More reclaimed material

After a long search, we recently secured a set of reclaimed bluestone steps for the front entry. And after an unexpected phone call, we were able to attain some sizable slabs of slate for the rear yard as well.

The stone steps for the front entry are Pennsylvania Bluestone, a fairly soft stone that polishes up beautifully. Originally, they were the entry steps (two steps and a landing) off another, larger house that was demolished. We purchased the set from Provenance Architectural Salvage, who also has a tremendous selection of other reclaimed material as well. The best thing about the steps is that they are over 4 ft wide. The existing steps at the Montrose House were removed a long time ago and brought to a marble shop on Washington Avenue to be refinished. The only problem we saw with reusing them on this project is that we now have a larger front door (over a 3 ft wide opening) and the old steps were only about 33-34" wide. We never felt it would look right to have a door wider than the steps. Locating salvaged steps wider than 36" turned out to be a more difficult search than we originally imagined.

As for the original Montrose steps?? Well... they are actually going to be installed in front of our own rowhouse, which has 2 steep concrete steps. Because our doorway is only 31" wide (real fun for couches!) the Montrose steps will work nicely. And we will always have a reminder of the project.

The images below show us loading up the stone steps at Provenance. They needed to be loaded with a forklift as each step weighs about 400-500 lbs and the landing is around 1,000 lbs. We will be cutting the steps down to an even 4 ft in order to get rid of some of the broken edges.

Also, our new sidewalk is now poured and the stormwater planter is framed out. More on that in an upcoming post.


















Now you can see in the image on the bottom right that the steps are resting on some other stone. Well...last week, through a connection from an artist friend of ours, Andrew Jevremovic of Octo Studio, we were able to get a hold of some beautiful old slabs of slate. Andrew is currently working with another designer to help renovate a bar at the corner of Girard Ave and Montgomery Ave, and they alerted us to all the extra slate from the demo that they needed to get rid of but wanted to go to a good use.

Well, it just so happens that we have been mulling over paving ideas for the rear yard at the Montrose house. So, off we went...to the rescue! Of course, this venture turned out to be no easy task. You see, the slabs were all about 2 ft x 3 ft and about 3" thick, each weighing 200-300 pounds or more. It would not have been that difficult except that all the stone was in the basement of the bar and was the old floor that they had broken out. The only way out was up a narrow old stair. When I got to the site, I was initially hoping that the slabs would be larger for paving purposes, but then I quickly realized that if they were any bigger, I don't think we could have carried them.

Below are some pictures of Justin, Merlin, and me loading the slate slabs out of the building and onto the truck. And then back at the house, looking rather pleased to be unloading the last stone.



















































For the backyard paving, we have been going back and forth about what type of material to use...flyash cement pavers, porous concrete, a recycled material of some sort...as well as reclaimed stone. As time goes by, we keep coming back to the idea that a reclaimed material would be the most appropriate. Additionally, the rear facade of the house has a very clean, contemporary look with the vertical running bond fiber-cement panels, so a more 'natural' feel to the ground treatment would balance out the overall feel of the space. Stay tuned for the final decision.

Wood floor installation

Well, we are knee deep (no pun intended) into installing the cherry floors. The quality of the wood is impressive. Cherry tends to have a lot of sap wood, a light colored portion in the wood, which results in drastic variations in the color as it takes stains and finishes different from the heartwood. But we are about halfway through the installation and frankly there seems to be no evidence of sapwood anywhere. The color match I gave them is dead on and the finish is gorgeous. I am also glad we went with the wider planks (6") . It has a more classic feel.

Below you can see what the bundled floors looked like after we hauled them into the house. Also, there is a glimpse of the finished third floor...pardon our dust!





































We had a couple of great carpenters, from our friends at K Group, help us out with the third floor as we had not installed floors ourselves before. We wanted to acquire the technique as well as some of the tricks when it comes to installing floors. The guys were very helpful and now we are on our own, making our way through the rest of the house.

Since ordering these floors I have since turned at least 4 other individuals onto the Collins Companies as a source for their projects. It turned out to be a great find.

Of course, except for one minor detail.

As I might have mentioned before, the mill at Collins is not set up to do end-matching (tongue and grove on the ends of the boards...just like the sides). Therefore, the ends of the floor boards would simply butt together when they meet. Well, with a 6" wide plank, this simply won't fly. You see, if you did lay them just as they were delivered, you would inevitably get 'cupping' at the ends of the boards...if not immediately, it would occur within the first few months. This would be disastrous.

So, the gluttons for punishment we are (or maybe just diligent), we decided the only way to resolve this was to double biscuit the ends of every board using a biscuit jointer. Essentially, this creates the T&G situation needed to keep the boards stable. We created a jig and are going through the stacks of floor boards in a production line like manner...as you can see below. Our good friend Justin, who is pretty much helping us full time now, can take all the credit for being so incredibly organized in stacking the biscuited boards.






































I have been talking to the guys at Collins about this dilemma and they are being very receptive. I told them that no 'end matching' would inevitably be a reason why folks don't buy their product. They have since begun taking steps to get their mill set up for end matching (go figure, it's after we're done!) and hope to be set up soon.

We will have some more updates on the floors very soon as well as the tile, which is going in now. We also have some interesting adventures to relay regarding procurement of the reclaimed stone for the front steps and the rear yard. Stay tuned!

Steel Stair Installation

A few photos of the steel stair installation...The whole process was completed in just a few hours. After the hardwood floors are installed, Bill Curran & his crew will return to install the steel railings. The final step is to clean the steel by hand (an eco-friendly cleaning agent like SimpleGreen was recommended) and to apply a coat of beeswax to give the metal a slight sheen and more finished look. The wood treads in the images are temporary 2x4s- the final ones will be fabricated from reclaimed oak beams and will be about 3" thick. We are extremely pleased with how the stair turned out and will post additional images after the railings and final treads are installed. enjoy!









































Check out this video....these guys make it look so easy.

