After watching Kate’s soccer game and then having lunch, Bryan and Scott Andersen went to the job site to work on the lights in the Atrium.

It was Scott’s birthday today so we took Scott and Sue Therrien to Nick’s on Main for dinner.

Mocking Up the Lights in the Atrium

We’ve been working with Randall Whitehead on the lighting plan for the  house.  He has explained to Bryan, in no uncertain terms, that each room, including the Atrium, should have the four layers of lighting: ambient, task, accent and decorative.  In working with Bryan, Randall has suggested alternative fixtures to use and, of those alternatives, recommended which fixture he prefers.

In reviewing the Atrium, Randall had recommended strongly that we include decorative fixtures.  Our overriding design concept has been ‘clean and simple’ and emphasizing function over form.  By definition, decorative fixtures do not provide much function although they can often provide accent lighting.  So, we still haven’t made a decision on the decorative fixture(s) for the Atrium.

When creating the lighting design plan, Randall recommended a number of Artemide fixtures in various locations.  To really understand how the fixtures would look, Anita Synovec, who works with Randall, arranged for Bryan to visit the Artemide showroom in San Francisco and Bryan toured the showroom on August 30, 2011.

While in the showroom, there were several fixtures that caught Bryan’s attention.  All of the Artemide fixtures have a decorative element to them, and several fixtures that were of Bryan’s interest were not on Randall’s list of alternatives.  This was no surprise as decorative fixtures are very much a personal preference and it takes a significant amount of interaction with another person to understand their personal preferences.

Bryan has always admired Scott Andersen’s eye for design and Bryan’s personal preferences are very much aligned with Scott’s personal preferences.  So, when Scott and Sue were in San Francisco on Friday morning, Bryan asked then to go through the Artemide showroom and look at fixtures.  Then, when they walked through the house on Friday and Saturday, they could identify additional decorative fixture alternatives.

Last night, over dinner (and wine) at Steamer’s Grillhouse, Scott and Bryan reviewed the lighting plan and what Scott had seen in the Artemide showroom earlier that day.  After some discussion, Scott sketched out how three Mouette fixtures could be mounted in the Atrium.  The three different Mouette fixtures are the Asymmetrical, Symmetrical and Mini.

This discussion continued over lunch today and Scott recommended that we mock up how three Mouette fixtures could be arranged in the Atrium. 

Then, Bryan and Scott spent several hours at the job site and, using cardboard and string, made a mockup of how the three Mouette fixtures could work. Of course, having ‘objects’ for decorative fixtures in 3D modeling software, such as Autodesk’s BIM software (see Green Building) could be used to ‘see’ what the lights look like when designing a house.

And it was time for dinner …

Celebrating Scott’s Birthday at Nick’s on Main

With Jo-Anne back in town after spending several days closing the quarter in Boston, we all went for dinner at Nick’s on Main.  Last year, we were in Toronto on October 1, 2010 to celebrate Scott’s birthday.

We arrived and enjoyed a glass of J Cuvee 20 NV Russian River Valley sparkling wine on the sidewalk while waiting for our table.  After moving inside to our table, we had an excellent dinner with a magnum of Chateau Montelena 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Napa Valley.  The wine was spectacular.

Scott, using the temporary deck as a craft table, cuts some cardboard to mock up the smallest Mouette fixture. Scott on the ladder hanging the cardboard mockup of the smallest Mouette fixture in the Atrium.

Scott on the ladder hanging the cardboard mockup Mouette fixture in the Atrium.

Continung, Scott hangs the second cardboard mockup Mouette fixture in the Atrium.

The two carboard mockups look excellent!

In order to visualize the placement of the three fixtures, Scott used a string line from the temporary deck to the celing.

Bryan, Jo-Anne, Sue and Scott enjoying a glass of sparkling wine in the alley next to Nick's on Main.

Enjoying dinner with Scott and Sue at Nick's on Main. Happy Birthday Scott!

