Last week I wrote about lighting and the first of two classes I attended on lighting technologies and design taught by the Lighting Design Lab in Seattle. This week I’ll conclude by reviewing the second class, Basics of Lighting Design, as well as what I learned the following week visiting Lutron’s Seattle showroom.
A different instructor for this class, he broke lighting design into five segments and explored each in turn. They are:
• Defining the Project
• Opening Assessment
• Setting Goals
• Determining Scope
• Establishing Strategies
Of the five segments, I found Establishing Strategies the most interesting. Within that category we first explored lighting levels and energy use. I found them to be quite illuminating (pun somewhat intended) for understanding design principles and we were shown four metrics to consider. First is seeing a light source in terms of its efficacy, or lumens per watt (LPW). The next two define light in terms of lighting power density (LPD), or watts per sq. ft., and foot-candle power or illuminace, measured in lumens per sq. ft. (fc). The last metric pertains to lighting layout within designated energy code requirements expressed as a lighting power allowance, defined as allowable watts per sq. ft. (LPA).
With this basket of knowledge, we then explored how to choose a type of lighting best suited to a designated task based upon efficiency, efficacy and effectiveness. In other words, make every watt count. This brought us back to information learned in the first class about lighting technologies, as well learning new information about switches, timers, dimmers, occupancy/vacancy sensors and photo cells. We were shown where to look and how to understand manufacturer specification to help with choosing specific fixtures, and how to consider spacing and lighting angles. This was then refined even further to consider specific tasking, accenting, wall washing and wall grazing, glare, reflectance and contrast ratios of lit objects. It was a lot of information, but in the end, we only touched upon the science of lighting. But it was a day well spent.
The following Tuesday I was invited by a local Lutron representative to visit their showroom in downtown Seattle. That invitation came about because they are one of 3 large sponsors of NAHB’s Builder-20 groups and have a strong interest in cultivating relationships with membership. They also send a representative to speak with us about electronic and radio controlled switching and other devices they’ve developed for residential and commercial application, at each of our bi-annual R-20 meetings.
In a program similar to what Thermadore offered this past fall in Arizona, in 2010 Lutron invited our R-20 group to use their Fort Lauderdale facilities to conduct our spring meeting. One of the days we spent around 3 hours in a guided tour of their large, well equipped showroom to experience what they had developed and their uses.
Being fairly familiar with many of their products, my Seattle showroom visit was about an hour long. We went into more detail about their three systems of environment control in a home. The first, named Maestro Wireless, is a wireless mini-system for controls in single rooms or a few rooms only. Not requiring additional wiring, it’s an ideal method for adding and/or controlling dimmers, switches, and occupancy sensors. RadioRA2, the next system up is designed for whole house use up to 5000 sq. ft. This system integrates with HVAC and security systems, controls shades as well as light switching and dimming. It’s also networks with both Apple and Android operating system tablet computers. Then the big system is their HomeWorks QS. This is for electronically controlling anything at any time in homes 30,000 sq. ft. or greater. I didn’t spend much time investigating that system. But on the whole, the first two systems noted above have a number of interesting uses that consume very little energy and actually help reduce energy use through programming and reduced energy consumption. In some instances, the cost to retrofit with more expensive technology is equal to manually installing wires and switches with minor repairs to wall disturbance. As circumstances arise, I will be suggesting wireless solutions to clients.
Having this opportunity to learn about lighting and control systems over the course of a week was a great experience. Now knowing enough to maybe be dangerous, I see that good lighting requires a lot of thought, and consulting an expert is a really good idea when planning a remodel.
Cheers,
Wayne
Friday, May 25, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Where Is Lighting Going
Earlier this month I took an opportunity to attend two short classes about lighting put on by the Lighting Design Lab in Seattle. They put these classes on a few times each year, generally as a series of two related topics. My morning instruction was Basic Lamp Technologies and the afternoon class was Basic Lighting Design Principles. I attended a similar program back in 2009 and felt I needed both a refresher as well learn what was new in the world of lighting. At a cost of $30 each session with lunch included, how could one turn down an opportunity like this?
The Lighting Design Lab is sponsored by about a dozen large institutions ranging from utilities to universities from around the Northwest, including British Columbia. Their mandate is to educate, and putting on classes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and BC is a major component. Their goal is to conserve energy by creating awareness about what is happening with lighting technologies and how to incorporate them into residential, commercial and institutional buildings. The class I participated in contained a mix of professions, with a large proportion being commercially oriented architects.
