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Bethesda Bungalows' Blog
Green Building
Tag >> Bethesda Bungalows
Trish Kelly and John Kellenberg never intended to build a house. A great location and a roof-destroying blizzard changed their minds, however, and now not only are they building, but they’re committed to constructing a sustainable, healthy house that’s on track to be LEED certified. Click here to read the rest of the article. 
Happy Friday everyone, it's a beautiful spring morning here in the nation's capitol, and my taxes are done. The NIST Net Zero site is fully prepped and the basement has been dug to grade. The last load of stone for the stabilized construction entrance is in place, and assuming the rain isn't too heavy tomorrow, we should be ready to pour footers early next week. We've noticed that the soil drains and dries quite rapidly, a good sign.
Todd Cirner of Therrien Waddell has been working non-stop on getting our submittals over to the team at Jacobs Engineering for initial review, before they pass them onto Building Science Corp for final review. The requirements for this project have made the submittal process a bit more challenging than we are all used to, but we'll work through it.
Click here to continue reading the Bethesda Bungalows' blog.
Posted by: Brad Beeson in Whole House Renovation, whole house remodeling, This Old House, rambler renovation, rambler rehab, kensington, gut rehab, curb appeal, cate watson, Bethesda Bungalows on
Apr 11, 2011
Our Rambler to Foursquare renovation in Kensington has been entered into a contest on the "This Old House" website. Click here and vote today! 
Posted by: Brad Beeson in Standard Solar, Serious Windows, Peter Guida, NZERTF, NIST Net Zero, Net Zero Home, LEED Platinum, Indoor airPLUS, Building Science Corporation, Bethesda Bungalows on
Mar 28, 2011
Our local ABC News affiliate, WJLA, featured a story on the groundbreaking of our NIST Net Zero project. The story included an interview with Peter Guida and our good customer, the Weavers. Click here to watch the video.
Click here to continue reading our blog.
Bethesda Bungalows will be starting a new whole house transformation project on McKinley Street in Bethesda. The original home, built in the 30's, is a 2 bedroom brick cottage, just blocks from Suburban Hospital. Like most homes of this era, it has no insulation.
The renovated home will draw upon Prairie-style design cues, with a large overhanging eaves, a shallow pitched roof, and groups of large windows.
A full second story will be added, with the finished home having 4 bedrooms upstairs, along with the laundry room.
On the main floor, the living space will be completely renovated, and will include a new chef's kitchen and eating area, living room, and combo playroom/extra bedroom.
On the energy side, the project qualifies as a "high performance retrofit". We will bring the thermal and air envelope up to current standards, and install a high efficiency HVAC unit. EnergyStar lighting and appliances, along with water saving plumbing fixtures are slated for the finishes.
5511 McKinley St., Bethesda - Before
Click here to download a pdf copy of the plans.
Our lovely project on Cedar Lane in Kensington has been featured in an article in Chesapeake Home + Living magazine. Click here to read it. 
Posted by: Administrator in Therrien Waddell, NZERTF, NIST Net Zero, Net Zero Home, Net Zero Energy Residential Test Facility, LEED Platinum, Indoor airPLUS, Building Science Corporation, Bethesda Bungalows, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on
Feb 1, 2011
An update on the NIST Net Zero Energy Residential Test Facility (NZERTF). As of last week, NIST has "lifted the suspension of work", meaning we are cleared to resume the preliminary work required to get the project started. If the ground would thaw out, we could actually start the site work and excavation - the soil is currently frozen solid to about 18" deep, with a high water content. These conditions make for a very messy dig.
The NZERTF will be used to demonstrate the viability of the Net Zero Energy concept for a residential structure that is similar in size and aesthetics to the surrounding homes in the Gaithersburg area. The NZERTF will generate as much energy on an annual basis as it consumes when operated in a manner that mimics a residence occupied by a family of four. It will subsequently be used as a lab for testing various building energy technologies by the Building Fire and Research Laboratory (BFRL) of NIST. These criteria were established by NIST and Building Science Corp, the designer of the home. Additional requirements for air-tightness, indoor air quality and LEED for Homes must be met.
The NZERTF will be a wood-framed structure with approximately 2,500 SF of interior space with a basement and an attic. The entire space, including the basement and the attic, will be conditioned. The detached garage will serve as the facility control room where the interior loads of the “simulated family of four” can be programmed and monitored. Lights turning on and off, showers starting and stopping, cooking all can be controlled through this space.
To win this Federal contract, Bethesda Bungalows teamed up with commercial builder Therrien Waddell of Gaitherburg. Our experience in building LEED and EnergyStar-certified homes was critical to our successful bid. Brad Beeson will be providing his green building expertise toward earning the LEED Platinum, EnergyStar and Indoor airPlus certifications.
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EcoHome Series
EcoHome Magazine is following our entire KellyGreen project in Chevy Chase!
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