Scott Andersen and Susannah Therrien flew into San Francisco yesterday and will return to Toronto on Sunday.  Scott, from Toronto, has been involved in the design of our remodel and construction since inception.

Al, Dan and Nep continued on the rainscreen while Bryan ensured we met the remaining obligations under our indemnification agreement with the City of Monte Sereno.

Finishing the Week

Bryan had made arrangements to have yellow and black warning signs made for the two live electric panels.  This morning, he picked up those signs and put one on the service entrance panel outside the house.  The other sign was for the 200 amp electric panel in the East Mechanical room.

We completed insulating the ceiling in the Wine Cellar and Wine Dining today.  The soffit needs to be insulated and that will be completed on Monday.  Next steps with the Wine Cellar will be to use closed cell spray foam and fill the cavity and create a moisture barrier.  The Wine Cellar will be at a much higher humidity than the house and exterior, so we need to ensure that moisture remains in the Wine Cellar.  After with moisture barrier is in place, we will be able to install the radiant cooling panels in the ceiling.

Al, Dan and Nep completed the siding on the East side of the house and started on the rainscreen on the South side of the house.  They will complete the rainscreen on Monday, before the first real rains of the season are forecasted to start on Wednesday.

Spending the Afternoon and Evening with Scott and Sue

Scott and Sue arrived at the job site just after 12:00 noon today.  Bryan took them on a quick tour, during which Scott opened the sliding glass door at the back of the house.  Both Scott and Sue were impressed, with Sue noting that their sliding glass door in Panama could be improved with the controls that we are using in California.

As a visitor, Scott had to go for a test drive in a Tesla Roadster 2.5 Sport, which Bryan enjoyed too.  Yes, Scott had the ‘Tesla smile’ after his test drive.

Since Jo-Anne was finishing the quarter in Boston and returning to California tomorrow morning, Scott, Sue and Bryan went to Enoteca La Storia.  Bryan showed them the empty bottle of 1961 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, which we opened at the 50/50 party on April 16, 2011 at Enoteca La Storia. 

After Enoteca, Scott took Sue and Bryan to Steamer’s Grillhouse in Los Gatos, where Scott arranged for a table instantly.  It was a excellent ending to a great day.

Tomorrow, after a lighting design session on the job site, we’re hosting Scott’s 51st birthday dinner at Nick’s on Main …

Scott, after pushing the button, watches as our three-panel 24 ft sliding glass door opens.New yellow and black warning sign on the service entry electric panel on the East side of the house.

New yellow and black warning sign on the service entry electric panel on the East side of the house.

Warning sign, in English and Spanish (thank you for the translation Darryl!).New yellow and black warning sign on 200 amp panel door in East Mechanical room.

Completed insulation in the ceiling of the Wine Cellar.

Completed insulation in the ceiling of the Wine Dining. Note the wine racks in the background.

Rainscreen assembly and radiant barrier on the South wall of the house.

Primed furring strips over the radiant barrier create a 3/4-inch air gap for air to flow and to allow the radiant barrier to reflect heat.

Scott, with the 'Tesla smile', after returning the Roadster 2.5 Sport to the dealership on Santa Row.

Scott enjoyed the Roadster!

Sue, Bryan and Scott in Enoteca La Storia, with the empty bottle of 1961 Cabernet from the 50/50 party held there on April 16, 2011.

Bryan explained to Scott and Sue, 'It was a great bottle of wine but ... it was a bit young.'

Everyone enjoyed dinner at Steamer's Grillhouse.

We enjoyed a great bottle of 2005 Altagracia.

This week ended with two inspections scheduled for Tuesday, 09/07/10:  PG&E will perform the ‘mandrel inspection‘ and the City of Monte Sereno will inspect our mounting system and rough electrical for our solar photovoltaic panels.  We scheduled these inspections because we installed our 400 amp combined service entry device (400 amp electric panel) and all of the conduit and electric cables for the solar photovoltaic panels were run through to the appropriate points on the roof.

