Gottfried Green

The stucco has really pulled the house together. We went with a sanded finish which isn't the norm in our part of FL. Usually the stucco has a more thrown together finish. We are very happy with this look and it also makes the house seem less enormous then it felt with bare blocks.

Labels: building envelopes, materials

The big slider windows are in and they look gorgeous. Here's the skinny on the numbers above.

A low U-factor is useful during cold days when heating is needed. A low U-factor is also helpful during hot days when it is important to keep the heat out, but it is less important than SHGC in warm climates. Select windows with a U-factor lower than 0.65 and preferably lower than 0.60.

Select windows with a SHGC of less than 0.40. A low SHGC is the most important window property in warm climates.

Select windows with a higher VT to maximize daylight and view.

For this climate the concern is mostly to keep spaces cool so the rules are different. These sliders allow only 39% of solar radiation through. Also to point out, it is winter now and that small amount of warming in the bedrooms could benefit us as we use the bedrooms in the evening when the temperatures drop. I have to experience this to really know but I think by summer the sun will start to set behind the tall trees that sit on the northwest corner of the house. (Right now the winter sun is setting more towards the southwest corner.) This could help shade that area from summer sun which would have a more severe effect on comfort and AC use.

Labels: materials

The exterior of our home is stucco. As we are going to try to get our home certified green by the FGBC, beyond being Low-VOC or no-VOC they also require an exterior paint with at least a 50% reflectance value. What does this mean? "Light Reflectance Value (LRV) is the total quantity of useable and visible light reflected by a surface in all directions and at all wavelengths when illuminated by a light source.

LRV is a measurement that tells you how much light a color reflects, and conversely how much it absorbs. LRV runs on a scale from 0% to 100%. Zero assumed to be an absolute black and 100% being an assumed perfectly reflective white. An absolute black or perfectly reflecting white do not exist in our everyday terms. The average blackest black has a LRV of approximately 5% and the whitest white is approximately 85%. Some yellows can measure up into the 80's or 90's as well." (from colorstratagies.net)"

I am going to start small on this one and go to the home depot and see what is already mainstream. All paints have a LRV rating right on the container apparently.

Labels: glossary, materials

From the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center, "The Aldo Leopold Legacy Center has received Platinum LEED ® Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Following a rigorous assessment, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program awarded the Legacy Center 61 points of 69 possible points, more than any other building yet rated in the world." Elements like Photovoltaics, Earth Tubes, Radiant Floor, Wood Heat make up the renewable energy systems. Also, here are some low tech solutions for energy savings from the site:

Low tech solutions yield about half of our energy savings:

Of the energy used by conventional buildings, half typically goes to heating, cooling, and lighting.

Bringing in daylight reduces interior lighting needs.

Higher than standard levels of insulation in the walls and ceiling keep the building cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than typical insulation would.

Promoting cross ventilation—and providing windows that open and close—allows air to flow freely and allows us to turn off the mechanical ventilation equipment.

Overhangs allow the sun in during the winter yet block the hot sun during the summer.

A “thermal flux zone” reduces heat flow between the main office and the outdoors.

Altogether, savvy design reduces the work load on the mechanical systems, and the smallest, most-efficient equipment was selected to do the job.

Labels: building envelopes, design, Energy, materials

The concrete blocks arrived and the cascading corner foundation sections are being laid. Another survey will then be done to document that the house is physically on the land where it should be. If I had people commenting on the blog I might bring up how non-green I know concrete block is but because of solving the elevation issue and budget it makes the most sense in the grand scheme of things. So beyond that the house is moving forward at a brisk pace so far.

Labels: building envelopes, materials, permits

At the LEAFHouse, they use tankless hot water for back-up. To get started we'll be only using tankless and install solar hot water later. FL is certainly ideal for solar water heating in general.

At the LEAFHouse, "[Their] system features a tankless water heater, the Stiebel Eltron Tempra 20. Maryland’s average yearly “insolation,” or amount of sunlight available to make hot water, is 3.98, which is a little low as compared to a sunny place like California at 5.4. This means that, especially during the winter months, when insolation is low, the backup water heater will be doing its job." This tankless cost $500.

