How to build a Stormwater Planter...

We have successfully installed a stormwater planter in front of Montrose Green. And what exactly is a "stormwater planter", you ask? Well, it's similar to the tree wells that you typically see in the sidewalks running along the city streets, but bigger and constructed much differently. Here is a portion of a previous blog post explaining a bit about stormwater planters and how we were inspired to install one at Montrose Green...

(from June 18, 2008) "The Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds has embarked on an ambitious program to install stormwater planters that are designed to capture and infiltrate street run-off. There was a presentation of this at PHS (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society) recently that Emily and I attended...The concept is pretty simple: basically, instead of having continuous impervious paving along the street (with the occasional tree), we can create small stretches of pervious planting beds (up to 20' long) that will infiltrate sidewalk and street run-off. There is also a scheme to do an island 'bump out' that essentially takes the place of a parking space and replaces it with a lush vegetated area that can capture run-off. Obviously, these also greatly enhance the aesthetic of the street as well as contribute to better air quality."





















The basic Stormwater Planter diagram, in section...





















Here's a link (click here) to an informative document that describes stormwater planters in greater detail.

So it didn't take much for us to be convinced that installing a stormwater planter at Montrose Green would be a worthwhile venture. When it came time to bust up and re-pour our sidewalk a few weeks ago, we marked off an area along the street roughly 3'-6" wide x 15'-0" long and didn't pour any concrete there. After the sidewalk was set in the remaining area, we began the construction process. Because neither of us are plant experts, the first thing we did was to team up with a great landscape designer to help us with the planter construction as well as the plant selection. We met Brian Weinrich through our contractor, Merlin, who is also helping Brian renovate his own house in South Philly. Brian actually works for the City Planning Commission, so between his landscape background and involvement with urban issues, he was definitely excited about helping us out with the planter. Below are his initial concept sketches (with planting options) as well as his final colored plan.


































The curved stone path running through the middle of the planter represents a dry "riverbed" that will fill up during heavy rains. You can also see that we decided to go with three different trees and various arrangements of ground coverings....all of which need to be wet tolerant, due to the amount of water the planter will take on after a big storm.



















One of the most challenging parts of this endeavor was the fact we had to dig the planter well by hand due to the utilities -gas and water lines- underneath. Above you can see me (on the left) and Anastasio (from Merlin's crew) digging away. The recommended planter depth is roughly 3'-0" deep. Ugh! It took us a couple days, but we finally got it all cleared out.










Above is a series of photos showing the steps involved in adding the drainage bed of fabric-wrapped 'clean stone'. Step 1: the cleared out planter, Step 2: we laid permeable landscape fabric down, leaving a few feet of extra material in all sides, Step 3: fill the well with 18" of clean stone, Step 4: wrap the extra fabric up and over the top of the stone, essentially fully encasing the the stone as to prevent any dirt from getting into the drainage bed, compromising its effectiveness. This portion of the planter allows large amounts of water to infiltrate and recharge the ground water system below.









When it came time to select the plants and the soil mixture, we utilized two sources: One was a large nursery out in Lancaster County (where we got the trees and a few of the larger plants) and the other was our favorite local nursery, Greensgrow Farms, up in the Fishtown area of Philly. We have been going to Greensgrow for years, enjoying their nursery and farmstand, and have also been proud members of their unique CSA. Above, you can see the various bags of material we used for the soil mixture. Brian felt a nice variety of compost (mushroom and leaf), shredded woods, soil conditioner, and sand would make for a rich, well-drained mix for the plants. You can also see a few of the native annuals & ground coverings we purchased. For the trees, we selected a Sweetbay Magnolia, a White Fringe, and a Serviceberry (or Juneberry) which all have different qualities.


Here's a great little clip of the truck (from Cava Building Supplies) delivering over 3 tons of clean stone. I will be honest in saying I was pretty nervous when I saw how much stone dumped out of the back of that truck. I felt we had way too much. In the end, we only needed about 2-1/2 tons but were able to utilize the rest in the back yard rain garden.

















So after a long weekend of planting, our stormwater planter came to life...Above you can see Brian (top center image) knee deep into the planting process. And to make extra sure we were planting the correct species - the trees, along with almost all of the other plantings, came from PHS's list of plant species recommended for stormwater planters. It's not published on their website yet, but we have our sources. The recommended species list includes native plants that are hydrophillic (water-loving), as well as hardy & salt-tolerant due to their proximity to the harsh conditions of street life.











