The Incredibly Green Home Blog

This past Tuesday, we had the pleasure of meeting David Woolley-Wilson, Executive Director of the Green Building Institute. He had been introduced to us by our friend, Janice Romanosky of Elysian Energy, our consultant for our NAHB/NGBS certification of The Incredibly Green Home.

Dave stopped by to see some of our work and discuss the potential for a future educational seminar. The Institute regularly holds these seminars both at their (very impressive) facility and off-site at a variety of venues. Their courses cover the gamut of green building, including an upcoming class that will provide instruction on performing a complete home energy audit using REM/Rate energy modeling software.  Taught by non other than Jim Conlon of Elysian, the course will provide prep to sit for the RESNET National HERS Rater Exam.

After spending an hour talking, Dave had a brilliant idea. Why not have a seminar that explores the "green evolution" of the cluster of homes here on Bungalow Row? Genius. Why didn't we think of that?

So that's what we're going to do. Christian will come out and lead the entourage from home to home, and talk about how each one has evolved, starting with 5119 Fairglen, through The Incredibly Green Home, then moving forward with 5120 Fairglen.

We've tentatively set a date of April 3rd, (hopefully) at the peak of the cherry blossoms. See you there!

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Last Friday, I met with George Snyder of Home Technology Architects to discuss the various low voltage systems going into the latest custom home we are building here on Fairglen Lane. We are getting close to drywall, so some important decisions needed to be made by the owner.

From the outset, the customer made it clear that he wanted a "smart house", while not going overboard with costs. Towards that goal, we suggested he go with a Control4 system as the core of his home automation.

The client happens to be a fan of Mac gear, so when the iPad was introduced last week, the first question that came to mind was whether or not we could use it as a replacement for the Control4 7" Portable Touchscreen that was originally spec'ed. After speaking with George, it appears that it (most likely) will work just fine. Of course, there's always a chance of some trade-offs in, say, reliablity, but that's to be expected when you add a bunch of functionality to a given product. With the cost of a full blown iPad about half the Control4 touchscreen, the customer is going to get 2 iPads - one for the dedicated theater, and one for the main floor. 

The subsystems tied together by the Control4 system will consist of distributed audio, multiple video systems (two with surround systems), and security. We are going to hold off on the lighting systems for now, and if Control4 ever releases their EMS100, we'll tie in the energy monitoring. Because the Control4 thermostats don't currently deal with humidity sensing and control, we will be sticking with Honeywell thermostats.

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This morning, Ryan Shulte and I drove over to check progress on our project at 4234 Everett Street, Kensington. Ryan has taken over most of the LEED documentation duties from me on this project as well as our custom home being built here on Fairglen.

The Everett Street home is moving along nicely. On the interior, the reclaimed oak flooring has been installed and awaits sanding. The cabinetry and doors have been delivered and are getting installed now. Except for the island, all the cabinets in the kitchen are made of gorgeous carmelized Teragren bamboo. The carmelization process is different from a stain in that heat darkens the sugars in the bamboo, resulting in a grain with complex and rich pattern of browns and beiges.

On the outside, our team of Chad, Roberto and Miguel have started to hang the Hardiplank siding. We are using their ColorPlus product, which won't require painting - a good choice when its 20 degrees outside. The chimney has stucco, the composite decking material is done, and now we wait for the geothermal installation to be complete.

We are looking good to achieve a LEED score of 90+, easily clearing the treshold for a Gold rating.  Piece o' cake.   Stay tuned...

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Our friend Michael Kiefer of Green DC Realty recently wrangled a nice piece on some of the green projects going on in town, and it mentioned The Incredibly Green Home.  Thanks Michael!

DREAMING OF A WHITE (and GREEN) CHRISTMAS “Environmentally friendly housing” once conjured images of dwellings with oodles of solar panels, no electricity, and maybe even an outdoor privy. Times have changed. Drastically. Local developers are still building green homes that save energy, but don’t skimp on aesthetics. Think tree-huggers in Chanel! Here are a few homes that may be green, but definitely aren’t gauche.