Labels: cost, Energy, materials, water

I've chosen the LEAFHouse- to pick apart because the website offers many details including costs. For their graywater system, "The [graywater] is held in a tank, gradually filtered through a special planter bed, and used to irrigate the landscape around the house [and wash the car]." They also harvest rainwater as discussed in an earlier post.

Labels: cost, materials, water

I am going to end up disecting the Leaf House because it has most of the cutting edge technology in place and working together with the design. They provided the green wall sponsor ELT Living Wall Systems. This is a Canadian company but the website offers all sorts of information about how, why and what to do with some great example photos. At the Link is a list of all the sponsors that helped with the Leaf House.

Labels: design, landscaping, materials, Nature, water

I was hoping in the future to have a green wall vs. the green roofs.. University of MD won 2nd place in the 2007 Solar Decathalon. If I could have their LEAFHouse- shipped here and put on our lot I'd be happy to move in. They explain everything they've used and done on their website so I'll have a reference for all the details. They use their exterior green wall for rainwater mitigation. "In typical housing developments, water from rooftops and paving is allowed to run offsite; storm sewers must be constructed to carry the water to the nearest body of water, carrying with it all the contaminants it picks up along the way. The LEAFHouse includes a rainwater management system that minimizes run-off and the associated environmental impacts.

Rainwater collection at LEAFHouse is a multi-layered system. At the roof level, downspouts collect rainwater that, at the post-competition site of LEAFHouse, will be directed to a cistern from which the water will be used for garden irrigation. The Green Wall will likewise act as its own downspout, directing water from the roof down to a rain garden. Finally, our decks are equipped to catch the rainwater that passes through them and direct it to a cistern for on-site non-potable uses (irrigation, car-washing, etc.)."

Labels: building envelopes, design, interiors, materials, water

I couldn't find a picture on her website of the bathroom but the bedroom looks almost exactly like ours will look with the high windows over our bed.

Eco-Friendly Bathroom Features:
- FSC certified wood cabinetry
"Not sure we'll be using cabinetry in the bathroom."

- Floor and wall tiles contain 55% recycled glass
"I think this is going to be Home Depot small, hexagon white tile on the floor. The recycled glass can be pricey."

- Eco-friendly plumbing fixtures, low-flow shower head, mixer, and dual-flush toilet by Kohler
"Yes."

- LED lighting
"Yes."

Labels: cost, interiors, materials, prefab

Eco-Friendly Kitchen Features:
- FSC certified wood cabinetry
"We're doing Ikea so it is what it is."

- Fly ash concrete, rice hull, and recycled porcelain aggregates countertops
"Looking into recycled counters of some sort but haven't decided which one."

- Eco-friendly/low-flow plumbing fixtures by Kohler
"Yes."

- LED lighting
"Yes."

- EnergyStar appliances
"Yes."

Labels: cost, interiors, materials, prefab

Interior:

- Sustainable layout for maximum cross ventilation and natural lighting
"We tried our best here but we think we pulled it off."

- No-VOC paint
"Yes."

- Interior sliding door panels comprised of 40% post-industrial reclaimed material
"Tough one but we'll see what's out there."

Labels: cost, interiors, materials, prefab

In thinking about how to do the best we can with what we have in terms of budget, knowledge, materials and subs who could work with those materials. I am going to throw all of that out of the window and look at what makes up the mkLotus^TM. We won't be able to do all of it now but maybe we could do some of it later: (The mkLotus^TM list is below with my comments for each in quotes)

- Green "living" roof
"The slope of our roof lends itself to the possibility of a few solar panels someday and also solar water heating. However, I have heard of green "living" walls although I don't know how practical they would be. There is the side of our house that will receive the most sunlight daily and with very limited windows. If it is possible I'd like to experiment with green walls on that side at some point in the future."

- 100% solar generator power
"future goal"

- Rain and groundwater catchment system
"We won't have irrigation needs because everything is going to be native. However, we will have a vegetable garden and so we can install rain barrels to catch water from the roof to use for this purpose. I am not sure if we'll ever have a cistern but we'll start with the obvious options first."

