Beck Builders is starting roof framing on Harrisonburg’s first ever Carbon Neutral home. The walls of the house are mostly insulated concrete forms, but a couple of walls needed to be wood framed. In order to achieve a high performance framed wall, we worked with the builder to design a system that eliminated thermal bridging and air leakage.
We added high windows for ventilation taking advantage of the chimney stack effect for natural cooling. The ICF walls are completely air tight and offer a high level of insulation value.
The deck provides incredible views towards the west.
The high windows provide natural light through the living room space. The open floor plan provides ample space for entertaining friends.
This home is setting standards for others to follow literally doing testing and analysis. This information will provide us with data to offer better design for those seeking energy-efficient, carbon neutral design solutions.
The apartment renovation in downtown Harrisonburg is coming to completion. These downtown Harrisonburg apartments had seen some overwhelming neglect before our client purchased it. We did not find the damage until construction started, but I can honestly say, I have no idea why this building was still standing. Working with Bryan Nesselrodt Construction, we designed a solution to put this HUMPTY back together again.
We retained the historic character of the building by exposing the brick walls and refinishing the limited existing flooring that survived the structural repairs.
These units have all the modern amenities that have come to be expected in downtown living. From being right across the street from amazing restaurants to having full kitchen, baths, and laundry facilities in each unit, they are “just right” for young professionals.
Plus, if you’re in Harrisonburg on the First Friday of any month, come by the Gaines Group office for a tour of The Depot and see more downtown Harrisonburg apartments and projects!
Our Carbon Neutral house project in Harrisonburg, just behind EMU, is making great progress. This home, like the net-zero home just up the street, is aiming for producing as much energy as needed. The difference is that this home owner wants to offset carbon used for lifestyle not just running their home.
So we are once again using ICF blocks (Insulated Concrete Forms) to create an airtight highly insulated wall system. This reduces the heating and cooling loads on the home thus reducing energy usage.
This house is being built by Beck Builders includes a geothermal system. The geothermal system will not only heat and cool the house, but will also supplement the water heating system for domestic water. You see, once you get a home very well insulated, heating water is the next big energy user in a typical household.
We love that the power needed during construction is also being made by the sun. This builder uses a SUNRNR of Virginia generator to supply site power.
The views from this home are pretty incredible. This is from the second floor bedroom window.
The house features high ceilings in the living space, a trombe wall, and appropriate overhangs to take advantage of passive solar design. The large south-facing roof will be covered with solar pv array.
Standing on the stair landing looking down into the living room and kitchen is a clear example of how open this floor plan will be upon completion.
How much are you doing to reverse the impacts on our planet that the operation of buildings do everyday?
Buildings account for 39% of all Carbon Dioxide emissions in the United States. This is more than industry and more than transportation. We have tight regulations in both the industry and transportation sectors and spend a lot of time debating the need for stronger regulations. However, we have done little in the last 30 years to improve how we build buildings – houses in particular. We hear fear tactics like “it will cost too much” or “you will destroy the American dream of owning a home.” As a society we fear change while our buildings continue to consume 70% of the electricity load in the U.S. So what can be done that does not destroy the American dream? Is it enough simply to build a house that is more efficient than code minimum? Should we do more? Or should we continue to hold on to the hope that 97% of all climate scientist are wrong? It is time to act, it has been time to act.
We are teaming up with Beck Builders again to explore construction of an energy-efficient home. This one takes things further than others in recent years. This one has a new goal for housing in Harrisonburg – Carbon Neutral. This home will produce the clean energy needed on site for the operation of the house and charging of the car. This localized clean energy production is carbon neutral. It pushes clean energy back into the grid when the house is not using it all and pulls back from the grid at night. The house will employ energy-efficient wall systems to reduce energy loss including insulated concrete forms and triple pane windows. A geothermal HVAC system is being installed as the most efficient HVAC system possible using the rock on the site to enhance the efficiency. The house has an intentionally small footprint to allow for comfortable living, but also reducing the footprint to just that, comfortable living. Windows are limited on the north side of the house to reduce heat loss. Water conserving plumbing fixtures are used to reduce consumption. The south-facing roof has been optimized for the installation of a solar pv system. Overhangs and shading devices have been used to take advantage of passive heating and cooling strategies including a trombe wall. This house will be a great example and research tool in our community to help others build better. Stay tuned as progress is made and tests and research continue. We all need to do our part to reverse or at least slow down the impacts of climate change. I am so thankful for clients that allow me to be part of the solution.
Lots of progress since the last post about this exciting project. The spaces are starting to look finished and we are excited to see the progress each time we visit. In order to tell the story of this historic building there was a lot of work done to preserve original parts. Unfortunately, years of water leaking into the space destroyed a lot of the original wood. The floors especially suffered rot. Here you can see the new floor and old floor coming back together.
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The floors are not the only interior woodwork. Jim Herr’s office is coming back to life as the original wood panels are finished and reinstalled. It looks incredible and it is not finished.
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The trim carpenters are also taking great care to recreate missing trim and the paint crew is staining it so that it is easy to tell what is old and what is new.
The kitchen upstairs is starting to take shape.
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The wall colors being added brought new life to the spaces. Jim Monger said the green we selected for our office was bright enough to wake us up in the mornings. What do you think?
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Work has not been limited to the inside of the building. First the old chain link fence was torn down and all the weeds removed which did wonders for the building site. Then the new fence was installed.
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The landscape installation certainly has brought a finished look to the exterior of the building.
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The big achievement over the last few weeks has been the window installation. These things are huge, energy-efficient, and beautiful!
Over the last few week there has been an amazing amount of progress at the Depot job site. The electricians have almost finished wiring the entire building. The drywall crew has done an amazing job putting the building back together and repairing the plaster. The insulators have made the building more efficient than it has been in 103 years. The painters are bringing color back into the spaces. The HVAC crew from Excel have installed an efficient comfort system in all the spaces. Maust Excavating has cleaned up the site and installed the sidewalks. Bryan Nesselrodt Construction has most of the framing complete. Our move in date is still not set, but we are getting closer to the finish line.
