The Think Tank is IN SESSION!!

What a perfect place for a strategic retreat.....Click here for more photos

FINAL PHOTOS

Please check out the Final photos..... pretty amazing

Thanks to all!!

so close you can taste it

sorry no photos but I'd rather wait until it is done... which should be in a week or so... quite a transformation from when I last saw the place in mid-June.... Yesterday, I arrived in mid->late afternoon just as the "Boneyard" was switching to "Bach" (Bruce (see below) prefers classical in the evenings after the hard-cores leave)... the new structure is looking very very good but today my focus was more on the exterior ... decking, plantings and overall landscaping. It has been interesting to plan landscaping without the use of irrigation... grasses grasses grasses!!! The "lawn" that exists will stay but in a dry spell might go brown... green living can often mean brown. Gunner, a humble, hands-on Landscape Architect, is working his magic and we are boosting up the budget a bit to make the finishing touches really great

Here is my top 5 list so far:
- Solatubes - incredible light... really BETTER light than natural or bulb!!
- cork flooring - especially like the stair risers in cork
- IPE decking... that is some good looking wood...
- Bruce - really nice craftsman with an aesthetic eye... and not shy to share it... love that
- the view... it still really is quite something....

So, back to rounding up the last bits of furniture and furnishings... the fun part....

more soon!!

Our Gilasi countertops were in truck and spitting distance away when BOOM, hit a bump and cracked...do you think recycled countertops can be recycled?? that and unexpected permit fun for the hillclimber is torpedoing my return and Alex's departure from/to Nantucket!! oh the dog days of summer....

Progress! The 'Tank is looking good. The cork floors look (and smell?!) amazing. My favorite detail is the fir slat ceiling. The pictures do not even do it justice. Grey floor stain (samples in photos) picks up the grain nicely and give a zebra effect, but if you ask me (I know, I know - you didn't) the natural look is H-O-T! A clean modern lake house with a ton of warmth is really coming together.

Check out the updated photo gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashtash/sets/72157621966988952/

Progress Pics

Check put progress pics taken today here: http://tiny.cc/aQzgL 

MAH JONGG is late and mah wallet is heavier

Remember my over-the-top seating purchase?? well, I have just been informed that it is running a couple months late... not a big deal since we won't be needing it until the end of the summer.... the good news, they are giving me an additional 15% discount because of the "inconvenience"... nice... now I can pay for that new hill climber...

Did we talk about the new hill climber yet?? No?? Well, we need to....

WINDY CITY

long time no blog... rain rain go away... but hopefully here comes the wind with out new gigantor wind turbine.... anyone see the movie UP?? this house is taking off for sure...

Turbo Tour of the Job SIte

Interior Framing

Window Installation

The windows will really help to control temperatures in the house with interior blinds that block the sun and hinges that allow the windows to open wide, and they are placed both high and low in the space which will allow for great ventilation.

unexpected pleasures

an interesting side effect of this project .... "liberation" and "unexpected contentment" for two people.... that counts as a bonus, right??

back from hiatus

after a few weeks out of the midwest to escape the winter cold, we come back to see what progress Alex has made.... a team meeting today brought a few decisions:

- selected Winter Turbine from 3 options Windterra, Swift and Urban Green Energy - although Swift was a European designed product being manufactured in Michigan, we liked the vertical design of the Windterra a bit better.. and it was a bit less expensive... $11,000 versus $12,300 before the $3,000 tax rebate. The Urban Green Energy wind turbine was just released and so not much practical use in the field plus it is manufactured out of NY which compared less favorably for us. All of them provided over 1.KW of capacity at peak which was about all we could afford... the larger turbines go up in the $20K range... believe it or not it says these things get rolling up to 90 m.p.h!!! this price includes installation, the controller/inverter and a mounting bracket for the roof. We have upgraded the electrical system to allow for a bi-directional utility meter and will be wiring for potential solar panels as well.