Above are some detail shots of the planter. Hard to believe this is front of a Philly rowhome, huh? We are very pleased with the outcome. Thanks so much to Brian for all his expertise and hard work. In fact we were so excited about our planter that we entered it (along with the green roof and the rear yard rain garden) into the PHS "City Gardens Contest". Wish us luck!

Togo Construction - our finish carpenters

So it's funny how some things come about. Emily and I have been practicing architecture for several years now...about 4 of them in Philly. We have made a lot of connections in the construction industry. So when it came down to finding the right team of carpenters to help us finish Montrose Green, you'd think they would come through our numerous connections "in the business" right? Well, not exactly.

About a month ago, Emily and I were strolling through our neighborhood (Grad Hospital) with my in-laws and we dropped into a new artisan confections shop called Betty's Speakeasy (aka Betty's Tasty Buttons). Needless to say, the amazing selection of sweets made with local ingredients was the main attraction. But we also took note, as architects inevitably do, of the design details of the space. In addition to noticing the use of reclaimed wood floors for trim, custom concrete countertops, and other unique features...we also admired the craft in which the details were executed. Emily asked the owner about the carpentry work and she gave us the contact info for Togo Construction. She highly recommended the company, especially if we were looking for unique designs constructed with reclaimed materials. We smiled and gave her the address to our blog.

Togo Construction is owned and operated by Lance Morabito. In case you were wondering, the name 'Togo' comes from a classic modern couch designed in the early '70's by Michael Ducaroy. Now what does the Togo couch have to do with Lance's company? Not much, actually. He just really likes the couch and thought it was a catchy name. Fair enough.

Anyway, we called Lance the following day to see if he might be interested in helping us out at Montrose Green. He met us the next day, walked through the house, expressed a genuine interest in what we're doing, and has been on-site just about every day since then. His 'second' carpenter, Dave Palmer, has also been continually involved and the two of them are doing some really great work.

I hope that Lance knew what he was getting into when he agreed help to finish out a design/build project being run by the owner who is also the architect...and on-site everyday. Let's just say that I get fairly particular sometimes regarding design details. The great thing is that Lance seems to be just as particular about the way his work is constructed. Finding a carpenter (never mind two of them) that are totally into modern detailing and all its nuances who have the tools, skills, and creative insight to successfully execute those details is a rare find these days. Lance also has a genuine interest in working with reclaimed materials and finding new and creative ways to incorporate them into the project.

Togo recently completed all the trim work for the house. You can see below a few images of the 'nearly finished' details. The door/window/baseboard detail that we used is considered a 'museum' or 'gallery' trim detail. Basically, all the wood trim sits flush with the face of the drywall and is separated by a continuous 1/4" reveal (the obligatory modern detail). It took a lot of discussion and some trial and error to figure out the cleanest way to build this detail, but in the end it came out beautifully. These images are from the third floor which is being touched up with a final coat of joint compound (or spackle). The shot with the ceiling fan is looking through one of the bedroom transoms.






















Togo Construction is currently working on the rear yard cedar fence (images below). I have had the design of this fence in my head for a long time, so I'm pretty excited to finally see it come to life. Lance also appears to have a fascination with pouring concrete, so we're now discussing going back to one of our original ideas of pouring concrete pavers for the rear yard patio that would incorporate 50% slag in the mix along with some color pigment.




















Below are a few shots of Lance and Dave working on the details of the cedar fence.





















Finding high quality craftsman who take pride in their work is a real treat. Along with Merlin and LCB Construction (our GC), we are excited to have Togo Construction as part of the SoLibs team.

Open House...July 11th, 3-8pm!

Please join us for our upcoming Open House Party!













Montrose Green: Open House Party
Saturday, July 11th, 3-8pm
1536 Montrose Street
Philly, PA 19146

We'll be leading tours of the Montrose Green project throughout the afternoon and welcome anyone who is interested to stop by and see the finished project in person. The SoLibs team will be on-site all afternoon and will be joined by our realtor, David Krupp, as well as several members of the design & construction crew to mark the completion of the project. It's been a crazy year and we want you to come help us celebrate!

We'll have a variety of local food & beverages on hand to share and to top off the event, there will be live music on the back patio. Should be a fun time for all...Please let our realtor know if you can make it. RSVP requested to: krupp@kurfiss.com.

Hope to see you on the 11th!

