begin next week) and then drywall shortly after. There has been a lot of progress over the last week on other fronts too (stairs, the metal mansard, fiber-cement paneling, etc) which I will go over in the next few posts and try to get everyone up to speed.

Plumbing: Over the past two weeks we wrapped up all the piping and rough-ins and subsequently passed inspection (and we now have water). The whole process was a bit tricky due to the fact that we had the water shut off over a year ago because we knew weren't getting started for a while and didn't want to keep paying a bill. This meant the water department came and actually removed the meter from the house. Well, when our plumber gave us the original cost estimate he mentioned to us that he does not know the state of the pipe coming in from the street due to the fact that there is no meter and the water had been off for a while. This meant that he might have to tear up the sidewalk to make a new connection from the curb to the house and possibly from the curb to water main (under the street), if a lead pipe was still there. The cost incurred for all this work would be over $10K and has been hanging over us ever since receiving the estimate. We would not know what we had to do till the water department came out.

I remember the City tearing up the whole street a couple of years ago and replacing some lines but I never found out what exactly they replaced. The plumber's "worst case scenario" was that they replaced the water main and, since the house was abandoned at the time, they just cut off the connection which would then have to be replaced. Fortunately, we found that when PWD came last week to install a new meter, the pipes under the sidewalk appear to be in good shape (and still connected) and the pressure is good and steady...thus requiring no outside work. Whew! So the plumber came back and hooked up his main supply line to the meter and we are now in business. But the mystery street work remained.

Electrical: We passed our electrical inspection shortly after plumbing. This process involves a bit of orchestration too as, unlike the other trades, PECO doesn't actually do the electrical inspection. What they require is that an "independent underwriter" actually perform the inspection and then report to PECO when they are finished. PECO then comes out, checks to see verification from the underwriter, then (in our case) strings the line from the main power line running along the street to the front of the house. It is then our electrician's job to actually connect the wires from the street to the wires running up a conduit on the side of our house. Usually these are located on the front face of row houses, but we got lucky and were able to keep the conduit on the side since we're an end unit. And by the way, the owner can contact the underwriter directly. PECO has a short list of recommended ones, but our electrician has someone that he always works with and was able to come out on short notice. I recommend going this route, if possible, as you never know how long an underwriter will take if you are cold calling them.

At this point, we are still waiting for PECO to show up to run the wires. We were told this would be last Mon or Tues. but so far they haven't made an appearance. After PECO finishes their work and our electrician connects the two lines, we'll have power.

HVAC: There doesn't appear to be an official mechanical inspection, although we did find out that the City is now requiring everyone to get an HVAC "permit" (which they never did before). It costs about $500. We got our permit last Friday so we're good to go.

The mechanical contractor finished installing the furnace in the basement, which barely fit since we bumped up to a 14 SEER unit. I believe the units get bigger as you increase the SEER, so always keep that in mind when considering an upgrade. He also finished running the main return ducts and the supply ducts for the first floor...all running along the basement ceiling. He might have to come back later to tighten up a few things (tape joints, etc) but basically, he's done. I scheduled the gas company to come out tomorrow afternoon to install a new meter and turn the gas on. This is where the mystery street work was uncovered. It was the gas main that they replaced a couple of years ago and they did cut and cap the gas line to the house at the curb. So they have tear the sidewalk up in order to put a coupling on and reconnect our line to the street. Thankfully for us, PGW does this for free (unlike what the plumber was going to have to do).

The only snag in this process is that in order for the gas company to turn your gas on, they require at least one gas powered fixture in the house to be hooked up. Well, that's not a problem since the furnace is installed and ready to go. BUT, the furnace needs electricity to function and if the PWD gets there before PECO, well, then I guess we'll have to rig the furnace up to the generator (which I'm not even sure if this is possible). If not, then they will hook up the new meter and I will have to reschedule them to come back when we have power. ugh.

Also, regarding the ongoing battle about the city "requiring" everyone to put the gas meter on the front of the house (a total eye sore in addition to the fact that you then have to either protect it with bollards or box it in) there is at least one way to get around this. When doing a renovation project, the gas main is likely to be coming into the basement and that's where the old meter typically was. As much as possible, try not disturb this situation. They most likely will install the new meter where old one was because that's where the pipe is, thus solving the dilemma and getting your new meter in the basement.

Final Framing: This was the last official inspection (although the inspector still has to come back and check things out after insulation goes in.) We were asked to add some additional strapping to the roof rafters but that was about it. The inspector was very pleased with the solid construction and we in turn are very pleased to be done with ALL the inspections!

Open House scheduled

2008-11-19T00:24:00.009-05:00

We decided the beginning of December will be a good time to have a "construction progress" OPEN HOUSE so folks can can come by and see first hand what we've been up to lately. The project will be at a point where all the systems are in and some of the drywall is up, but most importantly...we'll have heat and a working bathroom!

We still have a couple of months worth of work to do (install kitchen, flooring, trim work, fixtures, etc.) so we'll plan another open house to celebrate the final completion in the spring. In the interim, we thought it might be interesting to show the work-in-progress. We are going to try to make the event as educational as possible and, of course, we'll be on hand to give tours and answer any questions. All are welcome and bring your friends.

We'll be providing some refreshments (local cider, etc). See flier below for details. Everyone is welcome-spread the word!

Fabricator selected for steel stair

2008-11-03T08:13:00.008-05:00

We have finally selected a fabricator for the steel stair that runs from the first to the second floor as well as all the related steel railings in the house. The work is now underway. This has been a long process which involved several quality bidders and a wide range of proposed bids.

Bill Curran (http://www.billcurrandesign.com/index.html) will be building and installing our stairs for us. Not only does Bill do beautiful work at a competitive price but he is also very accommodating and an extremely nice guy. He was also excited to be a part of our project and strongly supports what we're doing. We were immediately drawn to the clean, modern design sensibility of his work. Check out his site and make sure you scroll through all the images. His shop is in Philly just north of Chinatown, which he invited us to for our first design meeting. He lives above the shop in an amazing renovated industrial loft that basically acts as his showroom as he designed and fabricated almost all the furnishings (stairs, furniture, kitchen, etc). It was very impressive and very reassuring.

We have always had a pretty clear idea of what we wanted our stair to look like (and provided those details in the original set of drawings) and it was nice to find a high quality fabricator that was willing to build what we designed but was also able to help us refine the design and make it even better...and all within our budget. The basic design is fairly simple: an open riser stair with steel stringers, steel rod "ship-ladder" style railings, and wood treads. Very similar to the image below (which is from Bill's website.) The main difference is that we will have two stringers (opposed to the single, center stringer you see in the photo) and our railing posts are perpendicular to the top handrail, and the angle of the stair (opposed to perpendicular to the ground, as in the photo).

One important detail that we were always struggling with was the thickness of the wood tread. You see, when you have an open-riser stair, according to the residential building code, the open space between the top of one tread and the bottom of the next (essentially, part of the riser) cannot exceed 4" high (or as the code states: "must reject a 4" sphere"). Why a 4" sphere? Well, that's basically the size of a baby's head. This max. dimension was determined so that no one climbing the stairs could ever fall through the riser space. Makes sense. BUT, when your overall riser height is 7-3/4", the tread thickness (or the solid portion of the riser) needs to be a min. 3-3/4". Good luck finding wood that thick that is first, reasonably priced, and second, reclaimed timber. Basically, we needed a 4" x 10" (actual, not nominal) piece of wood. Over the past couple of months, this was proving to be a difficult find. Oh, and just so there's no confusion, the stair in the photo does not actually meet code and most likely received some sort of variance...which is totally feasible but we were trying to avoid any variances.

Also, the other drawback to this design was the tread was pretty bulky. So when we were going over all this with Bill, he presented a few possible alternatives. One of them involved adding a piece of steel that would connect the two steel angle supports (welded to the stringers that reach out to support the treads). This piece of steel would essentially run parallel with the tread nosing and set back about an inch. This allowed us to go back to a 2" thick wood tread and still meet code. The sketch below illustrates what I am talking about. The new steel piece is indicated in red.

One last detail that we went back and forth on was whether to go with 1/2" round rods or 1/2" square tubes for the balustrade. In the end, we decided on square as we thought it looked cleaner and aligned more with the overall design.

So how does sustainability factor into this feature? Well, there are a couple of different ways to approach a steel fabricated item such as a stair. One is to request that the item is made with salvaged steel. When doing something as precise and detailed as a stair, this can prove to be difficult because it will be hard to find the exact size and quantity of the pieces you need...never mind the condition the steel might be in if you plan on having them exposed. The other is to simply recognize that all steel that comes from a mill these days already has a high recycled content, sometimes up to 95%. And, of course, it's 100% recyclable. Therefore, simply choosing to build with steel is already a pretty green choice. So the main issue after that is to try and get your design locally fabricated. We have accomplished this. We are using another material in this stair though, and that is wood, for the treads. We will be acquiring reclaimed timbers (probably through our connection at Greenable) to use for the treads. The species will most likely be Chestnut, Elm, or Doug Fir.

And one last note. We also got Bill to fabricate us some steel posts for the railing up on the roof deck. For this rail we will be using stainless steel cables opposed to rods. This way, when your hanging out on the deck enjoying the green roof and the skyline views, the railing for the most part, simply disappears.

