The open trenches are getting old.  Really old.

With the probability of rain tomorrow (Sunday) at 90%, we had Manny and Izzie focused on backfilling and compacting as much of the open trenches at the site as possible.

Finding a Large Inner Tube

We decided to cover the two concrete vaults for the inlet and outlet for our underground cistern with dirt.  However, in order to prevent the soil covering the concrete vaults from contaminating the water flowing into and out of the underground cistern, we needed a large, pliable gasket.  The perfect material?  A large inner tube.

Great idea.  Just try to find a large inner tube.

After looking on Craigs List and googling the San Jose area, and then making numerous phone calls, we found a shop with some inner tubes.  While we were prepared to buy a new inner tube, Gilroy Tire & Brake said they had a large tube that was being thrown out today.

Perfect. 

Bryan got in the truck and headed for Gilroy to pick up the inner tube.

Protecting the Geothermal Ground Loop

We have 48 loops in our 25 concrete piers.  Each of the loops are connected at the surface, and each of the 4 sets of 6 piers have supply and return lines that go into the West Mechanical room.  Several of the loops are close to the surface and will be within an inch of the bottom of the concrete walkways around the house.  The ground loops need to be protect. 

Ken Martin, from Silicon Valley Mechanical, prescribed how to protect the HDPE tubing and joints that are close to the surface.  We used the dense, closed cell packaging materials from our Fleetwood windows and sliding doors to protect the HDPE and attached the foam with nylon ties.

Example of HDPE connections at the top of a concrete pier. If these connections are close to the bottom surface of the concrete walkway that will be poured then the HDPE must be protected with closed cell foam.

Finding a used inner tube at Gilroy Tire & Brake (in Gilroy, CA). Just what we need ...

Underground concrete vault where the water collects before entering the underground cistern.

Outlet box, which needs to be covered and sealed.

Cover on concrete vault ...

Nicely fitted inner tube to seal the underground concrete box and prevent soil from contaminating the overflow water leaving our underground cistern when it is full.

A couple inches of sand from GraniteRock ...

Backfilled with 8 inches of soil and then compacted. Done!

HDPE covered with closed cell foam that is zip tied to the pipe.

Tube over the inlet concrete box ...

Covered with sand from GraniteRock.

And compacted. Done.

East side of house all backfilled and compacted.

North side compacted and backfilled (just a bit left to complete).

We need a second suction line from the pool that will allow us to move waste heat from the house into the swimming pool. This second suction must be completed before this trench can be backfilled and compacted.

West side of house backfilled and compacted. This will make it much easier to install the three windows and the Eichler siding.

The five-person team from Statewide Roofing left our job site at 4:30 pm, after completing the white membrane on the upper-, mid- and lower flat roofs. 

Manny, from MWB Pools, arrived on site today and worked with Izzy, the master trencher, on installing the 6-inch pipe that will take our overflow water when our underground cistern is full, to the storm drain on Winchester Boulevard.

The only problem was that the inspector, Steve Souza, from the Town of Los Gatos wasn’t available to inspect the connection to the back of the storm drain.  Steve will inspect our connection between 9:00 am and 12:00 noon tomorrow.  When we pass this inspection, we can backfill the open trench on Winchester.

Completing Our ‘Cool Roof’

The five-person team from Statewide Roofing are impressive.  First, they know exactly what they are doing and can move quickly and efficiently.  Second, they are always smiling and having fun together.  That really helps with a team spirit, and is somewhat infectious.  Finally, you can see that they all take pride in their work and are always focused on doing a good job.

Installing the 6-Inch Drains to Winchester Boulevard

One of the last components of our water catchment system is to provide the overflow from our 3,677 gallon underground cistern to the storm drain on Winchester Boulevard.  This overflow is to be a 6-inch pipe, going from the cistern to the storm drain.

On Friday, Izzy dug the trench to the storm drain and today Manny and Izzy put the pipe in.  To do so, they have to make a hole in the concrete into the back of the storm drain, which they did. 

The Town of Los Gatos asked us to drill holes in the back of the storm drain and epoxy #3 reinforcing steel (rebar) into the holes.  Then, we will pour concrete into the connection such that the 6-inch pipe is encased in concrete going into the storm drain.  No problem.

We were ready for an inspection before noon today, which we called.  It took until the end of the day before we were advised that the inspection would be between 9:00 am and 12:00 noon tomorrow (Tuesday).

