Having completed the flat roofs, we could now start on covering the gable roofs.  This requires six layers before the waterproofing starts.

Bryan pulled the trigger on the yellow cedar shakes and wired the payment in U.S. dollars to BCF Shake Mill Inc. located in Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada.  They will be sending 28 squares of yellow cedar tapersawn shakes to Mission, B.C. to be firetreated and then the firetreated shakes will be shipped to our project site in California.

At the end of the day, Bryan received a call from Akeena Solar, notifying us that the installation of our solar photovoltaic panels will be completed by REC Solar, Inc.

REC Solar, Inc. Picks Up Akeena’s Installation Customers

Akeena Solar (AKNS, now WEST) decided to exit the installation business and focus on products.  Accordingly, on Friday, September 10, 2010 Akeena closed their installation business and terminated most of their installation employees at their offices on Los Gatos Boulevard.  We were concerned with this development, but didn’t spend any time worrying about it.  Our experience is that these changes are planned and we would be notified in due course.

Searching through the SEC filings, we found the following information that Akeena filed on Form 8-K on Monday, September 13, 2010:

Item 2.05  Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities.

On September 7, 2010, the board of directors of Akeena Solar, Inc. d/b/a Westinghouse Solar (the “Registrant”) approved plans for the Registrant to expand its distribution business to include sales of its Westinghouse Solar Power Systems directly to dealers in California, and to exit its solar panel installation business.  The exit from the installation business is expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of 2010.  The Registrant has transitioned over the last year to a distribution business model in other parts of the country, and believes that it can reach profitability more quickly by focusing exclusively on its lower overhead manufacturing and distribution business.

As a result of the decision to exit the California installation business, the Registrant expects to record a restructuring charge totaling approximately $2.5 million in the third quarter of 2010.  This restructuring charge is expected to be comprised primarily of (1) one time severance costs of approximately $0.8 million related to headcount reductions, (2) inventory write downs of approximately $0.7 million, (3) lease accelerations and the write off of leasehold improvements of approximately $0.5 million, (4) goodwill impairment of approximately $0.3 million, and (5) vehicle, furniture and fixtures write downs of approximately $0.2 million. A portion of items (1) and (3) represent cash or future cash expenditures of approximately $0.6 million, primarily for lease payments in future periods.  The remaining $1.9 million of restructuring charges primarily represents non-cash impairments of inventory, goodwill, equipment, and leasehold improvements.  The excess inventory, equipment, vehicles, and furnishings are expected to generate net cash of approximately $1.4 million when liquidated in future periods.  The Registrant also expects to incur transition expenses from its discontinued operations in the third and fourth quarters of 2010, with corresponding revenue from project completion, after which its quarterly cash operating expense run rate is expected to be approximately $1.5 million.

Yesterday, Bryan was on his way back from Ford Wholesale with 22 1/4-inch 4×8 sheets of Securock and, having a few minutes, he stopped into Akeena’s offices to ask about the status of our installation.  Ralph Fallant, VP Sales, came out and met Bryan.  Ralph explained that Akeena was finalizing an agreement with a major solar installation company and that we would be notified by Monday, September 27 regarding the company that would be completing our solar installation.

Today, at 5:42 pm, Bryan received a call from Ralph saying that he would like to introduce Bryan to Josh Price.  Ralph said that Akeena had signed an agreement with REC Solar, Inc. and they would be completing all the installations that were in process with Akeena.  Josh is Vice President and General Manager of the Residential and Light Commercial division of REC Solar.

Josh followed up within minutes with an e-mail with his contact information.

We’re looking forward to working with REC Solar.

Paying for Our Yellow Cedar Shakes

Bryan has been corresponding with various people at BCF Shake Mill Ltd. in Fanny Bay, BC, Canada for over a year regarding yellow cedar shakes. It was time to order the shakes so they can be firetreated and delivered to California. 

Bryan lived in Prince George, BC from 1967 through to 1978, when his family moved to Edmonton, AB.  Many of Bryan’s friends are involved in the forestry industry and when we were searching for materials last year, Bryan contacted his good friend, Bill Kuzmuk, regarding cedar shakes from BC.

We would like all of the materials in our house to ‘tell a story’.  Our house is a showcase for innovative building materials and innovative construction practices and we want it to be as ‘Californian’ as possible.  Hence, our desire to reuse the 2×8 Redwood decking from original structure, obtain Madrone hardwood flooring from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and install Sierra White granite from Raymond, California.