- Gray water system: collected water from sinks and shower is recirculated to toilets
"Should be able to integrate these options as I mentioned here in a past post."

- Exterior siding: low-maintenance, long-lasting integral color cement board and FSC certified wood
"For us this would mean Hardiboard and we simply can't afford it, we'll be doing stucco in gray."

- Sheathing and floor + ceiling framing: FSC Certified Wood
"Because of cost- TBD."

- SIPS wall assembly (Structural Insulated Panels)
"This one we couldn't navigate through or afford up front. It would have been a company called E-Wall.

- High performance, energy efficient spray-in open cell foam insulation
"I desperately want to use soy-based spray foam but once again the cost is a killer."

- On-demand water heater
"We'll be going tankless."

- Energy Efficient HVAC System
"We'll have this one covered as well."

- Double pane, Low-E, wood windows and glass doors with aluminum cladding
"We'll have impact windows with a gray tint to reflect the sunlight, Low-E pushed the windows out of our budget. However, we tried our best at passive, solar design."

Labels: building envelopes, cost, design, materials, prefab, water

Dwell magazine has decided sustainability is here to stay. I think anyone who reads about architecture and home building on any level could have seen that one coming. This issue does more fine tuning of the big 2- energy and water. It is mandatory to be connected to the public water supply in Sarasota County. (More on that later) But, there is of course rainwater. Here in Southwest FL, the rainy season is usually during the late spring and summer. This would be if you didn't count this summer and drought conditions. That said by August and September the rain did pick up some slack and certainly ever drop counts. All the more reason to collect it for use later. You can follow the diagram above. For our needs and current sophistication, I could see rainwater going through a "green wall" for filtration and being used for laundry. A green wall operates similar to reed ponds in which graywater is filtered by nutrient-absorbing plants and soil. Although the one mentioned here is patented, the idea would be another backyard experiment possibly worth exploring. Find out all you've ever wanted to know about Green Wall at the Link.

Labels: landscaping, materials, water

I was very excited to attend Green Trends which had about 35 booths within the larger 2500 booth show that was the Southeast Building Conference. Their list of exhibitors was small but still representative. The usual suspects were in attendance: James Hardie Products, Homefront Homes, along with tankless water heaters, spray foams and quite a few solar companies as well. I've known or read about many of the companies except the solar ones. I learned a bit more about the tankless system which we will be using in our house and went around some of the other booths out of curiosity. Since I have most of my materials already selected, some green, some not depending on budget and availability, I came away with more of an overview of the state of the building industry at least as comprised in this show. To have some "green" products in one section and the rest of the mainstream "non-green" products making up the entire rest of the show... all I found myself wanting to do was walk up to all the mainstream booths and ask them if they were ready for the big change that is coming to home building. I equate this whole green building movement as far as material and product marketing to that of the coffee industry when specialty coffee first hit the scene. When it started everyone complained about the cost but as it infiltrated mainstream society, people started to be unable to drink crap coffee. So specialty coffee not only made Starbucks a fortune but has now come full circle to McDonalds. Coffee then got a conscience in fair-trade, organic practices... home buyers, builders etc are not only asking themselves what looks good and what is well made but also, how was it made and what was it made with... it's human nature to want to make your most educated decision. So many more analogies out there so little time.

Labels: materials

So we are off to the Florida Green Building Coalition's Green Trends Conference in Orlando this weekend. We are just going to attend the exhibit hall which is free to the public. I did actually join the FGBC. It was only $50 and does offer some great resources. I hope to get some hands on ideas about what's available and what's going on that's really green and that's really greenwash.

Labels: FGBC, materials

Eric Corey Freed from OrganicARCHITECTblog offers some insights into the evolution and new relevance of a green kitchen. The 3form Fossil Leaf cabinets above are very attractive but out of our price range. We may have to go the Ikea route as the company does use some green practices and frankly has a similar clean look. It is difficult on a budget to be 100% green. The article does offer many more options for other areas of a green kitchen.

