The triblend concrete is poured over the radiant tubes now, and the building is taking shape. Click here to see a slideshow of the progress:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30332040@N04/?saved=1
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
It's wrapped in plastic now.
At night, the building (encased in plastic) is lit up while the concrete cures. Check it out here. You can start to sense what the building will look like.
Kevin
Kevin
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Trash Report for January
Can you believe that we have a monthly "trash report"? Well, exactly NO trash was removed from the site in January, meaning that we're still at 99.61% of the trash from the site being diverted from landfills.
This is amazing!
This is amazing!
Weekly Team Meetings
Each week, the design team on the project - the architects, construction managers, foundation representative, site foreman, and various contractors meet at the building site to go over the progress and to make sure everything is staying on track and on budget.
The structure is coming along nicely. Today's warm snap should help.
Monday, February 9, 2009
If it weren't for the weather.......
Lots of people stop me every day and ask "how's the building coming along?".
Well, it's coming along okay. One of the advantages of building a building using integrated (green) design is that so much design work is done up front--and in this case hand-in-hand with the building team, that there are fewer "hiccups" during construction. It's one of the reasons that building green is economical. Glitches on the construction site cost a lot more than glitches on the computer design screen.
The one big glitch that we've had in construction has been the weather. And even at The Community Foundation, we haven't figured out how to control that. If it's precipitating, the crews aren't allowed to work up on the steel, so rain snow and ice, which haven't been in short supply this year, slow us down.
Still, we think we can take occupancy of the building about July 24. We'll post it here as we get more news.
Well, it's coming along okay. One of the advantages of building a building using integrated (green) design is that so much design work is done up front--and in this case hand-in-hand with the building team, that there are fewer "hiccups" during construction. It's one of the reasons that building green is economical. Glitches on the construction site cost a lot more than glitches on the computer design screen.
The one big glitch that we've had in construction has been the weather. And even at The Community Foundation, we haven't figured out how to control that. If it's precipitating, the crews aren't allowed to work up on the steel, so rain snow and ice, which haven't been in short supply this year, slow us down.
Still, we think we can take occupancy of the building about July 24. We'll post it here as we get more news.
Friday, February 6, 2009
An amazing 99.61% of Trash NOT Going to Landflills
Matt Forrer, one of the managers of our project from Butz/Burkey provided us with this amazing December update on the project's recycling history:
The Berks County Community Foundation project is implementing a job-site recycling program with a goal of diverting 75% of the project’s waste from landfills. To date 196.06 tons of material or 99.61% of the project’s waste has been diverted from landfills.
In December the project produced 5.12 tons of waste. This material was commingled in one container at the job-site and separated by material type off-site. At the recycling center the load is separated out my material type. Some materials are processed at the recycling center before being shipped out to mills, and other processors. Other materials are shipped out bulk. The following materials are recovered at the recycling facility.
-Metal (Steel) waste is consolidated, processed (shredded) and cleaned before being transported to a mill for recycling
-Trash is transferred to a landfill for disposal.
-Drywall is processed into a soil amendment, fertilizer and conditioner. The paper is removed by shaker tables and used as animal bedding. Much of the material from the Friend’s center was vinyl; faced drywall. For this material to be recycled, the vinyl face must first be removed, which must be done by hand.
-Wood waste is processed into mulch and compost products.
-Plastics are separated into board categories. The material is then baled and shipped overseas. The material is then separated by hand into specific plastic types (LDPE, HDPE, PVC, PP, etc.). Specific types of plastics then follow many steps including processing, washing and extruding. Recycled plastics are then mixed with virgin plastics and used to make new plastic products.
-Cardboard is baled and shipped to mills where it is recycled into new cardboard products
The current Landfill Diversion Rate is 99.61%
Material Weight (lbs) Percentage
Rubble 192.34 97.72%
Wood 3.05 1.55%
Metal 0.42 0.21%
Plastic 0.16 0.08%
Cardboard 0.09 0.05%
Drywall 0.00 0.00%
Total diverted from landfills 196.06 99.61%
Trash 0.76 0.39%
Total Materials 196.82
Landfill Diversion Rate 99.61%
Rubble includes masonry, brick, block, asphalt, concrete etc.