Bill spoke with several friends and then called us back to suggest that we talk with Jim Lennox at BCF Shake Mill in Fanny Bay (on the East side of Vancouver Island).  Specifically, Bill recommended that we talk with Jim regarding yellow cedar shakes.  Bill, a forester, believes that yellow cedar would be much more durable that red cedar and, importantly, they are rare and would be way, way cool.

We decided to cover the gable roofs with yellow cedar shakes for three important reasons.  First, we’d like to have a ‘cool roof’ for the gables, to compliment the flat ‘cool roof‘ (the white 60 mil single ply membrane) and having a yellow cedar shake roof would have a higher albedo than red cedar shakes.  The higher albedo would reflect more heat.  Second, durability is important and yellow cedar shakes will last longer than red cedar shakes.  Finally, we’d like to have some good Canadian softwood lumber in our house.  What better than some yellow cedar shakes from BC?

Rodger Lennox, who we are now working with, will make all the arrangements to get the 28 squares of shakes to Mission, BC where they will be firetreated.  Given the high fire hazard in California, we must have firetreated shakes.  After being firetreated, the shakes will be trucked to our project site.

Covering Our Gable Roofs

We believe that, over the life of our house, the cooling load will continue to increase, which is why we believe having a ‘cool roof’ is important.  We want to use the design to address the increasing cooling load.  

The design of the gable roof includes a 3/4 inch air space for two reasons.  We want to include an air space so we can have an effective radiant barrier.  As well, we want to have cool air enter the air space at the bottom of the gable roof and then exit through the ridge vent.  Sort of like a rain screen on a wall.

When we submitted the detailed design to the City of Monte Sereno’s Building Official, Howard Bell, he required us to include a fireproof covering over the OSB deck of the SIP roof.  Howard recommended DensDeck, by Georgia Pacific.

While reviewing DensDeck at Ford Wholesale, Bryan looked into a product with similar specifications – Securock, by USG.  The Securock product was less ‘dusty’ and was easier to handle.  However, the ‘tipping point’ for us was that the DensDeck product was not very green’  Specifically, DensDeck for the California market is manufactured in Antioch, CA (less than 70 miles away) from virgin materials imported from San Marcos Island, Mexico.  Both the source of the materials and the manufacturing location must be within 500 miles to earn the maximum credit.  However, recycled materials are always preferable

Securock is manufactured from 95% recycled material in Santa Fe Springs, CA (Los Angeles), which is within 500 driving miles from our job site.

We selected Securock, by US Gypsum.

The first layer is aluminum sheeting, of which the bottom 2 inches will be exposed but covered by the yellow cedar shakes.

The 3/4-inch Cor-A-Vent (SV-5). This will go across the bottom of the gable roofs and allow air, but not insects, to go under the roof.

The sun at noon on the autumnal equinox (approximately) just hits the bottom 20 inches of our south-facing windows.

Putting up the first 4x8 sheet of Securock on the South side of the South Gable.

Loading another 22 sheets of Securock at Ford Wholesale in San Jose.

We need to get the 1/2 inch FSC plywood onto the roof and are planning on using Ford Wholesale

We used the loading conveyor to put the plywood onto the deck of the truck.

Next, the conveyor moved the plywood onto the roof. Way cool ...

The Securock covers the entire South side of the South gable.

The layers are visible in this photo. Bottom layer is Tyvek, then the aluminum, and then the Securock. Next, we will put the Cor-A-Vent along the bottom with the 1x3 furring strips, covered by the radiant barrier and then the 1/2 inch FSC plywood.

The plywood, furring strips and Securock waiting patiently on the roof over the garage.

With the plywood out of the garage, we can move everything else so we can take delivery of the 25 clerestory windows from Murray Window and Door on Tuesday, September 28.

We were looking forward to today as there were two inspections scheduled.  PG&E was to inspect our underground electrical conduit with a ‘mandrel’ and the City of Monte Sereno was to inspect our solar mounts and the conduit going to the basement. 

We ‘failed’ the mandrel inspection and scheduled another inspection for tomorrow, Wednesday 09/08/10.  The City of Monte Sereno will allow us to proceed with our construction although we owe them some updated documentation.