Green Real Estate

The past month has been very hectic as we try to wrap up the major work on the house so that we can begin to install the final finishes & fixtures. Our goal is to have the house 'substantially complete' by the end of March! We are rapidly approaching our one-year anniversary of construction and are approximately 6 months behind schedule. As architects, we should follow our own rule of doubling whatever time you think a project is going to take, then add 3 more months to be on the safe side. Ha. While it turned out to be fairly accurate for this project, the next one should go so much faster now that we've identified a team of subcontractors and suppliers that we've had a good experience working with and who are truly on board with our green initiatives. We've learned a few valuable lessons along the way as well...but more on that later.

We've been meeting with a number of realtors recently that have various levels of expertise in marketing green real estate and in green buildings in general. A new green certification has recently emerged in the real estate industry. After completing three sessions of specialized training, either online or in the classroom, a broker can become a certified EcoBroker. By gaining an introduction to eco-friendly principles and products, these real estate professionals work to help "you save money and live comfortably through energy-efficiency and environmentally sensitive choices." The EcoBroker designation was founded in 2002, but has rapidly taken off in the last several years. Search for an EcoBroker in your area here. Of course, just because a person becomes a certified EcoBroker does not mean they are green building experts. In the end, it is best to meet with the individual in person and talk through, in detail, all the sustainable strategies you are either looking for or looking to sell and how they compare to 'conventional' building techniques.

While it's definitely a different real estate world out there in comparison to when we started this project (or even in comparison to last summer), we are confident that this house has a number of unique features to offer that will help it stand apart from the crowd. If you have been following our blog, I am sure you are aware of this. Now as with many other things in the world of sustainability, the real estate market is being inundated with anything and everything 'green'. As we are strong supporters of "every little bit helps", there needs to be a distinction (and your realtor should recognize this) between a truly sustainably designed and built home and one that simply has bamboo floors (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

To date, nearly all of the new green homes for sale in Philadelphia have been located in the Northern Liberties/Fishtown area or the suburbs. The Montrose house is walking distance to Rittenhouse Square, the Avenue of the Arts, City Hall, and plenty of shopping and dining...not to mention the stunning view of all of it from our roof deck. We plan to officially list the house with a realtor at the end of the month, just in time for the April house-hunting season. For now, you can read our 'by owner' Philly Craigslist ad here. Please spread the word if you know anyone in the market for a unique, eco-friendly home. We'd be happy to give a tour.

Final drainline work

Joel Cohen and his crew recently completed the replacement of the sanitary line that runs from the basement of our house to the city sewer line in the street. The previous pipe had been improperly connected at the basement. In lieu of using a coupling to attach the drain line to the pipe on the exterior, a previous owner had just poured concrete into the larger pipe to attach the two. Hmmm...smart thinking, guys. This made it a little bit more difficult for us to replace the lines, but Joel and his crew (basically, his son) got the job done. The photo below shows the existing cast iron pipe under the sidewalk which was completely rotted out.



















It's unclear how long this pipe has been in this condition. We had shut the water off at the property in anticipation of not needing it for a year or so while we were going through the design & permitting stages of the project. Apparently the condition of drain pipes rapidly deteriorates when water is completely shut off, as occasional flushing of the pipes ensures that minerals do not build-up enough to cause damage. The next set of photos shows the new ABS connection line and the vertical ventilation shaft that rises up to the level of the sidewalk.










Since looking at photos of sanitary lines isn't necessarily everyone's idea of a good time, we'll end on a few fun pictures. Along with tearing up the sidewalks comes the inevitable large machinery. Our son, Nicholas, is almost 2 yrs old and like many boys his age- or any age for that matter- he has a new-found obsession with anything with wheels, wings, propellers, or tracks. David (Joel's son) noticed how enamored Nicholas was with the backhoe and offered to lift him up for a ride. Nicholas helped him with the controls for a few minutes and was wide-eyed the entire time. Lucky kid!

Roof deck modifications + cornice work

With the help of our friends, we recently completed an extension for the roof deck that will allow a small landing opposite the roof hatch & ladder. The plants in this area were not thriving due to increased foot traffic whenever anyone accessed the roof. The elongated platform should give a little more breathing room by the roof hatch. We also had to modify the steel railings and posts which will wrap around to enclose the new landing area. Once those are in place, we'll tackle the installation of the cables. We have purchased a few off-the-shelf components to allow us to test-run a small portion. If all goes well, the end result will be an open, clean, & economical railing solution. The main goal is to preserve that beautiful Philly skyline view while providing a safe place for socializing.










Painting the cornice is another small task that we tackled ourselves. Everyone took a turn here- testing our balance on a somewhat wobbly set of pump jacks on a very cold day. In the photos below you'll see our friend Justin, me (Emily), & Christopher each taking a turn. Turns out that Christopher had the strongest nerves, as Justin and I conveniently let him to paint the edges farthest away from the scaffolding. We're no dummies.

Go Green Expo- this weekend!

Friday- Sunday, March 13-15
PA Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street, Hall B

Join us this weekend at the Go Green Expo!
The SOLIBS crew will be sharing a booth with K Group, a green construction firm. Weekend passes are just $10 (online ticketing has already closed, so buy them at the door). Kids under 12/Seniors/Students receive Free admission.

Called the nation's premier eco-friendly tradeshow, Go Green Expo is coming to the PA Convention Center this weekend. Sponsored in part by NBC, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly.com, Go Green Expo will showcase the latest and greatest in all things green, from fuel-efficient cars and natural personal care products to greener gadgets that help us live more sustainably. In addition to over 200 different exhibits, Go Green Expo will also host a variety of panels and keynote speakers. Mayor Nutter will be doing a ribbon cutting on Friday at 10am to kick off the show and Philadelphia Office of Sustainability head, Mark Alan Hughes is giving a keynote address on Friday at 1pm.