Both classes being basics, we began by learning about light by categorizing it into correlated color temperature (CCT), color rendering index (CRI), spectral power distribution (SPD), and how our brains interpret them. One interesting tidbit of information was if a color wavelength is not present in a light source, we are unable to see that color in an item being illuminated. This explains why low pressure sodium street and parking lot lighting is so difficult to see with. We explored lamp metrics such as lumens, candelas, efficacy and rated life, among a number of other qualities. We then went over bulb shape and size nomenclature, thus ending years of my wondering what all the numbers and letters on packaging information meant. Being a general contractor that works with concrete often, I learned that bulb sizes are designated in 1/8” increments, the same as rebar. For example, an A19 bulb (our typical incandescent bulb) means: (A)rbirtary 19/8”, or a bulb diameter of 2 3/8”. All prefix letters stand for pretty basic intuitive designations, but having an initial idea of what they signify is helpful before going to a store to purchase replacements.
As for what’s new, the bulb efficiency revolution is upon us in full force. The pace of change occurring in lighting is happening at an amazing speed and increasing as we read. The LED (light emitting diode) and OLED (organic light emitting diode) industry is the driving force behind this innovation process. It’s pushing both the incandescent and florescent industries to greater efficiencies simply because they can’t afford to be left behind. The most impactful changes are occurring with the transformation of lighting and switching. This is driven by moving from magnetic transformers, ballasts, and switching to electronic. Weight, use of highly toxic chemicals and performance/efficiency are all positively affected by this shift. Another interesting nugget of information I took away was how florescent lighting is changed by electronic technology. Over the years I have had a few clients that cannot use florescent lighting because it has a propensity to trigger migraine headaches due to micro flickering they emit. According to our instructor, by changing to electronic ballasts and switching, flickering is eliminated, removing a triggering mechanism for migraines. I’ve yet to confirm this through real world use.
We spent a great deal of time going over the types of lighting available, i.e. incandescent, florescent, neon, fiber optics, LED’s, high intensity discharge, halogen, low voltage, mercury vapor, metal halide, high pressure and low pressure sodium lamps. Each was explored in terms of its technology, changes occurring within design and efficiency, optimum locations for their use, and potential drawbacks.
Though only a two hour class, if was chock full if useful information, and since lighting is a profession of its own which takes years of study to master, we only skimmed a vast reservoir of information available. Next week I‘ll explore Basic Lighting Design Principles, which was the second two hour class.
Cheers,
Wayne
The Lighting Design Lab is sponsored by about a dozen large institutions ranging from utilities to universities from around the Northwest, including British Columbia. Their mandate is to educate, and putting on classes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and BC is a major component. Their goal is to conserve energy by creating awareness about what is happening with lighting technologies and how to incorporate them into residential, commercial and institutional buildings. The class I participated in contained a mix of professions, with a large proportion being commercially oriented architects.
Both classes being basics, we began by learning about light by categorizing it into correlated color temperature (CCT), color rendering index (CRI), spectral power distribution (SPD), and how our brains interpret them. One interesting tidbit of information was if a color wavelength is not present in a light source, we are unable to see that color in an item being illuminated. This explains why low pressure sodium street and parking lot lighting is so difficult to see with. We explored lamp metrics such as lumens, candelas, efficacy and rated life, among a number of other qualities. We then went over bulb shape and size nomenclature, thus ending years of my wondering what all the numbers and letters on packaging information meant. Being a general contractor that works with concrete often, I learned that bulb sizes are designated in 1/8” increments, the same as rebar. For example, an A19 bulb (our typical incandescent bulb) means: (A)rbirtary 19/8”, or a bulb diameter of 2 3/8”. All prefix letters stand for pretty basic intuitive designations, but having an initial idea of what they signify is helpful before going to a store to purchase replacements.
As for what’s new, the bulb efficiency revolution is upon us in full force. The pace of change occurring in lighting is happening at an amazing speed and increasing as we read. The LED (light emitting diode) and OLED (organic light emitting diode) industry is the driving force behind this innovation process. It’s pushing both the incandescent and florescent industries to greater efficiencies simply because they can’t afford to be left behind. The most impactful changes are occurring with the transformation of lighting and switching. This is driven by moving from magnetic transformers, ballasts, and switching to electronic. Weight, use of highly toxic chemicals and performance/efficiency are all positively affected by this shift. Another interesting nugget of information I took away was how florescent lighting is changed by electronic technology. Over the years I have had a few clients that cannot use florescent lighting because it has a propensity to trigger migraine headaches due to micro flickering they emit. According to our instructor, by changing to electronic ballasts and switching, flickering is eliminated, removing a triggering mechanism for migraines. I’ve yet to confirm this through real world use.
We spent a great deal of time going over the types of lighting available, i.e. incandescent, florescent, neon, fiber optics, LED’s, high intensity discharge, halogen, low voltage, mercury vapor, metal halide, high pressure and low pressure sodium lamps. Each was explored in terms of its technology, changes occurring within design and efficiency, optimum locations for their use, and potential drawbacks.
Though only a two hour class, if was chock full if useful information, and since lighting is a profession of its own which takes years of study to master, we only skimmed a vast reservoir of information available. Next week I‘ll explore Basic Lighting Design Principles, which was the second two hour class.