Failing Our Mandrel Inspection with PG&E

For underground electric service, PG&E inspects the conduit in the ground to ensure it is placed correctly and that it has the appropriate shape.  Then, they allow you to cover the conduit with earth.  The next inspection is with a mandrel.  A mandrel is a device that is pulled through the conduit that is used to verify that there is an adequate clearance through the conduit.  If, for example, one crushed the conduit during backfill then the mandrel would get stuck.

After the mandrel inspection, one must have a 2,500 lb pull tape in the conduit so PG&E can pull their cables through quickly and easily.

The ‘Green Book’ states the following:

Applicants must ensure that conduit systems are not covered or hidden from view before the facilities are inspected visually by a PG&E field inspector. The inspector must determine if the conduit system and its installation comply with all of PG&E’s specifications (e.g., type, size, schedule, radius of bends) and installation requirements before the customer backfills the trench.

After the conduit system passes PG&E’s visual inspection, including visual verification of the conduit system’s materials and the radius of the bends, the applicant must backfill the trench and compact the soil. Then, the applicant must provide PG&E with proof that the conduit system is in compliance by successfully inserting and pulling a flexible steel mandrel through the entire conduit system.

The PG&E inspector will remain onsite to ensure that the appropriately sized, flexible-steel mandrel is inserted and pulled through the length of the conduit system without encountering blockages or obstructions.

The PG&E inspector will provide a mandrel to the applicant for him or her to use during the inspection. The applicant, however, must provide the appropriate pulling tape and follow the procedures in Subsection B, below, for using the mandrel.

Bryan was waiting patiently at the job site for the inspector to arrive this morning.   When the inspector arrived, he came onto our job site and Bryan asked, ‘Where is your mandrel?’  The inspector replied, ‘The Green Book is wrong, we don’t supply the mandrel.  You do.’

Pardon me?  The Green Book is wrong?  It is fascinating that everyone at PG&E refers to the Green Book as the authoritative manual relating to all of PG&E’s procedures for residential construction.  Several times, we have been told by PG&E personnel that we should refer to their policies as set forth in the Green Book.  Here is a link to PG&E’s web site where the ‘What Has Changed‘ (updated 04/2010).  Note subsection 3.4.1, which states:

Add a paragraph saying that the PG&E inspector should provide the mandrels for the customer to use during an inspection. The PG&E inspector will provide a mandrel to the applicant for him or her to use during the inspection. The applicant, however, must provide the appropriate pulling tape and follow the procedures in item B, for using the mandrel.

So, the authoritative reference, the Green Book, is wrong.  We’ve lost faith in PG&E.  It is most fascinating how they can ‘suck and blow’ at the same time.

After the PG&E inspector had left, Bryan called the Inspection Desk and requested a new mandrel inspection for tomorrow.  Yes, the PG&E inspector will return between 7:30 am and 2:30 pm.

Bryan went to Electrical Distributors in San Jose and bought a mandrel for a 3-inch underground service and 50 ft of 2,500 lb pulling tape.  Both of which meet PG&E’s specifications.

Back to the job site and Bryan pulled the mandrel through the conduit easily and quickly.  We’re ready for tomorrow.

Inspecting Our Solar Mounts and Conduit

The Building Official from the City of Monte Sereno showed up this afternoon.  He reviewed the plans and looked at our progress on the roof.  Akeena Solar made some changes in the field so our Building Official requires an updated set of plans to show what was built.

Bryan met with Duk Lee after the inspection and explained what we need.  Akeena will file two (2) copies of the updated plans with the City of Monte Sereno.

We’re good to go with the tapered insulation on our flat roofs.

Mandrel to go through our 3-inch conduit. Note the rope on the left and the 2,500 lb pulling tape on the right.

Rope coming out of the 400 amp panel. This rope is attached to the mandrel, which must pass through the conduit to the concrete vault by the street.

The rope coming out of the conduit where the concrete vault will be located at the street. Let's see if the mandrel goes through the conduit ...

It worked! The mandrel came through the conduit quickly and easily. We're ready for the mandrel inspection tomorrow.

We have a lot going on … connecting our geothermal ground loop, completing all of our underground drainage from the roof to our cistern and setting up the infrastructure for our photovoltaic solar panels.  The last thing we needed was someone to place a SAM storage unit by our property on Winchester Boulevard.

Importantly, the two-person team from 88HVAC, Justin and Mike, worked diligently to connect our ground loop between each of the 25 concrete piers.

Governor Schwartenegger Signed AB 1500 Yesterday!