We’re ready …

Hole through the concrete storm drain on Winchester Boulevard. Note the holes drilled around the large hole, which we will epoxy #3 reinforcing steel (rebar) into these holes.

The #3 rebar is epoxied into the concrete and the 6-inch pipe in place.

Waiting for the inspector from the Town of Los Gatos to review our work so we can pour concrete ...

Statewide Roofing sent one of their trucks to our job site to retrieve all of the unused materials. Any scraps left over will either be used elsewhere or recycled.

One of the two pipe sleeves that we ordered from BTL Liners, which will go over the 6-inch inlet and outlet pipes for our underground cistern.

Having completed the installation of our the membrane over the flat roofs, the team from Statewide Roofing leaves our job site.

Completed flat roof on the West side of the house.

Completed flat roofs on North side of house.

Completed flat roof over garage. Note how the roof is sloped to the drain on the East (left) side of the garage.

Completed mid level flat roofs around the Atrium.

Completed flat roofs at front of house, looking East.

Completed upper flat roof. Note the pipe on the North side, which can be used in the future for a satellite dish.

View of completed 'cones' for solar photovoltaic panels on upper flat roof.

Bryan picked up 10 bags of concrete mix and 1 bag of mortar mix for the drain system to the storm sewer on Winchester Boulevard.

The open trench on Winchester Boulevard is, once again, buttoned up safely and securely.

The Don and Toni team put a sign up in front of our house on Winchester. We support both Don Perry and Toni Yamamoto as election candidates in the City of Monte Sereno.

It was a grueling day today as Izzy and Bryan worked on backfilling the South trench (in front of the house).  Ryan Reyna and Nik helped for a couple hours, which was very much appreciated.

Underground Infrastructure

We have a lot going on in our trenches around the house.  The contents of the trenches are all different.  Here is a brief summary of the trench contents:

• 4-inch ABS sanitary sewer drian pipes on the West side and South sides of the house
• 4-inch ABS perimeter drain pipe that takes water from the seven (7) roof downspouts and various ground drains to the underground water cistern
• 2-inch PVC electrical conduit from the East Mechanical room to the generator pad
• 1-1/2 inch PVC electrical conduit from the East Mechanical room to the swimming pool equipment pad
• 3/4-inch PVC water pipe for fresh water to the swimming pool equipment pad 
• 1-inch PVC perimeter water pipe for irrigation water to the six irrigation manifolds
• 1-inch PVC conduit for cables to connect and control the irrigation manifolds in six locations
• 1-inch PVC conduit for proprietay cables for the natural gas powered generator
• 1-inch PVC conduit for proprietay cables to control the swimming pool and spa equipment
• 3/4-inch HDPE connecting the U-tubes in the 25 vertical concrete piers in four sections of 12 U-tubes each
• 1-1/4 inch HDPE supply and return lines connecting the two geothermal ground loops
• 2-inch HDPE supply and return lines to the swimming pool and swimming pool equipment pad
• 2-inch HDPE natural gas line to generator and swimming pool equipment pad

Until the complete ground loop system is pressurized and tested successfully, and then inspected by the City of Monte Sereno, we cannot backfill the East, North and West trenches.  Similarly, we cannot backfill teh Swimming Pool and Generator trenches until the natural gas supply connections have been inspected.

The only trench we could backfill is the trench on the South side (in front of the house).

Except for the very West side and very East side, Izzy and Bryan backfilled and compacted the soil in this trench today.  Bryan will have sore muscles tomorrow.

The open trench at the South West corner of the house. About 8 linear feet of this trench can be backfilled (it is still open).

West trench looking North. Note the 4-inch black ABS pipe stubbed for downspouts from the roof drains, the 3/4-inch HDPE connecting the U-tubes in the vertical concrete piers, the three 1-inch conduits for irrigation controls and the 1-inch PVC perimter pipe for irrigation water.

North West corner of the house, showing where the ground loops will be combined in an underground vault. Also, the conduit for the control wires (low voltage) will terminate inside the vault where they will be aggregaged and then enter the house in a single conduit.

Trench going to generator and swimming pool equipment pad. This is a full trench, with 4-inch ABS drain pipe, four 1-inch PVC conduits, 3/4 inch water line, 1-inch irrigation water line, 2-inch HDPE natural gas line and 2-inch HDPE hot water return line to swimming pool pad. The two 1-1/4 inch black HDPE pipes are the supply and return lines for the ground loops on the East side of the house.