Cheers,
Wayne
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Our Bi-annual Business Meeting
Last week I wrote about traveling to Chicago for my bi-annual Remodel-20 business meeting. That entire blog I wrote about my takeaways from a visit to Chicago’s Center For Green Technology. This blog will be about our two and a half day business meeting.
Our meeting took place Thursday, Friday and the first half of Saturday. By Wednesday, we began gathering in the hotel, and a number of us met for an informal dinner gathering. After my visit to the Center For Green Technology, I spent additional time walking the city and visiting museums with others in our group. We’ve gone through a lot of personnel changes over the years I’ve been around. Started in fall 1999, there are currently 2 founding members, and at 10 years, I’m the forth longest participant. Personnel changes have brought changes to the group dynamic and we’re now a pretty close group that enjoys spending social time together before and during our meetings.
I’ve seen the loss of loved ones, divorces, marriages, and struggles of running a demanding business with balancing family. Though a designated business network, personal conditions are always considered when diagnosing a company’s condition and making recommendations. One of our members has repeatedly stated that advice offered by the group saved their struggling marriage. Everyone cares and wants to help each other succeed financially and personally. Sadly, I doubt there are many boards of directors that function at this level. I believe our businesses and economy would be a lot healthier if they did.
Our meeting last October saw acceptance of three new company’s into the group, and in Chicago a new member joined. Our next meeting coming in October sees the invitation of two potential new members. We are looking at a total of 16 companies for our group, one that has historically sat between 10 - 13 companies.
This meeting we spent more time reviewing how the newer companies were doing. The main demand of our group is the necessity of having a clean chart of accounts that match how national wants things organized. We also require the latest Profit and Loss statement reflect all current liabilities, not just gross income. If we’re looking at financial snapshots of time, they must reflect clear reality, and not undecipherable data. It usually takes a while to get new members heads wrapped around economic thinking since nearly all of us come from a building backround with little to no financial literacy. Some get it quicker than others, but to remain in our group, it must be mastered within a reasonable amount of time. Off line help is always available when asked for, and people are strongly encouraged to ask. During these reviews is when both business and personal come to the forefront because they are interrelated, and the beauty of where this organization comes into play. Every single one of us that has remained in the group longer than a few years has repeatedly stated that joining was the best business decision they ever made.
Another interesting benefit of membership is the ability to get a feel of our national economy as well as seeing if new construction trends are taking place anywhere. This meeting I got a pretty good feel for the economy as there is a company representing many parts of our nation with the noted exception of California. Consensus was things are running okay, maybe slightly better than, but at least equal to last year. No one is seeing big growth or a need to scale things back. Everyone appears to believe this is the state of our economy for the foreseeable future and planning accordingly. One trend that does seem to be taking place is a few of us are beginning down the road towards a paperless office. During a round table we discussed what each is doing and how they were doing it. A bit of trial and error is involved. There was also a presentation about the use of ipads and construction apps available. Some in our group are already using ipads, and seeing how they are being adopted to the remodeling business was enlightening. I’ll be looking into getting one sometime in the not too distant future.
October we travel to Council Bluffs, Iowa for a company review. The following April be visit Nashville, then back to another company in eastern Iowa, and then Lexington. I get to experience all parts of our country and learn better business practices. What more could a business owner ask?
Cheers,
Wayne
Our meeting took place Thursday, Friday and the first half of Saturday. By Wednesday, we began gathering in the hotel, and a number of us met for an informal dinner gathering. After my visit to the Center For Green Technology, I spent additional time walking the city and visiting museums with others in our group. We’ve gone through a lot of personnel changes over the years I’ve been around. Started in fall 1999, there are currently 2 founding members, and at 10 years, I’m the forth longest participant. Personnel changes have brought changes to the group dynamic and we’re now a pretty close group that enjoys spending social time together before and during our meetings.
I’ve seen the loss of loved ones, divorces, marriages, and struggles of running a demanding business with balancing family. Though a designated business network, personal conditions are always considered when diagnosing a company’s condition and making recommendations. One of our members has repeatedly stated that advice offered by the group saved their struggling marriage. Everyone cares and wants to help each other succeed financially and personally. Sadly, I doubt there are many boards of directors that function at this level. I believe our businesses and economy would be a lot healthier if they did.
Our meeting last October saw acceptance of three new company’s into the group, and in Chicago a new member joined. Our next meeting coming in October sees the invitation of two potential new members. We are looking at a total of 16 companies for our group, one that has historically sat between 10 - 13 companies.