A blast from the past...

2008-10-29T00:03:00.006-04:00

I know it's been quite a while since our last post but all that's about to change. We have a lot of things to discuss now including the fabrication of the main steel stair and railings (which is underway) along with the roof deck rails. We have some plumbing changes to talk about, some HVAC dilemmas, the ongoing kitchen design , some updates on finishing out the building envelope, a 'green' home tour, and many other things.

But for right now, we get back to "a blast from the past"...

So we are considering switching this blog over to Wordpress (which I will discuss later on) and I was going through some older post "edits" and saw this little gem that I had almost forgotten about. It was never published. It doesn't go into an incredible amount of detail but it should give you a sense of what we were doing 'way back when'. The post describes how we found the property, what we originally designed, and some of the process we went though early on.

Click HERE to view this previously unreleased post.

Some drywall options

2008-10-08T18:12:00.006-04:00

I was looking into what kind of sustainable options we might have for drywall and I found some interesting products.

One option is a "paperless" drywall product by Georgia-Pacific called DensArmor Plus® Paperless Fiberglass Mat. It is a highly mold-and mildew- resistant interior gypsum panel. "DensArmor Plus panels feature fiberglass mats on both the front and the back for the best in interior protection from moisture currently available. The moisture-resistant fiberglass mats [also] make DensArmor Plus panels the ideal replacement for paper faced greenboard, where greenboard is still allowed by code."

One drawback I saw in using the DensArmor was the fact that it contains fiberglass and you would need to be careful when handling it. But the contractor indicated that this wouldn't really be a problem and shouldn't be a deciding factor. The only remaining drawback I found then, was cost. Based on what I found, a typical 4'x8' sheet of DensArmor drywall costs about 60% more than a standard drywall sheet. That's a pretty significant cost increase so we will have to see if we have that kind of room in the budget. The way things are going though...I don't know.

Another option I found was a very new product called Eco Rock by Serious Materials. Actually, this product is not even out yet (scheduled for release in late 2008). There are two major differences I see between Eco Rock and other drywall. First, it uses a large amount of post-industrial recycled content. And Second, it uses a lot less energy to produce.

From the Serious Materials website:

"Over 30 billion square feet of drywall are produced each year in the U.S. and Canada. A single sheet uses between 100,000 and 400,000 BTUs of energy to produce, depending on the age of the plant, producing 16 pounds of greenhouse gases per sheet. Approximately one-quarter of the cost of a gypsum drywall panel is tied to energy, with likely long-term cost increases; carbon taxes are common in Europe and may come to the U.S.

By contrast, EcoRock uses 80% less energy in the manufacturing of its core. No heaters or dryers are used in production, nor calcining processes – resulting in 80% less CO2. EcoRock also uses 85% post-industrial recycled content and is fully recyclable. A plant built for EcoRock reduces energy use to a minimum."

You might have heard of Serious Materials as they are the makers of Quiet Rock (a 'soundproof' drywall product). FYI...one sheet of Quiet Rock is acoustically equivalent to eight sheets of regular drywall. That's pretty amazing.

The Eco Rock product looks very promising but what I find even more compelling is the business philosophy held by Serious Materials' CEO, Kevin Surace. The following is a link to an article about him and his company (from about a year ago): Cleantech Article. Read it when you have a few minutes. I just wish there were a few more industry leaders like this around.

The reclaimed lumber, some plumbing progress, and the roof deck (sans railing)

2008-10-01T13:34:00.016-04:00

Here are some images showing all of our salvaged lumber from the original house. It's being stored in the basement. On the taller stack, is the original pine flooring. This is all that was left after discarding what was rotten or severely damaged. The lower stack is all the salvaged 3x timbers. You can also see the old basement stair (which we have not figured out what to do with yet). All the lumber has been cleaned and de-nailed but still needs some work.

Then the planing begins...not all of it though, as we really like the dark "oxidized" look that the timbers have and might try to integrate some of these rough members into certain features of the house (i.e. built-ins, shelving, etc.)

As far as the pine flooring goes - although we are planning on using the carbonized strand bamboo for most of the floors in the house - we were thinking that it would be nice to lay the reclaimed pine floors up on the third floor (Master Suite) and limit the bamboo to the first two floors. If we determine that we don't have enough for the entire floor (which I fear we don't), we might just use it in either the Den or the Bedroom and have bamboo in the other. Then we could possibly use cork, in the connecting hallway, as a transition with tile being in the bathroom. All these materials are great but we need to be careful not to have too many flooring types in one area.

**An important note about re-laying hardwood floors: we have found that it's best not to plane the boards down (as tempting as it may be) before you re-lay them. The reason for this is that these boards are "tongue & groove" and once you start the planing process, you inevitable lose the centralized location of the T&G running along the side of the plank...and then you have real problems as the boards don't fit back together. This is because you will most likely plane more off of one side than the other. Your best bet is to simply re-lay the floors down in the state they are in on top of the new joists or sub-floor and then use a drum or orbital sander to take them down for refinishing. This is not the 'end-all-be-all' solution but it seems to be one with better odds for success.

Here's a shot of some plumbing progress (to show that it is actually happening!). On the left is the Kohler tub being installed in the second floor bathroom. The image on the right shows the ABS vent pipes heading up to the roof. The PEX is going in today and we should have running water by next week. Electrical and HVAC are also mobilizing now.

Here's the roof deck. As you can see, it will take a little while for the vegetation to "integrate" with the deck. We are really happy with the way the deck came out and feel the end result will be truly unique. We should be getting the cable rail system in the next week or so. We still have our temporary roof hatch (a piece of plywood). The actual roof hatch will be arriving in a couple of weeks. The product we finally decided on is a custom sized, powder coated aluminum exterior and Birch wood interior hatch with a low-profile, double pane (insulated) clear acrylic panel and gas shock lifts. It is manufactured by a company called Insuladome (based in Long Island, NY) and ordered through Specialty Building Products (just outside of Philly). It's a great looking product that is well-built and priced very competitively (even for a custom size).

The green roof is in!

2008-09-11T00:15:00.026-04:00

Here are a few pics of the final installation. As you can see, we will need a couple of growing seasons before the roof gets filled in. The sedum plugs will mostly grow outward and fill in the spaces in between. If certain areas don't fill in adequately, the homeowner can always add more plugs later (although JIG does provide a maintenance warranty and will fill in rough spots in addition to weeding for 2 years after installation) . To most, this might not be what was expected when imagining the green roof...but as with many landscape features, it will take time to mature and will get better with age. You can order trays of mature plants (which we are interested in trying sometime) for the "instant" green roof (check out "Live Roof") but they tend to be more expensive and hey...you miss all the fun of growing your own roof from scratch!

A close up view of one of the larger plants and some of the other varieties. You gotta love the Philly skyline off in the distance. You can also see the tag of one of the main plant species and the contact info showing where it came from. Our sedums came from: Emory Knoll Farms. The wind protection (brown matting made from coconut husks) that is covering the dirt should only take about 1-2 years to completely biodegrade.

An overall shot of the roof area looking north. The piece of plywood in the middle is sitting on top of the deck area (which doesn't have the boards laid yet). You can also see the roof hatch opening near the middle and the A/C pad at the left.

A view looking south. You can see the location of the black scupper box in the corner of the roof. The roof hatch (a double glazed, low profile dome) is being ordered and should arrive soon. We still need to trim up the felt around the edges and install the Zalmag metal cap flashing around the perimeter.

One of the frustrating timing issues we had was the fact that the green roof is finished now but we will not have running water in the house until at least a week from now. The roof needs to be watered fairly often in the first few weeks (then only periodically for the first couple of growing seasons, then it's pretty much self-sustaining). Let's just say that I have never prayed harder for rain than I did the last couple of days. And you know what? It worked. It rained steadily most of the day today (and is supposed to continue over the weekend). Our kind neighbor is allowing us to use their spicket next week until we have our own water. The plumber will install a hose bib on our roof at the exhaust chimney. We can then set up a watering system on a timer so we can keep the roof damp over the next few weeks.

The deck is being constructed with Everwood, an environmentally friendly, borate-based treated wood product, that is sold at Green Depot. We considered other options (including reclaimed wood) but Everwood seemed to achieve the durability levels and the price point that we were looking for. Composite decking (such as Trex) is also a nice green product but we remain big fans real wood for decks (kind of a vice in the 'green' world, I know, but at least it's non-toxic). The GC will be finishing the deck early next week (FYI: Green Depot stocks 2x6s of Everwood but has to order 2x4s as they are not as common for decks). I'll post some pics of the finished roof deck next week.

Green roof progress photos

2008-09-10T13:46:00.008-04:00

Above left, you can see Howard (orange shirt) and Pat (black shirt) from JIG laying the first layer of felt down on top the root barrier. Above right, you can see the framework for the roof deck which will lay on top of the felt adjacent the roof hatch. After the felt, they will lay down the drainage mats.

Here the guys get ready to lift the large white bags of "media" (dirt) up to the roof. The bags will be suspended above roof, opened up, and the dirt evenly spread out on top of the drainage mats. You can also see the orange protective covering on the electrical lines in the image on the right.

