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The Incredibly Green Home Blog
Green Building
Tag >> green building
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.
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!
Posted by: Brad Beeson in sustainable building, sips, Porter Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS), LEED-certified home, LEED, green remodeling, Green Home, green building chevy chase, green building bethesda, green building, eco-friendly building on
Dec 18, 2009
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! 
We had a nice write up in the Gazette this week. Click here to read it.
At Bethesda Bungalows, we are always looking to ensure that our building methods are improving. That's why, at our latest LEED project at 5120 Fairglen Lane, we have incorporated a new idea from the mind of Dr. Joseph Lstiburek, building guru extraordinaire. We've sprayed the footer with a waterproofing liquid (E-Pro EcoBase) which forms a capilllary break that prevents water from wicking up into the foundation walls. This is especially important on a lot like this one, where we encountered poor soil and significant ground water. This measure, coupled with drainage tile on either side of the footer, and EcoDrain-E dimple board installed on the exterior of the foundation, goes a long way to ensuring that water will not be entering the home. 
Green is the new Black! Today, home theaters are all the rage, and the one installed in the Incredibly Green Home would make even the newest movie theaters green with envy. This state of the art system has the capability to acurately reproduce any of your favorite Blu-Ray movies in the highest quality thanks to the JVC DLA-HD 350 projector and Stewart Filmscreen Studiotek130 screen. The system also has the ability to turn your home into a concert hall with help from the Canton Ergo sound package. All of this is being controlled by a handheld Control4 SR-250 coupled with an HC500, giving ultimate simplicity to the proud new owner. There's also a 7" color touchpanel in the kitchen, allowing control over house audio on the main floor, house-wide dimming presets, and future integration with a Control4 EC-100 for energy system monitoring and management. Super Cool. What's green about the theater? The pillars are reclaimed from the elm tree that we had to cut down in the front yard. The floors are reclaimed from the home that used to be on the site. The carpet is Greenguard certified. The top of the bar is bamboo. Hmmm, not sure if this counts, but the Pioneer SC-07 receiver and the Canton sub use highly efficient IcePower amplifiers. And the speakers run at an efficient 4 ohms when you crank them up, but not sure if we get any points from USGBC on that. Anyway... Our thanks go out to the guys at Myer Emco Audio Video who helped install, program and calibrate the system. In an age where AV retailers come and go, Myer Emco has always been there for us. They've been in business for over 50 years, and are still family-owned. Kudos to Jesse, Phil, Dom and of course Christian Harris and Chris Kirchoff. 
What a day! This past Tuesday marked a major milestone for The Incredibly Green Home, as we had a team of four green building pros from Everyday Green perfom multiple inspections. In one 4-hour period, we went through LEED, NAHB, EnergyStar and Indoor airPLUS inspections. Everday Green founders Asa and Andrea Foss were joined by Jim Conlon and Janice Romanosky as they went over the home with a fine-toothed comb. We started by going over the LEED Durability Inspection Checklist, moved onto the entire pre-drywall inspection for the NAHB National Green Building Standard, then the EnergyStar, then LEED pre-drywall, and finally thru the Indoor airPLUS. Whew. Asa commented, "The pre-drywall inspection went quite well. The house is very well insulated and air sealed, from the foundation walls to the duct work. We found a few small issues that were quickly and easily addressed...that's why we inspect the home at this stage when it's still possible to find and fix small insulation oversights. The moisture management system was also in good shape. The Incredibly Green Home is off to a terrific start towards meeting their green building certfication goals: LEED for Homes, Energy Star with the Indoor Air Package, National Green Building Standards, and Builder's Challenge." Oh and did I mention that the entire thing was captured by Jeff Bankert and his crew from NAHB Productions. The will use the peice as a builder training video on the NAHB website, to be released in the near future. Overall, the Everyday Green team has been exceptionally helpful. They are also working on another LEED certification for one of our custom clients. Their knowledge and expertise is an invaluable resource to Bethesda Bungalows. 
Christian Gladu discusses duct layouts with Asa and Andrea Foss of Everyday Green.
Asa Foss inspects for proper installation of vents. 
Just one more shot and its a wrap.
One of our long-term trade partners has been Overhead Door Company of Washington D.C. They consistently deliver a high quality product, on time and installed professionally. They have introduced their EcoBuilt™line of doors, which uses "recycled unused Douglas-fir from mills and fuses it with exterior grade resins and wax to form a hard-working homogenous door panel. Specially formulated to resist moisture, these door panels actually outperform wood in tests of weather and time." The technology was originally developed 40 years ago, and with the green revolution in full swing, has now become a key product in their line-up. "Because of their unique composition, all EcoBuilt™ garage door panels use 100% recycled wood fiber and are SCS Certified: Minimum 88% Recycled Content. EcoBuilt™ garage doors resist splitting, warping and cracking, unlike conventional wood doors, and they won’t dent or bend like steel doors. They’re easy to install and they come prepped for painting, eliminating the need for exterior priming." For The Incredibly Green Home, Tim Hardesty and the Overhead Door Company of Washington D.C. will generously be providing an EcoBuilt Acadia Verde Collection Elite door. Thank you for your support, we know the door is going to be fantastic, and we look forward to doing business in the future!
This past Thursday April 8th, Peter was interviewed by Dana Bate of PBS Nightly Business Report. She has been running a series of reports on green jobs and how they have been effected by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. She also came to discuss the impact of the green building movement on Bethesda Bungalows and how we were faring in this economy . We gave her a tour of The Incredibly Green Home and went over the numerous green features of the home. It turned out to be a perfect day with mild weather and the cherry blossoms in full bloom. Jerry Cave of Washington Home and Garden Magazine just happened to stop by and managed to squeeze into the photo. Pretty sly, Jerry! Look for the report to be aired on Earth Day, April 22nd. As they say, "check your local listings". 
Peter Guida, Dana Bate of PBS Nightly Business Report, and Jerry Cave of Washington Home and Garden Magazine.
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