This meeting we spent more time reviewing how the newer companies were doing. The main demand of our group is the necessity of having a clean chart of accounts that match how national wants things organized. We also require the latest Profit and Loss statement reflect all current liabilities, not just gross income. If we’re looking at financial snapshots of time, they must reflect clear reality, and not undecipherable data. It usually takes a while to get new members heads wrapped around economic thinking since nearly all of us come from a building backround with little to no financial literacy. Some get it quicker than others, but to remain in our group, it must be mastered within a reasonable amount of time. Off line help is always available when asked for, and people are strongly encouraged to ask. During these reviews is when both business and personal come to the forefront because they are interrelated, and the beauty of where this organization comes into play. Every single one of us that has remained in the group longer than a few years has repeatedly stated that joining was the best business decision they ever made.
Another interesting benefit of membership is the ability to get a feel of our national economy as well as seeing if new construction trends are taking place anywhere. This meeting I got a pretty good feel for the economy as there is a company representing many parts of our nation with the noted exception of California. Consensus was things are running okay, maybe slightly better than, but at least equal to last year. No one is seeing big growth or a need to scale things back. Everyone appears to believe this is the state of our economy for the foreseeable future and planning accordingly. One trend that does seem to be taking place is a few of us are beginning down the road towards a paperless office. During a round table we discussed what each is doing and how they were doing it. A bit of trial and error is involved. There was also a presentation about the use of ipads and construction apps available. Some in our group are already using ipads, and seeing how they are being adopted to the remodeling business was enlightening. I’ll be looking into getting one sometime in the not too distant future.
October we travel to Council Bluffs, Iowa for a company review. The following April be visit Nashville, then back to another company in eastern Iowa, and then Lexington. I get to experience all parts of our country and learn better business practices. What more could a business owner ask?
Cheers,
Wayne
Friday, May 4, 2012
A Trip To Chicago
I paid a visit to Chicago last week to participate in one of my bi-annual Remodel-20 group meetings. We didn’t have a participating company to visit this spring, so it was decided to meet in Chicago in order to allow those interested to attend the national kitchen and bath conference, or KBIS. I arrived in the city 4 days before our group meeting but chose not to walk the floor, not having a predilection to view rows of faucets and other plumbing fixtures and cabinets. One thing I did do was visit the Chicago Center for Green Technology for a number of hours one morning. I discovered the existence of the center in one of the e2 DVD’s, which I blogged about back in April of last year. The center is about 10 years old, and the episode noted above had me believing it to be quite the influential project. A fairly small building located about 20 minutes outside of the Loop in a pretty run down area; I was disappointed to see that it was not the hive of activity I anticipated. Greeted with mild indifference at reception, we (my partner and I) were instructed to make ourselves at home and at our leisure. Making our way up to a resource room, a young and energetic woman greeted us and asked if we were interested in seeing the vegetative roof and PV system located on the roof. Being one of the reasons to visit, we accepted immediately.
It is not my intention to be unfairly critical. I believe every experimental step towards environmental consciousness is a step in the right direction, and it was instructive to see what 10 years can bring to a one-time cutting edge experiment. Many examples of new ideas were implemented such as rain cisterns, use of recycled materials for building materials, bioswales and a retention pond with native plantings.
A 72 kW PV system had been manufactured and installed by a local company now out of business, and hail storms had done enough damage to the panels that they were not functioning at capacity, with no apparent plan or money to address the problem. A vegetative roof, originally planted in sedums, had been left unattended for years and was now being supplanted by scallions. The entire planted roof was a beautiful light purple of flowering scallions. As to whether this is good or bad, time may tell. No monitoring is being done as to the volume of water leaving the rooftop now compared to 10 years ago.
Another interesting piece of information was the condition of permeable walkways and parking surfaces initially installed using materials that incorporated a pine pitch as binder. All of it was in an advanced stage of disintegration and turning into dirt. Again, no money or immediate plan to remedy this issue existed. But life is a learning experience, most of it gleaned from trial and error, and incremental change.
What was very impressive about the center is the amount of environmental education available. A Winter/Spring 2012 program schedule showed dozens of classes of all manner of environmental training for continuing education credits and certificates. It is inspiring to say the least, and as far as I know, our Seattle area has nothing even remotely comparable to this educational opportunity.
We were informed the city of Chicago had closed their environmental department and the center now being managed by the transportation department. Money was now extremely difficult to come by for projects like the center at this time. But that sad fact is both a country and worldwide problem. Remaining resources are being put into resurrecting a failed and dying system instead of forging something new and sustainable.
It was worth the trip to see what a major city had attempted during flush times and how now it was coping with a lack of political and economic will to see a sustainable vision of the future through to a successful conclusion. It is not just a Chicago problem, but an American, and human problem. Lackluster politicians, stupidity, greed, corruption, fear and corporatism are challenges hard to combat. Eventually they will be met, but these costs, both economically and spiritually, will be steeper than need be.
