Yearly Archives: 2012
Mountain Brawny
Just after Labor Day I realized we were getting close to needing the brawn to remove the concrete and excavate for the new slab. I contacted four listings that advertised concrete services and two responded. The first one was Mile … Continue reading
Waffle Mat!
While researching issues with slabs on grade and expansive soils, I found this very interesting solution to building a mat (raft) slab. Originally invented by Matt Gonsalves, the boxes are still manufactured by the family’s Conco Corporation. There are a … Continue reading
An Engineered Solution
The slab was the major issue that made this house virtually unsellable. Like most foreclosures, the house suffered from years of delayed maintenance, like peeling paint on the windowsills, and broken glass in some of the windows. Once it was … Continue reading
HumaNature
The Design Charrette changed the focus of the remodeling project. I went from dreaming of LEED glory to the hard facts of the limitations of a budget. We had committed $50,000 to the project. That is the whole project of … Continue reading
Late September Reinforcements!
By late September, the project needed a boost. So my husband and son came out to help and to cut down the dead trees at the entrance and one that was planted too close to the house. That one rattled … Continue reading
Bagster Truck
The debris began to overwhelm the garage with the three filled bags so I called the Bagster company to find out about hauling it away. They declared that the bags had to be in the open, and could not get … Continue reading
Labor Day Labors (Plus 10 days)
The walls fall away and begin to reveal the amazing interior spaces of the house. It was fun getting to this point but there is still a lot to get done before the floor can come out.
On Beyond Zebra (i.e. first notions)
Giving up the idea of completing one room at a time meant more time on the task taking out the rest of the walls so someone else could take out the floor. Needed somewhere to put the trashed drywall and … Continue reading
Brawn vs. Brains
If one room at a time was the plan, then the whole room would have to be demolished, including removing the concrete floor, the next step was renting a huge air compressor and jackhammer to get the floor out. Immediately … Continue reading
Midsummer’s Dreams
We decided we could tackle one room at a time. Starting with the master bedroom. So off came the drywall and down came the walls.
A Summer of Deconstruction
The summer months were spent tearing out the walls and some of the drywall in the house. Most of this work was done by me in one or two week visits to Colorado. This is what the house looked like … Continue reading
Why Seven Months Later?
What happened? The Design Charrette was a big disappointment for me. I can say that now after months have gone by and some work has gotten done on the house. Each of the players did bring their expertise to the … Continue reading
Innovative Design Process
Innovative Design Process (ID) is the first requirement in the checklist for meeting prerequisites and gaining points towards LEED certification. As a result of this project’s preliminary rating we have already met one prerequisite for ID and can document most … Continue reading
Documentation for LEED
LEED projects are all about documentation and verification. It is one thing to say the house is in a developed area or has an uninterrupted thermal envelope and another to document those so that it can be certified as having … Continue reading
Design Charrette–Planning
There is a LEED point for having a kick0ff planning meeting with the LEED Project team. LEED calls this meeting a Design Charrette which is a french term for taking a cart around to get input on an architectural design. … Continue reading
Deconstruction–Step Two
Not only does Habitat for Humanity build affordable houses for people, since 1998 Denver’s Habitat has been building LEED certified homes that save the homeowners more each year that energy costs increase. Habitat has a lot of experience with recycling … Continue reading
Habitat for Humanity ReStore
Denver Metro Restore! Throughout our Arizona remodeling work we have become fans of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore both for donations of items we have replaced and for finding materials that have been donated by others. We have purchased light … Continue reading
Deconstruction–Step One
Colorado has rules. There are more rules there than we are used to. We knew remodeling in a city would require lots of drawings and permits and inspections and stuff we don’t generally like to do. So the first step … Continue reading
Rebate!
We received our $180 rebate from Xcel Energy for our $300 Energy Audit. Now we are qualified to apply for other Xcel Energy rebates for insulation and a new energy efficient boiler which this house really needs. Here is what … Continue reading
Preliminary LEED Rating
LEED Start Up Process: 1. Contact a LEED for Homes Green Rater/Provider (No longer found on LEED site!) 2. Determine if the project is suitable for LEED. For us this was a phone, email discussion. (LEED for Homes Eligibility Guildlines) … Continue reading