To the left is a detail shot of the scupper drainage box at the rear (low point) of the roof. There are 3 long triangular shaped "raceway" drains underneath the roof media that channel water directly to the drain in the event of heavy rain. Good thing too, since it started pouring about halfway through the media installation process. Pat said the drains worked beautifully and dirt retained just the right amount of water. You can also see the river stone drainage beds and metal edging at the rear edge and around the roof hatch and exhaust shaft. The wood to the far right is the edge of roof deck sleeper system.

All the dirt is down now and deck is in place. There is some final prep work with the edging and river stone before they lay the wind protection mat. If you look closely, you can see the small white ties coming out of the dirt that will hold the mat down. The plants have not arrive on site yet but are expected later in the day.

The roof is deck is not quite as big as we imagined it would be. It is 8' x 9' though, and should be enough to fit a small table and chairs or a couple of larger lounge chairs. In the end though, we think its a good size (relative to the overall area of the roof) because the bigger the deck gets, the less green roof there would be, which would end up being less cost effective and, seeing as there is no media under the deck, less effective with storm water management too.

Green roof installation begins

2008-09-08T19:20:00.009-04:00

(for documentation purposes, I separated this post from the previous one)

This week, JIG will begin installing the green roof and our GC will begin constructing the roof deck. We are very excited about the fact that by the end of this week we'll have a green roof and a deck! You get so caught up in worrying about all the details sometimes when building a project that you forget to stop and enjoy the project once in a while. We'll...we feel this calls for a "topping off" party, which is now in the works. Who says they're just for "tall" buildings? And seeing that in about a month, the contractor's work will be done and it will be up to us (and a few very good friends) to finish out the house (which includes: installing all the plumbing fixtures, possibly the entire kitchen, the flooring and tile work, the wood trim, any lights that aren't recessed, and a few other minor details), we feel now might be a good a time as any to enjoy ourselves a bit since things are going to get very busy, very soon.

Back to the green roof... We had to scramble to get some last minute preparations taken care of before tomorrow - mainly the covering of the electrical wires out front (which can only be done by PECO) and laying down the EPDM root barrier. EPDM is a rubber-like membrane that comes in rolls and is mostly used as actual roofing membrane as it is waterproof and very durable. But it also makes a great root barrier, which is simply a barrier to keep the roots from damaging the actual roof membrane underneath. Of course, you can simply install a certain type of roof membrane that acts as both the waterproofing agent and the root barrier...but it's more expensive. Sorry if this is a bit confusing.

Anyways...the root barrier issue was a bit trickier due to the fact that it is "loose laid" (which means that it is not glued down to the roof membrane, as it not necessary in this case) and is best installed just before the green roof media is to be installed so there is no chance of damage to the membrane from folks working on it in addition to the fact that unless it is seriously weighted down, it could simply blow away. It's a very heavy membrane which means it could do a lot of damage if the wind ever happened to pick it up. And of course, on our project, these two tasks (laying the root barrier and installing the green roof) are done by separate contractors and thus prove challenging when the latter is supposed to start work first thing in Monday morning and a big storm is forecasted for the weekend, thus forcing the roofer to wait till the last minute to lay the membrane . Ugh! But everything seems to be working out okay...or so they tell me.

The reason we needed to cover the electrical wires is that JIG will be using a large mechanical lift (positioned in the street in front of the house) to get most of the material onto the roof. Covering the wires is simply a safety precaution in case anything or anyone should accidentally make contact with them.

To the best of my knowledge, the process of our green roof installation is as follows: First, the root barrier is laid down. Then they lay down a felt over the entire roof on top of the root barrier (except where the deck is going as this area gets a 1" deep hard plastic drainage, or "dimple", board - there is no media under the deck). Second comes the drainage mat (this has felt on the upside and a open plastic wire "tangle-weave" system about 1" thick on the downside) over all all the felt. They will also install the vertical metal edging that keeps the 8" wide river stone strip (at the front and rear edge) separate from the green roof area. The stone is for wind protection for the plants and for drainage. There is also a triangle conduit (or raceway) installed from the front of the roof to the back for drainage during heavy rains. Next comes the dirt. Then, in our case, due to the fact that we have a very low parapet, they will install a biodegradable wind protection mat (made from coconut husks...kind of like a burlap) which is tied down and keeps the plants roots in place until they are established. It takes about a year for the mat to completely disintegrate. Finally, they will cut about 900 small holes in the mat and plant all the sedum plugs in the holes. Talk about tedious work. All the while, the deck is being constructed (by our GC) and will be installed simultaneously with the dirt and plants (another scheduling challenge as it involves separate contractors). Timing these together is so the dirt and plants can blend nicely into the spaces between the staggered edges of the deck boards.

I am going to try to get pictures everyday this week to show all the progress. Should be a productive week!

Updated site plan and latest patio designs

2008-09-03T23:43:00.030-04:00

Site Plan

A good friend and colleague, Britton Jones (a local landscape architect) helped us out with a design for the rear patio. He gave us a few different designs (which are all great and are posted below) to review along with a great reference book called Small Garden by John Brookes. If you have a small patio and are looking to do something very cool, you should definitely check it out. It has tons of great ideas. He was also able to recommend various types of durable, drought tolerant plants that we should use.

So after going over the various options with our friend and discussing the pros and cons of different elements and layouts, we decided on a plan that took what we feel are the best ideas from a couple of different designs. The patio portion of the site plan to the left incorporates the resultant plan (see enlarged plan to the right). One major change from our original idea was to move the rain garden from up against the house (under the kitchen window) to along the wall that divides our patio from the neighbors. This came from our desire to keep that water away from the foundation of the house and for the garden to be tied more directly to the rain barrel. The shade tree on axis with the back door and the main interior circulation path of the house is going to be very nice. Also, we have decided to use all the salvaged brick we have to pave the alley-way from the back patio to the front sidewalk (dirt, right now) instead of using it for the patio itself. The patio will instead have large concrete pavers that will be sand set on gravel with an "open joint" laid in a running bond pattern. The concrete pattern will begin to "break up" as it approaches the rear wall, allowing for greenery to emerge and help with water absorption. Thanks again, Britton, for your wonderful design ideas and suggestions.

The site plan also shows the extent of the green roof and design of the deck. The staggered edges of the wood deck reach out into the greenery and allow the boards to form a closer relationship between the two surfaces - blurring the edge between them as the plants mature. You can also see the location of the storm water planter at the edge of the front sidewalk where it meets the street. The purpose of the planter is explained in an earlier post.

The new (old) facade...

2008-08-22T09:22:00.012-04:00

The mason FINALLY finished the new brick face. We used reclaimed brick from a salvage brick & stone place in Norristown. They are 100 yr old original Philly face brick from a few different jobs. The interesting thing about using reclaimed brick is...well, you never really know what your going to get (unless you lay the whole thing out beforehand, and...uhh, good luck with that.) We are generally very happy with the result. It has lot of character and tells a great story, in addition to being a very sustainable solution.

I suppose the only part that we weren't too happy about was the conglomeration of bright red bricks around the middle of the facade. We feel these were not mixed in to the rest as evenly as the blues, yellows, and blacks toward the bottom (which we love.) We took a chance by using old brick and we feel it was well worth it. Even the mason (who hated the idea all along) had to confess (begrudgingly) that he was very impressed with the final product and never imagined it could look this good. We even had a nice older woman by and say that she has lived in this neighborhood for over 50 years and has never seen anything quite like it. She loved it.

The only work left to do out front now is put in the reclaimed marble steps and then eventually redo the sidewalk.

Now the question is: what to do, if anything, about all the bright red bricks? It's purely a question of aesthetics. And please...if anyone out there has an opinion on this, please let us know by leaving a comment. We are open for suggestions. Below is a concept we came up with (using Photoshop) where we could "tone down" the red brick and maybe bring a little bit of the blue, yellow, and black up to the top area. This could be achieved by stripping the paint off a few of the red bricks (using a great product from Dumond called Smart Strip by Peel Away) and then painting a few of the bricks up higher with matching blue, yellow, and black from the lower part. The purist side of me says "leave it alone, that's the way the cards fell and it's beautiful." But the developer side of me keeps reminding me that this is a spec house and has to have some degree of 'curb appeal" (as much as I hate that term.) Aesthetically speaking, we like the "after" version better but are torn by concept of messing with the quasi-chaotic purity of the whole process.

ADDENDUM (8/27/08):
See image below. A good friend, "Dubin" (who has commented a few times on the blog) has helped out by taking a stab at another version...this one, going in the opposite direction by accentuating the color variations. Looks great! Maybe a bit crazy for our taste but we like what your thinking. Thanks for participating!

Non-PVC drain pipe solution

2008-08-14T08:48:00.004-04:00

So after many futile efforts of trying to find a non-PVC pipe that can be used for the drain lines in the house, I think I might have found a solution. I had been calling around to various plumbers, engineers and colleagues to try and find an alternative when, on a chance phone call to Superior Plumbing in South Philly, I was turned on to a product I hadn't heard of before. Now...the most ridiculous part: the product has actually been around for almost 50 years! It's a testimony to the fact when this industry finds something they like to work with (i.e cheap and easy like PVC) they seems to close off all other avenues and then become very resistant to change.

