A Tough Decision Made...

What am I really? A conservative Chemical Engineer or a dirt-worshiping tree-hugger? We've just made one decision that brought those two sides of my world view into direct conflict. The decision on which waterproofing and insulation system to use directly affects the "greenness" of the home via material selection. The conflict has to do with how to implement the underground (therefore irreversible) waterproofing and insulation system that will be installed on the poured-in-place concrete basement walls on the up-hill side of the house.

The tree-hugger in me desperately wants to be a leader in the emerging Green building movement. He wants to use a slick new spray-on soy based foam system that allegedly is stable for years and waterproofs at the same time it insulates. The blowing agent (what makes it foam up) is not a greenhouse gas contributor and so the advocate for renewable resources and climate protection in me loves it! It's reaaaallllly green. BUT...Sue and I have said from the get-go that we want to be leaders in the green building field; not fanatics.

The ChE in me knows that there is nothing more waterproof and stable over the long haul than dead dinosaurs (petroleum based mastic). It's been underground for millennia not just years. We know how it will fare underground over the life of the building and we know (if done right) it will not leak and will not need to be dug up and replaced in a decade or so. We also know that Styrofoam (Dow's trademarked, closed cell, extruded polystyrene foam) is stable for decades because it, too, is made from dead dinosaurs. The problem with petroleum mastic and Styrofoam is that both are the definition of non-renewable. There ARE no more dinosaurs who will die, rot, be compressed for eons and kindly re-supply us with petroleum products. Further, the blowing agent used in Styrofoam production for 60 years is a VERY powerful contributor to global warming (much more so than the CO2 that everyone hears about).

As someone who KNOWs global warming AND depletion of resources to be a problem, I was really torn. Which system is the responsible choice?

At the end of the decision day, I had to go with the conservative Chemical Engineer in me and opt for tried and true. Petroleum mastic and 3 inches of Dow blue Styrofoam. My decision ultimately came down to resting on two principals of green building. THE most important factor in sustainability is "build to last". Do not build something with built-in obsolescence that will be pulled down and replaced in a few years or even decades. The second most important principal in sustainable building is energy conservation. Build a house that is very energy efficient and over it's life, the minimised energy uses of the building will be both economical and green. Leadership always involves compromise. The challenge is in picking the right compromises to make. I hoped I was making the right compromise.

As it turns out, a week after agonizing over this choice I got some great news. My buddies at Dow have been busy(I used to work in a Dow environmental consulting group and my last engineering assignment was at Dow's Freeport, TX facility). Dow Styrofoam is now formulated with a non- greenhouse gas blowing agent. Beginning in early 2009, they've converted their Styrofoam production facilities to the new technology; starting in Dalton, GA. It's sill not renewable.... but my hot button; Global Warming Potential (GWP) has been relieved. Had I known this two weeks ago, the decision would have been much easier. Now I know we made the right call!

These guys work fast!

After the footers went in a day early, I sort of assumed Friday would be a down day.

Not so! We went out late Saturday to discover the rebar almost completely installed and many of the forms already in place. Our builder is not using the ICF (insulated concrete forms) that are becoming popular in the green building trade. Instead, he'll form and pour the walls using conventional forms that will then be stripped away. After that, he'll apply waterproofing and insulating foam to the outside of the walls. The result will feel cooler in summer and warmer in winter even than the ICF approach. Why? Because the concrete with its large thermal mass will not be insulated from the living spaces of the house. It WILL be insulated from the outside heat or cold so once it's cool it will tend to stay cooler and once it's warm it will tend to stay warmer inside. I love it! This is Too cool!

Footers are in.

We've got a combination of "poured in place" and formed footers on the site. The benefit of poured in place is... it's obviously cheaper. Where appropriate, that's the way to go. The benefit of forming them above grade is mainly to promote drainage of groundwater around the basement. The above grade footers allow for a french drain to be easily installed at the lowest level. No buildup of water on the outside of the foundation = dry basement!

Boy it's dry!

The basement is dug and the garage excavation is almost complete. We're kicking up a LOT of dust. Look at this image to see how far down before there is ANY moisture. If it does ever rain again, we do at least have the silt fence in place. Note the installation details. This contractor understands how they are supposed to work. Even though we are quite a way from any dry weather stream, a silt fence is still required by the Blount County NPDES permit, and our guy respects that.