Yesterday, the Governor of the (Great) State of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, signed Assembly Bill 1500, that extends the use of High Occupancy Vehicle in carpool lanes until January 2015.  The existing yellow stickers that were scheduled to expire on January 1, 2011 are extended and will now expire on July 1, 2011.  The new white stickers will expire on January 1, 2015.

On July 31, we put down a deposit on a Nissan LEAF so we’re looking forward to being able to drive in the carpool (diamond) lanes.

A Dangerous Situation

The SAM storage unit on Winchester creates a dangerous situation in two aspects.  First, the SAM storage unit blocks visibility for vehicles turning left or right from Via Sereno onto Winchester Boulevard.  Second, the SAM storage unit blocks the 25 mph sign on Winchester, exacerbating the problem.  Essentially, vehicles travelling Southbound on Winchester can’t see the 25 mph sign and vehicles leaving VIa Sereno can’t see them coming.  And, the vehicles are approaching faster.

There are 16 houses on Via Sereno, of which we are one, leaving 15 others.  A neighbor up the  street called us last night and mentioned that they thought our new SAM storage unit was blocking visibility on Via Sereno.  We corrected them promptly, explaining that the SAM storage unit was not ours.  Then, they asked if it belonged to one of the workers or sub-contractors that we were using.  No, it was not. 

If one neighbor called to ask us about the SAM storage unit, we could only imagine that the other 14 neighbors were thinking the same thing but didn’t want to call us, yet. 

Bryan took down the SAM storage unit number (420-200338) and called 1-800-GET-ASAM to advise the company that the person renting the SAM storage unit was violating an local ordinance.  They took the information and then called back within 10 minutes to say the person renting the SAM storage unit would move it by 12:00 noon tomorrow (09/02/10).

Let’s see what happens tomorrow …

Welding Our HDPE for the Geothermal Ground Loop

As part of our lower level (basement), we had to excavate 13 feet of dirt under our existing house.  Since we wanted to use geothermal heat exchange through a ground source heat pump, the shoring required for the excavation had tremendous synergies with the geothermal.

Since we needed a ‘ground loop’ for our ground source heat pump, we placed our HDPE (High Density Polyethelene tubing) inside the concrete shoring piers.  Each of these piers went 30 feet into the earth.

At this point, we needed to connect the HDPE in each of the 25 concrete piers so we could extract the energy from the ground (or put energy from the house into the ground).

First, the two-person team from 88HVAC connected the two U-tubes in each of the 25 concrete piers together.  Now, they had to connect each of the 25 piers together into four individual ground loops (two on the East side and two on the West side).

The process was very interesting to watch:

1. Measure and cut the HPDE to the appropriate length.
2. Chamfer and clean the end of the HDPE so the melting/welding would be consistent and uniform.
3. Attach the cold pipe (special tool) to the HDPE with the chamfer tool in place.  The chamfer tool ensures the pipe length is measured accurately.
4. Using the special heating tool, heat both the male and female ends of the HDPE tubing and slip fitting.
5. Remove the heating tool, and connect and hold the two pieces of HDPE for at least 10 seconds.

Easy-peasy, right? 

Sort of.

After making the connections, the system is tested to 100 pounds per square inch (PSI).  It must hold 100 PSI and not have any leaks.

Each of the steps in the procedure described above must be done perfectly, otherwise there will be leaks.

Leaks can occur wherever the welds (molten HDPE) are not complete.  If there are areas where the welds are weak then failures may occur in those places over time.  Again, each step in the procedure has to be done perfectly to minimize the probability of incomplete welds.  For example, the HDPE must be at the correct length otherwise it will be difficult to hold the heating tool for the correct amount of time.  If the heating tool does not melt the HDPE sufficiently then there will be a weak area or the weld will not be complete.

The team from 88HVAC took the time and paid attention to detail such that the welds were done correctly.

Measuring the HDPE to identify where to make the connection between the two concrete piers.

Cutting the HDPE to the correct length.

Chamfer tool, which removes the correct amount of HDPE from the corners of the pipe and allows the cold ring to be locked into the correct position that will provide sufficient surface area for the heating tool (weld).

Cleaning the HDPE where the weld will be made.

Clamping the cold ring onto the HDPE in the correct location.

Using the heating tool to melt both parts of the connection at the same time. Each step in the procedure must be done perfectly to weld each of the two pieces of HDPE together. This is a critical step.

After the heating tool creates molten HDPE, the heating tool is removed and the two pieces of HDPE are connected quickly.