To view event details, visit www.gogreenexpo.com.
To see the complete panel discussion & speaker schedule, click here.

Our very own Christopher Stromberg will be participating in a panel discussion called "Building Green Does Not Need to Cost More" on Friday, March 13 at 11am. He will be joined by Bill DeFalco of E3 Bank, Andrew Kleeman of EOS Energy Solutions, and Johnny McDonald of Onion Flats.

And the final flooring selection is...

American Black Cherry!

After considering the several FSC Certified hardwood flooring options from The Collins Companies, we decided that Black Cherry will best suit our needs for this project. We received the samples a few days ago and the Cherry was absolutely beautiful. And seeing that the Collins Pennsylvania Forest is home to the "finest Black Cherry hardwood forests in the world", how could we pass up this opportunity to source our lumber locally from PA?

Upon deciding on the Cherry, there were only two decisions left to make: whether to go with prefinished vs. unfinished floors and what size planks to use.

After weighing the pros and cons of the different finishing options, we decided to go with the prefinished boards. There were four main reasons for this: 1) it is much more cost effective to prefinish--about 1/3 of the cost of finishing on-site, 2) prefinished floors tend to be more durable because the coats are applied in a very controlled environment and in thin, multiple layers (rather than mopping on thick layers) which results in a very clean, smooth look, 3) we simply could not come to terms with going through all the effort we've exerted to keep the house clean and chemical free, and then introduce drum sanders and finishing chemicals. Right now the house is nearly done and painted with non-toxic paint- the two just didn't seem to fit. 4) Time- unfinished boards would require losing about a week's worth of work time in the house due to the drying times when no one can else be in the house. We are already behind schedule so this was important to us.

Of course, there are a couple of advantages to getting unfinished wood planks and finishing them on-site. 1) You can get a more cohesive visual surface when you spread the finish over the planks after they are laid. The seams between the boards become a little less pronounced. This of course comes down to the "look" you are going for. 2) The floors tend to be more "waterproof" when finished on-site. The reason for this is that if water is spilled on the floor (and sits for some time) it can make it's way through the seams between the boards. With prefinished boards, you don't have any barrier to stop the water from migrating through. When you cover the entire floor with a continuous layer of polyurethane, you create a protective seal against moisture. However, if you get quality made floors that have a very tight tongue & groove seam that lock into place, you should have adequate protection against migrating moisture.

We requested a sample of the clear coat finished cherry as well as a 'cherry stained' cherry. Since our original plan was to compliment the wood window color (deep Chestnut) with the wood floor color, the 'cherry stained' cherry worked out perfectly. Cherry will also naturally darken over time which will only enhance its appeal. We went with a medium luster (28) and also requested the info regarding what products they use for finishing- all are VOC compliant. The process is actually a five coat finish that results in a beautiful and very durable surface.

It is true that American Black Cherry is not one of the hardest woods. Having a Janka wood hardness scale rating of 950, it ranks just below Black Walnut and above Longleaf Pine. The difference with this particular wood is that it is the highest quality American Black Cherry you can find. The samples we received were some of the densest cherry I have ever seen. The floors will inevitably show wear and tear over the years (which is one of the great features of Cherry in that it only gets better with age) but its good to know that we are installing such a high quality wood.

The other choice we needed to make was the plank size. We had a choice between 2-3/4" and 5-1/2" wide planks. After seeing the samples we decided to go with the 5-3/4" wide planks. The cost was really not that much more in the end and who wouldn't want wider planks?

The flooring should be arriving in about two weeks. We are planning on installing the floors ourselves. The good thing is that with wider planks it should take us less time...at least, we hope.

Rear facade & yard update

The sunshades (sometimes referred to as brie soleil - a French word meaning "sun breaker") were finally completed on the south facade and all of the fiber-cement panels have now been installed. Our metal roofer, Jason, was also at the house a few weeks ago installing the metal coping around the perimeter of the roof. He fabricated the coping from Zalmag, which is the same material that we used for the folded metal panels at the front mansard. By thinking ahead and ordering extra, we were able to have enough material for both. Check out our previous blog entries on Zalmag here and here. The whole profile of the house looks much cleaner now.

The only thing left to do on the rear facade is to install the final galvanized metal downspout that will attach directly to a rain barrel, with an overflow to the rain garden. We also intend to paint the exterior housing of the whole house fan the same color as the fiber-cement panels which will make it blend in a bit more. One other aesthetic decision that remains is whether to leave the sunshades as-is or to paint them. They're made from exterior grade FSC-certified spruce lumber so they can be left unfinished if desired. If we paint the sunshades, it would allow us to caulk a few of the connections that weren't at tight as we'd like. Of course we're contemplating all this after all the scaffolding has already come down, making it a little more tricky to access the sunshades themselves...but it is possible.

As of this week, we are finally getting the new layer of stucco on the side of the house (the outline of the original house) now that the temperature has warmed up a little. That will wrap up the major exterior work on the building, with the exception of the front steps, refinishing the front sidewalk, and installing the stormwater planter.

The photo below shows the formwork for the concrete curb around the rear patio. The curb will provide support for the sand-set paver area as well as help control any excess runoff and prevent unnecessary erosion. 4x4 wooden fence posts will be embedded into the concrete to ensure that they're strongly anchored. We're planning to build a 6' high vertical tongue & groove fence, with a gate that opens onto the utility easement. This will make it easy to bring trash & recycling from the backyard to the front curb without having to haul it through the house.

More updates soon- we have simply been too busy these past few weeks to keep up!

Rethinking the floors

So I have been going back and forth lately about what the best flooring material would be for the house. For a long time we have had our minds set on the carbonized strand bamboo. Please see our earlier blog post describing the difference between strand bamboo and regular bamboo floors. It's a really great product: durable, beautiful, (relatively) inexpensive, and ...sustainable. It's this last one that I am grappling with. The other day, a good friend of mine and I were talking shop and we got on the topic of how everyone thinks that bamboo is the best thing since sliced bread. But frankly speaking, there are aspects of it that aren't necessarily "green" (relatively speaking, of course).