- we finalized our siding/trim, considered a generator ($6500) which we will prepare for but not install initially, and debated the different roof options, basically TPO vs PVC, and had a hard time coming to a decision... the PVC production process is notoriously maligned but the product is actually pretty green as it is made of natural gas and rock salt. Research can be found favoring both products as the "green" choice... a bit more Alex research is needed.... lets decide this week!

- we met with an arborist and Gunner Piotter, Landscape Architect, to discuss the large property... we will be removing much of the dead or almost dead trees including a couple that have been struck by lighting and could topple onto the house at another storm. We are trimming some on the bluff to open up the lake and sunset views but leaving all other mature healthy trees . We are adding quite a few white pines, the official tree of Michigan(!!), and the rest of the landscaping will be indigenous grasses which require no watering.... the 3 rain chains in our new plan will provide for some nice rain garden's along the front and side of the house which will eliminate all need for irrigation.

It was a treat to see the whole space framed out in FSC lumber (which cost a bit more).. we could really get a sense of the new space!

A visit to Community Home Supply "Green Week" Sale will finalize all the plumbing fixtures....

I was too damn cold to run back to the car to grab my camera so I took one crappy shot above with my phone... Help....Natasha!!!!!

time for the local news

Molly, my intrepid stepdaughter, just forwarded me the link to the blog of one of her Parker classmates... Jesse is running a vegetable farm in Three Oaks... the next town over from Lakeside.... maybe he can stock us up with some Ramps, Kale and other things I don't like the sound of ....the Granor Griffin

I am the world's worst blogger.... its been over a month!! more soon

Going, Going, Gone - Interior demo done!

Vote Earth!!

Brooke has brought us the "Switch off your lights" for Earth hour challenge.... Saturday, March 28th from 8:30-9:30pm.... does that mean TVs too?? OK!! www.earthhourus.org

natural territory - scottsdale

So we headed to Scottsdale via Beaver Creek for Winter break....(full disclosure: on a Gulfstream IV... hence the hypocrite in my designation).....  but while there, Terese (a Phoenician) and I hit Natural Territory, a really great green design store... saw some interesting items worth mentioning.... 

- sconce pendant lights made of shave pine bark (doesnt kill tree - see above photo)

- cool recycled paper wall art

- CFL lightbulbs that do NOT give off harsh light and are dimmable!! 

rebuilding exchange delta project

Natasha, Alex and Alicia hit the Chicago Rebuilding exchange grand opening... a project sponsored by the Delta Project.... www.delta-institute.org/rebuildingexchange 

lot of materials salvaged from house demos... a bit low brow compared to Salvage One but a great idea

seems like lots of work to save all this stuff compared to the wrecking ball but a good and it seems to be a good and catching trend...  

mah jongg

Based on a google search I did, I am not the only one obsessed with the Mah Jongg couch at Roche Bobois.... in fact Natasha told me she is too.... we went to sit on it at the Chicago store and it isn't uncomfortable but it is very cool looking... 

So, I made my first (and hopefully only) "non-green" decision and ordered a couch that will be made in Italy!!  I rationalized this as follows:

- I need SOMETHING italian - nobody does design better...just go to Milan 

- couldn't find a flexible (moveable) sectional that could easily be moved (need a configurable living room space) 

- I am recycling-FORWARD.... have promised Natasha the couch if we ever sell the house.... 

- it was on sale and I also don't have to pay tax (delivered to Michigan) - even though the price would make most husband's gag... 

will have to be really REALLY good somewhere else.... 

new plans

New plans... back to the "box"... new entry and moved wall to take focus off garage... beams that were reclaimed from old house will be used for new roof overhang... this overhang will provide the sun shade that Rick has been pushing for.... economically!!     Teepee is a new tree.... scupper over front door will have a rain chain that will empty into a rain garden... more on that later... 