Here's what happened on the phone. I called the plumbing supplier (which I have used before and are great!) to ask if they know of any other pipe material besides PVC and cast iron that can be used for drain lines. He responded with an adamant, "No....that's it. Those are the only two." As I fained disbelief and pursued the question further, he held his ground. But just as I was thanking him for his assistance and was about to hang up the phone, he burst in with a "Hang on a second", and proceeded to ask another guy in the store to remind him what the name of that "black plastic pipe they use for drains" is. He came back with, "ABS". ABS?? What is that? He then informed me that ABS is an acceptable alternative but he didn't think of it right away because he doesn't stock it. "It's the stuff they make TVs and VCRs out of", he said. I asked if it was approved by the City of Philadelphia. He said, "Only for residential." I said, "Perfect." I then thanked the man again and began my usual background check.

An important aspect I found out was that ABS is actually a "thermoplastic", which means it is able to be safely recycled. This is not the case for PVC, which cannot effectively be recycled, as it is a difficult process, releases dangerous chemical when melted down, and needs more chemicals added in order to reform it. ABS is derived from acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene. The advantage of ABS is that this material combines the strength and rigidity of the acrylonitrile and styrene polymers with the toughness of the polybutadiene rubber. The most important mechanical properties of ABS are resistance and toughness.

From the PPFA's (Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association) website: "ABS pipe and fittings are made from a thermoplastic resin called Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS for short). ABS PIPING SYSTEMS are easier and less expensive to install than metal piping; Feature superior flow due to smooth interiorfinish; Do not rot, rust, corrode or collect waste; Withstand earth loads and shipping (with properhandling); Resist mechanical damage, even at low temperatures; Perform at an operational temperature range of -40°F to 180°F; Are lightweight (one person can load and unload); Take less time to rough in than metal DWV materials."

ABS pipe and fittings were originally developed in the early 1950s for use in oil fields and the chemical industry. In 1959, John F. Long, a prominent Arizona builder, used ABS pipe in an experimental residence. Twenty-five years later, an independent research firm dug up and analyzed a section of the drain pipe. The result: no evidence of rot, rust or corrosion.

To see the PPFA's ABS Publications, click here You can also check out the FAQ's here.

Energy Recovery Ventilation

2008-08-12T23:05:00.012-04:00

Another mechanical item we are looking into that I forgot to mention yesterday is the integration of a ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) unit into our HVAC system. It's a great strategy and I am excited about the possibility of doing it. I am not sure about the total cost of this addition and we'll have to see if it makes sense with our budget (in addition to whether or not we have the room for it). Although the HVAC unit that we have selected is a high efficiency unit (over 92%) and pulls in 100% fresh air for combustion, the ERV adds the heat exchange and the dehumidification element. Here is a link to an article (from back in 2000) that explains in detail how the whole heat exchange system works.

Make up air: Most of the time, houses (especially older ones) get fresh air from incidental air infiltration - leaks in the home's envelope (much like the 120 yr old old house we live in now!). Since many new homes are constructed so 'tight' (extremely well insulated), the only way to get fresh air into the house is opening the windows - which is not very energy efficient in the hot and cold months. So, installing a 'make-up air' vent brings in small amounts of outside fresh (albeit Philly) air. This vent will have an adjustable damper that will only allow air to enter the system when the unit is running. The main problem with this is that in the dead of winter and height of summer, the fresh air going into the unit can be anywhere from 10 degrees to 100 degrees and takes a lot on energy to bring it up or down to 70 degrees. But this is where a heat exchanger comes into play. The heat exchanger involves exhausting some of the stale air out of the house. The incoming air passes over outgoing air (exhaust) because one pipe is located within the other. When the two airs pass each other, there is a heat exchanger that takes the heat from the exhausting stale air and gives it to the incoming fresh air, without mixing the air. This is a way to preheat or precool the incoming fresh air and have your heating system work less. The biggest issue with this method comes during the summer: humidity. But there the ERV (Energy Recovery Unit) comes into play as it gets rid of the humidity.

The whole system makes a lot of sense and it's becoming more commonplace these days and getting more cost effective.

So, the way we see it is between the use of the "whole house fan" (discussed in a previous post) during the temperate months and our high-efficiency unit and possible ERV during the cold and hot months, we should be able to have some fresh air continually circulating through the home throughout the year using a lot less energy.

The 'trades' move in

2008-08-11T18:12:00.043-04:00

Well, it's been a while since the last official post and a lot has happened. I'll try to run though some of the important issues and get everyone up to speed.

The 'trades' (the plumbing, electrical, and mechanical contractors) will begin work this week...with plumbing going first, then electrical, then mechanical. Not necessarily the 'normal' order but our GC had some good reasons for doing it this way. This part of the project was a bit delayed from the original schedule due to a number of issues that are related to the masonry work (more on that later) as well as a few modifications to the plumbing and mechanical systems...a few of which are a result of our last LEED meeting and our desire to obtain a few extra points.

Electrical

This area has had the least amount of changes. The most important issue here is that we finalized most of the light selections. We needed to order all the lights that are recessed in the ceiling before the electrician gets started for, unlike lights like pendants and sconces that can be installed later, the 'cans' all need to be in place before the drywall is hung (which is still several weeks away).

One interesting item we discovered related to LEED points and lighting is that although we are already doing a lot in this house in the realm of energy efficiency, the lighting requirements (in order to get the max points, which is 3), are not as strict as we thought they would be. The prereq for this section requires installation of at least 4 Energy Star labeled fixtures OR install E.S. labeled CFL bulbs in the high use areas in the house. Since we have around 15 E.S. labeled fixtures and CFLs basically everywhere in the house, this was not an issue. Then there are two credit options - 1.5 points for installing 3 additional E.S. labeled fixtures AND using motion detect or p.v. for outside lights OR 3 points for installing E.S. labeled light bulbs in 80% of the home and using E.S. labeled ceiling fans. We are doing all this and a bit more so we see no problem in getting the max points here. This was reassuring but at the same time thought they would have been a little more strict (not that we're complaining...we'll take what we can get!)

Lastly, we are looking into installing an "Energy Miser" in the house. Typically, a house is using only 70% to 95% of the electricity that is coming through the electric meter and ultimately showing up on the electric bill. An energy miser reduces the electricity used by increasing the building’s “Power Factor”– which improves its electrical energy efficiency. It is essentially a panel that is attached to the main electrical panel. It captures and stores energy that would otherwise be lost, and routes it back into your building's system. It also reduces 6,000 pounds of carbon from your building’s carbon footprint. They cost about $500 but you can get various energy rebates that can be up to $100 and it can ultimately save you up to 20% on your electric bill.

Plumbing

The biggest change we made with the plumbing is related to the supply lines but we have also been discussing fixture and appliance selections too (which we'll get to in a different post). Originally, the plumber spec'd out PVC (polyvinyl chloride) for the supply and drain lines in the entire house. We immediately raised a red flag and stated that we do not want (if possible) any PVC in the house. In case you didn't know...PVC is a toxic carcinogen and releases dioxins (an extremely dangerous compound) when produced and when burned. So a few weeks ago we had the plumber price out the alternatives for us - which are copper or PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) tubing for the supply lines and cast iron or (possibly) polyethylene pipes for the drain lines.

Copper:

Although copper is the most trusted material for water supply lines (and plumbers swear by it), there are a few major drawbacks to using it these days: First, even though some percentage of the copper you buy off the shelf has recycled content, some of it will inevitably come from the mining process, which is environmentally devastating. Second, copper pipes need to be insulated (usually just the hot lines but LEED requires both hot AND cold pipes be insulated...this obviously involves an additional amount of material. Third, there is a lot of soldering involved as it comes in stock lengths and even a straight run often needs multiple connections, and additionally, every turn needs to be welded, which means there is a lot more labor involved. Which ties into the last drawback, it's just very expensive these days due to the high demand and short supply in the construction industry. As much as I respect the devotion of 'old school' plumbers, this material simply does not make much sense to use anymore.

Cast iron:

Cast iron is regarded in the plumbing industry similar to the way copper is. It really is one of the best solutions for drain pipes. BUT it has many of the same drawbacks that copper does...the most important one being cost. Let's just say we'd be paying almost three to four times as much to have cast iron pipes.

PEX:

[From the Plastic Pipe and Fitting Assoc. website] "Developed in the 1960's, PEX tubing has been in use in many European countries for plumbing and was introduced in the US in the 1980s. PEX 's flexibility and strength at temperatures ranging from below freezing up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit makes it an ideal piping material for hot and cold water plumbing systems. It is flexible, making it easy to install and service. PEX is able to withstand the high and low temperatures found in plumbing and heating applications, and is highly resistant to chemicals found in the plumbing environment. Flexible systems are quieter than rigid piping. The smooth interior will not corrode which can affect other materials long term pipe flow characteristics. PEX systems have fewer joints and are easier to install providing a lower cost installation over traditional plumbing materials. " So as you can see, there are many advantages to using Pex including the fact that it is so easy to install many homeowners who are building simply run the supply lines themselves. Also, there is no need for all that pipe insulation since the tubing is already insulated. It is also by far the most cost effective solution.

