GreenMan Studios

Some green building realizations

2010-02-20T03:56:00.000-08:00

As we prepared the house today for the arrival of drywall I talked with Randy and Robert Barnes, our drywall installers. As we talked the conversation turned to the LEED certification we are pursuing and immediately these good ole' mountain boys started talking about how the drywall came from less than 500 miles away and would help us towards our certification. They were also excited to hear that we wanted to mulch our drywall into the soil during finish grading instead of hauling it to the landfill. I was impressed. Not only did they know about LEED, but they knew the actual measures that they could do that would contribute to certification.
What even more exciting to me is that this has been the typical response from every sub we've had on the project. It's enough to make me believe the industry is turning green.

Farm Simple (Aycock home)

2010-02-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

Liz Aycock approached me about helping her with a new home design. Liz and her husband Burt had recently purchased a parcel of land in Sugar Grove; a beautiful low ridge overlooking a small creek with great southern exposure and an even better view.
Liz had already sketched out some thoughts about floor-plans but couldn't visualize what it would look like.
In just three quick weeks we not only knew what it would look like, we also had plans in hand for Liz's builder to start building.

Liz and Burt's home is fitting for the rural mountain farming valley in which it sits. The front porch is designed for dining in the late afternoon sun and chatting with visitors.
The open living, dining, and kitchen areas blend with a generous front porch to both take in the view and soak in the sun.

The upstairs is a perfect two bedroom lounge with a full bathroom, a recreation room, great natural light, and cross ventilation in multiple directions.

The master bedroom is adjacent to the great room and also gets lots of light and includes a private outdoor covered porch, perfect for coffee in the morning sun. The master closet and master bath are tucked on the north side of the house.

The YEAR 09

2010-02-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

As the days begin to get longer and another growing season approaches GreenMan Studios looks back at an important year for all of us. Here are some of the things that came across my plotter in 2009.

Ecodesigner teaser

2009-08-06T13:28:00.001-07:00

I promise I will do a full length post on this but I couldn't resist giving a teaser on working with Ecodesigner and my house. I received a bid today from a SIP manufacturer for panels in both a 6 1/2" panel and in a 10 1/4" panel. The price difference between the two is minor (around $2000) and I am now analyzing the model to see how fast going from R23 to over R40 in the walls will payback. On the trail of zero energy...
I will let you know more tomorrow.

The ball is rolling

2009-08-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

So my wife and I are designing and building our own green home. It's natural really, for a designer (me) and a color guru (my wife) to want a home that we designed. About a year or so ago we began talking about a lot that a friend of ours, Andrew Saldino, was going to be developing into a neighborhood of small green homes. The lot we chose has great southern exposure, a view of the mountains, and is within walking and biking distance of grocery stores, the greenman office, and most importantly if you live in Boone; the Boone Saloon.
The development, named Weekapaug Grove, an American Indian word meaning edge of water (and a play on words from one of Andrew's favorite songs). Is 3.2 acres, of which 1.2 acres have been set aside as a common area for gardens, a small greenhouse and shelter, and protection of a small stream that flows along the western edge of the land.
Today marks several milestones for the project, the first is that the civil engineer, Jerry Muldowny, of the Dynan Group has finished the preliminary site plan drawings and stormwater management plans. We now await just the final approval from the town of Boone Development services dept in order to move forward.
The other milestone is that I have turned in the loan application to the bank and should know by Friday if we have money to build. My banker is even willing to work with a local appraiser who knows and values green (not an easy thing to find).
About two weeks ago I hired Robert Camphor of BobKat home services to clear the brush from the lot so we could see exactly what it looked like. It's so much easier to talk with graders when they can see the grade and not fight brambles.So with the brush cleared and some initial thoughts about what Heidi and I want in a home we are off and designing. I'll share the initial design and some thoughts about the process in my next blog.

T minus one lunar cycle

2009-07-28T19:51:00.001-07:00

Check back wednesday for an update on Leed for homes, isbu's, ecodesigner, and why the name weekapaug anyway???

LEED+HOMES AP BETA EXAM

2009-03-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

I ain't saying nothing, cept 200 hundred is alot of questions. I am awaiting my results, which should be out in late May.

It's getting fantastically competitive in the certification market these day, now the ICC 700 are another in a long line of programs worth certifying in, but how does the consumer know which will hold their value the best? Because that's really what a green-building certification does, it adds value to the home.

Appraisers would stimulate their own economy if they would do that, cause green is obvously where it's at right now

Boomerang post

2009-03-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Whoa! There folks. It's been a while since I last wrote. I almost forgot I had started this blog. Anyway, that's just a sign of the times I suppose. We in are a revolution here people, and we are aiming at making it smoooooooth.

Stay tuned for more info on the LEED+H beta exam (sworn to secrecy), a mountain town struggles with a growth plan that it can't understand, and how Archicad will soon dominate in the bim globe. Oh and did I mention GMS is going public, get in now...publicly owned non profits can get shit done.

Architectural rendering in the high country

2007-05-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

Having just finished work on my masters degree in building science and appropriate technology I have started providing architectural drafting, green design, and vizualizations to the building community in the high country of North Carolina. Stay tuned for posts on current work and general building news in Boone.