Since we got impatient and planted some landscaping before the build, we're needing to water the trees to keep them alive during the dry weather. Not to worry! I found a guy on Craigs list selling reclaimed reagent tanks. We bought one... loaded it into the back of our "Big Ugly" truck and water the trees regularly. Once the house is built, this tank will becomne one of our rainwater collection tanks under the deck. It's perfect. 276 gallons w/ a steel cage. It still had a little blackstrap Molasses residue inside when I got it so I knew exactly what it was used for. Completely safe!

And Now it Begins

Wednesday, July 7th 2010; The long wait is over and we finally have started to build. The fun started with window selection; 7:00 AM at the Roastery. Groundbreaking took place today @ 2:00 PM; 98 degrees in the middle of our heat wave. The excavator had to go down over two feet before we saw any semblance of moisture in the soil. It was a dusty job, but Dwayne and Karen jumped right in. Rick Hessick from BR2 builders was on hand as well. Since I already had a gold shovel from the NPPC groundbreaking two years ago, I turned it into a photo-opp. This is gonna be fun!

Back In the Saddle Again

I'm so excited that I can't sleep, so what's a fella to do? I know... Blog! TODAY I meet the builder and his excavator at the site to review the pin placement (location of the surveyor's marks of the building's corners). We could be digging tomorrow if the building permit is issued today too. I feel like singing the Gene Autry classic.... "I'm back in the saddle again..."





From my last post you might have concluded that we would be well under way with construction by now. "Not so fast" the man said! We never imagined that an allegedly qualified appraiser would look at an appraisal by an even more qualified appraiser and discount his work so much. First National Bank's "Field Appraisal" remarkably came back exactly the same low low number as the previous one from that bank. This, despite the fact that the work they were "checking" yielded a result 26% higher. Unbelievable! Well... we went into mourning again for a few months and just couldn't talk (blog) about it.





When we finally picked ourselves up off the ground, I found yet another bank that had expressed interest. In fact, Bank East had first approached me several months ago expressing interest in the Energy efficient house they heard we planned to build. The lesson here must be something like: find a bank that already is doing "Green" or is at least is interested, rather than waste your time on banks that can't spell "green". I'm convinced that despite the alleged "arm's length" that is supposed to exist between banks and their appraisers, First National Bank must have directed the appraisers what number to come back with. They must not have wanted to loan more than $XXX. To top it off, when we finally saw a clear copy of the appraisal report, it looks like the guy appraised the wrong lot! The photo in the appraisal report bears no resemblance to our lot. It's pretty clear the guy had a result in mind so that when he got a photo of a lot with no view, there was no reason to question the direction he had been given. I've asked the bank for our money back (for the ridiculous, wrong lot appraisal fee). We'll see how they respond.





BUT, back to happier things.



Bank East has been a joy to work with! They, too, were concerned with the lack of "comparable sales" for a qualified appraisal and told me, straight up, that there were no guarantees. We just take our chances on the judgement of the appraiser. Still, since they had expressed interest in "green" building AND were nice to deal with, we decided to try our luck one more time. I'm glad we did! Bank East's appraiser made a serious attempt to understand the plans, specs, view, LEED (Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design) checklist and intangibles of our project. The result was an appraisal that, while still not covering the total cost of construction, was high enough that we can fund the shortfall with our savings. In fact, the appraisal report includes the LEED review checklist that we had submitted with the plans. For Blount County, this guy is a real renaissance man!

Progress! (with finger's crossed)

It pays to read the fine print! You may have seen my rant about the screwed up appraisal system. Last time we just went with the flow, settled for the next guy on the list and, not unexpectedly, got a rediculous result from an inexperienced, unqualified appraiser. Unwilling to "settle", we struggled to understand the process. Finally, we managed to get a written copy of the underwriting guidelines that the bank used to guide the process. Despite all the stories we had heard about arm's length (bankers can't even talk to the appraiser or know who they are before hand), we found a way to be sure we got a qualified appraiser. It's called a "field appraisal". So long as we are willing to pay for two appraisals, we can hire the first one ourselves! By then, the work is done. The thinking is done. With the first appraisal done by a certified professional, even if a beginner gets assigned the field appraisal they won't get it wrong. Well, the first step is done! We got a good appraisal when we hired a qualified pro. Our appraisal is still on the low side of where it might have been two years ago, but it's good enough to get the construction started. My fingers are crossed. We'll know in about a week if our plan worked.