Bryan was confident that the weekly project review meeting tonight would go reasonably well.  Especially since he put two (2) bottles of Rombauer Chardonnay (Carneros 2008) in the fridge to cool …

Completing the Geothermal Ground Loop

The two-person team from 88HVAC, Justin and Michael, completed the test of our ground loop today.  Of the 25 concrete piers that go 30 feet into the ground with two U-tubes in each pier, we had one U-tube that failed (low water flow).  We could not solve the problem so we abandoned this U-tube and continued to connect all of the other U-tubes.

Bryan spent some time with Justin reviewing his recommendations for the valve configuration for our geothermal ground loops.  Justin presented several alternatives and they discussed each one.  The conclusion is that we will have copper pipe inside the house going to the underground concrete box in the North West corner of the house.  From this box, there will be HDPE pipes going to the four sets of concrete piers on the East and West sides of the house.

Although the copper materials have a higher cost, the labor cost will be the same or less to install the copper fittings.  Given the valves to isolate and control the water flow, copper fittings will have a smaller ‘footprint’ inside the flush mount concrete box.  The copper fittings will have a cleaner and simple layout and finish.

Background on Our 400 Amp Electric Service

We will have a 400 amp underground electric service.  Some people have asked, ‘with such an energy efficient house, why do you need a 400 amp service?’  The short answer is that there are code requirements that are a function of the size of the building footprint that determine the minimum amount of current that a house requires.  Since we do not have any natural gas coming into the house, we have electric cooktops and electric clothes dryers.  Although the calculated current is just under 300 amps, we will have a 400 amp service. Problems occur with too little electrical current, not more electrical current.

Mungo Hardwicke-Brown, who introduced Jo-Anne and Bryan in June 1991 when Jo-Anne was an Associate with Blake, Cassels & Graydon (now Blakes) in Toronto and Bryan was a Principal with Ernst & Young Canada, spoke with Bryan several times regarding our electric service requirements.  Currently, Mungo is completing a major renovation of his family’s home in Calgary, Canada.  Although he has a 200 amp electric service, he very much covets our 400 amp service.

The underground electric service enters our house through a 3-inch conduit.  This conduit goes through our concrete foundation wall and enters the bottom of our combined service entry device.  A ‘combined service entry device’ is the technical term for an electric panel that has an electric meter on one side and circuit breakers on the other side.  The side with the electric meter is only accessible to the electric utility and the circuit breakers on the other side are accessible to everyone else.  While we would have preferred separate components due to space constraints, the SU3040D400CN model from Square D (a division of Schneider Electric) is only 28-1/4 inches wide and costs less than a separate meter housing and distribution panel.

We will have four distribution panels, two of which will be in the East Mechanical room and two in the West Mechanical room.  One of the two panels in each mechanical room will house the circuits that will be connected to the transfer switch for our auxiliary backup natural gas powered generator.

Scott Andersen (from Toronto, Canada)  designed the electrical system so we could have two distribution panels in two different physical locations (one in the East Mechanical room and one in the West Mechanical room) that would work as one ‘virtual’ panel.  Scott, who has designed and built several unique lofts and homes in Toronto, completed the conceptual design for our house.  He is a partner with Burman & Fellows, which is an integrated commercial electrical contractor that focuses on grocery stores in the U.S. and Canada.  Scott designed the electrical distribution system to allow the auxiliary backup generator to provide power to circuits on each side of the house, the benefit of which would be reducing the amount of wire that needed to be run to the prioritized electrical circuits throughout the house.

Our electrical layout, as designed by Scott Andersen. Note the two auxiliary backup generator provides power to two distributions panels, which are joined and act as a 100 amp single panel.