As far as the manufacturing process of Pex...as I understand it, there are basically three ways:

The Engel process, where the cross linking happens "hot" (in its amorphic state above the crystalline melting point) since the polyethylene, anti-oxidants, and the cross linking initiator (peroxide) are extruded under pressure while in a molten state.
The Silane method, where a vinyl silane agent is added to the resin/polymer base prior to the extrusion process, thus forming a grafted copolymer.
The Radiation method, which involves bombarding previously extruded PE tubing with Gamma/Beta electrons while sealed in a vacuum chamber

Not sure yet which is the 'greenest' process (my instinct would go with either the Engel or Radiation method) nor do I know if we will even have a choice in the matter. I just figured it was good information to know.

Basically, the system works as follows: In the basement, there is a "manifold" that ties into the water heater and main water supply. This has a bunch of pairs of connections (red for hot and blue for cold). The amount of connections pairs depends on the amount of fixtures you have. Separate flexible red and blue pipes run from the manifold all the way to the fixture (uninterrupted). The pipe makes "bends" instead of turns which is actually more efficient than 90 degree turns (like copper) in relation to pressure drop. There is an open/close valve at the manifold too that let's you easily control the supply.

PEX piping and manifold

Up to now I have been told that there really isn't any other alternative (other than cast iron) to PVC as far as drain lines are concerned. BUT, through some research I found that they do make a rigid polyethylene pipe that can be used for drain lines. I need to find out a bit more about this and then get a price difference from the PVC drain lines before we make a final decision. Obviously this would be a great solution for it would eliminate virtually all of the PVC plumbing in the house.

So as you might suspect, we have decided to move forward with the PEX system (for at least the supply lines at this point). But as with any product that is new to me, I start my web search with "Problems with ____", and see what comes up. The only real negative story I found was someone reported that they thought rodents seeking water had gotten into their floors and ceilings and chewed through the pipes and thus caused some leaks. This was never really substantiated, but the way I see it is that if you have rodents running through your floors and ceilings...you have bigger problems to deal with.

Mechanical

The unit we chose is the Goodman 14 SEER 92% Efficient furnace and a 3-ton rooftop A/C unit.

The main change regarding the HVAC system is related to LEED points and the SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating and HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) of our unit. SEER rating is the Btu of cooling output during a typical cooling-season divided by the total electric energy input in watt-hours during the same period. HSPF is a ratio of BTU heat output over the heating season to watt- hours of electricity used. The higher the SEER and HSPF, the more energy efficient the system. Originally, the mechanical contractor had spec'd a 13 SEER / 8.2 HSPF unit. This is a good unit but only satisfies the pre-req for LEED. We needed to upgrade to a 14 SEER / 8.6 HSPF unit to get 2 points for using a "High-Efficiency" system. I have not gotten verification but I would speculate at this point that the cost difference is somewhere around $500...giver or take a few hundred. It's a good thing to do regardless, as jumping up even 1 SEER saves a pretty decent amount of energy when it comes to heating and cooling.

Another thing we are verifying (and what will be tested) are the "distribution losses" that are caused by leaks in the ducts and poorly insulated systems. Our mechanical contractor is now aware of the values (measured in cfm) that we need to achieve and assured us that it would not be a problem. The less cfm lost, the more efficient the system, and the more LEED points we'll achieve (up to 3 if we do well.)

What's next? The next task at hand is for us to complete our "Durability Risk Evaluation Form" (which we began a while back but never finished) for LEED which is part of the "Durability Management Process". But more on that later.

A few comments on Treehugger.com

2008-08-06T16:19:00.002-04:00

Got some good comments about the house and the blog on the "Forum" at treehugger.com. You can check them out at this link: http://forums.treehugger.com. Thanks!

New posts coming soon...I promise! A lot has been happening regarding HVAC, electrical modifications, and plumbing concerns along with final fixture and appliance selections, the new brick facade, wrapping up the framing, and pricing out the kitchen and the steel stair. Exciting stuff!

some press for the Montrose House

2008-07-30T17:02:00.008-04:00

The good folks at Green Building Elements (a great, web-based resource for sustainable design & construction) have written a nice article about us and our project. You can check out the article at: "Showing the Green Building Process". Thanks guys!

natural ventilation = money saved

2008-07-29T22:00:00.032-04:00

The time has come to finalize and order a whole house fan, which will help to naturally circulate the air within the house and reduce the need to run the air conditioning system. "Whole house fans" are often confused with "attic fans", but there's a big difference between the two. While attic fans merely exhaust hot air from an unfinished attic space, whole house fans draw cool, outside air into the house through operable windows on the facade and exhaust the hot, overheated air through the exhaust fan directly to the outside. It's important to make sure that you have enough ventilation (open area) when operating a whole house fan. Usually you need to open at least 1-2 windows (preferably on a shaded side of the house) to ensure that enough air can be drawn in and cycle through smoothly. Because these fans are really only effective when the outside air is cooler than the inside air, they're unfortunately not going to help offset those unbearably hot & muggy Philly summer days. They will help the most during the spring and fall swing seasons when the temperature drops at night. By cooling down the house and fully exchanging the stale indoor air with fresh outside air, whole house fans reduce the need for mechanical cooling during the day and- depending on your climate- can allow the elimination of some or all mechanical cooling at night.

Two important things to keep in mind when selecting a whole house fan are:

CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) - Basically, how much air can it move? In order to determine whether a certain CFM is enough, you'll first need to calculate the approximate amount of cubic feet in the building (SF x avg clg ht). We have roughly 15,000 cubic feet of space in our project. The fan we selected is 800 CFM which means that (after a bit of math) we found out that it would be able to empty the entire house of the inside, stale air in about 20 minutes. Which means that after 20 min of running the fan, theoretically, the house will be totally filled with outside, fresh air. Crazy, huh? Now this is all a little subjective for the ideal "CFM per SF" for one project might be different than another project. You should consult an expert, if necessary. All I can say about our situation is that we could only find one fan to fit that would work and it only has one speed, so there wasn't much of a choice this time. Fortunately, it will work very well for this size house.

and the other factor is...

Sones (unit of perceived loudness) - Essentially, how much noise does it make? To put this in perspective...1 sone = about 40 decibels. But it gets tricky here because the ratio is not 1:1 (i.e. 2 sones do not equal 80 dB) when determining how "loud" a specific sone rating is. "Loudness" ranges from 0 dB (inaudible) to around 200 dB (loudest sound possible). "A quiet library" is around 30 dB and "normal conversation" is around 60 dB. The fan we selected is 3 sones, which actually equals about 48 dB - right in between the two. So, for a fan that moves that much air...well, that's pretty darn quiet! BTW...how loud is the 'loudest sound possible'?

Most whole house fans are designed for sloped roof homes that include a traditional attic space above the conditioned area. Because the fans are not directly exposed to the elements, it's not necessary for them to be weather-tight. In our case, since we have no attic, we are planning to mount the fan in the wall at the top of the stair at the third level which means that it will be oriented vertically rather than horizontally. We will also need the fan to be weather-tight or at least capable of being somehow retro-fitted to prevent cool air loss during the warm months and heat loss throughout the winter months. Through our exhaustive (no pun intended) research (or at least according to Google) there only seem to be three commonly used whole house fan manufacturers. Of these brands, there is only one fan that we've come across that is designed for installation in a location that directly meets the exterior. This model (by RE Williams) includes exterior insulated panels that prevent air leakage and provide a rating of R-6. While our exterior walls will be achieving an R-25 rating on average, this does represent a large reduction in performance which we will have to address in some fashion. Maybe with an additional removable panel on the interior? Oh, and the price of the fan is in the $800 range- a big jump over the typical $300-400 mark. While the "payback" might not be as good as we had hoped, we feel the benefits are worth the extra money.

Another thing to keep in mind is that whole house fans aren't for everyone. They may not work well for individuals who have allergies, as they draw in air directly from the outside (unless, of course, maybe some sort of HEPA filtration is put into place at the point of air intake.) HVAC systems filter the outside air and therefore have a better ability to reduce particulate matter. Whole house fans don't do much to control humidity, either. Some HVAC units integrate dehumidification systems into their cooling systems which can be a big help during the summer. We are currently looking into how much it would be to add this feature onto our system. During times of high humidity, whole house fans can create a cooling effect by creating a light, constant breeze during operation, and as they won't help with the actual humidity, they do increase the overall IAQ (indoor air quality) by circulating fresh air through the entire home. You can also easily run the on/off switch directly through a thermostat that kicks the fan on when it gets up to a certain temp and then turns it off automatically, in order to save electricity.

If you've ever experienced Grandma's whole house fan that almost took your socks off , you'll be happy to know that today's fans are much improved. Think quieter, gentler, smarter, and more efficient than the days of old. Sound like anyone you know?

