Category — meetings

Last week Bill and I visited the current project for Living Space Builders. It’s part spec house, part project house that they’re using to try out various technologies. When we saw it, it was complete through framing and rough pluming & electric (the insulation was due to be installed within a few days).

This house has an ICF basement, 2×6 walls and geothermal heating and cooling. The property sits in a township island; they’ll have experience with installing well and septic (a question I forgot to ask in the earlier meeting). The geothermal uses a well system. The house is of similar size to our house with a few familiar amenities (they’re planning a cable railing system in their catwalk).

While we were there we met with Dian Lu, who runs the projects, and a man by the name of Brian who installed their HVAC. I spent a few minutes discussing the merits and installation features of a geothermal system; neither man seemed experience (or even interested) in solar water preheating.

It’s going to be an interesting house. Not entirely to my taste, but I’m looking forward to seeing it more complete.

Yesterday we met with Kamil Krainski from Living Space Builders and Sandy Smith from Trillium at the Trillium offices.

Living Space Builders is a small company (2? people) which does primarily construction management (with particular designs, more on that below) — they don’t have employees, but use relationships and contracts to get work done. (For instance Trillium handles their marketing and office support.) They focus on sustainable (even self-sustainable) energy use, and have spent time researching various materials and methods for achieving this. For instance, Kamil brought in an LED lamp that they’re testing.

The company has been active for about 4 years, and have done 5-6 houses. They also own (run?) a commercial cleaning firm which is their bread and butter, and so “aren’t desperate.” They have stable of potential subs that they call on, and take about 8 months to finish. It was suggested that if we don’t start within a couple of months, we should wait until next year.

Their website has certain “stock” plans (fully customizable), but they will also build from our plans. However, they offer only certain options, for instance geothermal heating and cooling, tankless water heaters (probably would need 2) and spray foam insulation. Kamil indicated that they prefer to stick-build above ground because it’s easier to make the inevitable changes. They also have some “standard” amenities, for example prewiring for solar panels and a car charging station in garage.

Kamil seems to have a modern/contemporary/euro sensibility (he apparently does a lot of their design work), which could be a nice fit for what we’re trying to do, but it could also be too much. We don’t have an overall “vision” for the place so much as a conviction that we want certain spaces to feel certain ways and if we’re true to that then it will all work out. Eventually this style will be called Rustic Modern Eclectic.

We talked over the floor plans, and among other things discussed the pros and cons of granite. I love stone and minerals (I have taken mining vacations, after all), but I’m not particularly interested in having big slabs of rock on my counters (unless maybe it’s lab soapstone). Not even for resale purposes.

We briefly discussed the budget, and unlike the other builders we’ve talked to Kamil didn’t say “ooh, that’s not likely” — he was more positive saying “I don’t know until I see the details” and “We work to meet your budget.” Given their cost structure, I don’t doubt that the bid will be more like what we’ve been shooting for, but I am a little concerned that because they limit their offerings we will find it difficult to make good comparisons.

It was an interesting meeting, and we’ll try to visit their current project in the next week or so.

It’s been a quiet week in Lake W… er, Whitmore Lake. I’ve gone back to the county to apply for the well permit, which I expect to have in the next couple of days. I’ve asked for underground utilities markers from Miss Dig. I’m ready to call the well company once I get the official permit from the sanitarian.

I found out that the alternating/spiral stair would cost on the order of $2000. However, Bob said today that it would probably not meet Code without some discussion with the inspector, so we decided to forego that option and put in a Code-conforming spiral stair.

We learned that the official name for what we’ve been calling the lookout or cupola is Belvedere, which is cool. It’s nice to know what to call it. One of the last things about the belvedere was the requirement to be able to look in all directions while seated. Bob’s included some custom-shaped windows that will allow us to do that (the sill is about 3 feet from the floor), which worked out to be less expensive than raising the height of the roof. There will be exposed rafters and a somewhat-short ceiling in this space — perfect for hiding away and looking at the “fair view.”