Trench going around North West corner of pool, going to the generator pad and swimming pool equipment pad.

New short trench going to swimming pool for 2-inch HDPE suction line to carry cold water from the swimming pool to cool the house.

Izzy compacting the backfilled trench at the South East corner of the house. We compacted every six (6) inches.

Izzy continuing to compact the entire trench at the South side of the house (front).

Backfilled and compacted trench at the front of the house. Done ... for today.

Unfinished part of trench at East side of front of the house. It would have been nice to have backfilled this small section today.

Entry to house is looking much, much better now.

We have way too many trenches open on our job site so ‘closing’ one is an accomplishment (and worthy of a celebration!).  At the same time, the components that must be completed for our roof are being addressed and we’re closer to being weathertight – so we can install the windows.

Reviewing a Prototype for Our Front Door

We decided to engage a local craftsman, Nathan Merrill of American Ordamental Ironworks on Dell Avenue, to design, build and install our front door assembly. 

The front door assembly consists of the steel frame that will hold the glass and door itself.  Bryan met with Nathan and discussed the design, including the use of Soss hinges.  Soss hinges are invisible from both sides of the door, enabling a clean, uncluttered look to the entrance.

Nathan was not familiar with Soss hinges and was eager to work on a project with simple, clean lines.  Most of Nathan’s projects are for Tuscan-style homes with elaborate custom steel doors and railing systems.

After getting a Soss hinge, Nathan assembled a small piece of a door frame, complete with a 1-3/4 inch working door attached to the Soss hinge.  Nathan came by the job site to show it to Bryan, and get his feedback.

The door assembly is way cool and will be spectacular.

Picking Up Sand from Granite Rock

Pacific Gas & Electric have very strict requirements for placing their natural gas with electric lines underground. 

First, the utility lines must be 39 inches below grade and separated in a common trench by at least 18 inches.  There must be 2 inches of sand at the bottom of the trench under the conduit for the electrical service. 

Second, PG&E must inspect the electrical conduit and trench prior scheduling and dispatching a two-person crew to install the natural gas line to the house. 

Finally, when the two-person crew arrives at the job site, there must be sufficient sand stockpiled and manpower available to cover the natural gas line and electrical conduit with 6 inches of sand.  This requirement is to ensure the natural gas line is not exposed to sunlight where the ultraviolet rays will damage the line and be a potential weakness for failure.

So, we need to have over two cubic yards of sand at our job site to meet the PG&E requirements.  Bryan went to Granite Rock’s location off Snell Road for the first load of sand with his pickup truck.

PG&E's requirements make our trenching process somewhat complex.

Receiving Approval on Our Water Service

Bryan requested an inspection of our connection to San Jose Water at 7:50 am this morning and our Building Official, Howard Bell, arrived this afternoon at 3:45 pm.  After some discussion, Howard approved the connection.  Immediately thereafter, Bryan went to the rental shop and picked up a ‘jumping jack’ (compactor).

Izzy agreed to stay an extra hour and work with Bryan to backfill and compact the trench from the San Jose Water meter to the underground cistern.  Although the trench was only 20 inches deep at the meter, it was almost 40 inches deep at the cistern.  Backfilling this trench would use up a significant amount of stockpiled dirt and provided some much-needed real estate.

While Bryan was getting the compactor, Izzy put a couple inches of sand in the trench, covering the water supply pipe.

Installing the Fascia

Meanwhile, the two-person team from Earth Bound Homes completed installing the 2x material on the gable ends and on the South and East sides of the house.  Having the fascia in place must be completed prior to putting in the tapered foam crickets.

Shop Drawings for the Tapered Foam Crickets

Leo sent the shop drawings for the tapered foam crickets today at 12:30 pm.  We have to sign off on the shop drawings before Johns Manville will ship the tapered foam crickets.  Unfortunately for us, Al Courteney couldn’t make the scheduled meeting with Bryan at the job site so they will meet at 9:00 am tomorrow morning.

Signing off on the shop drawings will trigger the manufacturing and shipping process to our job site.

Everything is coming together …

Rendering of our front door, which will be in a steel frame with frosted glass around it.

Nathan Merrill, from American Ordamental Iron on Dell Avenue, showing the prototype of the door with the Soss hinge. Our door will have three stainless steel Soss hinges.