The Berks County Community Foundation project is implementing a job-site recycling program with a goal of diverting 75% of the project’s waste from landfills. To date 196.06 tons of material or 99.61% of the project’s waste has been diverted from landfills.
In December the project produced 5.12 tons of waste. This material was commingled in one container at the job-site and separated by material type off-site. At the recycling center the load is separated out my material type. Some materials are processed at the recycling center before being shipped out to mills, and other processors. Other materials are shipped out bulk. The following materials are recovered at the recycling facility.
-Metal (Steel) waste is consolidated, processed (shredded) and cleaned before being transported to a mill for recycling
-Trash is transferred to a landfill for disposal.
-Drywall is processed into a soil amendment, fertilizer and conditioner. The paper is removed by shaker tables and used as animal bedding. Much of the material from the Friend’s center was vinyl; faced drywall. For this material to be recycled, the vinyl face must first be removed, which must be done by hand.
-Wood waste is processed into mulch and compost products.
-Plastics are separated into board categories. The material is then baled and shipped overseas. The material is then separated by hand into specific plastic types (LDPE, HDPE, PVC, PP, etc.). Specific types of plastics then follow many steps including processing, washing and extruding. Recycled plastics are then mixed with virgin plastics and used to make new plastic products.
-Cardboard is baled and shipped to mills where it is recycled into new cardboard products
The current Landfill Diversion Rate is 99.61%
Material Weight (lbs) Percentage
Rubble 192.34 97.72%
Wood 3.05 1.55%
Metal 0.42 0.21%
Plastic 0.16 0.08%
Cardboard 0.09 0.05%
Drywall 0.00 0.00%
Total diverted from landfills 196.06 99.61%
Trash 0.76 0.39%
Total Materials 196.82
Landfill Diversion Rate 99.61%
Rubble includes masonry, brick, block, asphalt, concrete etc.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Even the Floors are More Efficient
The concrete floors that are providing heating and cooling for the building will add another efficiency to the project. Much of the public space in the building will be polished concrete. Rather than put tiles (which would last a while, but use energy), or carpet (which would wear out very quickly under the heavy use of our public spaces), we're polishing the concrete.
Where carpet would have to be replaced every two or three years, the concrete in the floors will have to be replaced.....oh.......never. That will save The Community Foundation a lot of money over the life of the building and provide an attractive, durable floor.
Where carpet would have to be replaced every two or three years, the concrete in the floors will have to be replaced.....oh.......never. That will save The Community Foundation a lot of money over the life of the building and provide an attractive, durable floor.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Tubes In The floor
The crews began pouring the concrete flooring last week. But first.....the tubes had to go in. These are the tubes that will provide radiant heating AND cooling to the building, believed to be a first in our area.
It's not that radiant heating is unknown in the region, but we haven't found an example of radiant heating and cooling around Reading. The system is incredibly more efficient than other forms of heating and cooling and will make the building much more comfortable as the temperature will be much more even throughout spaces than in standard construction. This helps save energy by cutting down on the "turn the heat up, turn it down" system that goes on in most offices.
So before the floors can be poured, the tubing that will carry the water throughout the building had to be put down and pressure tested for leaks. The building is now enclosed in plastic (and it's a balmy seventy degrees inside) so that the floors can cure properly.
This Log House - Entry 3
The slope of the land and the foundation area of the original 1850s house on our site have allowed us -- with extra digging downward and out to the south -- to make a full-size, full-height, walk-out lower level for the new/old house to rest on. As a bonus: a wine/root cellar under the front porch on the north.
But just as important as the added elbow-room in the new lower level are the possibilities for utilizing the power of the sun for passive heating – and creating a more effective thermal connection with the earth around the structure to moderate inside temperatures year-round.
The components we’re using: insulated concrete form (ICF) walls for maximum insulation and strength to hold up the (heavy!) log structure; an 8-inch-thick concrete floor (tinted reddish brown to promote heat absorption); and a 4 ft. high by 8 ft. wide three-course brick wall inside the structure, using bricks reclaimed from a recently demolished house of the same vintage, to take in and slowly release the sun’s heat in winter.