We talked briefly about the deck. For the railing, we’d like to have as little view obstruction as possible, perhaps by continuing the cable rail motif from inside, or by using large glass panels if for some reason we can’t. For the deck floor, we’ll probably go with wood (as opposed to a composite) — unless we find something that’s a little less maintenance. I’m not so interested in using pressure treated lumber (though I’m given to understand that the newer PT stuff is better than the old stuff). However, the deck will be exposed to rain and sun even though it’s covered, so we have to take that into account. There will be a waterproof layer between the deck and the screened porch below, so we won’t get rained on from above when we’re on the porch.

Bob is continuing with the detail drawings, and will make up a Door & Window schedule and a Room Finishes schedule. For the finishes, he’ll fill in what he knows and give us a spreadsheet to fill in the rest (the doors and windows he already knows). As he gets detail sheets completed, he’ll give them to us for review & comment.

To do: Barbara to continue with the water. Bill to try to contact Living Spaces (again — this is not boding well), as well as any other potential builders. Bob to send along a dxf of the plan so far (so we can do 3D things with it), and continue with the drawings. Our target is to have the plans completed by mid-July, perhaps even a builder.

Today Bill and I met at the lot with Tim Clark of Cribley Well Drilling. (By the way, it was another gorgeous day to be at the lot, if a bit windy.)

We discussed some of the issues surrounding the placement of the well, especially since we’re supposed to drill it before we start the house. Tim said that one thing we want to be careful of is knowing where the well will be relative to the mechanical area of the house. It’s easier (i.e. less expensive) if the inside water equipment is on the wall where the well pipe comes into the basement. If not, then they’d want to put the water supply piping underneath the basement floor (which requires some extra planning). The other thing to be careful of is any grading that will be done around the wellhead. It’s not a problem, just something to be aware of since the final wellhead will be only about a foot above grade.

Given that we want to stay away from the house, the septic tanks and from the eastern lot line, we figured on putting the well to the north of the house, on the western edge of the hill where it just starts to drop off. If that spot doesn’t work out for some reason, we should go further west towards the bottom of the hill where it starts to level out again. They don’t recommend drilling on a slope (especially if we’re planning on putting some of the basement diggings there). According to the county website, the only distance requirement is 50 feet from septic tanks, 100 feet from drainfields and 3 feet from basements — there are no property line requirements. We also want to avoid any utility easements, of course.

I took a couple of pictures of the location we identified as a possibility (Tim drove a stake), but it’s hard to get a good feeling for where it lies without having some landmarks. I’d say it’s about halfway between the 2nd and 3rd tree (from the east) identified on the Topo, about 20-30 feet north of the north edge of the building envelope, along the hill just before it begins to drop off steeply (those two blue dots on the image are Bill’s and my guesses as to where the stake is).

I get the impression (looking at our neighbors’ well permit data) that we don’t have to be exact, we just need to be able to show that once everything is in place, all of the isolation distances are met.

We talked about the possibility of hitting a dry hole (or one that doesn’t give us as much water per minute as we like). Tim said that it does happen, but he doesn’t expect it here. If it does, we can move the hole another 100 feet or so and try a different formation. We also talked about water quality. Tim suggested that we were going to want water softening, but that we shouldn’t plan on figuring out what/how much until we start to get water into the house and can test it properly.

Speaking of which, the well will be dug, but unless we make arrangements for a temporary pump and an electricity source (generator or temporary pole), we won’t have water until we have plumbing and electric in the house.

Here are a couple of shots of the blue stake. You’ll have to look hard to see it, I think.

At yesterday’s meeting we discussed the results of the soil evaluation. (We are still waiting on the document that shows the correct approval area. We know where the drainfield will go, but we want our drawings to match the county documents.)

Then we started talking about the stairs. Bob showed us some pictures of industrial-style stair cases which use metal stringers and metal or wood steps and open risers. We have to have some sort of barrier at the riser to meet code (a 4″ sphere can’t pass thru). The basic idea is to use metal stringers, wood steps, wood banister, and metal balsters (if not cable). What I’d really like is cable, but it’s still to be determined if we can use them in a residence (I’ve seen them in restaurants in the city). He also showed us some sections and views of the stair tower.

