Gottfried Green

Sunset before Ernesto

Labels: weather

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 8:19 PM 0 Comments

An architect is finally in the house

We've found our architect finally. We will be working with Terry Osborn of Osborn Sharp Associates, who designed The Florida House over 10 years ago. We are very excited to get started. The design emphasis will be on passive sustainability. Some of our inspirations are The Glide House, Edison's FL Winter House, and the Cracker style elements of which Terry used in The Florida House design. The philosophy is that historical homes worked better with nature. We are looking for an eclectic mix of old and new. The best thing about this for us is that we have so many more options than what was available over 10 years ago. Terry mentioned he was influenced by Buckminster Fuller and we thought that was a good sign.

Labels: design

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 3:07 PM 0 Comments

Matha Stewart Living- It's a Green Thing

Treehugger announces that Martha Stewart has invited them to be a part of Martha's Going Green Week coming up in October. Martha is very persuasive as to what constitutes "a good thing"... I predict she'll embark on promoting a new green etiquette if you will. Just as she pulled us out of our dark, dinner partying days, she'll now highlight how to do it green. Oprah is sure to follow soon and thus the new green country will be born. Green, on one level, is all about lifestyle. These ladies tell millions of American women 35-60 how to live and they seem to listen.

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 1:06 PM 0 Comments

Tuesday Links

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 12:51 PM 0 Comments

No gusto for Ernesto

Mr. Gottfried really stepped up to put the family hurricane plan together. It appears now that we won't be evacuating (he had 3 La Quinta's lined up) but we will prepare for riding out some wind and lots of rain... of course that's if Ernesto cuts through FL as they are now predicting. I tried to play things cool because I didn't want to seem like too much of a newbie here in hurricane country. Where Port Charlotte is on the map is basically where we are.

Labels: weather

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 11:36 AM 1 Comments

Red Tide rolls in

Here at Grandma Gottfried's we're about 2 miles from the beach. This is just enough to keep the effects of Karenia brevis, the algae that produce red tide at bay. We did try for a sunset last week and experienced the throat tickle but it has become worse with dead fish and seaweed now floating onto the beach. View an article from the Tribune at the Link.

Labels: Nature

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 11:06 AM 0 Comments

Monday Links- going off the grid

We are getting more into the idea of going off the grid. We'll be connected but mostly rely on solar. We'll look into a net-metered situation with the utility company as one option. You can buy electricity for use at night and then sell back any extra solar energy you've generated during the day. Basically breaking even.

"SuvivorMan" Goes Off the Grid [Treehugger]
Getting Off the Grid [energyrefuge.com]
The New Energy Companies [Joel Makower]

Labels: cost

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 10:25 AM 0 Comments

Insurance is tough all over

The NY Times explains similar insurance woes in the coastal Northeast, as to those here in FL. Either you pay the increases or just get dropped completely. From the article at the Link, "Mr. Mills, the insurance superintendent, recommends a couple of relatively inexpensive improvements that homeowners can make to try to reduce their insurance costs. Roof clips, which securely connect a house’s rafters to its roof, cost about $30 each, and hurricane shutters run about $10 to $50 per square foot."Fortunately, we can build from the start above standard codes which should help. However, I will still have to take the house plans to insurance companies to make sure we won't have problems once it's built.

Labels: cost

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 7:03 PM 0 Comments

Friday Links

The Lawn's a Fairway [NY Times]
This 'Pirate' Flopped [NY Post]

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 6:19 PM 0 Comments

The Florida Solar Cracker House- off the grid

greener Miami was nice enough to send along this think to The Florida Solar Cracker House. It looks like they did what we want to do although we don't know how far off the grid we can go. We also like much of the look of the house. Elizabeth Seiberling, the owner speaks about the house. "The house is not connected to the utility grid. We have a Clivus Multrum composting toilet and are not connected to a public sewer or septic tank. Although we used well water, we have built a 3000 gallon cistern which can be used to collect rainwater for all household water needs. Why did we do this? Primarily, we hoped to demonstrate that humans can live in a comfortable and pleasing home while attempting to minimize their negative impact on the earth. The design and building of the home was an exciting challenge that was in progress for over 10 years." Have a look at the Link.