As with many sustainable products these days, there are a few different ways to look at the aspects. One is that it is a rapidly renewable resource: extremely fast growing (by the day , no lie), versatile, durable, easy to harvest. But another side is that (now this only relates to growing bamboo in the US) is that it can be an invasive species that can take over a native ecosystem as fast as Kudzu. Now the reason I say "can be" is that not all bamboo is invasive. Check out this short article on the different types: clumping (non-invasive) and running (invasive), but not a lot of people know the difference and if you grow the wrong kind and don't maintain it...it can out of control very quickly.














Yet another aspect (and maybe the most important to me) is the fact that it comes from the other side of the world. The carbon footprint left by us ordering these floors for our little house here in Philly is pretty substantial. Now there are more sustainable harvesting practices than others. I heard from our good friends at the Environmental Home Store (who have a great selection sustainably-minded floors, among the many other great products they sell, including a variety of non-toxic paints... which I will be discussing shortly) that it is often better to source bamboo from Vietnam rather that China. Well, in the end that is good knowledge to have and a responsible way to look at material sourcing. But we are still back to the same problem.

We have tried very hard to build this house sustainably as well as locally. So, in returning to the conversation between my friend and I, we asked ourselves...why do we need to look so far away? We must have options close to home. And we do. I am speaking of beautiful, FSC certified hardwoods grown where else than in the great state of Pennsylvania. Not too many people, it seems, know of the lumber company located in western Pennsylvania called The Collins Companies. Founded in 1855 in PA, they have been practicing sustainable forestry since the beginning and were "the first privately owned forest products company in the United States to be comprehensively evaluated and independently certified by the Scientific Certification System (SCS) under the principles and criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)". And not only is their wood FSC certified...its "Single Source" (opposed to "Mixed Sources") and Collins will provide all the Chain of Custody paperwork you need for LEED. Additionally, they are Pennsylvania's second largest private land owner. From the Collins website:

"Kane Hardwood, a Collins company, manages the 126,000-acre FSC-certified Collins Pennsylvania Forest. These lands sit in the center of the finest black cherry hardwood forests in the world, the Allegheny Mountains of northern Pennsylvania. Mixed with red and white oak, soft and hard maple, ash, beech, yellow poplar, and basswood, this thriving hardwood forest is the result of the Collins family’s commitment to sustainable forestry, ecosystem management, and natural biodiversity."

How many loggers have you heard say things like that??

So you're now wondering...okay great,but how does the cost compare? It has to be more, right? After all it is Single Source FSC certified. Well, I just got the price quote for FSC T&G hardwood flooring options (including Oak, Maple, Ash, and Cherry). If you want it pre-finished the price comes in almost HALF the cost of the carbonized strand bamboo (which is more than your typical bamboo) per square foot. For unfinished (if you are up for the challenge) you can get it for about a 1/3 of the cost of the strand. Also, I am sourcing all the trim work from them too. FSC 1x3 and 1x4 Poplar from 6'-16' lengths is coming in around HALF the price of the big box home improvement stores. How is this possible and why do so few people know about it? Honestly, its beyond me.







Additionally, the folks at the Collins Companies are extremely nice and very helpful. And even though they ship their wood all over the US, they love the idea of keeping their products in PA. How can you beat the fact that it's grown (responsibly) in western Pennsylvania, milled on site, finished a couple of hours away, then put on a truck and driven only about 5 hours to arrive at our house in Philly.

So, we are now awaiting a few samples so we can choose a species and a finish. In the end, the bamboo is still a great product and we look forward to using it in another project but we feel this could be the right avenue for us go for this project.

Philly's Green Roof Tax Credit

Turns out that in April of 2007, Philadelphia passed its first 'green roof' tax credit program. Who knew? Not a lot of people, it seems. In the 18+ months since the legislation was approved, only one application has crossed the desk of the Philadelphia Department of Revenue. Due to a recent change in leadership, it's not even clear whether that initial application was ever approved.

Last week, I attended an AIA Committee on the Environment/DVGBC event at the Center for Architecture with Joe Procopio from Philadelphia's Dept. of Revenue. From this point forward, he will be the primary reviewer of all incoming green roof tax credit applications. Interestingly enough, this program is not being coordinated through the Office of Sustainability. If there are any future modifications to the bill, I hope the two offices will coordinate as it would make sense to consider the effect of tax incentives from a broader perspective.

While it's encouraging to find out that the City is providing sizable incentives for installing vegetated roofs, it was disappointing to find out that the program's scope isn't very broad. According to the program requirements, the tax credit is applied to the Business Privilege Tax. Most applicants will likely be either developers or landlords. A typical homeowner or condo association will NOT qualify for the credit since they don't pay BPT.

Here's the deal:

1) To qualify, first you must own or operate a business within the City of Philadelphia and therefore pay the Business Privilege Tax. This is required because the incentive is issued in the form of "a credit against the Business Privilege Tax of 25% of all costs actually incurred to construct the Green Roof, provided that the total credit shall not exceed $100,000."

2) Next, you must follow all normal procedures in regards to obtaining a building permit from L&I and an engineer's certification that the structure can support the weight of a green roof.

3) The green roof must cover 50% of the building's rooftop or 75% of 'Eligible Roof Top Space', defined as the total space available to support a Green Roof, as certified by a structural engineer.

4) After the building permit and engineering report are in hand, the Green Roof Tax Credit Application can be filed with the Revenue Department.

5) If the Revenue Department approves the application, the taxpayer must agree to maintain the Green Roof for 5 years after its completion (this applies even if the property is sold, so it's advisable to include a provision and/or additional fee for maintenance in the sales contract).