The completed connection must be held in place for at least 10 seconds so the HDPE cools to create a complete weld.

Completed connection. This connection, done correctly, will last for the life of the HDPE, which is more than 100 years.

Looking North on Winchester Boulevard, the view of oncoming (Southbound) traffic is impaired, which results in a dangerous situation.

The 25 mph sign is blocked by the SAM storage unit on Winchester Boulevard.

Vehicles Southbound on Winchester Boulevard cannot see the 25 mph sign (behind the SAM storage unit).

Not seeing the speed limit, vehicles tend to speed up, exacerbating the situation for vehicles turing left (or right) from Via Sereno. This is dangerous.

The number of the SAM storage unit, which was placed in a dangerous location on Wichester Boulevard without a permit issued by the Town of Los Gatos.

To keep ahead of Izzy, who was trenching and putting our underground water drainage sytem in place, Bryan made three (3) trips to RV Cloud (which is only a couple miles North on Winchester Boulevard).

Two 'sticks' of 20 ft long, 3 inch ABS pipe for Izzy (this will take water to our 3,677 gallon underground cistern). Good thing we have a truck with an overhead rack!

The seven (7) electrical wires coming from the solar panels on the roof to the storage space under the pantry. These cables will be run to the solar inverter in the East Mechanical room.

The installation team from Akeena Solar arrived at the job site this morning to install the mounting system on our upper flat roof.  Also, they pulled the ‘fish’ through the conduit to the storage space below the pantry.

At the same time, the two-person team from 88HVAC continued to connect the HDPE in the concrete piers on the West side of the house while Izzy backfilled and compacted the soil over the natural gas and electric conduit.

The week ended on a very positive note.

Installing the Solar Mounts on Our Upper Flat Roof

We worked with Akeena Solar to design our solar system so it would generate as much electricity as possible.  The East/West axis of our house is positioned within 13 degrees of due East/West and, on our upper flat roof alone, we have 624 square feet available for solar panels.  These factors meet two of the four requirements under LEED-H ID 1.5 Building Orientation for Solar Design.

For our latitude, the solar photovoltaic panels should be at approximately 23 degree tilt to optimize the generation of electricity.  Although we could have designed the system to have a single plane of panels then it would have been taller.  In addition, solar photovoltaic panels require periodic cleaning to maximize the production of electricity.

Since we had some space, but not sufficient space, on the roof to include walkway space between the four arrays of panels, we ‘terraced’ the arrays.  Terracing the arrays provides space between each array (row) of panels while reducing the shading of the panels by the array in front of it.

A non-terraced set of four arrays of solar panels would be taller than a terraced set and not allow easy access for cleaning the solar photovoltaic panels.

Terracing the set of four arrays lowers the overall height but requires more area for the panels. The wider the spacing between each array lowers the height of each subsequent array (the shading angle is 23 degrees for our latitude).

With the terracing, we required a frame for each array of eight panels.  These frames must be raised off the upper flat roof by mounts and these mounts will penetrate the roof membrane.  And, the conduit going from each array to the ‘combiner box’ must penetrate the roof membrane.

Detailed design on the mounts and frame for the arrays on the upper flat roof.

Duk Lee of Akeena Solar completed the detailed design of the layout and the frames (Sheet PV-1 and Sheet PV-2).  The onsite team was given the task to build the system.  The first step in building the system was to install the mounts on the upper flat roof and run the conduit on the lower flat roof that will be under the tapered insulation. 

Of course, the electrical and structural components of the system need to be inspected by the City of Monte Sereno …

The installation team from Akeena arrived on site as scheduled this morning.  They took care to park on Winchester Boulevard so their vehicles did not use any of the precious parking space on Via Sereno.  After an orientation and brief tour of the project, they set to work laying out the solar mounts.  Later in the morning, Duk Lee arrived to verify the layout was as designed.  As well, Ben Caschera, the installation manager with Akeena Solar came to the project site to see how his team was doing.

There were some difficulties with the ‘fish tape’ going through the dedicated conduit that will carry the DC and AC from the roof to the East Mechanical room.  No problem.  The installation team used a shop vacuum to pull a nylon string attached to a small plastic ‘balloon’ through the conduit.  Within minutes, the fish tape was then in place.

At the end of the day, Don Henderson, the senior person on the installation team, called for an inspection for Monday afternoon with the City of Monte Sereno.  After ensuring the site was clean and secure, Don called it a week.

