More progress

I stopped by the site to check on the guys earlier this week and they were hard at work finishing up the foundation. They also installed the first floor decking this weekend in preparation for the delivery of our panelized walls next week. Here is the magic behind the project: Speciality Design, Bill's construction firm.


And Billy hard at work.


Here's the rest of the crew: Scott (left) and Tony (right). They're both great guys and we're super happy they're working on our project.




Ryan and I got our hands dirty for the first time this weekend helping to level the gravel in the basement. Lucky for us that Sean, Ryan's brother, was willing to lend a hand, too. Ryan and I are now dead tired, nursing blistered hands and sore shoulders. But it's somehow really satisfying to feel like we actually did something to move the house forward (a very, very small something). Ryan was particularly happy to be working in his drum studio! The walk-out portion of the basement is going to be his music-making paradise.

Excavation week 2

So here are some more progress pics. Bill and his crew are doing an amazing job. I have to say that it feels so incredibly good to be working with folks that you trust. Bill calls me every morning and evening to give me an update on the day's activities and I have no question in my mind that they are working as hard and fast as they can. For that reason, I don't feel obligated to stop by every second of every day to check in. It also helps that all of our major subs have worked with Bill before so I know that they respect him and vice versa. My advice to other folks GCing their project: find a team of people who you truly trust. It makes all the difference in the world.

So the form-a-drain is in place and the first round of Amvic ICF blocks installed. We hope to pour the concrete early next week. We also ran our electrical connection under the road and hitched it up to a neighbor's pole (with their permission, of course) so we should have electricity on site shortly. The floor and roof trusses have been delivered and look great (I love a 12x12 roof pitch). And the town assigned us our new address: 275 Butternut Road. We like that it's a nice, round number. And they add up to my birthday, 9/5. Thanks to my mom, the math teacher, for making me obsessed with finding random patterns in numbers.

The panels will be delivered the week after next. Watch for some great progress photos then!




The dogs were interested in the large dirt pile so Ryan took them up to see the view. We think Lily and Gus liked their new home. Certainly lots of good smells...


A gratuitous shot of our site. I just love it in the evening. I can't wait to look out our master bedroom window at this every day.

SIPs it is

The purpose of this post is to correct a huge oversight on my part and I want to thank poster "Mario in VT" for bringing it to our attention....we never shared our decision re: SIPs vs. ICFs! Oops. It's a minor decision, really. It's only our entire wall system (!) So sorry for that omission. Apparently I've been much more worried about critical issues like whether to purchase a refrigerator with a top or bottom freezer.

Anyway, we have decided to go with SIPs. We actually really wanted a full ICF house. There has been some debate about whether ICFs truly offer a tighter envelope over SIPs. I think what attracted us to ICFs is that in addition to the (potentially slight) advantage in terms of insulating power over SIPs, we also liked the idea of not using any wood. Over time, that wood will begin to decay and concrete is here to stay. It also seemed like a good way to avoid using any more natural resources. Then again, producing concrete is very taxing to the environment. So we explored using a large percentage of fly ash, a waste product that is harmful when released into the atmosphere. Using fly ash also decreases the amount of damaging-to-produce concrete. Anyway, we were leaning towards ICFs although it certainly wasn't an emotionally wrenching decision to choose SIPs instead. We basically want the tightest building envelope that our budget will buy. And once we received the bids back (two from ICF companies and two from SIP companies), it became obvious that SIPs were more budget friendly. I will say that there wasn't a huge difference. But the difference was big enough that we couldn't justify choosing ICFs over SIPs. However, we will be using ICFs from Vermont ICF for our basement.

We are buying our SIPs from Panel Pros out of Keene, New Hampshire. These will be 6.5" Insulspan panels, R-26. So far, Panel Pros has been great to work with. Our total panel package came to around $27,000 without installation. This price includes structural design and delivery. With Al's help, we are going to install them ourselves. Panel Pros also quoted us on a SIP roof but because of cost constraints, we are going to go with a traditional truss roof and blown-in insulation.

Here is a link to Insulspan's website that has some great, basic information on SIPs. Fine Homebuilding has a nice overview article, too. This is the most basic diagram I could find of a SIP. Also, check out this ridiculous YouTube video (the music is classic) of the guys at Insulspan putting up a SIP building. Okay, and this one is just weird. It's called: Insulspan SIPs & ICFs used to build "The Moon." I don't get it. And yet I watched it. I really have too much time on my hands.

Article about our builder

We love working with our primary building consultant, Al Rossetto. We feel really lucky to have found someone as philosophically committed to green building and as willing to work with owner-builders as he is. An article was recently published on the Green Building Advisor website profiling an incredibly energy efficient house he built in Waitsfield, Vermont several years back. The article is available here.

