by Charles Hendricks | Mar 1, 2016 | architecture, Commercial Architect
Chesapeake Western Depot warehouse renovation has begun. While work continues on the office portion of the Depot, the roof and trusses are being repaired in the warehouse space. The majority of the fire damage in the building exists in this space. The entire roof is being replaced and many of the trusses will need major repairs. The transom window above the entry door has been re-glazed and put back in place. The new decking is being installed and the framing repaired.
by Charles Hendricks | Feb 18, 2016 | architecture, Commercial Architect, project update
Chesapeake Western Railroad Depot Project Update
I am really looking forward to being in our new office. There are many subcontractors in the building right now including plumbing, electric, HVAC, and framers. The roof repair on the warehouse has started which is a major change. The electricians have cut, sliced, and inserted wiring in all the upstairs walls and work downstairs will start soon. Our first window was installed to determine compliance with tax credit standards as well as trim requirements. There is still much work to be done.
Want to see more, check out these posts HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
by Charles Hendricks | Jan 16, 2016 | Commercial Architect, Harrisonburg Architect, project update
Read our progress on the Harmony Square Dairy Queen here:
Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4
The Harmony Square Dairy Queen in now open. Stop in and check out the space. The store offers a great breakfast – I have tried it and it is worth the trip. Of course, my favorite remains the blizzards made by the sun. To top it off, this may be the greenest Dairy Queen in the country. The space features high performance insulation, tube skylights, solar panels, on-demand water heating, and LED lights. Here is a look back at photos from the final days of construction.
Signs Installed
Spoons on the doors.
Interior signage done – Welcome to your Harmony Square Dairy Queen
Furniture put together.
On-demand water heating system for low energy bills.
Stormwater management system to filter first flush pollutants.
Before signage, final clean up.
Kitchen installation
Exterior signs at drive-thru.
Patio looking more like a patio.
by Charles Hendricks | Jan 8, 2016 | Commercial Architect, project update
We were fortunate this past year to work on a variety of projects from warehouse, custom homes, to townhouses. Parkside Townhomes at Preston Lake is the most recent to break ground.
The classic craftsman inspired units feature a raised roofline, fiber-cement siding, and a first floor garage. The units have spacious open floorplans with full finished basement recreation rooms. There are hardwood floors in the living spaces, carpet in the bedrooms, and low VOC paints on the walls. The units have energy-efficient HVAC systems, quick recovery hot water heaters, CFL bulbs, energy star bath fans, programmable thermostats, mastic sealed ductwork, and air sealing in all the walls.
Read the Preston Lake – Parkside Townhomes final project update HERE.
by Charles Hendricks | Nov 30, 2015 | Commercial Architect, green term defined
ASHRAE 90.1 is a standard in the US that provides minimum requirements for energy-efficient designs for buildings except for low-rise residential buildings. The standard was first created in 1975. It has since been updated on a regular basis in 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013.
There are two paths for compliance with ASHRAE 90.1, both the prescriptive path and performance path. The prescriptive path requires all building components to meet a minimum set of standards specified in ASHRAE 90.1. The Prescriptive path includes requirements for building envelope, HVAC, domestic hot water, power, lighting, and other equipment. The performance path shows compliance using a building modeling program to illustrate that the design uses less energy than the baseline building built to ASHRAE 90.1’s specifications.
Read more from our Green Term Defined series here:
Green Term Defined: Energy Audit
Green Term Defined: Vapor Barrier
Green Term Defined: Natural Ventilation
by Charles Hendricks | Nov 12, 2015 | Commercial Architect, Harrisonburg Architect, project update
Read our progress on the Harmony Square Dairy Queen here:
Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 5
We are getting close to the finish line now with less than two months of work to be done on the Harmony Square Dairy Queen Project in Harrisonburg. Tile is being installed, HVAC is finishing, high performance insulation is done. The store it taking shape and is shaping up to be one of the most energy-efficient Dairy Queen Grill and Chill restaurants in the area if not in the country. The building features spray foam insulation thermal envelope system that will provide a comfortable working and dining experience to occupants. The HVAC system is sealed with mastic and wrapped in thermal protection to get the air distributed to the appropriate locations. There are multiple solatubes bringing daylight throughout the restaurant. However, the most unique feature is the solar array on the roof. If will provide 5kWh of energy to this building – Blizzards made by the Sun anyone?