In the end, we're convinced that a whole house fan will still save money in the long run, despite a higher up-front cost. And while it's by no means the most technologically advanced option out there, it's a least a time-tested strategy that relies on good ol' Mother Nature to provide comfort. For a row house with a relatively small footprint, we think it will make a big difference. One of the toughest things about the long, narrow shape of a row house is getting good cross ventilation since the only openings are usually only at the front and rear. While we're fortunate to be able to have additional windows on one side (due to our lot's placement next to an adjacent utility easement) the fan can only help to promote more of those rare South Philly breezes. And hopefully that's a good thing. :)

LEED update...

2008-07-15T17:33:00.010-04:00

Well, today was a very exciting day indeed. We had our second meeting with Ted and Karin at the ECA (Energy Coordinating Agency), the LEED for Homes provider for Pennsylvania. We spent a couple of hours running though all the sections on the checklist and figuring out various interpretations. Since our first meeting with them we have made a few 'green' upgrades, with the most significant being the green roof, so things have changed a bit. When the dust cleared and we finished adding up all the sections, guess what we discovered...

We were not expecting this. Of course, it is 'preliminary' and there is still a long way to go as far as this becoming a reality, but it is very encouraging. The last we left it, we were comfortably in the Gold category (and very happy about that.) We figured achieving Platinum was frankly an impossibility for this project. More on all this later...

Also, we finally got the straw bales in place to help with our erosion control during construction. The images below show the bales at the rear of the back yard (basically, the property line) and at the front gate where the side alley easement meets the sidewalk.

Gimme Shelter... (preferably well-insulated with a lot of natural light and good ventilation)

2008-07-10T00:33:00.013-04:00

Here are some images of the roof insulation arriving last week. All those palettes of white plastic contain separate layers of 2" thick rigid insulation. We have 4 layers laid on top of each other (staggered) and then adhered together. The resulting 8" thickness gives us an R-value of 40. Typical insulation provides roughly R-5 per inch. Our roofer, Ray Nocella (of Nocella Roofing) did a great job on the installation and subsequent waterproofing. After the insulation was installed, a 1/4" layer of "DensDeck" was adhered to the insulation, he then applied 2 layers of "modified bitumen" roofing membrane (laid in alternate directions to ensure water tightness), then added a "silver coating" element. Next, goes the root barrier, and at that point, the green roof installation guys take over. So by the end of last week, the roof was totally waterproofed which allowed us to install all the windows. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, after all is said and done, we should have an R-value of about 50 for the roof. Very cozy indeed. And oh yes... many thanks to our next door neighbors for the letting us use their roof as an access point.

Here's a shot of the Third Floor windows installed (and opened up). The small image on the right is looking out the side window of the Master Bedroom. There is a beautiful tree next door that provides a bit of privacy and lot of shade. As you can see, when these large casements are opened it allows a tremendous amount of fresh air to pass through the house. We are very impressed with the overall look and the quality of the Kolbe windows and doors. We decided to go with the factory pre-stained for the wood interior (Chestnut color) and flat black for the exterior aluminum cladding. It's a nice combination.

The contractor says the enormous front window in the bedroom (which he is still cursing my name due to the difficulty in getting it up there!) makes the Third Floor feel like a airplane hanger. Just wait till we clad it in metal.

A few images of the casement windows and patio door installed in the kitchen. Being able to have all these casements (along with the door) open up will really connect the kitchen with the back patio. If you look at the upper left image, the horizontal wood blocking in the wall framing indicates roughly where the kitchen counter will be and the generator (on the floor) is roughly where the kitchen sink will be (centered on the middle window.)

The mansard roof goes up, the front windows go in, and a peek at the south facade

2008-06-29T13:02:00.008-04:00

The Third Floor mansard roof and the new cornice (with integrated gutter) are almost finished construction. Unfortunately, the existing cornice was rotted out and fell apart when they were trying to remove it...so what we're going to do is rebuild the framework for it and acquire salvaged corbels from Provenance Architectural Salvage in order to restore it the best we can. It was really exciting to see the mansard roof go up as it is one of the most prominent features of the house. As you can see, the window in the master bedroom is quite large and will bring an incredible amount of northern light, along with a great view. Due to the nature of the sloped mansard roof, this window has a very deep sill. We have decided that instead of constructing a typical window (flower) box here, we are going to install a shallow planting bed that will have similar plants as the green roof above. Kind of a miniature green roof.

Also, the Kolbe double-hung windows have been installed in the front facade and they look great! We are very happy with them and the contractor has had nothing but good things to say about the quality.

A first look at the south facade. The sun shades have yet to be installed over the large windows.

The facade comes down & the view from up top

2008-06-23T23:00:00.029-04:00

Now you see it...now you don't. The old brick face came down today. The image on the left shows the facade a couple of days ago and the one on the right is from today. It was sad that we had to lose it but there was simply too much spawling and with all the renovation work that's been done, it would have most likely gotten worse over time. She stood strong for over a hundred years but it was time to say goodbye. I would have liked to reuse these bricks but we couldn't because the new facade is taller and many of them were cracked already. The new brick face will be stronger and much straighter. We will be rebuilding the facade with locally salvaged bricks. The biggest challenge now is finding bricks that are as good as the ones that were in our original facade. They were turn of the century 'engineered' (very modular) bricks called "iron spots" and are highly sought after now. I have gone to at least 5 different salvage yards to look at bricks and none of them "stack up" to the ones we had. But I have another week or two before the new bricks needs to go up and I do have a few different people on the look out for me.

The brick portion of the facade is only two stories. The third floor facade (the wood framed area with the big window) will be getting a 'mansard' roof (a very steep sloped roof...almost more like a tilted wall). This is not yet constructed. A mansard roof at the highest story is a fairly common Philadelphia style facade element. [The main reason we decided to do a mansard here was due to the fact that most of the homes on this block of Montrose are two-story, so we were able to maintain the two-story scale of the street by keeping our cornice line and slightly stepping back a mansard at the third story.] This portion of the facade will be clad with a flat seam, folded panel product called Zalmag. Zalmag custom-made panels have a service expectancy of a lifetime (or two). The panels have a unique galvanized coating on steel that consists of 1% Aluminum, 3% magnesium, and the rest is Zinc. It is made from 95% recycled material and is 100% recyclable. It weathers to a nice blueish-gray tone.

From the first and second floor looking out with no facade

The spectacular view from up top. The blue tarp in the bottom center of the image is our roof.

Water management

2008-06-18T23:15:00.038-04:00

One of the biggest challenges in sustainable design is how to properly manage the water that falls from the sky onto your building and your site. There are a few different schools of thought on this topic. These range from 100% on-site management to channeling all of your run-off into the city's storm water system.

There is also an interesting dialogue happening now between the various governing entities within the city that seems to have conflicts of interest and can be quite confusing to the rest of us. The Department of License & Inspections seems to approach the issue from one end and requires that all storm water be collected and channeled directly into the the City's piping system (with downspout boots and site drains.) I suppose I understand this mode of thought in that they are simply trying to prevent storm water run-off from going places it shouldn't and causing damage and erosion. The PWD - Office of Watersheds, on the other hand, approaches the issue from the other end and is encouraging people NOT to connect to the City's infrastructure by taking measures to manage your storm water 'on-site'. This can be done in basically two ways: harvesting and retention/infiltration. After speaking with a number of landscape architects, green roof designers, and environmental planners, we have decided that the Office of Watersheds' approach is the right way to go. Now it does appear that L&I and PWD are approaching a common ground on some of these issues and PWD actually wants to register all on-site stormwater management projects with L&I.

There's just too much pavement these days. Basically, when it rains, water that falls on impervious surfaces is typically channeled into sewer pipes that travel 'downhill' and eventually lead directly into our rivers, carrying with it many pollutants. By allowing rain to slowly infiltrate directly into the ground, it is able to be naturally 'filtered' by the earth before it makes it's way into the water table and/or rivers. Also, this infiltration allows "groundwater" to recharge naturally, at it's own pace.

Every drop of water that falls onto the earth's surface, falls within what is called a "watershed". A watershed is an area of land where all of the water that is under it, or drains off of it, goes into the same place. Watersheds cross all boundaries. No matter where you are in the world, you're in a watershed. [From the EPA's website]

The ultimate goal behind PWD's mission here is "to restore our watersheds, by converting our streams, creeks and surrounding green spaces into healthy systems that local residents, along with native fish and wildlife, can use as amenities, sanctuaries and habitats. Stormwater management projects will not only help protect our invaluable drinking water sources, but they will help green the city, restore our waterways and improve quality of life for all residents."

So here's our strategy...

1. Green Roof. We are moving forward with the green roof installation (opposed to the white membrane). We were back and forth for a while as to whether or not we would be able to install a green roof. The only thing holding us back was cost. We always knew it was the right thing to do (and even planned for it structurally) but the choice comes with a considerable fee...especially to do it right. But after many conversations with different folks, we believe that we will most likely be able to recoup the cost in the purchase price of the house, which is all we are really after in regards to this decision. Also, we have decided against going with the 'modular tray' system and are pursuing a more conventional installation. I have had the privilege of speaking with and getting some advice from Charlie Miller with Roofscapes, Inc. Charlie (the 'guru of greenroofs') is responsible for such projects as Chicago City Hall and Life Expression Wellness Center. After speaking with him, I was able to establish the waterproofing and root repellent system, thickness of media, and types of plants best suited for this project. He then pointed me in the direction of JIG. JIG is the construction arm and 'green roof division' of Onion Flats, a design/build/development firm in Philly. I am meeting with them next week to discuss the possibilities of the project. As I have continually admired the work of Onion Flats over the years, the possibility of a collaboration with them on this project is exciting.

