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September 2008 The mason (George Shull Masonry of Kingsville MO) and his assistant were out this week and the new exterior of the chimney is beautiful! They spent 2-1/2 days working on it and so we are all set for the new liner ( which will happen later this month). I was very impressed with the efficiency and skills of these two men. Not to mention how they carried all that stone and mortar and such up and down the scaffold with what appeared to be no trouble at all. They did a great job cleaning up after themselves also. (Of course, our youngest Newf was a BIG help when he decided that the plastic on the back deck needed to be torn into shreds - thereby spreading the chunks of chiseled stone and mortar all over the deck and yard. Thank goodness for the shop vac!.) We spread the mortar and small pieces of stone on the gravel driveway and Mr. Shull's assistant took the bucket of flaked brick home to use in his landscaping. So NOTHING went into a landfill! YEAH. We decided to purchase the excess stone and use it as an accent on the front of the house -- which will probably happen next year during Mr. Shull's slow times and when we've put a bit of money aside for that purpose. See pictures on the Gallery page for the exterior chimney repair. Another unexpected upgrade happened the weekend that "Ike" hit Texas. (Which was just before the repairs were made to the chimney.) We had five (5) inches of rain the day before Ike from a different storm and so had several soaked towels from the basements seepage. I put them in the Equator washer/dryer and when I went back to take them out; I discovered that the Equator had broken again... doing the same thing it had done previously which was repaired by salvaging a computer part from another Equator washer/dryer. We already knew that there were no more replacement parts to be found for this machine so we had to upgrade to a new washer and dryer (much sooner than we had expected to). I went on-line to do my research to find the most energy efficient washer I could within our price range and we decided upon the Frigidaire Affinity 3.5 cu ft I.E.C. King Size Capacity ENERGY STAR® Washer. Rated at 179 kwh per year which is quite good. Then, since there are no ENERGY STAR rated dryers, we opted to get the matching Frigidaire Affinity 5.8 cu ft Super Capacity Electric Dryer and added the matching 15 in. pedestal drawers for both. We purchased these from Sears on-line (they were having a great sale and there was an additional mail-in rebate on both appliances) and picked them up at the retail store closest to us (about 15 miles away)... it only took one trip because they all fit into our van. However, we had to make a second trip into town to get the correct electrical plug and venting for the dryer. Didn't realize the plug wouldn't be included - imagine that. So, now I have to get used to doing large loads of laundry but still using very little water, electricity and soap. What a problem to have! Both appliances are MUCH more quiet than the Equator was and I am VERY happy with them. You can see a picture of the set on the Gallery Page. August 2008 PlayHaven East is proving to be an excellent resource to showcase remodeling the green way. Which is a nice way of saying that we have discovered some problems that we were either not expecting, or not expecting to have to deal with right away. We had planned to utilize an existing water well and put a ground-source heating/cooling system (which would also replace the current propane water heater) in before the next heating season. However, the cost of that system has increased substantially since I last investigated them and the well alone will not be enough for the loop, so we find that we are unable to do that at this time. We are investigating alternatives and will use the current propane system this winter (2008/2009). The sump pump quit working less than two weeks after we took possession. Thank goodness there is a Home Warranty policy in place! A B May came out very quickly and replaced it the day after we called. They had to come out again in August to repair a leak in a joint of one of the water lines. (And we asked for quote to have the plumbing updated.) I highly recommend having a Home Warranty policy when you buy a house. So far we have saved about $600 because of it. Unfortunately, the policy does not cover structural problems and so, please learn from my experience... if there is a fireplace and/or wood stove in a home you are wanting to purchase, pay the extra money to have a professional chimney inspection done! The company that did our building inspection did not inspect the chimney and told us the flaking of the brick on the exterior was cosmetic and while it needed to be watched, was not a problem. We have had water in our basement, coming in next to the brickwork around the wood stove, every time it rains. We now wish we had paid to have the chimney inspected separately because our first renovation will be the chimney. The source of the water in the basement is the chimney. We had both a mason and a chimney sweep company come out and inspect the outside and inside (respectively) of the chimney. It turns out that the stone cap of the chimney is cracked and separated from the brickwork. Also, there is SO much water damage to the brick veneer (the outside of the chimney) that it will be less costly to remove it all and start fresh than replace individual bricks. AND, the lining of the fireplace chimney is cracked in two places, making that chimney unsafe. Which means it also needs to be replaced or repaired. (The lining for the wood stove in the basement is not damaged.) Our options for repairing the chimney include:
NOTE: Adding the man-made stone veneer is not a "quick-fix" nor is repairing the lining by adding the tube. Either option will create a chimney that will stand the test of time. Either option will require the exterior to be sealed (something that was never done to the current chimney... the mason told us that if they had sealed it even up to five years after it was built, we would not be having water damage problems). I investigated ways to avoid having to send the removed brick to a landfill and discovered that no one in the Kansas City area will take it unless the brick can be reused as brick. Since that is not the case here, I looked for someone to take the brick and crush it for use as an aggregate; again no luck. I considered crushing it myself and using it for landscaping until I read the Materials Data Sheet for brick and discovered that due to the silica in it the dust is as damaging as asbestos to our lungs. Another suggestion was to use it as rip-rap in the pond; but, since we will not ready to work on the pond for another year, that would mean storing the rubble on-site. Luckily, the cost to either 1) rebuild the interior and exterior of the chimney is about the same as 2) adding the man-made stone exterior and inserting the repair tube liner. So, the deciding factor for us was to do this in the most environmentally friendly way possible which is number 2): adding the man-made stone exterior and repair liner. There will still be some brick that has to go to a landfill, but