We’re trying to get our CUDO cistern installed next week so that item is completed and stroked off ‘the list’ (an achievement for 2009).  This will require excavating so we need to confirm where the underground utilities are located.  Call before you dig …

Harvesting Rainwater at 17509 Via Sereno for Irrigation

Our plan is to harvest 100% of the rainwater from our roof and just under 100% of the rainwater from our hardscape for irrigation (the water from the driveway will flow into a small swale).  The water will be stored in an underground CUDO cistern (with capacity of 3,677 gallons).  We will have a pump in the cistern that will be connected to our irrigation system so we will avoid using potable water for irrigation.

LEED Points

Our design will provide LEED points in a number of areas.  Under WE 1.1 Water Reuse, we will get 3 (of 4) points for harvesting rainwater for external use.  We cannot use water inside the house so we are giving up one point here.  Since our system is designed to harvest rainwater from 100% of the roof area, we are eligible for an additional point for Exemplary Performance.

Also, we will receive points under SS 4 Surface Water Management under Sustainable Sites.  Specifically, we will receive 3 of 4 points for having over 90% of the hardscape surface water going to a cistern (SS 4.1 Permeable Lot), 2 of 2 points for Management of Runoff from Roof (SS 4.4) since we installed permanent stormwater controls to manage runoff from the home and we had a professional engineer design our lot to manage runoff from our home on site.  

Consequently, our complete underground CUDO cistern system will result in 9 LEED points (of 136 possible points).

Underground Requirements

Once the underground CUDO cistern is full, any additional water will flow to the back of the storm drain in an underground 6-inch pipe.  This design was approved by the Town of Los Gatos (they own the storm drain) and the City of Monte Sereno.  Yes, we will require easements fro  m each municipality.

The 6-inch underground pipe needs clear access to the back of the storm drain and it will go under the sidewalk.  This is where we need clear access from other utilities.  All of the services on Via Sereno are underground so we need to ensure the cable TV (Comcast), telephone (Verizon), water and sewer (San Jose Water Company), electricity and natural gas (PG&E) and street lighting and not located where we will be digging.

So … we marked our excavation locations with white paint and called USA (Underground Service Alert) so they could visit the site and identify where all of the underground services are located.

White paint showing where we plan to excavate from the underground CUDO cistern, under the sidewalk, to the back of the storm drain.

We’re Clear to Dig!

We received notification that all of the service providers (Verizon, PG&E, etc.) had been to our site and marked the location of their underground services.  There are no underground services in the path from our underground CUDO cistern to the back of the storm drain – we’re clear to dig!

Our biggest concern was that there could be some underground utilities in the dirt strip between the curb and sidewalk, which would increase the depth of the excavation for the drain and require us to dig by hand.

The markings are on Winchester Boulevard so there is nothing in the dirt strip at the left. We're good!

Markings on the curb and sidewalk. Note the very faint marking by the light standard showing the power source is going toward the sidewalk and not into the path of where we need to dig.

Lisa Meline, of Meline Engineering, is a key member of our design team as she designed our geothermal heat exchange ground loops and completed the initial design of our radiant system inside the house.  Importantly, Lisa introduced us to Matt Jung of 88HVAC.

Lisa sent an e-mail last week saying that she had some meetings in the Bay Area and she would like to visit our site and see the progress to date.  Perfect.  Lisa showed up 15 minutes early and reviewed the site with Bryan.

Lisa arrived at the site early to review our progress to date.

Lisa taking photos of the PEX in the concrete piers.

Lisa was most impressed with the PEX in the concrete and took a photo of the PEX that was pressurized to 100 PSI (and holding the pressure!).

Quick Trip to Watsonville to See Jackel Enterprises

After Lisa left, Bryan and Christie Tunnoch, who was visiting from Vancouver, Canada, went ‘over the hill’ to Watsonville to Jackel Enterprises so we could measure the reclaimed beams from the original structure and to take a quick look at our resawn redwood decking.

Since we need 6×10 beams, we will need to identify where we will use the original beams in the remodelled ground floor.

Bryan and Christie met with Steve Jackel, who showed them some of the FSC inventory of FSC lumber that he had as well as other large timbers from British Columbia, Canada.

Steve Jackel showing FSC lumber that he is holding in his inventory.

Original Douglas Fir beams from 1969.

More original beams from 1969.

The original 2x6 tongue and groove redwood decking that has been cut in half and remilled (now is 5/8-inch thick) with a new tongue and groove.