Cheers,
Wayne
It is not my intention to be unfairly critical. I believe every experimental step towards environmental consciousness is a step in the right direction, and it was instructive to see what 10 years can bring to a one-time cutting edge experiment. Many examples of new ideas were implemented such as rain cisterns, use of recycled materials for building materials, bioswales and a retention pond with native plantings.
A 72 kW PV system had been manufactured and installed by a local company now out of business, and hail storms had done enough damage to the panels that they were not functioning at capacity, with no apparent plan or money to address the problem. A vegetative roof, originally planted in sedums, had been left unattended for years and was now being supplanted by scallions. The entire planted roof was a beautiful light purple of flowering scallions. As to whether this is good or bad, time may tell. No monitoring is being done as to the volume of water leaving the rooftop now compared to 10 years ago.
Another interesting piece of information was the condition of permeable walkways and parking surfaces initially installed using materials that incorporated a pine pitch as binder. All of it was in an advanced stage of disintegration and turning into dirt. Again, no money or immediate plan to remedy this issue existed. But life is a learning experience, most of it gleaned from trial and error, and incremental change.
What was very impressive about the center is the amount of environmental education available. A Winter/Spring 2012 program schedule showed dozens of classes of all manner of environmental training for continuing education credits and certificates. It is inspiring to say the least, and as far as I know, our Seattle area has nothing even remotely comparable to this educational opportunity.
We were informed the city of Chicago had closed their environmental department and the center now being managed by the transportation department. Money was now extremely difficult to come by for projects like the center at this time. But that sad fact is both a country and worldwide problem. Remaining resources are being put into resurrecting a failed and dying system instead of forging something new and sustainable.
It was worth the trip to see what a major city had attempted during flush times and how now it was coping with a lack of political and economic will to see a sustainable vision of the future through to a successful conclusion. It is not just a Chicago problem, but an American, and human problem. Lackluster politicians, stupidity, greed, corruption, fear and corporatism are challenges hard to combat. Eventually they will be met, but these costs, both economically and spiritually, will be steeper than need be.
Cheers,
Wayne
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Earth Day 2012
Last Saturday I erected my 10’ x 10” pop-up tent at the Newcastle Earth Day Fair to display all my energy auditing equipment. This included a blower door set inside a door frame, a duct blaster, an infrared camera and a few other diagnostic tools. On a table were numerous brochures published by the Dept. of Energy explaining how homeowners can make minor retrofit changes to their homes that should generate significant returns, and what to look for when shopping for replacement appliances. The fair being only 4 years old, I’ve noticed increased attendance each of the past 3 years I’ve participated.
But from my perspective, it was a disappointing day. There was very little interest in what I was exhibiting at my booth. In past years, many people would stop by to inspect the large red blower door display simply out of curiosity. This year I spoke with maybe a dozen people the entire day. Why so little interest is hard to say. Over the past 2 years I’m seeing a downward trend in interest in energy conservation. I’ve been setting up my tent at a number of summer fairs these past three years and seen some interest in the topic but little in moving forward. Also, it’s hard to compete against utility program subsidies for audits. In Seattle, programs are offering $95 audits, the balance of a $400 audit reimbursed to the auditor after paperwork is submitted. Once believing there would be enough of a market for auditing services in our city, I chose not to participate in these programs. I don’t regret that decision, but am shocked there is so little interest in energy consumption that a non-subsidized market has not materialized. Nearly a year ago I decided to offer all my remodel clients a free energy audit as a bonus for choosing to work with us. But I also made this decision because I want to make a difference in our world as well. We’re making a difference, but it’s a longer row to hoe then I initially thought.
As to our 42nd celebration of Earth Day, that too is a disappointment. I had lunch with a new friend a few weekends ago and the topic of the environment and Earth Day came up. She’s in her late 60’s, and during conversation made the observation that when Earth Day first began, she anticipated swift and impactful changes to our environment and the economic rules that drove them. Yet 42 years later our earth is in more desperate shape then ever. My never having put environmental awareness into a well defined timeline, I was jolted by her observation. After forty two years of essentially paying lip service to planetary stewardship, we’re driving full speed toward a cliff with our foot on the accelerator.
Since our world is a manifestation of who we are and what we believe, the only way a finger can be pointed is back towards ourselves. It would be so convenient to blame a thoroughly corrupted political system and its spineless politicians as a cause, but it is our system and our representatives. We’ve allowed corruption to flourish and the least enlightened to both represent us and lead us forward.
I recently read an opinion piece by an Israeli writer, Uri Avnery, about optimism. He declared himself to have always been an optimist, preferring optimism over pessimism. Being a young boy during World War II, he recalled the darkest days of the war in Europe and the overwhelming air of pessimism as the Nazi’s appeared to be on the verge of complete victory. But within that seeming darkness, forces of change unrealized had already germinated and were about to spring forth. The Nazi’s were defeated at Stalingrad and north Africa and eventually crushed. He also referred to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the fall of communism and the recent Arab Spring. All unanticipated the day before each occurred. I roll back and forth between these two emotions, preferring optimism but often feeling pessimistic. I’m encouraged by his message of optimism.