it will be a fraction of what it would have been otherwise. Work should start on the chimney in late August or early September. Visit the Gallery for pictures of the progress. July 2008 It's official and we've moved... right next door to where we will build PlayHaven Green. When you look at the pictures of our building site, notice to the right (east) the house with the green roof that has the red barn with the white roof. That is our new home and our new project. We are lovingly/laughingly referring to it as "PlayHaven East" and the original acreage as "PlayHaven West". You know the old saying: "when God closes a door, she opens a window"? Well, our window opened on the east side of the land when our neighbor decided to retire to a bigger acreage in Kansas and raise more horses. So, this being a buyer's market, we found out what the market was in the area for that "package" and made an offer and after some negotiations - viola! its ours. So we now have double the acreage and a standard construction home to rehab into a net-zero home. We also have a big garage (the red gambrel barn building) that we can store those materials we will accumulate to build the new home on PlayHaven West. It will probably be several years before we can do that, but there is PLENTY to do in the meantime and I'll keep updating our progress here. I'll be adding images of the house and grounds soon so you can see what we've started with. I'll be adding video as well of the changes. The first step toward net-zero was to get an Energy Audit of the existing home. Hathmore Technologies, LLC provided us with two separate reports that first showed us the problems/issues with the house and second showed the results of the Energy Rating. Go to the Description Page to view those reports. February 2008 Well, they say change is good... but that is sometimes hard to believe. Unfortunately, we are having to change the time frame of construction for the PlayHaven Green Building (new residential construction) project. Because we have not had enough response to getting sponsors and because the systems we want to put in the house are high quality (translation: high dollar), we are not currently able to build the house within the construction loan amount for which we qualify. We also discovered an issue that was quite
unforeseen to us and might be to you... So, we are delaying the construction of the new house construction. In the mean time, we have decided to purchase a house near the project site and make "green" improvements to it. Which changes the PlayHaven Green Building Project to two parts: 1) renovation of an existing residence and 2) construction of a new residence. While we are renovating the existing residence, we will also be gathering the re-used materials for the new construction. We are now pursuing sponsors for both parts of the project. This can be in the form of overstock materials in addition to new materials, monetary donation, etc. Details about Sponsorship are available here. The Description page will include the information about renovation once we have established that information. Until then, the new construction information will remain in place by itself. January 2008 Nothing much to report this month. So, I'll just give you a bit advice... building green is still building. Therefore, it is essential to do "due diligence" when deciding on the members of your team.
November 2007 CitiMortgage has been looking for green building projects to finance and we are thrilled that they have decided our project is just what they are looking for. We will soon complete the single closing for the Construction Loan and the Mortgage. September 2007 We are currently in the process of getting the financing in order. Have you ever had to jump through hoops? Well, that seems to be the order of the day. August 2007 It's time to get financing. We've approached the company that has the current loan on the land, but they are very conservative and our project is much too unusual for them to consider. So we've been shopping around and have two substantial leads which I will share with pleasure... Charlie Moberly, National City® Mortgage: 847-946-4130 and Keith Winterhalter, Citi Smith Barney: 816-932-7853. Summer 2007 I contacted the zoning commission in the county where we are building to find out what they require regarding permits and if there are restrictions we need to be aware of (on a 10-acre lot zoned agricultural/residential) and found out that they are not yet on the green building bandwagon. So, I've explained about the project and have offered them a full record of our experience so that they can look at adopting a green building program. The county has been seeing an increasing number of people moving into it and residential building is on the rise. Hopefully, they will take the initiative and either adopt a program already in place (the county next door has one) or put one together themselves. Cross your fingers and toes! Background Many years ago, I discovered the USGBC (United States Green Building Council) and its LEED® Program (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). And, although at that time it was only for commercial construction, I decided that it was a good place to start networking. Surely, one of those members would know some residential architect or contractor or builder who would be interested in working with me on my sustainable house project! And so, I was introduced to Ken Riead (of Hathmore Technologies, LLC). Ken is an Energy Rater and had also just finished building his own home (The Replete Residence) to showcase what energy efficiency options were available at that time to any homeowner. Over the years, I have had the great fortune to become friends with Ken and Sharla Riead. Most recently, we co-authored a green building tool: DYO® Kits: Green Building Decision Kit. (DYO® Kits is a division of Hathmore Technologies, LLC.) I am very proud to be associated with such a fine group of people and comprehensive product. Shameless plug intended... in fact, go to the website and buy the thing! (You'll be glad you did!) Hathmore Technologies, LLC has been engaged to be the Energy Rating company for the PHGB Project. Additionally, they will provide consulting on the HVAC and renewable energy systems AND will oversee the LEED® for Homes certification process. Anyone who has built a home will tell you that there are peaks and valleys in the process... from soaring heights of excitement to deep, dark valleys of despair. We had some trouble when it came to architects (this is putting it mildly - set us back two years all told). But we made it out of the valley and ... Ken introduced my husband and I to Roy Brown. Roy had been designing energy efficient, environmentally-friendly homes since the 1970s. Luckily for us, he was up to the task of taking my years of designing and re-designing the house and providing us with an end product that fits us to a "T". The house is designed in the American Bungalow style (at 2500+ square feet, no one would ever confuse this house for an actual bungalow... but after living in a 900 sq.ft. bungalow for 17 years, I am ready for a bit of space!). So, the plans were finally ready to take to a contractor. |