ICF home in New Hampshire

So have we mentioned lately that we lucked out with our builder, Al Rossetto? Technically, he's not our builder. We're acting as our own general contractors and Al has been gracious enough to serve as a consultant on the project as well as the primary sub for elements including foundation, wall system, HVAC and central vac. He's incredibly knowledgeable about green/energy efficient building practices, committed to keeping us on budget and honest as the day is long. And I haven't even begun to describe the kindness he and his wife, Gail, have shown us over the past year. Case in point: we spent the weekend with them in their brand spankin' new SIP home in Lancaster, New Hampshire. They invited us over to see the house and to take a trip down to the southern part of the state to tour the finished product of one of Al's clients, Rouleen, a fellow owner-builder. We spent Saturday and Sunday eating great food, drinking good drinks, talking about green construction, laughing and telling jokes. We felt like part of the family. How many people can say this about their builder? All in all, we feel blessed to have found Al and to be under his care.

Anyway, as mentioned above, part of the purpose of the weekend was to check out Rouleen's recently completed home. She built a full-ICF home meaning both the basement and the first floor are constructed of ICF blocks (Logix, I believe). She put on a traditional truss roof with blown-in insulation.

When we tell folks that we're considering an ICF home, the response we receive is often some version of, "Why would you build a house out of concrete? Won't that be like living in a bunker?" These pictures of Rouleen's home illustrate that ICF homes, just like any other type of home, can be stunningly beautiful. The wall system doesn't dictate the feel and ambiance of the house...the owner/decorator does. You can have a colonial ICF home (like Al and Gail's), a craftsman style ICF home (like Rouleen's) or a million other options. ICF can fit any aesthetic. I didn't once think "bunker" when I was in Rouleen's home. She's done a beautiful job and was such a joy to meet. She was wonderfully helpful with little tips and hints. And she gave us confidence that we, too, could act as owner-builders and could come in on-budget.

The weekend was a blast, Rouleen and her gorgeous home rocked our worlds (as did her pork stew and homemade coleslaw--mmm, mmm good!), and Al and Gail were tremendous hosts, as usual. Our sentiments might change over the course of the next few months....but right now, this home building thing is super fun. Here are some pictures of Rouleen's beauty:

ICF house in Waterbury, VT

I wanted to pass along the link to a blog started by Vermont ICF. They built a beautiful ICF house recently in Waterbury (about 30 miles east of Burlington). The house has a lot of features that we're interested in incorporating into our home including polished concrete floors with embedded radiant heat. It also takes great advantage of solar energy in terms of house siting, window placement and solar hot water and PVs.

ICFs

We are anxiously awaiting March 11th. That is the date when the Williston Development Review Board will decide whether we can proceed with our plans to build this summer. We are nervous because only a finite number of projects are approved each year. If we had purchased land outright, we would not have to go through this approval process; this is the result of the fact that Ryan's parents are technically 'subdividing' their land in order to gift us a small part (**THANK YOU!!!**). Thus, we are pushed into the same approval process required of developers. But we're keeping our fingers crossed and trying to stay optimistic. We'd really like to build our new house this summer!

One important looming decision is our wall system. We were initially planning on an ICF basement and SIP walls. But the more we've learned about ICFs and their incredible energy saving properties, the more we've found ourselves leaning towards building a full ICF house. The only stumbling block will be cost. As soon as we learn when we can break ground, we'll finalize the blueprints and get quotes on both ICFs and SIPs to see how well they compare.

Here are some interesting links to other people's blogs where they discuss their decision to go with ICFs. Modern in MN's blog explains their decision to go the ICF route. (Scroll down to the January 11, 2005 post). This Custom Home blog also does a great job of detailing all of the benefits to ICFs.

Threads on the Green Building Talk forum constantly revisit the ICFs vs. SIPs debate and there are ardent supporters in both camps. I have learned a lot from this site.

We'll keep our own blog updated on the events of March 11th as well as our thoughts on ICFs vs. SIPs.

Better Buildings by Design Conference

I am not an architect. I am not a contractor. I am not an efficiency expert. And yet the folks at Efficiency Vermont were more than happy to have me attend the 10th annual Better Buildings by Design Conference in Burlington, VT this past week. This organization (Efficiency Vermont) is fantastic and the conference was incredible. I learned so much and really relished spending an entire day talking with others about what has captivated my life for the past year...building green. I really did feel like a kid in a candy store in the exhibit hall. So many choices! Did I want to talk to the folks at Vermont ICF or the representatives from Foard Panel? Should I start by visiting the Andersen display or the Marvin? Interested in solar power? Choose from groSolar or Solar Works Inc. I honestly had to tear myself away at the end of the day. The workshops I attended were also inspirational. Energy experts from all over the region offered sessions on topics ranging from total energy conscious building to lighting design.

One of the most important lessons I learned over the course of the day was the distinction between conservation and renewables. Basically, the goal is to minimize your energy load by reducing the size of the house and constructing as tight a building envelope as possible (also by installing high performance windows and energy efficient appliances). Once the load has been been brought down to a low level, then it's time to begin thinking about producing as much of your remaining energy needs as you can through renewables. Our budget doesn't allow, at this point, for some of the pricier options like geothermal, photovoltaics or wind. However, one renewable option that many presenters characterized as a "no brainer" cost-wise is solar hot water. With currently available state and federal incentives, it seems like a basic system would run us about $7000-$8000 and would provide up to 60% of our hot water. This seems like a really exciting possibility for us. If the budget does not allow it upfront, we'd like to do whatever we can during construction to fit the house for future renewable add-ons.