Labels: cost, design, websites

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 8:04 PM 0 Comments

gWiki

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 7:47 PM 0 Comments

Dwell goes greener

Dwell Magazine has reorganized itself and its website. With the green movement becoming so mainstream, it really feels like the day is coming when we'll look back and say I can't believe we used to do things that way. It will become absurd like the now cliched drinking and smoking pregnant mom's of the 60's and 70's. Visit the new look of Dwell at the Link.

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 1:03 PM 0 Comments

They came for the green

Home Front Homes presented their Katrina Cottage here in Englewood last week. It had just been showcased at the International Builders Show in Orlando. They present a "real" home option vs. the FEMA trailers. The exciting part of the affordable Katrina Cottage is that it is built green. About 300 people came and "You know why they were there? One reason: Green," says Brian Bishop of Home Front Homes. The plan right now is that Home Front would build from our custom design. They are right around the corner so it cuts out the travel time. Once we get our plans (we've just had an initial meeting with our architect), we'll present them to Home Front and keep our fingers crossed they are available to build sometime in the near future. See the article at the Tribune and visit Home Front Homes at the Link.

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 12:10 PM 0 Comments

The irony is not lost here

OK, final post about Edison/Ford but had to note that the irony is not lost here. At the Link, I found a small article in The Detroit News with a few Ford/Edison quotes. They are a bit disconcerting given our present energy crisis. Let's see, you have the guy who controls electric, the guy who invented the gas car industry(vs. Edison's electric car which Edison said was less superior than Ford's creation) and Harvey Firestone is in the mix along with President Harding. I wonder what would come of our president going on camping trips with the top inventors/industrialists searching for green innovations/solutions? (My own question has just made me depressed.) Mr. Gottfried just pointed out the true irony- these masterminds that set up the destruction of natural resources (they didn't know this future in their defense) loved to hang out in the wilderness. Where are the great thinkers of our time and why isn't the president hanging out with them... in the wilderness.

Labels: global warming

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 5:45 PM 0 Comments

Sustainability with "distinctive" design

The Southeast Building Coalition, SEBC, sponsor an annual building awards event covering 12 states. Sarasota's Vision Homes won for it's distinctive sustainable design. This is exactly what we don't want our house to look like. It looks like all the new homes being built in FL to us. However, Vision Homes used most of the latest green building innovation. Vision's Savannah III model, also known as the Home Builders Association of Sarasota County's "Tech House," won an Aurora and a Grand Aurora in the Demonstration Model Green Home category. Built in the Trillium subdivision off Sarasota's Proctor Road, the 2,684-square-foot house uses the latest technologies to reduce energy consumption, conserve resources and promote indoor air quality. Features include a study, theater room and hurricane safe room. The best thing is that the Tech House is a model home and we can visit for more ideas. See the full article at the Tribune or visit Vision Home's Tech House at the Link.

Labels: design

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 6:34 PM 0 Comments

To get to the inside you have to go outside

This is a shot from the Edison's main house to a bedroom on the left. Now this would be enclosed with screens but we love the idea of a separate room still viewed as part of the house based upon its sharing of the deck/porch/lanai/veranda. I didn't know these people but Edison is quoted as saying something like, "[when you are working you work and when you are playing you play- no point in confusing the two.]" He also liked that fact that while partially deaf it was OK because it kept out distractions from his work. He credits his success to having no clocks in his laboratory so he would nap and eat not based on schedule but based on when he physically felt he needed it.

Labels: design

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 1:34 AM 0 Comments

A man and his mission

Although I have shamefully been unable to get a photo of our Banyan Tree, I will soon. It's overgrown on the front lot and I am unable to take a worthy picture. Above is Edison's, the largest Banyan Tree in the U.S. It hails from India. Edison imported many trees and plants, some for use in lab experiments.

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 1:00 AM 0 Comments

All nature all the time

We are looking for design elements similar to what was going on here. Miss Gottfried enjoyed her day so much. These open porches alude to the indoor/outdoor space of what we dream. To be forced to interact with nature constantly to get from here to there.