Installing Our 400 Amp Combined Service Entry Device

Doug and Josh, the two-person team from Certified Electric, arrived on schedule to our project site at 9:00 am to install our combined service entry device.  They cleared their work area and reviewed the plans with Bryan.  Together, they went through PG&E’s electric and natural gas service requirements, which specify the electric meter and natural gas meter location requirements and the layout of the East and West Mechanical rooms.

Also, they discussed where and how the combined service entry device and other distribution panels would be grounded.  The Building Official for the City of Monte Sereno, Howard Bell, advised us that we could use the two of the 30 ft long #7 rebar to ground our electric service provided that the two pieces of rebar were more than six feet apart.  We had identified the pieces of rebar previously and Izzy had removed the concrete from these two pieces of rebar.

With a solid understanding of the site, PG&E’s ‘Green Book’ requirements, and our requirements, Doug and Josh set to  work laying out the conduit and then cutting the wood studs and exterior plywood/sheathing for the electric panel. 

The bottom edge of the new electric panel will be at the identical height as the original 125 amp panel, which was installed in 1969.  Given the larger size of the 400 amp panel, the top and sides needed to be cut. 

Nothing that a new sawzall blade can’t make happen …

Josh measures and lays out where the 3-inch conduit will go into the bottom of the combined service entry device.

Doug, using a new sawzall blade, cuts the plywood for the 400 amp combined service entry device. Note the location of the new panel is exactly where the original 125 amp panel was located on the East wall of the garage.

The completed hole ready for the new 400 amp combined service entry device. The plywood will support the panel until the framing is completed at a later date.

The back of our new 400 amp combined service entry device. The disconnect for our solar photovoltaic panels will be on the left side of the combined service entry device.

Our new 400 amp combined service delivery panel, as viewed from the exterior of the house.

Note the #7 reinforcing steel (rebar) that is exposed in the concrete pier. This is one of two locations where our electric service will be grounded to the rebar that goes 30 feet into the earth.

A completed concrete pier with our geothermal ground loop. Note the connection at the bottom of the photo, which connects the two U-tubes in the pier. Also, note the supply going into the first U-tube and the return coming out of the second U-tube.

The adjacent concrete pier, showing the connection between the two U-tubes and the supply and return connections.

The only concrete pier with a blocked U-tube. We are using the good U-tube in this concrete pier and have abandoned the defective U-tube. 49 of the 50 U-tubes in our 25 concrete piers were tested successfully for flow and pressure.

The East wall in the East Mechanical room. The seven wires in the box on the left will carry the current from the solar photovoltaic panels on our roof. The panel on the right is connected by 2-inch conduit embedded in the concrete to the opening in the Garage and to the West Mechanical room.

We are considering locating two electric distribution panels on the North wall in the East Mechanical room.

We completed several tasks on our critical path to completing our SIP roof today.  An important task was to have all of the beams on site so they could be graded.  Having our beams is critical so the structural framing can be completed on the ground floor so we can move the SIPs onto the roof with the crane on Wednesday.

Picking Up Our Reclaimed Beams After Milling in Watsonville

Dave Merchant, from Out of the Woods, loaded the three beams that we milled to size on Tuesday at his site in Bonny Doon.  Dave met Bryan in Watsonville at Jackel Enterprises, where we loaded the remainder of the beams that were being milled.  From there, Bryan followed Dave up Highway #1 and over the hill to our project site.  There, our framing crew unloaded the beams by hand and staged them for grading.

Charlie Jourdain, from Redwood Inspection Service in Pleasant Hill, arrived on our site as planned and the beams were ready for him.  Charlie examined and graded each beam, then stamped the end of each beam.  He will be sending us a certificate stating the grade of each beam.  Note that Redwood Inspection Service is a division of California Redwood Association, of which Charlie is the President.

Loading our recently milled reclaimed Douglas Fir beams in Watsonville. The beams on the truck were milled by Dave Merchant in Bonny Doon.

Bryan followed Dave's truck back from Watsonville. Dave is going up Winchester Boulevard with our reclaimed beams.

Dave backed the trailer into our site so it could be unloaded quickly and easily.