Since all of us are a product of our earth, the earth’s illnesses are our illnesses. Its manifestations are dramatic climate change, unfettered greed, political corruption and a corporate state accountable to a small elite. I don’t believe the earth will tolerate 42 more years of dithering. I pray Avnery is right, and forces of change have already germinated and about to spring forth.
Cheers,
Wayne
But from my perspective, it was a disappointing day. There was very little interest in what I was exhibiting at my booth. In past years, many people would stop by to inspect the large red blower door display simply out of curiosity. This year I spoke with maybe a dozen people the entire day. Why so little interest is hard to say. Over the past 2 years I’m seeing a downward trend in interest in energy conservation. I’ve been setting up my tent at a number of summer fairs these past three years and seen some interest in the topic but little in moving forward. Also, it’s hard to compete against utility program subsidies for audits. In Seattle, programs are offering $95 audits, the balance of a $400 audit reimbursed to the auditor after paperwork is submitted. Once believing there would be enough of a market for auditing services in our city, I chose not to participate in these programs. I don’t regret that decision, but am shocked there is so little interest in energy consumption that a non-subsidized market has not materialized. Nearly a year ago I decided to offer all my remodel clients a free energy audit as a bonus for choosing to work with us. But I also made this decision because I want to make a difference in our world as well. We’re making a difference, but it’s a longer row to hoe then I initially thought.
As to our 42nd celebration of Earth Day, that too is a disappointment. I had lunch with a new friend a few weekends ago and the topic of the environment and Earth Day came up. She’s in her late 60’s, and during conversation made the observation that when Earth Day first began, she anticipated swift and impactful changes to our environment and the economic rules that drove them. Yet 42 years later our earth is in more desperate shape then ever. My never having put environmental awareness into a well defined timeline, I was jolted by her observation. After forty two years of essentially paying lip service to planetary stewardship, we’re driving full speed toward a cliff with our foot on the accelerator.
Since our world is a manifestation of who we are and what we believe, the only way a finger can be pointed is back towards ourselves. It would be so convenient to blame a thoroughly corrupted political system and its spineless politicians as a cause, but it is our system and our representatives. We’ve allowed corruption to flourish and the least enlightened to both represent us and lead us forward.
I recently read an opinion piece by an Israeli writer, Uri Avnery, about optimism. He declared himself to have always been an optimist, preferring optimism over pessimism. Being a young boy during World War II, he recalled the darkest days of the war in Europe and the overwhelming air of pessimism as the Nazi’s appeared to be on the verge of complete victory. But within that seeming darkness, forces of change unrealized had already germinated and were about to spring forth. The Nazi’s were defeated at Stalingrad and north Africa and eventually crushed. He also referred to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the fall of communism and the recent Arab Spring. All unanticipated the day before each occurred. I roll back and forth between these two emotions, preferring optimism but often feeling pessimistic. I’m encouraged by his message of optimism.
Since all of us are a product of our earth, the earth’s illnesses are our illnesses. Its manifestations are dramatic climate change, unfettered greed, political corruption and a corporate state accountable to a small elite. I don’t believe the earth will tolerate 42 more years of dithering. I pray Avnery is right, and forces of change have already germinated and about to spring forth.
Cheers,
Wayne
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Remodeling And Waste
Construction waste has been a concern of mine these past 15 years. When Northwest Homecrafters was a partnership between 1989 through early 1997, the two of us started becoming educated about what could be done with both deconstruction and construction waste. One of our first moves was to join the newly created Seattle chapter of the Northwest Ecobuilding Guild. My recollection of initial meetings was about jobsite waste, how to organize it and where it was possible to recycle some of it. There was a lot of excitement and disappointment around it. Excitement because recycling was on the radar, but disappointment because there were very few items that could be recycled, and many of these items had to be hauled long distances, making it economically unviable. Economics trumps everything, especially in a society that will only recognize value if it can be monetized and true costs socialized.
Seattle has come a long way over the past years. Recycling clean lumber, metal, cardboard and concrete make a huge dent in the waste stream. We are about to finally see the advent of carpet recycling. It would be great to see asphalt shingles, clean, or non-lead painted drywall, window glass, and porcelain (they were for a while) plumbing fixtures recycled.
Remodeling in Seattle requires us to deconstruct very old homes, many containing materials that have no potential for future use because they may contain contaminants such as lead and asbestos. This past week I disposed around 2 tons of deconstruction waste containing drywall, plaster, mortar, tiles and old pressure treated lumber. There are many items that cannot be used for anything as shown above, in addition to old single pane windows, doors, plumbing fixtures, and electrical wiring. If enough metal is found in anything, it can be recycled, otherwise, off to the solid waste bin. Fortunately a few recycling stores have made an appearance in our market over the past 15 years that will take a lot of used cabinetry, plumbing fixtures, lumber, doors and windows, and place them back onto a secondary market. Businesses such as Second Use, Re-Store, Habitat For Humanity, Earthwise, and Total Reclaim are providing outlets for a lot of our deconstruction materials.