Izzy unloads the sand, which will be used at the bottom of the trenches.

PG&E trench, 39 inches deep, waiting for the electrical conduit and 2 inches of sand.

Trench for six-inch overflow pipe from underground cistern to the back of the storm drain on Winchester Boulevard.

Franciso carrying the ladder with Carlos on the roof.

Close up of the completed fascia at the front of the house. This will get wrapped with natural zinc.

Backfilled water trench. Completing this trench opened up some real estate for us at the front of the house. Way cool ...

Remaining trench around underground cistern.

Backfilled and compacted trench to San Jose Water Company's meter at the street. Yippee!

End of the day photo - South and East fascia were completed today.

End of the day photo - there is still a lot of dirt available for backfilling trenches. Note the small pile of sand, which is covered with a tarp.

End of the day photo - trenches at the the South East corner of the house. There is lots going on here.

End of the day photo - open trench at the front of the house.

End of the day photo - completed fascia looks good.

We’re getting our project back on track.  We are continuing to working on the roof (so we can install the windows), and also starting to backfill our open trenches (versus digging more trenches).

Agreeing on the Trenching

We wanted to ensure PG&E approved our trenching strategy before digging too much.  Our project coordinator, Nathan, came to the job site and reviewed the electrical conduit that we uncovered.  He saw the water pipe (from San Jose Water Company’s meter, and agreed that it would be ok.

After the City of Monte Sereno inspects the water connection behind the meter, we’ll be able to backfill the trench from the water meter to the cistern trench.  Filling this trench will provide some much-needed real estate.

Identifying the Roof and Floor Penetrations

We can’t put our roof membrane on until we identify and make all of the penetrations through the flat roof.  The penetrations of the roof are for plumbing, dryer vents and exhaust fan vents.  The most complicated are the plumbing vents as we want to limit the number of penetrations of the roof.

Wes Wenger, of Wenger Plumbing, arrived at the job site and walked through the various plumbing fixtures that we will have.  As well, Greg (‘G-Man’) went through all of the penetrations with Wes.  Yup, Wes makes the promises and G-Man has to deliver on those promises.  It was good to establish the vents and penetrations.

We (Jo-Anne and Bryan) need to establish where the free-standing bathtub will be located in the Master Bath, as the tub drain needs to be drilled through the concrete floor.

Also, we need to get Kate’s soaking tub as this drain needs to be established, too.

Finishing the Skylight Curbs on the Lower Flat Roof

Francisco and Carlos continued working on the curbs for our Velux skylights.  This was their second day on this task and they were able to finish it off.  Bryan sent the exact locations of the skylight curbs and dimensions to Leo at Johns Manville so he could complete the shop drawings. 

Leo promised an updated layout on Monday morning, with shop drawings by close of business on Monday.

Backfilling and Compacting the Sewage Trench in Front of the Garage

With the pipe that will take the Lifesource Water Filter backwash water to our cistern stubbed out, we could now backfill and compact the sewage trench immediately in front of the garage.  This trench has been particularly irritating since it limits our movement into and out of the garage.  Plus, it looks messy.

This item was completed today.

Hosting a Friday Night Flamingo Event on Vista Avenue

As with other neighborhoods across the U.S., our neighborhood on Vista Avenue (plus Bruce Avenue and Kavin Lane) has a long-standing tradition of ‘Flamingo Nights’.  On the first Flamingo Night of the year, we signed up to host the July 30 Flamingo Night.

Kate, Sierra and Carli worked on decorations, and Jo-Anne and Wendy hung up our Flamingo lights over the garage.

Our project coordinator from PG&E, Nathan Lee, reviewed our trench from the San Jose Water Company meter to our house. He approved the location as the trench did not interfere with the PG&E natural gas or electric lines.

Wes Wenger (left) and Greg ('G-Man') review the plumbing plans while establishing the locations for the plumbing vents in the SIP roof and the coring through the concrete floor (drains, hot and cold water supply, and vents from the lower level).

The completed insulated curb, which will have a sloped cover and support the Velux skylight.

The backfilled and compacted trench in front of our garage. Finally done!

Our table is ready to host the Friday Night Flamingo on Vista Avenue. Note (right to left), Kate, Sierra and Carli are working on the decorations.

Jo-Anne found some excellent Flamingo lights several weeks ago, so Wendy and Jo-Anne strung the lights up for the event.

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.