Mike McDonald knows how to market his expertise.  After PCBC, he hosted yet another catered event at the Margarido House.  Bryan, never one to decline an invitation, slipped over the Bay Bridge after PCBC to attend the event.

Margarido House Event

Mike is a great host – the house was filled with people today as they were offered an opportunity to view this LEED-H Platinum home.  It is spectacular.

Bryan had a private viewing of the Margarido House in January 2009 and then attended an event after the AIA conference ended on April 30.

Mike McDonald addressing his guests at the Margarido House.

Stairs going to the natural roof top garden at the Margarido House.

Given the stairs need to be designed for our project, Bryan is very, very interested in stairs.

The gardens at the side of the Margarido House are magnificent.

The sun setting on the beautiful homes around the Margarido House.

Ian and Bryan left for PCBC in San Francisco and then went to Via Sereno to set up the Davis weather station.

Attending PCBC

This was the first day of the Pacific Coast Builders Conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco.  Bryan attended the same show in June 2008.  It was a bit smaller this year.

The objective of attending the show was to make contacts with companies that are bringing innovative building products to market and could be interested in having their products included in our project.

Specifically, we were looking for:

• Glass panels for the Bridge Hall
• Closed and open cell spray foam
• Engineered lumber (beams)
• Structural insulated panels
• Radiant heating and cooling materials
• Reflective materials
• Windows
• Cable railing systems and hardware

This was the first of three days.  Bryan will be back.

Ian at the Canadian lumber booth. Note the Rock Star.

Setting up the Weather Station

The Davis weather station that we bought in December 2008 had not been set up.  The purpose of getting a weather station was to obtain accurate and local weather data so we could ensure our house was designed properly for local conditions, and then to help measure the performance of the home.

Setting up the weather station has been on ‘the list’ for some time.  Ian’s visit was the perfect opportunity to make it happen.

Laying out the parts, and reading the instructions.

Ian doing some fine-tuning of the weather station.

Ian posing proudly with the newly installed weather station. Note the Miller Lite.

Weather station is now logging data!

Our good friend Ian Fowler arrived from Calgary, Alberta this morning and Bryan picked him up at SFO.  Ian will be in San Jose until noon on Thursday, June 18, when he flys to Los Angeles to meet his wife, Merril Schmitt.

Some Background and History on the California Coast

Part of blogging has to be having fun.  You’re probably wondering how we know Ian Fowler and why he is such a good friend.  Some background:

• Bryan first met Ian during his undergraduate years at the University of Alberta (circa 1980).
• Jo-Anne met Ian and Merril when they lived in Toronto (circa 1990).
• Jo-Anne married Ian and Merril on February 15, 1998 on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean (Bryan was the sole witness).
• Ian and Bryan had a fast three-day trip from California when they delivered Jo-Anne’s BMW 318ti to Alberta in November 2003.
• Ian and Merril built a beautiful new timber-frame house in the foothills of the Rockies just west of Calgary (completed in 2009).

Cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. An ideal backdrop for a wedding ceremony. (February 15, 1998)

Immediately after the ceremony, Ian cracked a bottle of Dom to celebrate with! (February 15, 1998)

The newly married couple having their first glass on champagne! (February 15, 1998)

Visiting a SIP House Being Built in Half Moon Bay

Bryan and Ian went directly to Half Moon Bay to see a SIP house being constructed.  Ian used Insulspan SIPs in his timber-frame house in Alberta. 

After seeing the site, they grabbed a quick lunch at Alice’s Restaurant on Highway 35 (Skyline).

SIPs, each with individual reference numbers for assembly.

Side of house, showing where fascia will be completed.

Ian posing in front of the project site.

Ian posing again, this time on the deck at Alice's Restaurant.

Kel Marchbank called Bryan on Friday morning saying, ‘You got hit last night.’

Vandals Paint the Fence on Winchester Boulevard

The white spray paint on our fence needed to be fixed.  Bryan made a quick trip to the Home Depot and bought some green/black spray paint to match the fencing.

A few minutes with the paint and the grafitti was mostly hidden.  At least it is much less offensive now.

Covering the white grafitti with green/black spray paint.

Finished product with the grafitti hidden. Almost ...

Improving Connectivity at the Project Site

The docking station was enhanced dramatically with a new wireless range expander.  Specifically, we installed a Linksys WRE54G and it increased the bandwidth significantly.

Increasing bandwidth with a Linksys WRE54G tucked inside our temporary site office.

Managing this project is becoming more difficult and taking more time.  Driving from our home office to the project site takes time so we decided to invest in additional on-site infrastructure to increase Bryan’s productivity.

Adding a Docking Station with Two Monitors

After scanning the Fry’s advertisements, we decided to buy two 23 inch monitors and use an idle docking station for Bryan’s Dell D-630 notebook.  This would allow Bryan to use a full-size keyboard and have a full 48 inches of screen available.

Having two monitors is easy with a Dell docking station.  The monitors need to be identical and have both a digital and analog input.  The Dell docking stations come with both an analog and digital output so a couple cables and a few minutes of configuration and —voila— you have two monitors.

Two monitors with the docking station should help to improve productivity while allowing Bryan to be on site.

Of course, Canon was generous and bundled a PIXMA MX 330 all-in-one color printer/scanner/copier with the purchase of an LCD monitor and offered a $50 rebate off the low, low price of $79.  Yes, we bought one.

Our Meyer Lemon Tree Needs Some Love

We noticed that our cherished Meyer Lemon tree is not looking very healthy and it needs some love.  Or, maybe some water and a feeding.

All of the trees on site need feeding so we contacted Tree Solutions to assess what to feed the trees.  Jim Neve is away on vacation so our trees will be anxiously awaiting his return.  Also, we will put the Meyer Lemon tree on a watering program immediately.

Time to get the Meyer Lemon tree on a watering program.

Jim O’Brien Reviews the Job Site

It is always nice to host visitors and Jim O’Brien saw that our U.S. flag was flying so he dropped by for a quick visit.  AS you may recall, we got the dirt on the O’Briens.

Jim O'Brien stops in for a visit. Cheers Jim!

‘It is above LEED-H Platinum,’ said Matt Jung.

Bryan replied, ‘I don’t believe you.’

Its true.  Really.

The Living Building Challenge

Yes, it goes beyond LEED-H Platinum and is, well, over the top in the ‘green building’ world.

There are no credits to the Living Building Challenge, just prerequisites.  All 16 prerequisites must be met to earn the Living Building Challenge.

Two of the prerequisites are Net Zero Energy and Net Zero Water.  These are tough standards with the bar set very high.  We can meet the Net Zero Energy although the Net Zero Water requires significant storage capacity in our climate since we have limited rainfall for over eight months of the year.

The Living Building Challenge is a program managed by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, and was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in 1999.  Cascadia is one of the two original chapters of the U.S. Green Building Council and is also a chapter of the Canadian Green Building Council.  The Cascadia Region Green Building Council is focused on buildings located in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

For more information on the Living Building Challenge, go to the Cascadia web site and review version 1.3 (August 2008).

And remember …

‘It is highly encouraged that projects that cannot achieve the Living Building Challenge pursue LEED certification at a Platinum or Gold level, since LEED remains the market’s premier rating system.’

(page 6, footnote 2)