Since Bob Wise was in the Bay Area today, he had phoned in advance to schedule an inspection.  Bob has been a mentor throughout our construction and has inspected our progress on a regular basis.

Bob lives on Bainbridge Island in a house that he had built a couple years ago.  Bob’s first inspection of our project was on March 12, 2009 and he stood in the Wine Cellar.  Bryan toured Bob’s homes on February 26 and 27, 2010, when Bryan was returning from seeing the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Recently, Bob advised us on conduit for our low-voltage wiring throughout the house.

It was great to host Bob’s visit.

Bob Wise pushes the button to close the sliding glass doors at the back of the house.

Bob Wise, standing in the Wine Cellar. Very different from the first time Bob stood in the Wine Cellar!

Bob Wise, on the roof, inspecting the solar panels. Nothing like a blue-sky California day to generate electricity!

With the high speed internet to the job site, we can now get our ‘construction cam’ working.
Try clicking on the link below:

What do you think?

Low VOC Epoxy Paint in Mechanical Rooms

We put the second coat of low VOC epoxy paint on the floor in three locations on Thursday afternoon, and then the clear coat on yesterday.  It was dry today.

The mechanical rooms will look good with a bright, shiny floor.

Our construction cam, is a Panasonic BL-C210. Indoor use only, light duty camera.

The beige epoxy paint looks much better than the gray epoxy paint.

The sewage ejector is connected and ready for inspection.

The electrical components are coming together nicely. The cover for the transfer switch will hide most of the wires here.

Looking from the back of the East Mechanical room shows the better match on the floor colors.

The West Mechanical room looks good with the beige epoxy floor paint.

Were insulating the two steel beams with Aerogels Spaceloft insulation. After the first layer of 0.4 inch Spaceloft, we will use closed cell foam. The layer of Spaceloft gives us R-12, and we will have two layers between the flange of the steel beam and the window frames.

We will be installing a generator in the back, as the City of Monte Sereno requires us to have an auxiliary back up power for our sump pumps. Since the harness will be in 170 feet of conduit, we have to make our own cables. This is one of the two harnesses that Bryan picked up on Thursday.

And, here is the second wire harness. Also included is the legend, on a sticker. There are five wires in one harness and nine in the other. We need two data cables, 170 feet long for each of these harnesses.

Based on advice from Bob Wise, we will be using smurf tubes in our soffits and other locations so we can run cables in the future to keep up with the latest in cable technologies.

Bryan’s flight was at 9:35 from SEA to SJC. Bob was extremely kind and made Bryan a latte before he left for the ferry to Seattle.

Leaving Bainbridge Island

Bob printed detailed instructions so Bryan could make his way to the ferry terminal on Bainbridge Island and then from the Seattle ferry terminal to Sea-Tac Airport (SEA). Although Bryan appreciated the directions, it was extremely easy to follow the traffic going to the ferry terminal for the 7:05 am departure to Seattle Terminal (where else would traffic be going at that time on a Saturday morning?).  You can see the current status of the Bainbridge Island Terminal through the Ferry Cam.

On the way to the ferry terminal, Bryan saw the new location of the house that was floated from the original site on Bainbridge Island.  The DIY Network is airing the house move (float) several times during the month of March 2010 – see their web site for dates and times).

After getting on the ferry, Bryan grabbed another coffee so he could enjoy the crossing to Seattle and the views of the Wise houses on Bainbridge Island and of Mt. Rainier (Bryan climbed to the top of Mt Rainier with Alan Arnette as part of the Rainier 9 on July 12, 2004).  It is always difficult for the passenger sitting beside Bryan whenever he is on a flight into or out of SEA as they have to listen to the full story of his climb.  OK, in full disclosure, Bryan did say that one of the passengers on the ferry had to listen to the story that morning.

The trip to SEA was uneventful and Bryan’s flight into SJC was early at the gate.

Bob, the ultimate host, makes Bryan a latte at 6:15 am.

The original house being floated to its new location on Bainbridge Island. Note Seattle in the background.

Bryan stopped and took this picture of the original house at its new location on Bainbridge Island. Way cool.

View from the ferry of the Wise houses on Bainbridge Island (with the lights on).

Early morning view of Mt Rainier (yes, Bryan stood on the very top of Mt. Rainier on July 12, 2004).

Arriving at the ferry terminal in Seattle. Next stop - SEA.

It was impossible to get up to Whistler in a rental car so Paul and Bryan went to see the Olympic snowboarding at Cypress Mountain.  Unfortunately, it started raining heavily so they left.  On his way out of Vancouver, Bryan took the opportunity to visit the Insulspan manufacturing facility in Delta.  Then, he enjoyed full tour and a fantastic meal at the Wise house on Bainbridge Island.