This bill was originally sponsored by Councilman Jim Kenny, and Mr. Procopio did mention that any concerns about the legislation should be presented to City Council for consideration. It seems that if there is enough support, an expansion or modification of the bill might be possible.

In our discussion about the typical costs of a green roof, the concensus was that "all costs actually incurred to construct the Green Roof" would potentially include structural improvements, design/engineering fees, and other soft costs in addition to the actual cost of materials and labor.

So, how does this affect us? Well, it appears that Southern Liberties, LLC (that's us) should qualify for the green roof tax credit on the Montrose project. We already have all of the required certifications, so all that is left to do is submit the application. We totaled up all the expenses involved with the green roof and determined that it cost us about $10K start to finish. Our green roof covers 80% of our 600 SF roof (480SF) which works out to about $20/SF. (The materials and labor alone were $15/SF). This means that we should qualify for about a $2,500 credit towards our BPT liability, which can be spread out over a number of years if desired.

Download a copy of Philly's Green Roof Tax Credit application here.
View the Department of Revenue's summary of the program & application process here.
Read the original legislation here, Bill #070072 and Resolution #070079.
Read related testimony here, including a mention of other potential green roof incentives (i.e. reduced stormwater fees and homeowner inclusions).

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Post them for all to see.

Snow-covered Green Roof

Ever wonder what a green roof looks like in the dead of winter?






















This photo was actually taken last week, so there should be a few additional inches of the fluffy white stuff after last night's storm. We hope the sedum plants are surviving these frigid temperatures and being blanketed by all this snow. The plants seemed pretty established after several months of moderate weather last fall and were planted at what is considered an 'ideal' time of year- September. We'll find out for sure come spring.

More project updates to come soon. Promise.

The steel stair arrives

Bill Curran dropped off the steel stair a couple of days ago. It took about 4 guys to haul it inside as it weighs around 350 lbs. This is the open-riser stair that runs from the first to the second floor. It looks really great. Bill and his guys did a beautiful job. Everything is very precise and the welds are clean and nicely hidden. He won't be dropping off the railings until later, when all the floors are installed and the walls are painted.















There's Bill, in the bottom left corner, admiring his work.

What you see here is the framework for the stair, without the wood treads attached. You can see the two stringers that run the full length and the open steel "frames" at each step. These frames act as a cradle for the wood tread to rest on. The treads will be attached with screws (from below) and will overhang the frames. You can also see that there are steel plates on either end. This is how the stair will be attached to the top and bottom wood headers. When we go to install the final stair, we'll remove the temporary wood stair and hoist the steel stair into place. I think we are going to use the temporary treads from the old stair on the new one until the final treads are ready to go in.

We could not really afford to get the metal stair and railings "powder coated", so the final finish will involve simply cleaning the raw metal with a degreaser and steel wool then applying a coat of beeswax. Although a powder coated finish is very nice, we actually prefer the more natural look of the wax finish, which allows the character of the material to show through.

I am getting ready to plane down the reclaimed timbers that will eventually become the treads. We have a couple of different choices for the wood. We have Pine, Fir, and Oak beams. The Pine might be too soft but the Fir could work. To be honest, I am not much of an Oak fan, mostly due to the look of the grain, but I planed down a scrap piece of a 2.5"x11" oak beam to 2"x10" (our tread size), and it looks amazing.

What's nice is that it appears most of the 100 yr old beams are quartersawn, opposed to plain (or flat) sawn. Most people are used to seeing plainsawn oak which has a very wide, pronounced grain. To find wood this size that was milled in this manner is a treat. Along with it's beauty, quartersawn wood is much more stable and will take a finish better. I brushed a coat of polyurethane on one side of the planed beam and it turned a gorgeous honey color. I snapped a couple of pictures (below) that show the size and color as well as a close-up of the grain. We will most likely end up using this Oak for the treads, but if not, I am sure we'll find a place for it somewhere else in the house.

Wrapping up the exterior cladding

We are just about finished with the installation of the fiber-cement panels (from Certainteed) the only thing left to do is caulk the joints. The other remaining tasks for the exterior are installing the sunshades and the continuous metal cap flashing at the parapet. You can see in the rear facade image to the left that we have already installed ledgers and metal straps above the windows which will support the weight of the sunshades.

The black plastic downspout at the right side of the image is a temporary solution that will soon be replaced by a smooth galvanized pipe that will empty into a rain barrel. Also, we are planning to paint the cover for the whole house fan (top right) either the same gray color as the fiber-cement siding or black to match the window frames. The sunshades, made of exterior grade FSC spruce, will be left with a natural wood finish.

In the end, we are very pleased with the way the panels look. There was a slight change in the fastening system relative to what was originally intended. We had planned on using nails to fasten the panels (as per manufacturer) but as our contractor began to install the panels, he realized that he was not getting the attachment strength that we needed. A few times the panels began to pull away from the sheathing. The problem was partly due to slight undulations in the surface of the sheathing and partly due to the large surface area of the panels which are 2' x 8' in size.

The fiber-cement panels are very rigid and offer little room for any flexing. They tend to want to flatten back out if the surface is not perfectly flat, eventually breaking the caulk seal. A couple of panels even ended up breaking at the beginning due to the bending stress in addition to the impact of the hammer. We found that attaching the panels with stainless steel screws (which is also approved by the manufacturer) using a hammer drill gave us a much more secure connection.

Due to budget constraints, we are not using a rain screen system (which would involve furring strips or vertical runners and therefore would eliminate the flex issue) but instead we are simply attaching the panels directly to the sheathing, caulking only the top and side joints, while allowing any moisture to find its way down and vent out the bottom of the panels. We're hoping to explore a true rain screen system in the next project, possibly using Vaproshield (opposed to Tyvek, which we used and is great product but is white in color and not great if at all visible) for the waterproof membrane and a recycled composite (like Trex) for the vertical channels.



The image to the left shows where the east wall at the third floor (the party wall) meets our metal mansard roof at the front.