NOBLE NET ZERO: Marcie Meditch and John Murphey of Meditch Murphey Architects designed, developed and sold 6201 WEST HALBER ROAD in the Bannock Burn neighborhood of Bethesda for $1,795,000 with the help of Michael Kiefer and Fritz Hubig of Green DC Realty. The house is classified as a “net zero” home because on an annual average basis it produces as much energy as it consumes (read: zero-dollar energy bills). Nash Construction included all the typical luxury amenities you might expect as well as such “green” features as geothermal heating system with energy recover, solar electric and hot water systems, rain barrels, low-flow toilets (yes, there are high end plumbing fixtures that meet this criteria), and a green roof. Interior finishes include many recycled, reclaimed, and sustainably-harvested local materials. The buyer, Ann Luskey, an interior designer and noted environmentalist, serves as a trustee of the City Kids to Wilderness Project and the Whaleman Foundation. The house will be submitted for LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of “green” from the U.S. Green Building Council

INCREDIBLY GREEN: Bethesda Bungalows, a custom builder specializing in energy efficient Arts & Crafts and Prairie-style houses, recently completed 5133 FAIRGLEN LANE in Chevy Chase. The five bedroom, five and a half bath property known as “The Incredibly Green Home” is listed for $1,895,000 and showcases the latest green technologies and building methods. It combines the aesthetics of both Frank Lloyd Wright and Asian design to achieve a Zen-like effect. The Christian Gladu-designed house boasts a unique mix of luxury amenities, and also features like Enviroshake recycled composite roof shingles, Forest Stewardship Council-certified Brazilian cherry floors, Teragren bamboo builtins, and Icestone recycled glass counter tops.

ECO-GORGOUS: 1310 CALDER ROAD, the first carbon neutral dwelling in downtown McLean and one of the most environmentally friendly structures in the country, was recently delivered by GreenSpur Inc and West*Group. Currently listed at $2,395,000, it was built as the first carbonneutral designer show house on the East Coast, and is a fundraising project headed up by CharityWorks. Barry Dixon did the interior design on the 4,200-square foot Craftsman-style house, which features such luxurious green amenities as a salt water lap pool, a passive copper wine cellar, three ethanol fires places, and a LED high definition golf simulator theater.

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A slow morning here at Bethesda Bungalows with all the rain and the wind, so I thought we'd go a bit off topic and talk football and disc golf.

First off, big congrats to the Saints and Colts for getting into the Super Bowl. Tough to think of all my tortured Norwegian relatives in the Twin Cities area, with Favre throwing that interception at the end of regulation - uff da!

I watched the games up at Mark Razmik's house in Damascus, MD. Mark is one of our site-supervisors, a big sports lover and all around good guy. He just finished his basement bar area, and had half the town over for pulled pork sandwiches and lots of cold drinks. Thanks dude!

On Saturday, I went up to the Druid Hill Charity "Ice Bowl" Disc Golf Tournament up in Baltimore. I was joined by about 60 other disc golfers including Chad Collins (aka Heap Big Injun), who works with our renovation crew here at Bethesda Bungalows. In addition to being quite skilled in all kinds of construction, Chad can throw the living snot out of a disc.

The tourney was in a "triples" format, and I got teamed up with Paul, the Tourney Director, and another regular at Druid, Jon Hawes. It really helped to have guys so familiar with the course on my team. And it helped that I had my new glasses on - its amazing what you can do when you can see.

Anyway we finished just out of the money, due to a couple of missed short putts. I felt I had a darn good round, so Chad and I stuck around for another impromptu competitive round of "Best Disc". Let's just say Chad and I were ON FIRE and finished 8 under par. Oh yeah, disc golf is good.

We ended up raising a bunch of money for the local Food Bank, as did other Ice Bowls across the country. Thanks for putting it together, Paul!

And one last disc golf note, my friends Brian Cooke and Joel Provencher have renamed their company "Disc Outfitters", concentrating on more disc golf related merchandise.  Looking forward to some new schwag boys!

Heres a pic of the gang.

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A bit of exicting news on this chilly January morning. Bethesda Bungalows is proud to announce that we have contracted to build a home in the Hawkseye development in Lewes, Delaware, bordering Cape Henlopen State Park. This will be our first home in this development, and our first project outside of the DC Metro area.

We've hired Kevin Gallagher to be our site supervisor, and he's just back from a week-long scouting trip of the project. He met with Paul Townsend, a renown local Developer, and had in-depth discussions about the building methods that are approved for the development, local tradesmen, special challenges given the location, and lots more.

Of course, Christian Gladu will be designing the home. We are giving him wide artistic license on this one, as we have 100% faith he will come up with something fantastic. He has already started with the design, and below is a initial shot at the main level.

Given the location right off the Delaware coast, we've been exploring wind power options.

On a related note, the State of Delaware has recently announced that starting in 2025, all new commercial building will need to be "net zero". It seems like a long way off, but it will be 2025 before you know it.

www.bethesdabungalows.com/MAIN FLOOR (1).pdf

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Merry Christmas Everyone! Hope you had the chance to spend time with family and friends. I am fortunate to have most of my family right here in the DC area, and my older brother brought his two children down from Montreal for the weekend. We spent Christmas day at my folks house in Olney, and had a great time as usual.