Caesarstone countertops installed

Below you can see the Caesarstone countertops arriving by truck. Our friends at K Group coordinated the process...overseeing the template, fabrication, and installation. (They partner with Master Countertops who actually fabricate and install the material). The second image shows the guys grinding the material after they scribed it on site so it will fit tight to our floors. This piece is for one of the 'turndowns' (where the end of the countertops turn and continue down to the floor) in the kitchen.

Below are a couple of shots of the countertops installed in the kitchen, a detail of the 'turndown' at the dishwasher, and a shot of the master bathroom sink and faucet. The install went off without a hitch and everything looks great. We were most concerned with the seam in the material at the ends of the counter where we decided to turn it and run it down to the floor. They did a great job at putting it all together. Our original plan was to mitre the corners but it was not feasible with this particular line of Caesarstone due to the fact that it contains glass and it began to chip and pop out after a few tests in the shop. We ultimately went with a 'butt joint' detail which still came out nice after they polished it up.

One important green strategy we developed in regards to the Caesarstone (outside of the material itself- read more about that in a previous post) was the maximization of the slab dimensions. We actually designed the width of our two kitchen countertops and all of bathroom vanities to coordinate with the manufactured width and length of the Caesarstone slab. By carefully mapping out all of our counters to fit within the slab dimensions, we determined that we would only need to purchase two slabs for the whole project. After some shifting around and coordination at the fabricators, we were able to successfully provide countertops for the entire kitchen (including 'turndowns') and all three bathrooms...all within two slabs with virtually no waste factor.

Custom stair railings installed

Last Friday, Bill Curran came to install the steel handrails at our stairwells, just in time for the DVGBC Green Home tour on Saturday, 6/20. We had a great turnout of about 35 people who stopped by to see the house- our project was the 2nd stop on a tour that also included Bancroft Green, Thin Flats, and Market Flats. Nearly everyone braved the rain to climb up our timber ladder to the green roof for a glimpse of the skyline and the sedum plants in full bloom. Click here for a slideshow compiled by one of the tour-goers. (Thanks, Brandon for sharing your photos!)

Below are some shots of the steel guys working out the details and then clamping and site welding the rails in place. The tolerances that these guys work to is pretty amazing. They site measure and then cut almost all the steel in their shop and are usually within a 1/16" when they come to put it all together on site.





















Below you can see the how the stair rail turns and connects to the guard rail at the second floor. Bill and I went over a number of different ways to execute this and worked out the details in his shop. We think it came out pretty nice.
















Here are a couple of shots of the stair and railing from the first floor. We pulled back the protective cardboard on the floor temporarily so you can see how the cherry floors and the exposed brick look against the black steel rails and reclaimed timber treads. The treads you see here are temporary (made from old pine timbers found in the alleyway behind the house), but look very similar to the final reclaimed oak timbers which still need to be planed down and cleaned up before being installed.

A modern rain barrel!

Wanted to take a step back to explain more about the conceptual/big picture reasons for integrating a rainwater harvesting system in the Montrose Green project...as we mentioned before, the idea is to capture water in order to reuse it for plant irrigation while also reducing the volume and the speed of stormwater run off so that it can naturally percolate back into the ground, replenishing the groundwater.

The green roof already does a tremendous service in respect to slowing down stormwater. Excess water that is not absorbed by the plants or given back through evapotranspiration, slowly drains to a screened scupper box at the low point of the roof where it enters into a downspout, then drips down into the rear yard where it has time to be reabsorbed into the ground. Our proposed rainwater harvesting and rain garden system handle this excess water and continue to slow its speed. These simple strategies ensure that little to no run off will end up in the City's sewer system, which is already overtaxed and undersized.

In the event of a huge storm, one in which the green roof gets totally saturated and the rainwater collector and the rain garden both fill up... the excess water will next flow over the planter wall and into the rear yard, which will be comprised of permeable pavers that will allow for the water to percolate through. If there is still excess runoff, which is unlikely, the water will flow into an emergency overflow drain which runs to the City sewer system (this is why I say we are "essentially" disconnected).

Have you ever spend hours trolling the internet trying to find a decent looking rain barrel, let alone a simple, modern one? To the left is a detail shot of our prototype, commercial-grade, stainless steel rainwater collector, custom designed by Philly firm, Shift_Design, and locally fabricated. A movable panel on top allows it to be closed off for the winter without detaching the entire system. Additional detail images follow.

We are in the process of installing the whole system this week... so stay tuned for more updates.