I imagine there will continue to be large amounts of waste generated when deconstructing older homes because much material may never have a second use aspect to them. But we can look forward to a more thoughtful future of construction waste. One of the main ways of reducing waste is upfront planning and using construction practices that strive to achieve the most efficient use of materials. Advanced framing, a method developed during world war two to conserve raw materials for the war effort, is little more then optimizing lumber used in construction through design. Wall studs at 24” centers, window widths sized to increments of 24”, and floors and roof framing stacked to transfer loads directly down. There are a number of other performance criteria that are possible, but all come down to pre-planning. I’ve recently learned some of our local lumber suppliers are taking construction plans and pre-cutting framing lumber to size in warehouses and labeling them before shipping to construction sites. Of course remodeling an existing space will usually not allow for much use of advanced framing, but additions and second floors will.
Being very involved in green construction and the Passive House movement, a concern showing up on my radar is what long term consequences may lay ahead with the use of many new products developed to assist in constructing energy efficient buildings. Will it be possible to deconstruct these materials for future reuse, or at least avoid sending them into landfills? I have my doubts. I think much of what is being created and used is simply a modern version of what I’m currently deconstructing and throwing away. I don’t hear a whole lot of conversation around this particular topic. Maybe because in the desire to construct more energy efficient homes, we are willing to overlook the consequences of what happens to materials when in future these newer, better buildings get remodeled. All the fiberglass insulation, the multiple types of rigid insulations, new air and moisture envelope wraps and different caulks and tapes will be tampered with in the future. Products that meet a cradle to cradle criteria are not high on the progressive building practices lists.
As remodelers and builders, we need to begin demanding products that will not leave long term footprints in our landfills. It is a conversation we should be having in conjunction with learning how to construct more efficient buildings. Both are equally valid points in addressing the future of buildings and our environment.
Cheers,
Wayne
Seattle has come a long way over the past years. Recycling clean lumber, metal, cardboard and concrete make a huge dent in the waste stream. We are about to finally see the advent of carpet recycling. It would be great to see asphalt shingles, clean, or non-lead painted drywall, window glass, and porcelain (they were for a while) plumbing fixtures recycled.
Remodeling in Seattle requires us to deconstruct very old homes, many containing materials that have no potential for future use because they may contain contaminants such as lead and asbestos. This past week I disposed around 2 tons of deconstruction waste containing drywall, plaster, mortar, tiles and old pressure treated lumber. There are many items that cannot be used for anything as shown above, in addition to old single pane windows, doors, plumbing fixtures, and electrical wiring. If enough metal is found in anything, it can be recycled, otherwise, off to the solid waste bin. Fortunately a few recycling stores have made an appearance in our market over the past 15 years that will take a lot of used cabinetry, plumbing fixtures, lumber, doors and windows, and place them back onto a secondary market. Businesses such as Second Use, Re-Store, Habitat For Humanity, Earthwise, and Total Reclaim are providing outlets for a lot of our deconstruction materials.
I imagine there will continue to be large amounts of waste generated when deconstructing older homes because much material may never have a second use aspect to them. But we can look forward to a more thoughtful future of construction waste. One of the main ways of reducing waste is upfront planning and using construction practices that strive to achieve the most efficient use of materials. Advanced framing, a method developed during world war two to conserve raw materials for the war effort, is little more then optimizing lumber used in construction through design. Wall studs at 24” centers, window widths sized to increments of 24”, and floors and roof framing stacked to transfer loads directly down. There are a number of other performance criteria that are possible, but all come down to pre-planning. I’ve recently learned some of our local lumber suppliers are taking construction plans and pre-cutting framing lumber to size in warehouses and labeling them before shipping to construction sites. Of course remodeling an existing space will usually not allow for much use of advanced framing, but additions and second floors will.
Being very involved in green construction and the Passive House movement, a concern showing up on my radar is what long term consequences may lay ahead with the use of many new products developed to assist in constructing energy efficient buildings. Will it be possible to deconstruct these materials for future reuse, or at least avoid sending them into landfills? I have my doubts. I think much of what is being created and used is simply a modern version of what I’m currently deconstructing and throwing away. I don’t hear a whole lot of conversation around this particular topic. Maybe because in the desire to construct more energy efficient homes, we are willing to overlook the consequences of what happens to materials when in future these newer, better buildings get remodeled. All the fiberglass insulation, the multiple types of rigid insulations, new air and moisture envelope wraps and different caulks and tapes will be tampered with in the future. Products that meet a cradle to cradle criteria are not high on the progressive building practices lists.