Seeing the Olympic Women’s Snowboarding

Although it was pleasant when Paul Marcaccio and Bryan left Vancouver, it was pouring rain at their arrival at Cypress Mountain.  After watching the final four snowboarders, they decided to leave the event. 

Weather 1, Spectators 0.

Touring Insulspan’s Manufacturing Facility

After returning from Cypress Mountain, Bryan left the Westin Bayshore and drove south in the rental car.  On the way, Dave Stevenson offered him a tour of Insulspan’s manufacturing facility in Delta, BC.  The facility is adjacent to Highway 91, so it was directly on the way to the Canada-U.S. border.

Dave took Bryan through the plant and showed him how they manufacture their SIPs (structural insulated panels).  All of the manufacturing waste is recycled, which is one of the reasons why SIPs are considered ‘green’ (vs the tremendous amount of construction waste that is generated through typical on-site construction activities.

Bryan even saw the exact location where our SIPs were stored after being manufactured in October.  Bill Edwards of Insulspan took photos of our SIPs on Thursday, November 5, 2009.  Our SIPs were loaded on three trucks at the manufacturing facility on Friday, November 27, 2009 and arrived at our job site on Wednesday, December 2, 2009.

We’re looking forward to hosting our second Collaborative Informational Session where Dave Stevenson can be at our project site and show others in the Bay Area how to build with SIPs.

Touring Two Homes on Bainbridge Island

Although Bryan went to Vancouver to see the 2010 Olympics on this trip, the primary focus was to see two homes on Bainbridge Island.  How these two homes were built is an interesting story.

First, the owners of the property, the Wise family, lived in the existing house while they built their guest house.  They moved into the guest house when it was completed so they could construct the main house.  This is where it gets interesting.

Rather that demolish (bad) or deconstruct (better), they chose to move the house to another location on Bainbridge Island (best).  That sounds reasonable, right?  Except they moved the house with a boat (amazing!).

The Do It Yourself Network filmed a full segment over the month that it took to move the house to its new location on Bainbridge Island.  The segment is currently being aired several times in March 2010.  You can see it under ‘Massive Moves – Floating House‘ on the Do It Yourself Network (episode DMSM-103).

Bob and Lisa Wise took Bryan on a full tour of both homes and then everyone enjoyed a fabulous dinner.

The tour of these two homes was inspiring!

View of Vancouver, including Lion's Gate Bridge and the downtown waterfront. The weather was looking ok.

Once at Cypress Mountain, we had to go through security screening. It was easy, fast and efficient.

Watching the semi-finals of the Ladies Snowboarding at the 2010 Olympics at Cypress Mountain.

On the way down, we saw the site of the aerials.

Arriving at the Insulspan manufacturing facility in Delta, Canada.

Dave Stevenson in his office, scheduling his presentation for the second Collaborative Informational Session at our project site.

Manufacting a SIP starts with huge sheets of OSB (Oriented Strand Board).

All waste in the plant is recycled and reused. A completed SIP is on the left and the white foam cuttings are being collected.

Warehousing of completed SIPs, manufactured to the specific requirements for each job.

The SIPs for our project were stored at this location (by the yellow posts) after they were manufactured in October. The green objects are styrofoam blanks, which get 'sandwiched' between the two sheets of OSB.

Bryan, Lisa and Bob, about to start the tour (cheers!). Photo by Alison Wise.

The finish detail was exceptional. You can see the vertical grain Douglas Fir cabinets and detailed reveals.

Central vacuum sweeping location in foyer. Several friends, including the Wise family, thoroughly endorse sweeping vents that are connected to the central vacuum system.

Another sweeping location under the island in the kitchen. Note the dual dishwashers.

Our good friends from West Coast Cranes arrived right on time this morning.

We packed up the conveyors and sent them home.

Yeah!

Picking Up the Converyors

We scheduled the crane to arrive at 10:15 this morning and the truck from United Rentals at 10:20.  Then, the truck from Bill Brown Construction Company should arrive at 10:25.

We’re good to go.

The crane arrives, right on time.

The crane moves the 36 ft conveyor onto the United Rentals truck. Perfect.

Bob Wise Arrives to Verify Our Progress

We were delighted to receive a call from Bob Wise asking if her could drop by and verify our progress.  Absolutely!

Bob Wise arrives at the end of the day to verify our progress.

Bob verifies that we're progressing ok although he is starting to question the move-in date before 12/31/09.

And don’t it feel good!

Scott Andersen called yesterday and said, ‘Your construction blog is nice BUT if I see another photo full of rebar then …’  Yeah, the rebar was getting old.  Also, walking on the rebar was horrible.  And dangerous.

The new concrete on our site was looking great today, spectacular in the sunshine.  Next steps are to get ready to shotcrete the walls (which will require more rebar).

Form embedded in the concrete for the steel column.

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