The exposed fasteners are more pronounced than we originally envisioned (the nails would have been flush with the face of the panels), but we love the look of it. The evenly-spaced screw heads along with the softly textured, concrete-colored FC panels are reminiscent of poured-in-place concrete with snap-ties (similar to the image below). We realize the appearance might not appeal to everyone, but we feel it embodies the modern aesthetic of the 'new addition' portion of the house.

Inspiration from Re-Nest

Stephanie from Apartment Therapy's Re-Nest posted an article today about our project. Check it out here. For anyone who's not familiar with Apartment Therapy, it's a great design resource especially geared towards small spaces. Re-Nest is part of the Apartment Therapy 'family' and focuses on green home design. Since we have a 20-month old son, we also love ohdeedoh for their clever approach to design and children. Be sure to return often as these sites are all updated frequently. Many thanks to our good friend Summer for sending in the suggestion!

The new year is a great time to get inspired and to re-evaluate one of the most important spaces that surrounds us: our home. While trying to take that to heart by undertaking some small projects to update our own house, we've been doing more thinking recently about the types of finishes that we'd like to use in the Montrose House and the overall feel that we'd like the space to reflect. Yes, we are modernists at heart but we also like a house to be warm and livable at the same time. It's a fine line to walk sometimes. More on all this in the upcoming weeks...

NBC Channel 10 News segment

Here's a link to the video clip on NBC's site: NBC Philadelphia.com: Greening History. You can also view it right here:



Our 'green renovation' news segment aired bright and early this morning, Wednesday Jan. 07, at 5:45am and 6:45am. It will also air again on Sunday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 am. Thanks to Terry Ruggles of Channel 10 for considering the Montrose House for their segment.

Work on the house slowed considerably over the holiday. Today we're meeting with our contractor at the house to pick up where we left off before the break and determine what outstanding work is left to do on his end. We'll also be heading up to Chinatown to meet with our stair fabricator to iron out some last minute questions on the dimensions and detailing of the steel stair. If all goes well, it should be ready to install by next week! Things are picking back up now and we'll post more updates shortly.

local news update & next steps

We just received word that the local NBC Channel 10 'Green Rehab' segment should be airing either next Wednesday, December 24th or the following Wednesday, the 31st. We will be posting a copy on the blog, so don't worry if you miss it.

This week we've been continually trying to get PGW to turn on the gas, which has required calling them numerous times. Supposedly the foreman has us on the schedule today (third time this week) to install the meter. Hopefully, today is the day and we'll have some heat!

As soon as all the drywall is mudded and taped and the systems are operational, our contract with Merlin, our GC, will basically end. He'll turn the house over to us to wrap up, as our plan has been to handle purchasing & installing most of the finishes and fixtures ourselves to save money. We will retain Merlin to help us occasionally, as his expertise and advice will be essential in the areas where our experience is lacking. I'll feel much better having him and/or his subs close by when it comes time to install the plumbing fixtures (something we've never done before) and a number of other items. Toilets are one thing you definitely want to get right the first time!

Over the holidays, Merlin's coworker, Nate, will be prepping the drywall openings and pre-cutting most of the trim for the doors and windows. After we get back into town, our first task will be to begin installing the trim around all of the openings. The baseboards won't go in until after the bamboo floors are laid. Our trim detail is going to require quite a bit of work as we are going with what is sometimes called a "museum trim" detail - where the trim board is actually flush with the drywall (opposed to being applied on top of it) and there is a 1/4" reveal where the edge of the trim meets the edge of the drywall. If this sounds confusing, no worries...we will explain this later in more detail.

Bill Curran is now fabricating our steel stair and is set to install before New Year's. This will be quite a milestone and we'll be sure to post before/after and progress photos.

We also have some exciting developments to share related to Southern Liberties branching off into the realm of custom furniture design and fabrication. We'll share more about that in January.

Starting to look like a house...kind of

In case you didn't make it to the Open House, here's shot of what the main living space looks like with most of the drywall up, as of a couple of days ago. You can see the sawhorses and plywood that served as our layout table for the Open House as well as the sections of drywall we left off to show various internal elements of the project. That's Emily casually posing at the bar and providing some scale.












Tomorrow we start on all the prep work for the window and door trim.

Thank you...

A big thanks to everyone who braved the cold weather last Saturday to join us at our Open House & Construction Tour. We estimate that at least 60-70 people participated which was an amazing turnout! We've also received emails from quite a few people who weren't able to make it. After the holidays, we'll pick another Saturday afternoon to give anyone else interested in touring the house the opportunity to stop by before we get too much farther along.

Tomorrow morning we're filming a news segment with local NBC news anchor Terry Ruggles about green rehabs in Philadelphia. As soon as we have more information about when the segment will air, we'll post it here!

Next on our plate: ordering the kitchen cabinets, fabricating the custom steel stair, & finalizing the remainder of the plumbing fixtures in the house.

Open House & Construction Tour today!

Don't forget to stop by this afternoon for our Open House & Construction Tour! We're looking forward to hearing everyone's feedback and suggestions as we enter the next phase of the project and start getting into the installing the final finishes, fixtures, and working out the remaining details.
























While we weren't able to get our furnace hooked up yet, the house will be nice and toasty with a temporary heater in the basement. And Dunkin' Donuts is just a block away if anyone needs to use the facilities.

We're looking forward to being able to work at night and on the weekends, now that we have power. The other night, I saw the house for the first time with lights on through the all windows. I must say...it was pretty impressive. Now that all the masonry openings have been cut along the side and remaining windows are in, the whole building has taken on a much different feel, especially at night. We've made some progress on the water as the meter is installed, but we can't get a temporary sink/toilet hooked up until the sanitary line is completed.