Labels: materials

I get a little lost when it comes to understanding the design of windows. One aspect I do understand is "The most fundamental climate-responsive design consideration in terms of windows is orientation." That would be passive sustainable design. Design your building for the start to work with the movement of the sun. Our waterfront view faces north and south which is a negative in terms of the duration of sun that our window wall will receive. "In the continental United States, east- and west-facing windows have low sun angles, meaning big solar gains and glare that’s difficult to control. Controlling solar gain and glare through overhangs or lightshelves on south- and north-facing windows is much easier. South-facing windows can provide winter solar heat gain if desirable, and north-facing windows can be great in hot climates." I'll have to explore local window companies but I am starting to understand the basics.

Labels: 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

Back in May, The New Yorker covered Whole Foods and the organic movement and what it means in big business. Media seems to be signaling a green trend that is becoming more obvious than what traditionally only concerned outsiders. I think of the treehuggers sitting around dreaming of totally sustained little villages where everyone walks or rides bikes, buys locally and brings their one kahki shopping bag to the grocery to end the need for doubled plastic bags forever. I finally had a chance to read the Newsweek article fully (again at the Link). On a mainstream level, a real movement can be seen from Walmart (not a fan but they are getting lots of press for their efforts) to Ford to be green. It makes for great public relations points but also there is some passion behind it. When big business gets involved, whatever the motivation, times they will be a changin' very soon. Keep your eyes peeled for the new demographic- LOHAS, Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. "The people who used to drive the VW bus to the co-op are now driving the Volvo to Whole Foods," exults David Brotherton, a Seattle consultant in corporate responsibility.

Labels: materials

All the wall systems came from the Eco-Smart catalogue at the Link. I found it on the FL Green Builders Associationwebsite. Whether we go with any of these products or not, the catalogue is great place to learn more. "Eco-$mart, Inc. is operated under license from the non-profit Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development"

Labels: materials

I found this Link on The Central Florida Real Estate Blog. Interesting stats from the National Home Builders Association (NHBA). "The cost of building a green home stops 82 percent of buyers from opting for it, according to the survey; while 79 percent say a "lack of interest" holds them back. Only 39 percent said that the perception of green building as a fad and not something here to stay was a significant roadblock."Seems to be the same road blocks that kept people from using the computer back in the 90's.

Labels: materials

Over at the Herald Tribune, Rosemary Sadez Friedman highlights a simple list of some sustainable options for flooring and walls etc. and is local to FL.

Labels: materials

The Florida green Building Coalition offers many resources that I am just starting to get into. The idea of a check list of green building standards is such a wonderful idea. It provides a snapshot into what should be considered upfront- everything from water systems to windows. Also, there is a points system for different levels of green which makes this less intimidating to those who have budget restrictions- like ourselves. Let's hear it for the waterless toilet!!

Labels: FGBC, materials

GreenTrends 2006 is Florida’s Third Annual Green Building Conference & Trade Show. The conference serves as a forum for bringing together those businesses, government agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in greening the design, construction, and operation of Florida’s built environment. It is interesting there is this great resource particular to FL and its green building movement BUT my biggest beef is I still feel it alienates the consumer/homeowner. Very unfortunately I missed this (but would it have been appropriate for me to attend anyway?) I will definitely use the site as a resource but it starts to become more marketing of new green/h-zoned products vs. solid information to help make an informed unbiased buying decision. This is referring more to the trade show side of this with so many products flying at you. We are embarking on one of the hard parts of this project trying to navigate the bs from the real deal.

Labels: FGBC, materials

I found this old post on treehugger.com which suggests why this site came into existence. After searching high and low I was unable to find a homeowner based site that applied to the special considerations of building green in a hurricane zone. "Most building codes in 'the zone' now require new construction to be strengthened to resist hurricane force winds. But that's a one-off approach to sustainability. Do the new designs require owners to consume more energy intensive building materials? What about the impact on long term energy consumption? Think about it for a while and many more difficult and unanswered questions emerge with landscaping, stormwater management, and daylighting."

Labels: design, materials