Charlie Jourdain, President of California Redwood Association, came to our job site and graded our reclaimed beams. Charlie is measuring the grain of the wood as the grain runs diagonally in this beam.

Charlie measured and graded all of our beams on site, which were just delivered a few hours ago.

Making Insulated Headers

On the West side of our house we have two bathrooms.  The beams that support the SIP roof at the front and back of the house extend through the building.  However, we have two bathrooms on the West side and, even with exhaust fans, these bathrooms will have a high moisture content.

To provide greater protection from condensation, our durability plan requires insulated headers to keep keep the surfaces of the exposed beams warmer and prevent condensation from occuring. 

From two of the reclaimed Douglas Fir beams, we had Jackel Enterprises cut two 1-3/4 inch wide planks.  Using these planks, we sandwiched 2 inches of rigid R-10 insulation.  Thus, we end up with an insulated header that is 5-1/2 inches wide and over 19 ft long.  This insulated header will be over the windows in the two bathrooms.

Similarly, we require a small insulated header on the East side of the house, above the exterior Kitchen door.

Francisco makes the insulated headers by sandwiching 2 inches of rigid insulation between two planks, cut from our reclaimed Douglas Fir beams.

Completed insulated header. The two pieces of reclaimed Douglas Fir are held together by a number of 4-1/2 inch galvanized Simpson Strong Tie SDS screws, countersunk into the planks.

Moving the Temporary Steel Beams

The temporary steel beams supporting the existing East and West walls of our house were moved clear of the structure today.  Several inches of the concrete haunches were removed so the existing walls are now free and clear, and are entirely supported by the house once again.

We’re ready to remove the temporary steel beams from the site on Wednesday, February 24.

Reducing Construction Waste

Renovation and construction projects can generate a tremendous amount of waste that goes to landfill sites.  According to the LEED for Homes Reference Guide, ‘Construction and demolition wastes constitute about 40% of the total solid waste stream in the United States.’  For our project, we are targeting to create as little construction waste as possible.  When our Green Rater, Darrel Kelly, came to our project site on Tuesday, February 16, he was surprised, and delighted, to see how little waste we were generating as we were using three 35 gallon garbage bins to hold our framing debris.

Earth Bound Homes delivered a trailer to our job site today that will be used for all the framing debris.  All the framing waste on our job site was dumped into the trailer as it will be taken for recycling.  We will obtain tags on the debris removed with the trailer.

This is the trailer from Earth Bound Homes, which contains all of our framing debris to date. Note that a number of the pieces in trailer are reclaimed wood, which would otherwise be landfill. This debris will be taken for recycling, not landfill. Reduce, reuse and recycle (redirect).

Overview and Inspection of Progress this Week

Given the days are longer now, Jo-Anne was able to drop by the job site at the end of the day today to inspect our progress. 

Our first major shear wall is in place in Kate’s bedroom (formerly the Master Bedroom).  Having the shear wall in place prior to Jo-Anne’s inspection showed significant progress. 

In line with that shear wall is another shear wall adjacent to the Atrium.  Scott Andersen, who did the conceptual design of the remodel, specified during his most recent job site progress review that we include recessed art niches in the wall behind the glass bridge to the Master Suite.  Three recessed art niches were framed in today and the plywood will be nailed in place next week.

Jo-Anne walked the property and was smiling as she was pleased with our progress this week.

Completed SIP walls on either side of our doorway at the front of the house.

Same view of the foyer, taken on September 29, 2008 when the roof was being deconstructed. Note the diagonal brace on the temporary site fence through the door - it is the same diagonal brace in the photo above. Way cool.

Three art niches that are framed in the shear wall behind the glass bridge facing the Atrium.

Example of recessed art niches (not in a contemporary style house).

Example of recessed art niches on a large exposed wall.

Plywood 2x6 shear wall between the Living Room and Kate's Bedroom.