This is so exciting! I’m really starting to see how the house can be used. The stairs are rather generous (more commercial than residential), with a large “blank” wall where we can display loads of stuff.

One thing that still needs to be determined is the stair leading to the cupola/pop-up/lookout tower. Bob suggested using an alternating stair in lieu of a spiral stair — our thoughts are “we’d like whatever seems to work best” since we’re not particularly wedded to the spiral stair idea. Today I found a company that makes a spiral alternating tread stair.

Our next meeting is in a few weeks. In the meantime, I will contact the well drilling folks to figure out a decent place to put the well so Bob can make the site plan so I can get the well (and septic) permit(s). Bill will contact Living Space builders so we can have an initial meeting. Bob will continue with the construction drawings.

Today we met with Steve Manville (the sanitarian working with us) to clear up the location of the drainfield and to find out more about the well.

We received the approval letter from the sanitarian, but it wasn’t quite right since he began from the wrong start point when laying out the approval area. It’s not a problem — and it’s an easy mistake to make as there are many many property markers next to our lot and I didn’t make sure he knew exactly where we were when Bill painted the one orange. We’ve been going to the lot for over three years now, so we forget that it’s confusing to someone just coming into it.

The approved area will be where I described. However, the letter also had some other interesting information, like we’re in a “well-first” area. (Also, we have to make sure to have two tanks, but that comes later.) None of the older paperwork I have suggests such a thing, and I don’t think any of our neighbors had to sink a well first, but he’s the one with the map and the authority, so we have to have a well in and approved before we can apply for the septic permit.

After looking through the earlier papers, and reviewing the soil samples we took on Tuesday, Steve said that we only need a 100′ isolation distance from the drainfield (and 50 feet from the tanks), as well as the proposed drainfield on Lot G (the northernmost neighboring lot). (I watched him make a note on “our” folder.) This gives us a little more leeway in placing the well.

However, since we must drill the well first, we need to put it somewhere that it won’t get in the way of construction. At least that’s what I expect. I mean, I suppose we don’t want to put the well to the south of the house, because I imagine that that is where the big equipment will be digging away the hill for the foundation.

Before we can apply for the well permit we have to have the plot plan and survey. I’m wondering if it would be useful to talk to the well-drilling company first to get some ideas of where might be a good spot to put the well. We’ll have to have the water tested when the well is dug, but mainly for nitrates, arsenic and other minerals. Bacteria testing should be postponed until the area is not being churned up so much.

I apologize for this all being disjointed, but I wanted to get everything down while it was fresh in my mind. I’ll start talking with the well people next week to see what they suggest.

I got all of the paper work together so that we could apply for a new soil evaluation. We had a valid one already, but since the approved septic drainfield is located where we want to have the house, we have to move it. Therefore, we have to get a new evaluation (sometimes called a “perc test” but since there’s no water involved, it’s not really the right term).

After I got the papers together, I called the excavator. I spoke with a very nice lady named Carol, and we set up some tentative times. Then I went out to the county offices and gave the nice lady there my papers and a check. I called Carol to tell her that I’d done so, so she could coordinate with the sanitarian when we, the sanitarian, and the man with the backhoe would all meet to dig some holes on the lot.

She called me back with all the times, and we’ll meet next week. I have little doubt we’ll be able to get approval, it’s just a question of whether or not we’ll get it where we’d like it.

A small little baby step to actually being able to build the house, but every little bit takes us forward!

Today we talked briefly about the proposed site plan; I can go to the county sanitarian to get the new soil evaluation (especially since the spring road load limits have been lifted). We also talked about a new(ish?) product that combines sheathing with insulation, which we’ll consider because it adds R-value as well as reduces the number of components in the house (no need for housewrap or OSB sheathing). (Bob assures me I will have a superinsulated house.)