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

The sheet rock has been installed

Yesterday the drywall crew arrived bright and early. We were expecting 3-4 workers, but instead a crew of 6 was waiting in front of the house with their tools in hand. We had all the drywall staged in the house the previous day right after it arrived from Green Depot. These guys work amazingly fast. By mid-afternoon, they had finished the 3rd floor, most of the 2nd floor, and were starting on downstairs. Our contractor decided to go with 4'x12' sheets instead of the standard 4'x8' ones. When hanging them horizontally, we ended up with less waste as most walls in the house are not more than 10' or 11' in length.

The bathrooms are wrapped with water-resistant board on both the walls and the ceilings for extra protection (it's not uncommon to find it used only on the walls).

While I knew this stage would be a big milestone in the project, it always surprises me how much drywall can transform a space. No matter how many times I go through this process, it's exciting every time. There's something about being able to 'see' the walls that makes the house seems much more finished than before. We're leaving the drywall as is for now, without taping and mudding the joints as we know that we have just one day before the open house. We also left certain areas open throughout the house, without any drywall, so that people can get a sense of what's underneath and see some of the structure and building systems.

Now for the final clean up....urh,...

Bio-based Insulation in action!

A few days ago, the crew from Northend Barriers arrived with their trendy Bio-Based trailer and generator, ready to knock out our little row house project in just a day.











We were lucky to get them, as Northend is currently booked straight through the spring, installing BioBased on a number of very large jobs. Because our project is several months behind schedule, we were afraid that we might have lost our place on the list. After a few pleading phone calls from us and our contractor, reminding them that we've been in touch periodically with schedule updates, the good guys at Northend finally agreed to fit us in between two of their larger jobs. Two men dressed from head to toe in white jumpsuits arrived mid-morning and stayed on until nearly 9pm to finish the job. The suits are primarily projection to keep the guys clean and adhesive-free. The foam itself is not hazardous to the touch but is very sticky.

Check out this stuff out in action!



After learning more about the cost difference between closed cell and open cell spray foam, we specified a combination of the two for the project, depending on the thickness of the wall, its location, and the desired R-value. By making these changes, we were able to reduce the overall quote by about 40%. The closed cell foam is roughly twice as much money as the open cell, and we had originally planned to use closed cell throughout. Finally, something has turned out to be LESS expensive than we had anticipated. It's a good thing.















































After installation, the foam is shaved off so that it's level with the studs, and fills the void between the studs. In reality, the stuff is rarely perfect as there is some variation in depth and consistency (at least in our case). We had the crew save the scraps, which can be used to fill up any major gaps- such as behind pipes or other hard to reach areas- or thrown into a typical unconditioned attic space to beef up the existing insulation. We have a few quirky spaces where new and old construction meet and were able to fill in a few holes by using the leftovers, and a few cans of that off-the-shelf expandable foam. We still have about 8 bags left in the back yard and will probably offer it up on Craigslist or Freecycle soon.



















By the end of the day, the only casualty was our truck, which had been parked out front for a few hours. Turns out there was a small gap between the brick facade and the cornice. The foam made its way through the crack, through the air outside, and down onto the side of our truck. The foam part came off easily, but the adhesive part was the problem. It looks like it will scrape off of the glass fairly easily with a razor blade, but we're still waiting to hear back from our contact at Northend Barrier (Tom Purcell) to find out how (and if) this stuff can be removed from the truck body without damaging the paint job.

The lessons learned on this job (other than keeping the truck far, far away) are that next time we would strongly consider waiting until the heat is turned on to spray the foam. The next day, we noticed several places where the foam pulled away from the studs about 1/4" due to the temperature differential. The foam is heated and pressurized in canisters before being sprayed into the wall cavities. The house itself was definitely cold, especially so after sundown, when the work continued late into the night. Because of the scheduling difficulties, we were hesitant to wait any longer and it was unclear when the next opportunity would be to get a crew. We filled some of the gaps ourselves the next day but Northend has agreed to come back and hit the larger areas. We decided to hold off on "taping and mudding" the drywall for a few days so we could simply remove the drywall screws and pop the boards off in the areas that need more insulation.

The other downfall to the spray foam is that it could make rewiring extremely difficult (especially the #1701, the closed cell). Also, for architects that are used to working with precise, exact materials, this stuff is not going to be in your comfort zone. The stuff is messy and blobby and the control is modest at best. The overspray can't help but get in places it shouldn't, like J-boxes and around pipes. It has a life of its own. I admit, it does take some getting used to. The performance is where the spray foam excels- we've been able to achieve R-20 in just a 2x4 stud wall. And in a renovation project, we feel comfortable knowing that the foam is going to keep the old envelope (and the new) super tight and efficient.

Drywall...with a conscience

A colleague of mine at Philadelphia University recently told me about a new drywall plant in PA that is actually built right next to a coal-fired power plant in order to readily capture the synthetic gypsum byproduct for use in their drywall. I am looking into sourcing all our drywall from this plant.

United States Gypsum Corporation
Lycoming Mall Dr
Washingtonville, PA 17754
(About 2.5 hours from Philadelphia)

The facility produces wallboard using recaptured gypsum, uses 100 percent recycled paper for the surfaces of the finished wallboard products, recycles 100 percent of its production waste and feature a closed-loop liquid effluent system, which translates to zero discharge into nearby waterways. It was purposefully located right across the road form the Montour (coal-fired) Power Plant. At the power plant, scrubbers (the environmental controls that remove the sulfur dioxide from the emissions of coal-fired power plants) work by spraying a mixture of crushed limestone and water onto the exhaust gas before it goes out the plant’s chimney. The limestone and water react with the sulfur in the plant’s exhaust to form synthetic gypsum, which is collected and shipped to the USG facility that is across the road from the power plant.

OR...if that doesn't pan out

Green Depot actually stocks drywall that contains 95% recycled coal ash that they get from another Pennsylvania drywall plant (also USG, I believe) that employs the same process as the Washingtonville plant, it's just not right across the street from the power plant.