Rainwater harvesting system update

We've recently found a unique opportunity to team up with two friends of ours, Mario Gentile & Gavin Riggall, who have started a new design studio that specializes in "exterior architectural systems". Their firm, Shift_Design, will be designing & fabricating a custom rainwater harvesting system for the rear yard at Montrose Green. We've always had an idea of what we wanted to do (check out an earlier post here), but have not had the time to hash out all the details or schedule in the construction.

So a couple of weeks ago, Mario and I were talking about the progress of Montrose Green and other on goings. As he began to tell me what he & Gavin had planned for their design firm, the wheels began turning in my head. I quickly realized that this would be the perfect collaboration. After sending them the conceptual plan for our rear yard and discussing what our ultimate goals would be, they went to work. About a week later they came back to us with the design shown below...pretty nice, huh!


















The design is still in the development stages, but essentially here's what you're looking at:

The wall that this system works off of is the concrete block dividing wall between our rear yard and the neighbors to the east of us. On the upper left of the rendering, you can see our downspout connecting directly into a custom designed and locally fabricated stainless steel rain water collector. The collector (or holding tank) is elevated above the ground about 20" and has a screen along the top as well as three outlets - one at the top and two at the bottom. The outlet at the top is an overflow outlet which connects to a long stainless steel trough with a horizontal line of holes punched along the front side. Vertical steel rods hang from these holes and extend down into the rain garden (in this case, an elevated planter box filled with wet tolerant plants). When the trough fills up with water, the water will slowly trickle down the metal rods into the planter area. In addition to providing a simple path for excess water to flow downward, the rods also provide a structured framework for vines to grow upward.

One of the outlets at the bottom of the holding tank will be a spigot (for filling watering cans and such) and the other will provide a fixed connection hose, with a shutoff valve, that feeds directly into the rain garden. The intention here is to allow for a way to bypass the trough system and direct water directly into the rain garden. This hose will also allow the holding tank to be drained seasonally.

The design also incorporates a bench that cantilevers off the top of the low planter wall- this will likely be made of wood. A horizontal slat system on the wall provides an area to hang planter boxes and potted plants which can be organized numerous ways and rearranged throughout the year.



















The ultimate idea here is two-fold and fairly simple:
1) to harvest rainwater for irrigation in the rear yard and
2) to slow down stormwater runoff and allow it to sink in and recharge the groundwater below our building.

We are very excited to be collaborating with other local architects and installing a system that will be fabricated right here in Philly. As this design continues to evolve, we'll post more updates. Shift_Design is in the early stages of developing their product line, but expect to have both off-the-shelf & customizable packages available later this summer. If you're interested in working with them, please contact Mario Gentile directly: mgentile[at]jxnstudio.com.

DVGBC Green Home Tour

Montrose Green will be featured on the upcoming Delaware Valley Green Building Council's (DVGBC) Green Homes Tour on June 20th. We will be one of four stops on the tour which includes nearby Bancroft Green and two projects by Onion Flats in Northern Liberties. Please check out the website for more information about registering for the tour. Hope to see you at the house!








Green Home Tour - Sustainable City - green strategies for urban living

Join the Delaware Valley Green Building Council Residential Circle to examine three very different answers to building Green in the City. Thin Flats in Northern Liberties - the first LEED Platinum Duplex in the country. Bancroft Green, just south of South Street, are new energy efficient townhomes; Montrose Green, on nearby Montrose Street, aims for LEED Platinum status and is an innovative re-working of a Philadelphia rowhome. We will also visit New Market, LEED gold pending.

Tour Date: Saturday June 20, 2009
Time: 10am – 1pm +/-

Price: DVGBC Members-$15, Non-Members-$20, DVGBC Students-$10, Student Non-Members-$15

Contacts/Info: info@dvgbc.org

Introducing... Bench Dog Design

We are pleased to announce our latest venture...










Bench Dog Design is a custom furniture design + fabrication shop located in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philly. The mission of our shop, stated above with logo, continues the legacy of quality design and sustainable practices set forth in the Montrose project but at the smaller scale of uniquely crafted works of art. Bench Dog is a partnership between the members of Southern Liberties, LLC (Christopher + Emily Stromberg) and our good friends and longtime collaborators David Quadrini and Jenny Yip. We have opened up a full-scale wood shop (actually located within a large metal shop) and will be building prototypes as well as commissioned pieces including dining room tables, coffee tables, shelving units, benches, built-ins, etc. We are also planning a line modern, efficient, multi-functional children's furniture this fall.

