Vacation

Just a quick note, I will be on vacation from August 9-23! If you need to, please contact Don Heise at dheise@archwoodspecialties.com. Thanks, and see you soon!

Credit SS 2.2, Basic Landscaping Design

This credit is worth 2 points, essentially 1 point for the backyard and 1 point for the front yard. If only the front yard will be landscaped, only 1 point will be awarded for this credit.*

The Greenbush project is going for 2 points. I have included this verbiage into the architectural specs:

Turf (grass) will be drought-resistant turf only and will not be planted in shaded areas or areas with a slope of greater than 25%. Mulch and soil will be added when needed to help reduce erosion and maintain soil temperature. The landscaping itself should minimize water use and synthetic chemicals.

It is the duty of the landscape architect to sign off on this credit; this project so far does not have a landscape architect as we are trying to replicate what a typical person in a rural community would do. I imagine an architect or the builder would be sufficient to sign off.

The main idea for the landscaping so far is to clear as little trees and damage the site minimally during construction as possible. Hopefully this will keep the need for additional planting to a minimum. Not only will this help with stormwater management, but it will cut down on costs as well. The planting we will do will probably include native spreading plants such as wild ginger.

*It is important to note that if only one yard is landscaped that a plan must be in place for the rest of the site to be landscaped in the future. The soil must be stable enough to handle erosion runoff until it is landscaped.

How to source local materials

For me, the most important thing to do when being sustainable, is to take advantage of local products and vendors. Using local materials not only reduces your ecologic footprint by minimizing transportation, it also stimulates the local economy.

Wood from Todd County, Minnesota

Here are some strategies for finding local building materials:

· Start by talking to people in the area, and ask a lot of questions. "Joe" from down the street might actually have a passion for making his own countertops from rocks in his cornfield, for example. Chances are that Joe probably knows someone too. Get the word out, and let people know what you're looking for.

· Talk to the local county economic developer to hone in on what local businesses and materials are available.

· Contact your local DNR and see what foresters are in the area (they might have wood on their own land to sell or can hook you up with local foresters). http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/contact/locator.html

· What were the old buildings made out of? Chances are whatever it is, it was probably local. Also, are there any buildings that need to come down that materials could be salvaged from? Does the local junkyard have any items that could be reused?

· Open the local phone book and look at the businesses. Are there local artisans that would be interest making something out of local materials? Buy something from a locally-manufactured plant instead of from a big box store. For example, there is a solar panel plant in Starbuck, MN, a high-efficiency boiler plant in Greenbush, MN, and Marvin Windows is also made in Minnesota. Also remember that just because a distributor is local it doesn’t mean the product is made locally.

· Check out sustainable materials, such as wood from sustainable forests. Minnesota has a lot of sustainably-managed forests. You can see if there is anyone local to your area by going here: http://www.certifiedwoodsearch.org/overview.aspx

The miracle floor plan

I am calling this the miracle floor plan because of all of the amazing things packed into it at a miraculous 1,306 square feet (well below the asking median for LEED-H 3-bedroom criteria!). It meets everything the community is asking for, including "universal design" principles (design elements that can sustain many different ages and needs). Now... what will the price be to construct it?

Here are the features of the LEED-H home in Greenbush:

• 3 bedrooms, 2 baths
• 1,306 sq.ft.
• One level open floor plan (universal design)
  
• Front porch that faces the corner of Minnesota St. and Silver Spruce Ct.
• Sealed front entryway to minimize energy loss
• In-floor radiant heat system
• Central Boiler fireplace (local company)
  
• Passive solar site orientation
• Sun room on the south side to maximize passive solar heating, with door toward yard or optional deck area
• Large overhangs on the south side for passive cooling in the summer
• Marvin windows in each room for daylighting
• Solartube in the interior bathroom
• Cross-ventilation
• 36” doors (universal design)
  
• Recycling storage
• Mudroom for extra storage, and to keep particles from entering the house
• Detached garage to keep chemicals from entering the house
• Garage-connecting breezeway connecting located west of the home
• Fresh air intake system
• On-demand water heaters
• Advanced framing techniques, ie. the house is designed in 4’ increments to match plywood sheet sizes
• His and hers closets in the master bedroom
• Built-in desks in some bedrooms (built by a local contractor)
• Built-in computer desk in the main living space for the family to share
• Local materials as much as possible, FSC-certified wood when possible
• LEED-Home certification
• Energy Star Home certification

This list doesn't include half of the criteria that is included for LEED-H, but is more an advertising tool for the house. Don't forget, we have to sell it after it's built!

Credit ID 2.4, Third party durability inspection

The LEED provider has given me a durability inspection checklist to complete prior to construction.

The builder will complete the durability inspection checklist, which the provider will use to verify durable construction implementation.

The LEED-H Provider is going to go over this durability checklist with me shortly. At first glance, it seems a little bit confusing but he assures me that once we've gone through it, it's a piece of cake. I think this is a great attribute to the LEED program in general, because what good is going green if it is not a durable product in the end?

When we go through the checklist, I'll repost. Until then, I've included it as part of the architectural specs as a mandatory requirement and attached the durability pages (pages 36-39 in the LEED-H manual) for further reference.

Credit ID 2.3, prerequisite, Quality management plan

Prior to construction, the builder will have a quality management program in place to address durability issues.

This quality management program will address any issues we find with the durability evaluation. I have added this quality management program into the architectural specs. I'll repost once the program is actually completed.