Entry 18: Wrapping, Windows, and Green Roof

Hello friends,

This week has been in my opinion the fastest week of changes for the house. Just last Friday, the house was wrapped in the waterproofing material Tyvek. Also, the Anderson windows arrived and have been installed during the week. At the end of the week, the green roof installation donated by American Hydrotech should commence.

Photo of the outside wrapped in Tyvek.

In some behind-the-scenes news, the bi-weekly OAC meeting took place Tuesday morning and we accomplished a great deal of tasks. At the moment, there were 3 major sections of the agenda concerning the project status: HVAC, exterior siding, and metal roof color selection. The first is a redesigning of the HVAC system ductwork for two heat pump units and the Train CleanEffects air purification system (see the Entry 16). This is in the works and I will give an update, when I hear back.

Inside view of the first floor (note temporary stairs).

The exterior siding selection was a very interesting point of the OAC meeting. Patty Boyle, architect from the Smith Group, brought in samples, photographs, and descriptions of 9 different products to discuss. Patty had compared them ahead of time and graded each product based on the following categories: cost of material, time to get the product, installation, any maintenance required LEED/Environment, and a change to the aesthetics from the current design. We have ruled out 5 of the products and ranked the others in order of preference mostly based on cost and color selection and we should hopefully decide by the end of the week. Don’t worry if you don’t understand what I’m talking about, when we have picked out a siding product, I will describe it to the best of my ability.

New construction sign with Jordan.

The metal roof color selection was probably the easiest decision from the OAC meeting. Due to uncertainties in the color selection, we had to decide upon a color that would go well with most. White was the unanimous color of choice because it is has a clean look, is very energy efficient by cooling the house due to reflection of sunlight and would be a nice accent to match with the white windows. In any case, most of the roof space is green roofing and some solar panels.

Second floor atrium view of windows and secondary staircase.

On Thursday afternoon, a couple of us walked through the house and inspected the rooms. We noticed that the windows are so large that they begin at floor level. The nicest bedrooms in the house were the two back ones on the second floor because the roof is at such a steep angle that it creates almost another story of space. This made those two rooms feel larger and more open than the others.

One of the second floor back bedrooms!

That's all for now. Be sure to check out the new web-album link on the right hand panel for up-to-date photos from our weekly visits.

-The Construction Team

Entry 17: Picasa Web-Album to Host Archived Photos

Hey friends,

I've just created an account with Google's photo software, Picasa, to host all construction photos since our team's first visit to the site. The link for the website is on the right hand side. Feel free to browse through hundreds of photos at your own leisure.

Enjoy!

-Scott

Entry 16: Trane CleanEffects

Hello Reader,

During the past week, the construction site has been fairly quiet. However, there has been quite a bit of behind-the-scenes action. First, we have a schedule update:

1. The frame has been completed, ahead of schedule, but the house still needs to be waterproofed.
2. Windows are expected to arrive on Thursday from Anderson.
3. Utilities will be installed next month.
4. The in-wall inspection is scheduled to occur in mid-April.

From last Tuesday's OAC meeting, we anticipate an excess amount of lumber, mulch, and other construction materials. Therefore, we have contacted a representative from Duke's Habitat for Humanity chapter to discuss a donation if the opportunity becomes available.

Due to the removal of the skylights from the building plans, there is now an open space available on the roof. A member of Bovis Lend Lease mentioned the potential for Smart Home students to use the space for experimentation. For example, students have used the roof of Pratt's Hudson Hall to test their recently developed solar tracking unit and the patent-pending "solar-thermal hybrid system." In order to gain access to the roof, we needed to consult the building plans. Ultimately it was decided that we want to place a removable ladder on the second-floor patio from the unique section that extends perpendicularly out from the house. See the photo below.

Potential location for removable ladder to roof.

Last Friday, a meeting was held to discuss our LEED status, in which we assigned responsibility for each section of the LEED certification. At this time, we are targeting the Silver level. See entry 6 from September 7th, 2006 for more information on LEED.

Finally, Scott Harvey, a member of the construction team, conducted research on a new sophisticated air purification system called CleanEffects by Trane. For more information, you can visit the following website by clicking on the link of "CleanEffects."

Trane CleanEffects Unit

We are currently redesigning the HVAC system to accommodate two heating units. Based on our findings, we recommend that CleanEffects be incorporated into this new design because it had great reviews by users and that it cleans air extremely well in residential homes.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading this week's entry, and be sure to check back next week with more updates and some great new photos of (hopefully) windows in the house!

- The Construction Team