And we have good news... We recently completed our first commission: a dining/conference room table for the 100K House, located just around the corner from our shop. The good folks at Post Green offered us the opportunity to design and build a table for them using recycled steel and reclaimed timbers (a couple of which were actually from the Montrose house), and we jumped at the chance. With such similar philosophies of sustainable design, the collaboration made perfect sense. Check out the great blog post they did about the table. We were able to finish it by their ribbon cutting ceremony on 03/31 and it appeared to be a big hit.

Please check our website...and make sure you go to the Flickr site to see all the photos. We recently had a good friend take some professional photos of the table which will soon be up on our website. If you or anyone you know is interested in a custom-designed piece of furniture made from local reclaimed timbers...give us a call!

Preview- 3D renderings of Montrose Green

We recently generated several 3D renderings of Montrose Green in order to help better illustrate how the house is put together and generally how it works. We are pretty excited about how they're coming along. We still need to add some notes to the drawings to help explain them, but we figured we would go ahead and post the progress images.

The rendering on the right shows the extent of the original rowhome (below) and how it relates to the new addition (floating above). You can see that we have added a significant amount of square footage to the house...we basically doubled its size. This rendering also shows the 4' wide alley, or easement, next to the house that we paved with reclaimed brick from the old facade as well as the extent of the stormwater planter out front (in green).

The rendering on the top left indicates the new elements that make up the building skin (i.e. the green roof, the third floor metal mansard roof, the fiber-cement panels at the third floor and rear addition, and the sun shades at the south facade.) In the rendering, these elements are pulled away from the house in order to show their location relative to the overall design.

The rendering at the bottom left is a building section cut through the center of the house. The ultimate intention for this drawing is to show how all the 'systems' in the house work (i.e. passive and active ventilation, daylighting, HVAC, water management, etc.

Many thanks to our friend and coworker, Justin, for taking the time to create these images.

Facade update

A quick post to show everyone the latest shot of the front facade with the new (old) Bluestone steps and sidewalk. This was taken around twilight on one of the beautiful Philly spring evenings that we're enjoying these days.























We're almost finished installing the floors (it's taking forever!) and have a team of carpenters coming next week to help us knock out the rest of the trim. Almost all of the tile is done. Many thanks to Merlin (our GC) for jumping in and helping us out with the tile installation.

The appliances arrive on Friday so the kitchen needs to be set (most of it is assembled) so the fixtures can go in their respective places - one reason we MUST have the floors done asap. We ended up going with the Cafe line from GE for the kitchen appliances. We liked the simple, modern and professional feel of the appliances as well as all the great write-ups. Moderately priced too.

We went with Whirlpool Duet Sport (stackable) for the Washer/Dryer. We had our sights set on the LG Tromm until we saw this frightening news piece. Sometimes procrastination pays off.

It's beginning to feel that the end is surely near. Famous last words, huh.

Green Roof Revival

The Spring season has brought us many welcomed changes: sunshine, warm breezes, and much needed rain. Along with these has come the amazing revival of our green roof. After long months of hibernation, the sedums are rapidly filling in. I have to admit, I was somewhat skeptical all winter as to whether the tiny plants would survive the harsh season. Well, as you can see in the side-by-side images below, the tiny plants aren't so tiny anymore.

































The images (above left) show the plugs just after installation- each was about 1-3" tall. They grew a bit in the fall, but the bulk of the growth has happened in the last couple of months. While each plug has grown in height, they have also grown tremendously in width, shooting off multiple stems from each plant (above right).

With the spring showers, there has really been no need for watering. Depending on how dry our Philly summer is this year, we may need to supplement with additional water to ensure that the plants are fully established. Since this will be their first summer, we want to make sure they're strong enough to survive the heat. After the plants are fully established, no additional watering will be necessary. Sedum plants are classified as "succulents" because they hold water in their leaves and are drought-tolerant.












JIG (our green roof installers) had initially estimated that it would take roughly two growing seasons to fill in and create a continuous "carpet" of plants and it seems we are well on our way to accomplishing that. The type of green roof we installed is a Type II: Aromatic Garden by Roofscapes, Inc (the Philadelphia-based green roof engineering firm founded by Charlie Miller). JIG is the certified local installer of Roofscapes green roof systems. You can read more about our green roof installation in our previous post from last September.

Needless to say, as we rapidly approach the completion of work on the home's interior, we are thoroughly enjoying our lunch break spot up on the deck.

Below you can see the recently installed steel support posts and railing (courtesy of our trusty steel fabricator, Bill Curran) that surround the roof deck. The final step will be to install the galvanized aircraft cable that spans in between the posts.

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!