Backfilling and Compacting the Trench for Natural Gas and Electricity

Izzy completed the backfilling and compacting of our trench this afternoon.  Completing the backfilling created a significant amount of real estate at the front of the property.  Also, it made the site much safer and easier to get around.  Izzy’s next task was to put the 4 inch pipe in place around the perimeter of the house that will take 100% of the water from the roof to our underground cistern.  He got a good start on this today and will finish it by Wednesday.

Connecting the Ground Loops

Justin and Michael from 88HVAC were on site again today.  They connected two ground loops in each concrete pier on the West side of the house.  Next week they will test the ground loops in each concrete pier for adequate flow and pressure.  If that test is OK, then they will connect the concrete piers and bring the complete ground loop inside the house to the West Mechanical room.

Overall, we’re continuing to make progress.  And progress is good.

Starting to lay out where the mounts will be located on the upper flat roof. The cool night resulting in very heavy condensation on the newly Tyveked roof.

Izzy was backfilling and compacting the trench for the natural gas and underground electric conduit.

The team from Akeena Solar installs the mounts on the upper flat roof. It was a beautiful, blue-sky California day (again).

The acorn nuts can now be covered with the tapered foam insulation such that the member will not be damaged over time.

Don Henderson, from Akeena Solar, in an animated telephone conversation on our upper flat roof.

Conduit that will take the AC lines from the North gable roof to the East Mechanical room.

Don reviews progress.

The solar mounts are looking good! The tapered insulation will cover the solar mounts.

Don Henderson calls it a day. And a week. The team from Akeena Solar will be back on Monday to finish the last items and then the City of Monte Sereno will inspect the progress on Monday afternoon.

Other than the location for the new electric service box, the trench with the natural gas and electric is backfilled and compacted. The pile of dirt is much smaller now!

After taking the flag down, Bryan smiled and took one last picture of the solar mounts on the upper flat roof.

After two failed inspections, we passed our natural gas inspection on Wednesday, 08/18/10, so we could have the PG&E team connect our natural gas line to the main going up Via Sereno.  Today was [another] a big day.  After the natural gas was connected, Bryan ensured the natural gas lines were covered with 6 inches of sand.

Also, the team from Earth Bound Homes completed the chase for our solar AC and DC connections, installed a waterproof membrane at the connection to the gable roof and pony walls, and put Tyvek on the inside gable of two of our three gable roofs.

Laying In Our Natural Gas Connection

The two-person team from PG&E arrived at 8:45 am this morning.  Bill (the welder) and Larry worked safely and quickly to lay in our natural gas connection.  This was an interesting process to watch.

First, Larry did the ‘tail gate planning’, where he identified the closest emergency hospital (Good Samaritan Hospital off Los Gatos Boulevard) and noted the site-specific conditions.  For our project, these conditions included the potential of water below grade and the 15,000 volt underground electric cables within 18 inches of the natural gas main.  Larry documented these conditions on the tail gate board.

Then, they set to work.  All appropriate safety equipment was in place, including a fire extinguisher.  Then, Bill welded the vertical connection onto the live natural gas main.  This was a bit tense for Bryan to watch (yeah, welding a pipe containing natural gas at 57 PSI).  Meanwhile, Larry got the natural gas riser with 1/2 inch connection line and cut it to the approximate length, and they pressure-tested the assembly.

After Bill completed the welding, the connection has to cool before they could continue (approximately 20 minutes).  This allowed time to clean up the area, and place the riser assembly in the trench.

Bill tested the natural gas connection to the gas riser, which was ok.  Then, he cut into the live natural gas line, which allowed gas to flow into the gas riser.  Larry opened the valve slowly, to avoid triggering the emergency shut off valve, and allowed some gas to flow through the line.  This cleared any debris (dirt, sand, etc.) from the line.  Then, Larry closed the valve.

With the connection working, Bill then primed the main line and connection and tested all the joints with soapy water.  Ensuring there were no leaks, Bill wrapped the natural gas line and all metallic connections with the special tape (to avoid corrosion).

After loading up their tools and equipment, Bill and Larry gave Bryan the final instructions on covering the new natural gas line with six inches of sand, and then they left the job site.

It was 10:15 am.

Preparing to Install the Solar Mounts

Since we have a membrane roof on the flat roofs, we have to have all the penetrations completed.  With our 48 solar photovoltaic panels, we must have the mounts for the frames completed and in place as soon as we put down our Tyvek wrap over the flat roof.  This will allow Akeena Solar to install (with us), the brackets for the 32 solar photovoltaic panels (in 4 arrays of 8 panels each) on the upper flat roof.