Jo-Anne, standing in Kate's Bedroom, smiles as she walks the property inspecting our progress this week.

Our flag is flying and our Insulspan sign is posted. The site is buttoned up, ready for the rain that is forecasted through the weekend.

The final parts of the framing with wrapping up in our lower level today.  As well, we started the furring under the hollow core concrete panels.

Furring the Ceiling

We designed the basement ceiling to reuse the Redwood decking from the original house, which has been ripped in two and remilled by Jackel Enterprises in Watsonville.

The 5/8-inch Redwood tongue and groove material must be fastened to the hollow core concrete panels so we need 2×4 furring to be attached to the hollow core concrete panels.  Since the hollow core concrete panels have a slight camber, the 2×4 furring strips need to be shimmed so they are level.  We are attaching the pressure-treated furring with GRK Caliburn screws, or equivalent.

The bearing wall under the W14x43 steel beam has been strengthened by sistering in additional 2x6 studs and then adding horizontal blocking.

We are dropping the ceiling in the Wine Dining so we can insulate the ceiling and have this room be seen as a very different space from the rest of the lower level.

The ceiling is dropped in the West Mechanical room so we can insulate it as Kate's bedroom is above it. The West Mechanical room will house our electric pumps, which are part of our geothermal heat exchange.

Caliburn concrete screws, from GRK.

Titen Masonry screws, from Simpson Strong Tie.

Pressure treated 2x4 furring in the Play Area. Note the cedar shims.

Furring and soffits in the Snack Area.

Scott Andersen’s Design in Panama

Our good friend, Scott Andersen, has been working with an architect in Panama to design a house.  As background, Scott worked with us on the conceptual design for our house and he has over 20 years of designing contempory homes in Toronto, Canada.  The rendering of the house shows plenty of concrete, glass and steel, with an infinity edge pool and spectacular views.  Definitely an ‘adult’ house.

The question is, ‘How fast can this house be built?’ with the follow on question, ‘Will the house in Panama be completed before our house in completed?’.

Rendering of a house in Panama.

The forecast is for 100% probability of rain tomorrow.  It was time to ensure the site office is watertight and the site is ready for rain.

Bryan had a good design session with Scott this morning at Hotel Los Gatos.  Scott and Sue are were there last night and are staying in San Francisco tonight before returning to Toronto tomorrow morning.

Design Discussion with Scott

Scott reviewed the plans and, after seeing the space yesterday, outlined the lighting plan for each of the rooms.  Scott and Bryan reviewed a number of alternatives for the atrium, gable roofs, and exterior.  During the discussion, Scott recommended that we consider including some art niches in the wall by the Bridge Hall.  We will definitely be following up on this one.

For the atrium and feature concrete wall, Scott is going to put some light fixture samples together so we can ‘test’ how the lights will wash the concrete wall.  These samples are not for the fixtures but, rather, so we can see what type of lighting we would prefer.  This will help Scott in recommending which fixtures to use.

Scott, Sue and Bryan then went to the project site so they could consider the design alternatives relative to the space.  After 45 minutes, Scott and Sue left for San Francisco.

Scott, on Canadian Thanksgiving, reflecting on the bridge.

Bryan and Scott discussing lighting alternatives and how to show our feature concrete wall.

Scott and Bryan discussing design alternatives.

Scott explaining how to the test lights will work.

Buttoning Up the Temporary Site Office

Given the weather forecast, Bryan spent several hours buttoning up the project site.  Importantly, he put a new tarp over the temporary site office roof to help reduce the probability of leaks tomorrow.

Our Davis weather station looked good today.  We’ll see exactly how much rain and wind our site receives tomorrow.

The site is looking secure with our first winter rain storm arriving shortly.

Bryan put primer on the exposed steel, where the bridges and posts were welded on Saturday.

Ends of Bridge Hall, primed and ready.

New blue tarp on the roof of our temporary site office.

Our Davis weather station, ready to log the rainfall and winds tomorrow.