My younger brother, Steve, and his wife Karen live in DC in an older building and they are in the midst of a major kitchen renovation. Their son Benjamin is now two, and like so many kids these days, he suffers from asthma. He had an attack on Christmas Eve that nearly sent him to the hospital. That got me thinking about the "healthy home" features of The Incredibly Green Home and how I wish Steve's family lived there. I truly believe that Ben would be a happier, healthier boy if that were the case.

Just to review, here's a list of the major features of the home that make it a "healthy home".

1. Central Vac with main unit in garage and vented to outdoors.
2. The only carpet is in the home theater. Allergens such as dust mites, pollen and other contaminants cannot get trapped on wood and bamboo floors.
3. Entire home has Certainteed ProRoc mold-resistant drywall
4. Super tight envelope ensures that the vast majority of air coming into home is first filtered by MERV 13 filters.
5. All finishes, sealants and adhesives are VOC compliant.
6. All engineered wood products are made with no-urea added formaldahyde.
7. Ductwork was sealed with mastic during construction. This prevents any unwanted construction debris from contaminating the system.
8. Multiple redundant systems designed to ensure that moisture is kept out of home, minimizing the chance of mold and mildew.
9. All bathrooms have humidstats, again to reduce chance of mold and mildew.
10. Programmable thermostat has humidity monitoring and control. Too much humidity leads to mold, too little leads to dry nasal passages, chapped lips, and gaps in your hardwood floor.
11. All cracks and seams caulked and sealed.  Outlet and switch boxes are caulked.
12. Sealed sump crocks with active radon control systems.
13. All combustion appliances externally vented, eliminating carbon monoxide and other toxins.
14. Garage fan connected to motion sensor, so when the vehicle pulls into the garage, exhaust is removed from home.

Finally, the home passed final inspection for the EPA Indoor AirPLUS certification on Wednesday the 23rd. Halleluliah!

So, with the soaring rates of asthma in this country, it would seem that the public would start demanding these features in their new homes. As usual, Bethesda Bungalows is leading the charge, and everyone else is going to have to catch up. Lets hope the future owner of The Incredibly Green Home values all of the extra attention to detail we have given this home. Going into the Spring '10 market, it will probably be the only home in the area with these features, and we hope that helps to sell it.

Here's to the end of the decade that is the Zeroes - bring on the Tens!

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Just in time for the blizzard that's heading our way, we are putting the roof trusses up on the Greif home at 5120 Fairglen. For this project, we've contracted with CSSI to supply a turnkey framing package using Porter Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS), and engineered trusses. Their crane showed up this morning to set the trusses, and they got the whole thing done in 2 1/2 hours. Productivity!

This is the first time Bethesda Bungalows is using SIPS, and I'm anxious to see how they perform. This will be a LEED-certified home, and we're shooting for a HERS rating of under 40. Coupled with the insulated slab and foundation, and the sprayfoam on the underside of the roof, the envelope should be extremely tight.

Now if we can get the roof sheathing on in the next 5 hours, we won't have to shovel snow off the second floor on Monday.  Go Go Go!

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On the way in this morning, I was listening to NPR and they had a story on the "Cash for Caulkers" (aka HomeStar) proposal that has been proposed as an economic stimulus by way of improving the energy consumption of homes.

My initial reaction is "Absolutely - bring it on!". We would love if there was a big push toward weatherization. When we go out to look at an older home that the owner is thinking of renovating, we usually marvel at the lack insulation. In fact, the home we tore down and replaced with The Incredibly Green Home was just that - a brick and block shell with zero insulation.

But what to do on a limited budget with a home built 80 years ago in "brick over block" fashion? Lets take one of the older homes built in the late '30s here on Fairglen as an example. The exterior of the homes are brick and the interior is plaster over lathe with no insulation. You've only got a 3/4" gap, so there is no room to get insulation into that cavity. So you start by tearing off plaster, reframing it over the block, then you have to completely rewire the home to current electical standards, and oh yeah tear out all the plumbing and yes you are gonna need a whole new hvac system with new duct work and the list goes on and on. So what started as a little job to caulk the house turns into an estimate for $200,000+ worth of work.

Without a hugely desctructive and expensive gut-rehab process, the most likely improvements are filling accessible cracks, replacing old windows, and improving the insulation in the attic, maybe by spraying the underside of the roof with open cell foam. That's about it folks, and that is unfortunate for the owners of that type of home, especially going forward when energy costs really start going up.

And its all the more reason that if you are one of the fortunate people who can afford to build a new home, that you make sure your envelope is a primary concern. Build it right!

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Just wanted to post an update on our project at 8507 Burning Tree Road.  Framing has just been completed and ice and water guard is going on the roof as we speak.  The home is designed as a faithful Greene and Greene ultimate bungalow, and should be a real show-stopper.   Here's a shot from yesterday.

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