Also, we need to have the conduits in place for the AC (from the 16 panels with Enphase micro-inverters on each individual panel) and the DC (from the 32 panels on the upper flat roof), all of which go through the SIP roof to the rigid conduit in the concrete wall that will take the electric cables to the East Mechanical room.

We’ve scheduled the installation of the solar mounts by Akeena Solar on the upper flat roof and the conduits going to the SIP roof for Friday.  Thus, the team from Earth Bound Homes has to have the Tyvek and other components in place so Akeena can do their work.

It’s all good.

The two-person team from PG&E just arrived. Bill and Larry will do the natural gas lay-in to the exposed natural gas main.

Bill starts welding the vertical connection to the natural gas line. This made Bryan a bit nervous, as welding a live natural gas line with 57 PSI just didn't seem prudent.

Bryan, with more courage, took a closer photo of Bill completing the weld to the live natural gas line.

Bill and Larry leaving the site at 10:15 am. It was a quick 90 minutes for them to complete the natural gas lay-in.

The completed connection. Bill was very careful to ensure that all of the nicks in the natural gas line covering were removed and wrapped with new material. There won't be any corrosion with this connection.

After Bill and Larry left, Bryan ensured the natural gas main and our connection were covered with at least 6 inches of sand. We hope Izzy will be available in the morning to help backfill and compact the trench to grade.

Our solar chase for the conduit from the gable and flat roofs, and to take the AC and DC lines to the East Mechanical room.

Our Tyvek covering the South side of the North gable.

Looking North, at the West side of the East gable.

Bryan was most proud of the natural gas lay-in today, and took photos from the roof.

The connection to the cistern can be completed now.

We’re now focusing on completing the roof. 

Several items need to be constructed so we can put the membrane on the roof, including the perimeter fascia, the skylight curbs, and the infrastructure to support our photovoltaic solar panel installation (mounts and conduit).  After these items are completed, we can put down the tapered insulation, put in the remaining roof penetrations (plumbing and dryer vents), and then put down the white roof membrane.

Building the Skylight Curbs

The skylights need to be raised off the roof deck and be mounted on curbs.  The curbs need to be above the roof deck by the amount of the tapered insulation and an additional six to eight inches.  Also, to reduce the solar gain and to allow water to drain, we are sloping the skylights to the East.  This slope will provide some solar gain when we need it in the morning, and reduce the solar gain in the afternoon.

Importantly, the curbs need to be insulated.  We have an R-47 SIP roof so installing uninsulated curbs would allow energy to move into and out of our house.  Thus, we are putting two layers of rigid foam around each of the skylight curbs (R-20 with no thermal bridging).

Solar Panel Mounting Infrastructure

Since we have SIPs and there are very few flush beams inside the flat SIP roof, we had custom mounting infrastructure manufactured for our photovoltaic solar panels.  We wanted to limit the number of penetrations of the roof inside the thermal envelope while, at the same time, providing a rock-solid mounting system that could withstand high wind loads.

Accordingly, we had Larson Steel manufacture our solar panel mounts for the SIP roof.  Akeena Solar would then have their racks attached to these mounts.  Pete Larson dropped off the mounting brackets last night. 

Akeena Solar is now on the critical path for our roof membrane installation.

Trenching for San Jose Water Company

Our water meter is in the public right of way in front of our house.  We are responsible for the trenching from the water meter to our house.  With PG&E’s restrictions on keeping at least three (3) feet of separation from water pipes, we need to have a new trench dug from the water meter to the house.  

Ugh …

Opening for skylight increased to 2 ft by 3 ft. The larger skylights will provide additional daylight inside the bathrooms, which will reduce the amount of electricity required for lighting.

This is the first part of the skylight curb. Note the Simpson brackets to fasten the curbs to the SIPs.

The curb construction in progress.

Completed skylight curb in background; uninsulated skylight curb in foreground.

Custom mounting bracket for solar photovoltaic panel array frames. These mounting brackets will be used for both the flat and gable SIP roofs.

Original underground utilities coming from the street. Note the water, natural gas, electric (three direct burial cables) and telephone were all in a single common trench.

We need to trench from the water meter to our house. This trench must be at least three (3) feet from the natural gas and electrical conduit.