Various types of green roofs

Benefits of a green roof:

Longer lifespan of the roof membrane
Energy savings due to increased insulation
Sound insulation
Aesthetic amenity (your own little park)
Improved air quality and biodiversity
Reduces urban heat island effect
Storm water: in summer, can retain 70-90% of the water that falls on them; in winter they can retain between 25-40%

Obviously, the last item is the one that directly relates to the topic discussed here.

Green roofs have actually been around for 1000's of years and other countries have been utilizing them much more than the U.S. [From the Greenroofs for Healthy Cities website]: "In North America, the benefits of green roof technologies are poorly understood and the market remains immature, despite the efforts of several industry leaders. In Europe however, these technologies have become very well established. This has been the direct result of government legislative and financial support, at both the state and municipal level. Such support recognizes the many tangible and intangible public benefits of green roofs." Although, I would venture to say that in the last couple of years (and since this statement was written), the green roof industry has exploded in this country, with no end in site. And, with the new administration here in Philly (and soon the U.S. government!!), we are seeing some real exciting changes for the better.

2. Rain Barrels and Rain Gardens. The remaining amount of water that does not get absorbed by the green roof will travel down a downspout and into a Rain Barrel where it will be stored and used for watering the plants in the backyard. A pipe will also be connected to the bottom of the rain barrel which will slowly feed water into a Rain Garden, located under the kitchen windows.

Rain Gardens and a Rain Barrell

In addition to helping recharge groundwater as well as preventing pollutants from traveling into rivers, rain barrels also help lower water costs when the stored water is recycled for landscape irrigation. Keep in mind..."Whether you buy or build a rain barrel, the most important thing to remember is that they are only effective at stormwater management when the stored water is emptied in between storms, making room in the barrel for the next storm." (from Philadelphia Stormwater Management Guidance Manual)

To read more about rain barrels, rain gardens, and many other things you can do as a homeowner to help successfully manage stormwater, check out "Appendices K-L: Voluntary Small Sites Checklist" at www.phillyriverinfo.org.

3. Pervious paving. So I know we have mentioned in the past that we intend on paving the backyard with the salvaged bricks from the demolition. Outside of the sustainable strategy of using reclaimed material, this feature will also be beneficial to our water management. Now I realize that this is not "pervious paving" in the true sense of the term as the actual brick pavers are not pervious (which they do make and and which work beautifully) but it's more the surface as a whole system that will allow water to infiltrate...as opposed to pouring a solid concrete slab which is the usual strategy. You see, these bricks will be 'sand set' (not grouted) and laid on bed of compacted gravel about 8" thick. This will allow the water that does fall onto the back patio to infiltrate into the ground. Another option that we are pursuing is having a raised wood deck as the central surface with gravel and pervious 'landscape fabric' beneath. We would then find another use for the salvaged bricks...maybe pave the path of the alley running along side the house. Both systems would allow water to percolate into the ground, and in the end, its mostly an aesthetic decision. Also, we are planning on creating a continuous planting bed (no bricks), that will have an increased absorption capacity, around the perimeter of the back yard in order to catch any overflow during heavy rains .

4. Storm Water Planters. The Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds has embarked on an ambitious program to install storm water planters that are designed to capture and infiltrate street run-off. There was actually a presentation of this at PHS ( Pennsylvania Horticultural Society) on Monday night that Emily and I (and Nicholas) attended. It was a very nice event with a great turnout. The concept is pretty simple: basically, instead of having continuous impervious paving along the street (with the occasional tree), we can create small stretches of pervious planting beds (up to 20' long) that will infiltrate sidewalk and street run-off. There is also a scheme to do an island 'bump out' that essentially takes the place of a parking space and replaces it with a lush vegetated area that can capture run-off. Obviously, these also greatly enhance the aesthetic of the street as well as contribute to better air quality.

We are tearing up our sidewalk very soon. I approached a couple of PWD representatives and told them about what we are doing here at Montrose and how we are trying to successfully capture all of our own storm water. They were enthusiastic about the benefits that this system could provide for our project. I hope to meet with them soon to continue discussing the concept of storm water planters.

So... from the storm water planters at the street, up the facade, across the green roof, down the spouts to the rain barrel and rain garden, along the pervious paving at the patio, and all the way back to the planting beds along the fence, we are doing our best to properly manage all of the storm water (or at least the "first inch of rain", which I hear is the most important) on our site.

Some interesting energy facts

2008-06-16T11:44:00.021-04:00

I was looking into some more specifics about energy savings in regards to using CFLs and LEDs for the lighting and I found some statistics that were quite startling. The Energy Information Administration website (Official Energy Statistics from the US Government) has a lot of great information about all kinds of power related issues. Check out the section on Potential Savings related to lighting. Here are just a few of the things they talk about:

The overwhelming majority of lights in residential households are incandescent--the least energy efficient of all light types . If households replaced the most intensively used bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, they would see a sizable savings in their electric bills. The total U.S. household energy that would be saved by replacing all incandescent bulbs used 4 or more hours per day would be 31.7 billion kilowatthours (kWh) annually, or 35 percent of all electricity used for residential lighting. ...compact fluorescent bulbs pay for themselves in 1.7 years.

The life-cycle cost of a light bulb includes the cost of the bulb itself, as well as the cost of the electricity required to power the bulb. Electricity costs are a large percent of the life-cycle cost of incandescent lights. Depending on the electric rates, electricity costs account for 78 to 91 percent of the life-cycle cost of incandescent lights, but only 37 to 63 percent of the life-cycle cost of compact fluorescent bulbs.

Compact fluorescent bulbs need about one-third of the power required by incandescent bulbs to emit the same amount of light. If one wanted to replace a 75-watt incandescent bulb, a 26-watt compact fluorescent would be an appropriate choice. Therefore, regardless of electricity costs, compact fluorescent bulbs offer a three-fold increase in efficiency. If compact fluorescent bulbs, by virtue of their high cost, do not produce large dollar savings to individual households, they still result in large savings of electricity and the fuels required to produce electricity.

Of course, one of the biggest issues related to compact fluorescents these days is that they contain Mercury and how does one properly dispose of them. I found the following information (from another bloggers website) to be fairly helpful:

You should consider that mercury emissions from power plants get into rain clouds and come down in lakes and rivers, poisoning fish and the people who eat them. Coal-fired power plants in the US are the largest source of mercury, spewing 50 tons a year into the air -- about 40 percent of the total.

While the amount of mercury used in production a CFL bulb is at most 6mg, the average mercury content is 4mg. The total emissions of mercury created by a CFL bulb from electricity consumption over its lifetime is about 2.4mg of mercury. In comparison the emissions from an incandescent light bulb is about 10mg. Therefore overall CFLs result in a reduced amount of mercury emitted over the lifetime of a CFL bulb. The real gain is the reduction of 38kg of Co2 per CFL per year and an overall saving of 14% on your electricity bill.

To ensure the safe disposal of CFL bulbs you should return them to the retailer, manufacturer or to an appropriate recycling facility. Once collected the bulbs are crushed in a machine that uses negative pressure ventilation and a mercury absorbing filter allowing the mercury to be reclaimed. Therefore if you use a CFL with renewable energy and recycle it, the mercury emission level is actually negated.

If you break a CFL, clean up broken bulbs with care. Open windows and allow to circulate to the affected area. Do not allow children or pregnant women to enter the affected area. First sweep up all of the glass fragments and phosphor powder (do not vacuum), then place in a plastic bag. Wipe the area with a damp paper towel to pick up stray shards of glass or fine particles, and place the used towel in the plastic bag as well. For proper disposal of broken bulbs, the best solution is to save them for a community household hazardous waste collection. Also, you can now get CFLs with ultra-low mercury levels.

The other hazard I recently discovered relates to LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes) . It is not widely known to the basic consumer (yet) that LEDs contain Arsenic (a metalloid) that, although a naturally occurring element, has many negative connotations. Again, the main concern here is not that you will be exposing yourself to Arsenic if you install LED fixtures (which you are not), the main concern is about how to properly dispose of the lights if they break or when they die out. And hey, the amount arsenic used in the pressure treated wood deck that your dad built out back when you were growing up greatly exceeds the amount used is LEDs anyway. So by outlawing Arsenic in PT wood, we're much better off these days.