Huge 14-inch by 14-inch Douglas Fir beams from British Columbia (not FSC).

Steve showed us some wood that he is drying slowly in his kiln.

We love wood and want our house to have some history to it.  Accordingly, we’re looking for old wood that we can remill to use in the house.

Using reclaimed wood is good for the environment, it looks beautiful, and it gets us some LEED points.  The only problems are that it is difficult to find and, when you do find it, the wood is expensive.

Bryan set off to visit a ranch near Livermore to see some 50+ year old lumber.  He liked it but didn’t buy any.

Barn north of Livermore where wood is covered by the white tarp.

2x Redwood lumber that is more than 50 years old. This would clean up nicely.

The Douglas Fir beams were too short and didn't meet our requirements.

Measuring the 4x beams. We need 6x beams and have reclaimed 4x beams from the original house.

If we need more 2x Redwood decking, this is where we will get it from.

Measuring the SIPs

We need to put lumber into the SIPs so we can attach the roof panels to the flat decking and attached the roof panels to the pony walls.  The foam will need to be removed in the roof panels, just like the pony wall panels.

Bryan measured the actual dimensions so we can order the LVL and other 2x materials.

The SIPs are under a tarp, so they are all dry.

The SIP pony walls and other components are all individually numbered.

The 45 degree roof SIP requires a 16-1/2 inch LVL.

Looks like the pony walls will require a 2x10 to attach to the 45 degree roof SIPs.

We are planning to increase the structural strength of our building so it will meet the upcoming changes to the seismic building code requirements.  The U.S. Geological Survey is updating their maps and those changes will take effect with the update in the building codes in California. 

Perry Haviland, FAIA, is on the Structural Design/Lateral Forces Committee, which is part of the Code Change Committee that will be recommending changes to the California Building Standards Commission. Perry is currently reviewing our design, including the structural elements.

If we were planning to build this house and then sell it, we would simply meet the minimum code requirements and be done.  However, since we are planning to live in the house for the next 15 years and we believe that a major seismic event will occur during that time, we will do our best to strengthen the various components of the structure without retrofitting any of the materials that have already been completed (e.g., our concrete and SIPs).  Increasing the structural strength is part of our Durability Risk Assessment. 

Under the LEED-H requirements, the Durability Planning prerequisite (ID 2.1) requires that our project team address durability explicitly in the home design by assessing durability risk factors and identifying and incorporating specific measures into the home’s design to address each factor. Our team completed the Durability Risk Assessment and, with us living less than five miles from the San Andreas fault line.  We need to address the high risk of seismic activity.

We requested our structural engineer of record, Innovative Structural Engineering, to review and approve our proposed changes to increase the structural strength of our building.  As part of that review, Shane Lothrop needs to know the spacing of the anchor bolts that are embedded in the top of the concrete wall between the atrium and the garage.

A digital camera and measuring tape tell the story nicely.

These anchor bolts are embedded in the concrete.

First two anchor bolts.

Second two anchor bolts.

The anchor bolts are offset from each other in a staggered manner.

Other offset.

Another view of the anchor bolts.

We, along with several hundred other people in Monte Sereno and Los Gatos, attended the formal swearing in of our new mayor, Don Perry, and our new vice mayor, Lana Malloy.  Since the City Council Chambers were too small, the special meeting was held at Daves Avenue Elementary School.

The meeting was the absolute shortest on record.  We just made it in time to see the formal swearing in as both Don and Lana took their oaths for office.

We chatted with a number of people after the ceremony, including Don and Lana, the Fultons, Cullinanes, McNeils, Laurie Jones, and others, The lead reporter for the Los Gatos Weekly Times, Judy Peterson, was there and we managed to speak with her for a few minutes as well.

This city council meeting goes on record as the shortest meeting of all times for the City of Monte Sereno.

Some time ago, we met Scott Heeschen, who is building a beautiful house in Campbell, just a block away from John Rider’s office.  Periodically, Bryan drops by to see Scott and observe his progress.

Scott is building a very ‘green’ home that will leverage many of the ‘passive’ design elements as set forth by the Passive House Institute US.

Here are a few photos of Scott’s house that Bryan took this afternoon.

Back of the house. Notice the clerestory windows above the door to let light into the kitchen/living room.

Exposed ridge beam, which is a 14 inch glulam. The wood inside is spectacular!

Exposed structural beams with architectural steel brackets.

Redwood siding on the exterior. Scott used, and recommends, Napier Natural Deck Oil for the redwood.