A couple of vendors I met at the conference were especially helpful when I spoke with them in the exhibit hall. I want to mention them here so that others know where to turn for good information about green building options. These companies and their representatives were more than willing to talk to an owner-builder and treated me as if I was important as the guy behind me who was planning to build an entire development. I expect that they offer great customer service to all of their clients based on my interactions with them at the conference. So I would highly recommend:

Vermont ICF: Jesse Wing and Joel Baker were both interested in our project and very helpful in explaining their particular barnd of ICF blocks and how they work. They are distributors for Amvic (a Canadian company) and everything I have read online indicates that Amvic is a superior block and held in high regard by many green builders. Vermont ICF is based in Waterbury which is great for our project. I have heard from others that they provide wonderful local support for their builds. I look forward to having them bid on our project when we have the go-ahead to begin construction.

groSolar: The representatives from groSolar provided me with a lot of information about solar hot water options and were great about answering all of my questions. I enjoyed speaking with them and definitely plan to touch base with them again once we have a more concrete budget and can explore renewables. Their corporate headquarters are in White River Junction, Vermont so it's nice again to support a Vermont company.

Curtis Lumber: Curtis Lumber is largely a New York company but has two stores here in our area of Vermont, one in Burlington and one in Williston (both were previously Gregory Supply). The representatives from Curtis Lumber, especially Mike Landers, were wonderfully helpful at the conference. Mike took a good 30 minutes to talk with me about our project and how Curtis Lumber might fit our needs. Curtis offers many of the supplies we will need including wood siding, engineered roof trusses, drywall, etc. I was particularly appreciative of his willingness to talk about his own home construction project and the decisions he and his family made in that process. If the customer service at Curtis Lumber is anything like that offered me by Mike at the conference, I think we will be in great hands with these guys.

Green is our goal!

So our goal with this house is to build as green a structure as possible. That means everything from using environmentally friendly materials to employing construction strategies that reduce energy loss (and therefore energy consumption) in the home. Why is building green our priority?

"In the United States, there are 100 million homes and 5 million commercial buildings that collectively use about 40% of the nation’s total energy (source: Pew Center on Global Climate Change). To a building owner, energy represents the single largest controllable operating expense. (source: Building Owners and Managers Association)."

Some of the things we're currently exploring include...

SIPS
SIPS (structural insulated panels) fit really well with our plans to build a post and beam home. SIPs are incredibly energy efficient and provide much better insulation than your standard frame. SIP Panel buildings are "66% more energy efficient than standard frame construction, 2-1/2 times stronger than standard building materials and cut framing time by 2/3rds. Panels are made from a thick layer of foam (polystyrene or polyurethane) sandwiched between two layers of Oriented Strand Board (OSB), plywood or fiber-cement. The result is an engineered panel that provides structural framing, insulation, and exterior sheathing in a solid, one-piece component."


ICF
We're totally jazzed about this particular green building strategy. "Insulating concrete forms (ICFs) are rigid plastic foam forms that hold concrete in place during curing and remain in place afterwards to serve as thermal insulation for concrete walls. The foam sections are lightweight and result in energy-efficient, durable construction. ICF walls provide higher R-values (between R-17 and R-26) and lower air infiltration rates than typical wood frame construction (typically R-12 to R-20)." People have built entire ICF homes (walls and all). At this point, we're thinking of using ICFs for our foundation at a minimum and perhaps the entire house.

Radiant Heat Floors
"Radiant heating has a number of advantages: it is more efficient than baseboard heating and usually more efficient than forced-air heating because no energy is lost through ducts. The lack of moving air can also be advantageous to people with severe allergies. Hydronic (liquid-based) systems use little electricity, a benefit for homes off the power grid or in areas with high electricity prices. The hydronic systems can also be heated with a wide variety of energy sources, including standard gas- or oil-fired boilers, wood-fired boilers, solar water heaters, or some combination of these heat sources."

We're also trying to minimize the use of wood that does not come from sustainable sources. It would also be great if the wood is harvested locally to reduce the carbon footprint of its transport. For our flooring, we're considering polished concrete for the first level (especially good for those with allergies and for dogs-no scratches!)and either wood or bamboo for upstairs (a renewable resource and recognized as a green material under LEED).

We also plan to buy Energy Star appliances and low-flow or dual flush toilets.

We're really hoping to receive the EPA's top Energy Star rating for our home.

Vermont has a phenomenal green building resource in Efficiency Vermont:
"Efficiency Vermont is the nation's first statewide provider of energy efficiency services. Efficiency Vermont provides technical assistance and financial incentives to Vermont households and businesses, to help them reduce their energy costs with energy-efficient equipment and lighting and with energy-efficient approaches to construction and renovation." Everyone in VT pays for the service via a small fee on our electric bills. Gotta' love this state.

We're also considering applying for LEED certification (more stringent and comprehensive building standards than the Energy Star program).

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More building green resources:

http://www.buildinggreen.com/

http://www.greenbuilding.com/