Green Home Chicago

left to right:  Karen, owner-Green Home Chicago Design Center, Terese, interior design, Rick-architect, Alex-builder 

Apologies to the camera shy members of the team but here they are hard at work at the Green Home Design Center... an amazing resource in Chicago for green building materials... the incredibly interesting social entrepreneur owner, Karen, fed us amazing sandwiches and shared her 10 point system with us... again, everything is a trade off...something may be 100% recycled but made in LA versus something that is 50% recycled but made locally - which is greener??  

we opted to go for locally made when we could and then look at content, re-use, cradle-to-cradle design and of course, cost....  

Alex (and Natasha!) prepared an awesome presentation... including the findings of his research into solar, wind and geo-thermal energy systems.... it was the beginning of realizing that every decision is a trade-off... and that it isnt always cost-effective to be green!!   Some of our decisions included 

 - Solar panels make no economic sense for our project (structure too small/costs too expensive - over 23K)

 - Large wind turbine too expensive but we will install a rooftop wind system (approx 7K) to get some benefits... 

- Geo-thermal makes alot of sense but again, isn't the cheapest approach... we will install a vertical system  (approx 7K) 

- Also, an expense we had hoped to avoid was replacing all the single pane large picture windows but the first rule of green building seems to be to ensure efficient windows and avoiding unnecessary  heat/cold air loss..... so, looks like we are replacing them with low-e highly efficient glass panels... hello 10K 

Also, based on Alex's pricing, we will make some changes to the plans to try to reduce building costs such as:

- simplifying roof stucture, putting the mechanicals in the crawl space instead of roof area (save approx 15K?)

- simplifying garage renovation plans - 35K to renovate a basic garage... NO WAY!! 

The tax incentives are getting much better as far as tax breaks for using some of these technologies.... many have lifted any "limits" for installation in 2009 and beyond

but we want this $300K renovation to come down alot closer to 250K...back to work

What a Difference a Day Makes

Bathroom and kitchen - gone.  The whole loft should be deconstructed by tomorrow.  Yay for progress!

Alex and I went to the Green Maker Supply in Chicago last week to check out materials and products.  I was surprised with the variety of products ranging from toxin free paints and stains to biodegradable picnic ware, funky futuristic toilets and flooring so green you could probably eat it.  The powerless lights made out of highly reflective and faceted tubes were really cool and will probably light up the office loft.  My favorite find was a paper based countertop material made of FSC certified paper, hemp or cardboard.  Pretty cool, huh?

Ummm, hello????? how awesome is this idea?? guess it depends on what material we use....

I think I might have won this solar faucet at the K.I.S.S. silent auction last nite... left too soon to tell .... I might also have purchased a white cow rug... is that green??? doing my part for the economy... and Andrea!!

My very cool new friend Amy has a very cool table that could be made by a local craftsman with sustainable wood and fits the bill for flexibility... goes from 2 square tables of 4-8, to one rectangle for 12-14 to 2 circles of 12 each..... check out Amy's BECKONING OF LOVELY project if you haven't already...

Here is a little Chicago treasure..... http://www.castedesign.us/ most of their stuff is very refined and incredibly crafted but I am obsessed with their more rustic large store installations made from reclaimed wood in Montana.... sculpture that they don't really intend to sell.... I like the stalactite piece (random wood strips over chicken wire mold) and wonder if we could use something like that in the house... or re-use the wood from the loft demolition and apply it like this to the flue or other surface....

Plans (check)
Permit (check)
People (check)
Pricing.......Alex???

new look... studio and garage

"Passive is the new green" Rick Carr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house

hundreds attend recent global warming protest

bye bye old white house.... all thats left of you is some reclaimed wood, washer and dryer and a pot-bellied stove....

on about 4 acres sat an old white house that was nothing remarkable short of its lake views and storied history of dinner parties that included relatives of famous americans.... a hodgepodge of add-on rooms and carpeted bathrooms.....

first view