Labels: Nature

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 12:52 AM 0 Comments

Edison and Ford- the original FL retirees

We took a trip to the Edison-Ford Winter Estates in Ft. Myers. I was going for house ideas but it made for nice day trip. We really loved Edison's house. It had a modern layout with open rooms and french doors with transoms on all sides leading onto a porch all around. The layout is very close to the layout of The Glidehouse mentioned further down in this blog. Mr. Gotffried and I are in this picture only the other like-minded friends are missing. How we miss Brooklyn. Mina Edison sold the estate to the city of Ft. Myers for $1. Fords house next door sold by a private owner to the city for 1.2 mil in 1998. When Edison first bought the 13 acres in 1885 it could only be reached by boat. Visit the site at the Link.

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 8:37 PM 0 Comments

Old vs. New

We go back and fourth about what style of house we like or what's more, what style we can live with day to day. In Old Englewood, this house is a bit of treasure as not many remain. There is something about the look of an old "beachhouse". It calls to mind what it must have been like when waterfront communities were like ghost towns.

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 8:29 PM 0 Comments

Water Birds- Blue Heron

Along with Mr. Snake, there are many water birds that enjoy the pond. This blue heron visits often and makes a grand exit with its gorgeous wing span.
He comes by just about every day.

Labels: wildlife

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 8:17 PM 0 Comments

Meeting Mr. Snake for the first time

While our house is being built we are staying at Grandma Gottfried's house that is just around the corner from our lot. We knew there were alligators in the pond behind her house because we hear them at night. They sound like giant bullfrogs. We finally met one who Miss Gottfried named Mr. Snake. He visits about twice a week seeming very interested in our goings on. We think he is taking inventory. We've secured the perimeter as we know they love dogs and toddlers!

Labels: wildlife

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 8:11 PM 1 Comments

Say good bye to Causuarina eqisetifolia

We had a Habitat/Environmental Assessment done and we will be required to remove Australian Pine and Brazilian Pepper Trees because they are considered exotic/nuisance species. Pictured above is the Australian Pine which is about 5 stories tall. We aren't even sure what it's going to take to get that tree down. These nuisance trees push out native species and as a consequence alter the native habitat. It is, however, a very pretty tree.

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 11:45 AM 2 Comments

Green Building 101- Materials

I had meant to follow Inhabitat.com's green building 101 series in a more timely manner but as we were on the road to FL, I missed the last few Wednesdays. So let's catch up now because it is so much better than any 101 course I've ever had to suffer through. There is so much information on this website. Add it to your daily blog reads. Here are the ones I missed- Materials and Resources Part II, Indoor Environmental Quality, Energy & Atmosphere - Keeping cool and staying warm and Environmentally Friendly Lighting. There are no "pencils down" in this classroom.

Labels: materials

Link
posted by Mrs Gottfried at 8:18 PM 2 Comments

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 1:24 PM 1 Comments

3 palm trees and a tree stump

We are aware of the green building issue of location- not to disturb natural habitat. In our defense, if we didn't buy this place someone else would and so we hope what we do on this piece of land is worthwhile overall to the greater good. That said we are attempting to keep virtually all the trees as they are. It looks like we may get away with removing only these 3 palms trees and the tree stump to make room for our house.

Labels: siteplan

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 12:37 PM 0 Comments

The neighbor's place

The top picture is of the neighbor's drive way leading back to the creek. The bottom picture is our lot leading onto Oxford Drive (neighbor's drive way to the left). We'll probably use shell or mulch for our drive as it's supposed to be something porous. The drive will run perfectly through these 2 palm trees to our house.

Labels: Englewood

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 12:10 PM 0 Comments

Gottfried's Lot revisited

Here are some photos of the lot as it sits now overgrown in all its glory. It has been 4 months since we saw it. First impression is that it's so quiet there. Fulton Street (Brooklyn) seems all but a faint memory but I can still hear the buzzing of it in my head and probably will forever. It's a subconscious thing.

Labels: Nature

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 11:50 AM 1 Comments

Oh Gottfried how we love ya

We obviously really got into the name of the creek on which our future house will sit. Here's Gottfried as she sits by a small bridge on Dearborn Road. One might notice the power lines running along the top of the photo- we are going to visit a couple not too far away that live completely off the grid. More on that after the visit.

Labels: Nature

posted by Mrs Gottfried at 10:57 AM 0 Comments