Below the floor and between the ICF walls is a layer of sand on top of a layer of drainage stone (with a combined depth of 3 feet) to absorb excess solar heat on a succession of sunny days during the winter and to dissipate unwanted heat into the cooler earth in the summer months.
There are large windows on the south side of the foundation, but none (for obvious reasons) on the underground north wall and few on the east and west because those walls are set into the southward slope. Stucco will cover the visible portion of the ICF exterior.
To make this lower level look more like an integral part of the house instead of a 21st century add-on, we’re incorporating 100-year-old hemlock floor joists, a large oak center beam ("summer beam") from an old barn, and beaded pine wall board salvaged from the new/old house before it was disassembled and transported to our land.
Next: more on insulation
But just as important as the added elbow-room in the new lower level are the possibilities for utilizing the power of the sun for passive heating – and creating a more effective thermal connection with the earth around the structure to moderate inside temperatures year-round.
The components we’re using: insulated concrete form (ICF) walls for maximum insulation and strength to hold up the (heavy!) log structure; an 8-inch-thick concrete floor (tinted reddish brown to promote heat absorption); and a 4 ft. high by 8 ft. wide three-course brick wall inside the structure, using bricks reclaimed from a recently demolished house of the same vintage, to take in and slowly release the sun’s heat in winter.
Below the floor and between the ICF walls is a layer of sand on top of a layer of drainage stone (with a combined depth of 3 feet) to absorb excess solar heat on a succession of sunny days during the winter and to dissipate unwanted heat into the cooler earth in the summer months.
There are large windows on the south side of the foundation, but none (for obvious reasons) on the underground north wall and few on the east and west because those walls are set into the southward slope. Stucco will cover the visible portion of the ICF exterior.
To make this lower level look more like an integral part of the house instead of a 21st century add-on, we’re incorporating 100-year-old hemlock floor joists, a large oak center beam ("summer beam") from an old barn, and beaded pine wall board salvaged from the new/old house before it was disassembled and transported to our land.
Next: more on insulation
Monday, February 2, 2009
Lily Scott "Gets It"
One of the great hopes we have for our building is that people in our community will learn about sustainable design from the work we've done. That's why we have this blog, a TV show on BCTV and will be developing a curriculum based on the building for local school students.
So imagine how excited we were to find out that Lily Scott, the daughter of Jon and Vee Vee Scott (Jon is the president of the Berks Economic Partnership) had written a paper for her college class about our building. Lily goes to Bryn Mawr College. Objectively, we think she shows signs of being a very thoughtful and insightful scholar.
To read Lily's paper, click here.
So imagine how excited we were to find out that Lily Scott, the daughter of Jon and Vee Vee Scott (Jon is the president of the Berks Economic Partnership) had written a paper for her college class about our building. Lily goes to Bryn Mawr College. Objectively, we think she shows signs of being a very thoughtful and insightful scholar.
To read Lily's paper, click here.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
O'Pake, DEP Team up to Boost Building Project
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced last week that it was awarding a coveted "Energy Harvest" grant in the amount of $500,000 to Berks County Community Foundation for our building project! We received the news from The Community Foundation's good friend, State Senator Mike O'Pake who advocated for us in Harrisburg.
The Energy Harvest Program initiated by Governor Rendell provides key support to projects like ours. It's a very, very competitive process. Not only was The Community Foundation's project selected, we received the maximum amount permitted under the program.
A special thanks to Senator O'Pake and our friends at DEP for this important affirmation of our project. You can click here to see a copy of Senator O'Pake's letter to us.
The Energy Harvest Program initiated by Governor Rendell provides key support to projects like ours. It's a very, very competitive process. Not only was The Community Foundation's project selected, we received the maximum amount permitted under the program.
A special thanks to Senator O'Pake and our friends at DEP for this important affirmation of our project. You can click here to see a copy of Senator O'Pake's letter to us.
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