But keep in mind that Arsenic is commonly used in the electronics industry (as well as some cures for diseases) and I would not be sitting here typing on this computer if it wasn't for Arsenic. As far as LED lights dying out...let's keep in mind that the lifespan of a typical LED downlight is about 50,000 hours (CFL about 30,000; incandescent about 2,000) . Given that the average percentage of light usage in a home is around 2,500 hours per year, you will not have to be concerned with changing that LED light for about 20 years! By then, I would imagine we will most likely have addressed many of these concerns, if we haven't already moved on to more advanced lighting technology (and you will have long moved out of your house, anyway). The main disadvantage of LEDs (at this time) is that they cost considerably more than other lights and often have special power requirements. But in the end, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

Advantages of LEDs:

Produce more light per watt than incandescent bulbs and can be up to 80% more energy efficient

Capable of emitting light of an intended color without the use of color filters and can be designed to focus its light. Other light sources often require an external reflectors

When dimmed, LEDs do not change their color tint, unlike incandescent lamps, which turn yellow

Ideal for use in applications with frequent on-off cycling, unlike fluorescent lamps that burn out more quickly when cycled frequently

Difficult to damage with external shock. Do not contain Mercury

Can be very small and light up very quickly

Third Floor joists, temporary stairs, and the Second Floor plan begins to take shape

2008-06-12T11:27:00.020-04:00

View from the Third Floor

Views of the Second Floor

At the entry, looking up the (temporary) stairs to the Second and Third Floor

The Second Floor plans begins to take shape.

A few of the sustainable products & finishes

2008-06-12T09:41:00.032-04:00

I met with Eric King from Greenable last week to continue discussing the selection of the interior finishes for the house along with some of the other sustainable aspects. All the folks at Greenable have been extremely helpful with this project and they continue to be a great resource for information and samples of sustainable materials. The areas we are currently working on are flooring, countertops, stair treads, paints & stains, and other sheet materials. Also, we talked about the installation of the BioBased spray insulation and the timber for the sunshades on the back of the house, both of which we are sourcing through Greenable.

Flooring: We will have only two types of flooring in the house - bamboo and tile. We felt that carpet is not a very sustainable flooring strategy for a residential project.

For the bamboo flooring we are considering the Strand Woven Carbonized "Nutmeg" from Green Choice Flooring. [From Green Choice's website]: "Our Strand Woven products are made by taking strips and strands of bamboo and weaving them together. We then compress them under intense pressure and heat resulting in one of the hardest and most stable flooring products on the market today. Strand Woven Bamboo flooring is also the ideal green product because it actually uses the by product that you get when making more traditional bamboo floors. Nothing is wasted during this process." Strand Woven bamboo is 100% harder than Oak and 20% harder than Mahogany. In addition to bamboo being a rapidly renewable resource, we feel this is a great option for the floors due to its beauty, durability, and low maintenance. The cost per SF is also very competitive.

Strand Woven Carbonized Bamboo Flooring

For some of the tile (in the kitchen & bathrooms ) we are looking at recycled glass tiles by companies like Trend and Oceanside. There are some really beautiful recycled glass tiles on the market these days (that don't all look like 'sea glass'). You can get mosaics, large squares, running bond, and many other types. We are also considering locating some salvaged 'subway' tile (white, running bond) if its not too expensive. For this project, we are looking to use glass tile for the backsplash above the counter in the kitchen and also in the master bath shower. Since many of the finishes in the home will be subtle, earth tone colors, we thought that these areas might be a nice place to have some fun. Below is an example of some of the various glass tile colors and patterns we are considering.

Recycled glass tiles from Trend and Oceanside

Countertops: This has been an ongoing search for many, many months. We are still torn between a few different products. The options have included Paperstone, Ecotop, Fireslate, poured concrete, Icestone, and Caesarstone for the kitchen . I really like the concept of the Paperstone material but I have reservations about the amount of wear that the counter shows (scratches, etc). I have also heard stories about Fireslate having problems during installation and not holding up as well as one would hope. The only one we have totally settled on is Icestone for the bathroom vanities. Although, we are leaning heavily towards Caesarstone countertops ("Raven" color, honed). Caesarstone is composed of 93% crushed Quartz held together by resins. The only real drawback I see with Caesarstone is the fact that it is made in Israel and thus has to travel a long way to get to Philadelphia. The element of sustainability that deals with how much effort is involved in actually acquiring a material (i.e. the steps in the manufacturing process and the distance it has to travel to get to the project) is call "Embodied Energy". If you can get products that are manufactured locally, you cut down dramatically on the amount of 'embodied energy' related to that product, thus saving a tremendous amount fuel and energy.

On the other hand, one really great advantage to Caesarstone for this particular project is the extremely small waste factor. You see, their standard slabs are 56.5"Wx120L". Our kitchen is comprised of 2 "L-shaped" pieces (with a 36"H turn down piece at 2 ends) and a 16"Wx72"L high bar slab. The "L-shaped" pieces are 56"Wx98"L. The leftover piece from one of the "L" cut outs will be cut in half and used for the turn downs and the other will be cut in half (lengthwise) and laminated together to become the high bar slab. The remainder of the material (2 - 20"Wx56"L slabs) are good size pieces and will definitely be utilized in another part of the house. So you have to make sure you look at all the sustainable factors involved in the selection of a particular material and then prioritize those factors.

Icestone countertops, however, cover all the sustainable aspects very well - a beautiful, green product and manufactured fairly close: in Brooklyn. [From Icestone's website]: "IceStone is proud to be the first and only durable surface in the world to receive the coveted Cradle to Cradle™ certification. Cradle to Cradle assesses products on a number of criteria, such as the use of safe and healthy materials, design for material reuse and recycling, efficient use of energy and water throughout production, and instituting strategies for social responsibility. At IceStone we manufacture our products with 100% recycled glass in a cement matrix, diverting hundreds of tons of glass from landfills each year. We operate out of a renovated, day-lit factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, creating U.S. jobs for workers in an eco-friendly, safe and respectful environment."

Caesarstone countertops

Icestone countertops

BioBased Insulation: [From the BioBased website]:"BioBased Insulation markets building products that allow residential and commercial structures to be more sustainable. BioBased Insulation seals a structure's thermal envelope, making it is more energy efficient, healthier, more comfortable and durable than traditionally insulated homes. BioBased Insulation also is water-blown and soy-based, so it is more environmentally responsible." "The "Bio" in BioBased Insulation is soybeans. It is an energy efficient, American-made product that incorporates natural, renewable oil-based polyols as a replacement for a portion of the traditional petroleum-based polyols found in spray polyurethane foam insulation." And for any architects/builders out there: "BioBased 1701 is a Class 1, closed-cell, air barrier that is spray applied using water as the blowing agent. It is a Class II vapor retarder at 2.5 inches, has no VOCs, CFCs or HCFCs in the finished foam.

BioBased 501 voted "Outstanding green product of the year 2003.
BioBased 1701 is GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified and Certified.

BioBased spray foam insulation being professionally installed. The reason the guy looks to be in a 'haz-mat' suit is because, as with most foams, the material is extremely sticky and should not be handled until it has fully settled in...at which point it is completely safe. They also scrape off the excess foam and recycle it for future use.

LEED update

2008-06-06T09:50:00.005-04:00

We met with two representatives from the ECA (Energy Coordinating Agency) - our LEED for Homes provider - last week to walk the project for the first time. It was a good time to really see some progress as the contractor had just removed the roof. They were excited to see the reality of what we had only been discussing on paper up to this point.

We started in the back yard with a discussion about erosion control during construction. Currently, we were not providing any physical barrier at the edge of our property that would prevent material run-off from traveling into the neighbors yard and the street. Seeing that the back yard had been filled with a lot of debris until just a couple of days ago, it would have been difficult to set up any kind of prevention system. But now that the rear yard is clear, we can accomplish this. Usually, erosion control is taken care of with what is called a 'silt fence' - a kind of fabric fencing that allows water to pass through but prevents dirt and debris from traveling through. Seeing that this is such a small application, an alternative was offered up: Straw bales. We will place bales at the perimeter of the rear yard and at end of the alley where is meets the sidewalk. This will help contain our run-off and prevent any further erosion.

Next, we discussed the insulation of the house. I explained that we will be using the BioBased spray foam insulation throughout the entire perimeter of the house (including the existing basement walls and the new crawl space) except the roof where we are placing 8" of rigid insulation on top of the roof decking. The main reason for the rigid, opposed to the spray foam, on the roof is that we want to expose the structure at the third floor ceiling. In regards to the insulation, we are essentially talking about two things: the R-value (Thermal Resistance) and the 'tightness' of the building envelope. The minimum values we are looking to achieve are roughly R-20 for the walls and R0-40 for the roof. The closed-cell spray foam at the existing brick walls will will give us about R-20 and at the new wood stud walls, about R-30. The foam also doubles as our vapor retarder. The 8" of rigid on the roof (insulation only) will give us R-40, and it only gets better as we add material (decking) and if we end up having a green roof, that will help even more. This level of insulation, along with the Kolbe windows, which are achieving a U-value (Thermal Conductivity) of .34, will provide us with a very energy efficient building envelope. Of course, it is also very important for us to detail the connections of where all of the different surfaces meet each other so as to prevent any leakage. The reps from the ECA were quite pleased with the way in which we were tackling the energy-efficiency in regards to insulation.

I then pointed out all the salvaged material (heart pine flooring and wood joists), along with the old claw foot tub, in the basement that we were storing for later use in the project. Also, at this point they were able to see that all the lumber used in the construction was either FSC Certified or reclaimed. Lastly, we discussed the layout of the mechanical system and they offered some suggestions and examples as to how we could improve the efficiency.

In the end, it was a great initial site visit and I think everyone now has a better understanding of what we have we have done so far with the project, what we are doing now, and where we are going.