We also spoke briefly about Living Space Builders (whom Bill mentioned in his recent post). Bob said that Krainski visited recently, and might be interesting to talk further with.

Next we went over the current basement plan. Not too many changes, except the outline has been somewhat simplified and the bath organized a bit. One of the issues we’ll face is the steep slope behind the garage next to the walkout patio area. How to keep the earth in place, well-drained, and attractive without messing up the foundation? In addition, Bob has started working out some of the structural issues. Basically, the stair tower walls will be the primary interior load bearing walls. In the end, we will have at a minimum a “partially finished” basement because we’ll have some walls as well as a toilet + sink.

To do: Bob to continue with the construction drawings. Bill & Barbara to contact Living Space Builders. Barbara to get soil evaluation arranged. Next review in about 3 weeks.

Spent Saturday lunchtime last week listening to relatively standard—though interesting—arguments that household superinsulation, buying alternative energy, and installing geothermal heating and cooling are smart things to do. Admittedly these were sessions hosted by a nonprofit promoting household energy conservation, DTE’s office selling alternative energy, and a guy who installs geothermal. No little coincidence, eh?

But that’s OK. Somebody has to do it.

Was surprising to sense a lack of adaptation of the message for the self-selected Ann Arbor attendees. After all, we’re from Treetown, and we decided to go to the damned seminar already. We’re probably the highest per-capita density of greenish upper-middle class people in the state, and so it was strange hearing things described that are relatively commonplace. Probably well-known to most folks in the room.

It was essentially a trade show, with folks in the hall at the Ark pitching everything from standard window replacements to insulation to amusing black-box “EMF protection devices”. The presentations were engaging, with relatively few outright sales-lies; the DTE host, at one point, said, “DTE’s Net Metering program pays you retail prices for energy you send to the grid.” Not as far as I can tell, it doesn’t.

Among the vendors who were called up onstage at the end was Kamil Krainski from Living Space Builders — a crew we haven’t heard of before that day. Not sure if they’re new, or have been hiding in the wrong marketing circles, or what. He pitched SIPs and ICFs, specifically saying they can build houses using modern high-tech green materials and methods at no additional cost over traditional materials and methods.

I’d like to see that, so I chatted briefly with him. Didn’t get much chance to pursue the argument, but we’ll probably look them up. There’s a good market around here for smart builders who can follow up on promises like that, and plenty of room lowballing the premium prices the first-movers have ben quoting. We’ll see what happens.

On 28th March we met with Doug Selby of Meadowlark builders at our office in the Shining Tower.

This first meeting was intended to introduce us to each other. We’ve seen the Meadowlark site, and know they are familiar with building superinsulated homes. Doug had read Sprawlette, so he was aware already of our plans and some of our issues. So rather than going through the advantages for building energy-efficient homes, we discussed business and budget.

Like Fireside, Meadowlark is promoting their green/sustainable building techniques and experience, and as they have been doing it for a few years it doesn’t make them seem like they’re trying to jump on any bandwagons. They have about 10 people in the company, and do remodels as well as new homes. They offer a modeling and design service for HVAC, since they haven’t found locals that take into account the specifics of a particular house and its siting when figuring heating and cooling needs. They also offer custom cabinetry in-house.

Meadowlark offers fixed-price contracts, and would consider a fixed-fee arrangement. Given the sketches so far, Doug threw out a number that is really not in our ballpark, but suggested that once he saw construction drawings he’d be able to have an estimate within 8-10% of actual (further refined budgets require a contract). They don’t have available capacity to work as construction consultants (unlike Burnside, which I forgot to note below). Once we break ground, it would take about 8 months to finish.

Some of the options Doug suggested to reduce the cost of our house and yet remain superinsulated include advanced framing with a skin of foam board, or using ICFs to build the above-ground walls. His opinion was that both would be less expensive than SIPs, with the ICFs being more expensive than the wood framing.

I thought it was a useful meeting, if only to remind myself that flexibility at the design stage is all we’ve got, so we’ve got to get it right before we dig the first hole.