The price per sheet is virtually the same as any other drywall. We are going to look into both options but seeing that we need have drywall on site in two days...it looks like we might be giving Green Depot a call. It's nice to know they're close by.

Fiber-cement panel mock up

Our sub-contractor (Danny from Longboard Contracting) will begin installing the fiber-cement panels on Monday. I don't know if I mentioned this in an earlier post, but we decided to go with panels by Certainteed. Most fiber-cement products on the market are by James Hardie (as in "Hardiplank") which is a great product. Both Hardi and Certainteed products contain recycled content, are manufactured locally, and are extremely durable. The main reason we decided to go with Certainteed was the fact that, in addition to the recycled content, they guarantee a minimum of 30% recycled fly ash in their mix. Another reason was the better color selection as well as their finish. All pre-finished Hardipanels have a slight sheen that we weren't crazy about.

The irony, of course, is that we eventually chose the unfinished (just primed) panel from Certainteed because the primed finish closely resembled a concrete color had a great subtle texture to it. The image to the left shows the mock-up of the F-C panels and the window trim detail on the rear facade of the house.

Now you do have to eventually finish the panel (either paint or seal) in order to retain the 50 year warranty, but Certainteed gives you a two year window to do this before they'll void their warranty. Hardipanel is also available in a primed finish, but they only give you a 3 month window before you have to finish it. To me, this says something about the manufacturer's confidence in the durability of the raw material, although I am sure that Hardi's product would hold up just fine. Eventually the owner of the house will have to make a decision on whether to paint the panels or simply seal them, if they want to keep the warranty. The beauty of the primed panels is that they could also be painted subtly different colors to form kind of a patchwork pattern, if desired.

Either way, we are excited to see the panels go up as this is the final stage of the exterior cladding. Danny has been great to work with so far and has helped us find the best way to achieve the look we want. He's not the 'cheapest' installer out there, but he has a great reputation and it is very important that this part of the project be done well...so it's worth it.

Opening up the west wall

Well, I don't know why it took so long but we finally were able to cut the openings in the west wall (the existing brick masonry wall) that will house the new windows in the Dining Room & Living Room on the first floor and the bathroom on the second floor. Maybe the GC was waiting till the end so he could make a quick getaway when the whole house came crashing down. Ha, ha. But seriously, the whole process went fairly smooth and was fascinating to watch. The old wall held up nicely while they installed the concrete lintels. We tried to save most of the bricks but many of them broke during removal. The remnants will make their way to CWM's yard for crushing.























We have two big windows (side by side w/ a column in between that you can see in the upper right image) that will be going in the dining room wall and a long double awning that will be going high on the living room wall (this is the opening the guys are placing the lintel in and you can see it in the upper left image). The bottom left image shows the full opening for the windows in the bathroom at the second floor. These will actually be two casement side by side with a column in between (aligned with the windows above and below) but the column is not built yet.

The remaining windows will be installed on Saturday. We are so lucky to be able to have windows on the side of the house. I was amazed to see how much light the openings let into the first floor space. And although these windows are on the west wall and could get a lot of harsh western sun, we are benefiting greatly from the large shade tree next door as well as the neighboring houses that are tall enough (3-stories) to block much of the direct sun in the late afternoon but far enough away (roughly 20' due to the alley and their yards) to still allow plenty of light in.

The metal roof panels are in

The sheet metal fabricator/installer (Jason Pacetti) finished installing the Zalmag metal roof panels on the mansard today. We purchased the metal in coil stock (3 tightly wound rolls - 20"wide x 150' long) and then had the flat seam folded panels fabricated here in Philly. Every chance we get we try to have the raw materials shipped and then have a local fabricator make the product. There is still an embodied energy involved but this way we are injecting money into the local Philadelphia economy instead of having the products made somewhere else. Additionally, we form a relationship with local tradesmen.
















We are very happy with the roof and Jason did a great job on the panels. One lesson we learned here was that the next time we decide to use metal roof panels we will get the material in sheets (4'x8', for example) instead of coil. The reason we got the 20" wide coil was to maximize the material, eliminate waste, and it was a bit cheaper. Because we would not have to rip it (lengthwise) but simply cut the length of the panel we wanted (crosswise) as it was unrolled, there would be no waste. We ultimately wanted an 18"x36" panel. A 20"W piece of metal actually yields an 18"W panel after the two long edges are folded. So by cutting the roll into 38" pieces we would have our ideal size panel. Sounds easy enough, huh?

Not so much in the end. You see the material came wound so tightly that the fabricator had a really hard time straightening in out. He had some concern with "oil canning" (warping you sometimes see on metal roofs) since the panels were a fairly large size. He was going to try to "reverse roll it" but he felt it might get scratched. In the end, he had to work the metal a great deal to make the panels look good (and he did a great job and never raised his price). Also, when dealing with a coil you run the risk of any small dent or ding on the end of the coil repeating itself over and over as you unroll it.

Lastly, we are very pleased with the connection details (folded seams, turning of corners, meeting the windows, etc) that Jason came up with. He took the time to do it right. It is refreshing to work with someone who really cares about quality and gets excited about working on a project where the client cares as well.

We love the metal but would never get it in coil stock again if we planned on making flat panels. Next time, we figure if we can live with a 14"x30" panel we could divide up a 4'x8' sheet and have virtually no waste.

Here's a link to the metal (Zalmag) manufacturer: http://www.millenniumtiles.com/

Update on the roof hatch

Well, last week we finally said goodbye to our old plywood roof hatch. Our beautiful new hatch arrived last Monday and it took a total of about 20 minutes to install with some weatherstripping, silicone, and a few screws. The fit was perfect. It lets a ton of light into the space (not that it really needed it) and with the hydraulic arms, it opens very smoothly. I feel pretty confident about the insulation value due to the overlapped connection and the double insulated dome. I like the fact that it's not frosted, so on clear days and nights you can look up and see the sky. See previous post for full description of the hatch.