As remodelers and builders, we need to begin demanding products that will not leave long term footprints in our landfills. It is a conversation we should be having in conjunction with learning how to construct more efficient buildings. Both are equally valid points in addressing the future of buildings and our environment.
Cheers,
Wayne
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Testing Product Boundaries
We’ve been working on an addition to a home the past few months and I’ve written about some of the weather and lead containment challenges we’ve faced. We are about to engage in a new challenge, one that will take a few years to play out, with no positive assured outcome.
This client has chosen to phase remodeling their home over a number of years because its scope affects the entire home in nearly every way. Since the financial investment required to remodel in a single phase is beyond their immediate means, they’ve developed a multi year plan to remodel significant areas every few years. This in turn leaves some previously remodeled areas incomplete so that nothing has to be deconstructed to integrate upcoming changes. We’re looking at a 5-8 year time frame for completion.
The main attractor to remodeling for me has been the never ending challenges it provides. Deconstructing existing homes, especially ones constructed more then 60 years ago and adding or modifying areas that architecturally integrate with the existing are fun. Making structural upgrades to accommodate changes without bringing the house down upon oneself; all while families are living there is exciting. One remodeler I know refers to remodeling as custom fitting someone with new clothing while they’re moving around, yet not hurting them and ending with a high quality fit. Throw in homeowner personalities, needs and wants and there aren’t many other professions in the world that require such a high degree of awareness.
Our latest challenge pertains to the additions shell. Initially constructed in the mid 40’s, probably somewhere in the 60’s a salesmen was able to convince a homeowner of the benefits of wrapping their home with aluminum siding. Fortunately, existing siding was not removed to facilitate a second layer of cladding. The original siding is ¾” x 10” clear beveled cedar, covered with a few coats of leaded paint. In a blog last month I described removing this siding from a portion of the house to accommodate the addition. Aluminum siding still covers about three quarters of the building and because major changes will be made in two additional areas, will remain in place over the coming 2 or 3 years.
Until the aluminum cladding is removed, it’s impossible to determine the condition of all the original cedar siding. Therefore the homeowners are undetermined whether to remove all the cedar and replace it with something different or to strip and repair it. This in turn has led them to choose not to apply any siding to the addition until all remaining aluminum siding is removed and a final assessment made. This is where our latest challenge comes from; what to do with the shell of the addition in the meantime.
My initial reaction to this challenge was horror. No one leaves a home unsided, let alone one or two years. No products exist that perform under these conditions. But, I decided to investigate possibilities and products that have potential. Considering ultraviolet radiation and wind, my first solution was two layers of Tyvek building wrap with taped seams held in place with 1x2 battens installed vertically on 16’ centers. Being involved with the Passive House community and after multiple conversations with building envelope specialists, I concluded to choose European products only. I chose to use a Vaproshield product. They wanted to work with me to see how their product performed under conditions never designed for.
We are installing it per their instructions, but using other products not manufactured by them for our window and door flashings. Part of their program will be sampling portions of their product after exposures of 9 months and one year. They may go longer, but that remains to be seen. By using other products, our other challenge was using products based upon butyl chemistry because mixing with asphaltic based products will produce corrosive chemical reactions. We don’t know how any of these products will perform under continual UV radiation.
Having a manufacturer involved in experimenting and monitoring their product under conditions never contemplated, and using common sense in their application is exciting. It may be that a year from now the building wrap will need to be over layered or replaced. But should it last up to two years, the old will be removed and replaced with something new before a final siding product is applied. I will report as it develops.
Cheers,
Wayne
This client has chosen to phase remodeling their home over a number of years because its scope affects the entire home in nearly every way. Since the financial investment required to remodel in a single phase is beyond their immediate means, they’ve developed a multi year plan to remodel significant areas every few years. This in turn leaves some previously remodeled areas incomplete so that nothing has to be deconstructed to integrate upcoming changes. We’re looking at a 5-8 year time frame for completion.
The main attractor to remodeling for me has been the never ending challenges it provides. Deconstructing existing homes, especially ones constructed more then 60 years ago and adding or modifying areas that architecturally integrate with the existing are fun. Making structural upgrades to accommodate changes without bringing the house down upon oneself; all while families are living there is exciting. One remodeler I know refers to remodeling as custom fitting someone with new clothing while they’re moving around, yet not hurting them and ending with a high quality fit. Throw in homeowner personalities, needs and wants and there aren’t many other professions in the world that require such a high degree of awareness.
Our latest challenge pertains to the additions shell. Initially constructed in the mid 40’s, probably somewhere in the 60’s a salesmen was able to convince a homeowner of the benefits of wrapping their home with aluminum siding. Fortunately, existing siding was not removed to facilitate a second layer of cladding. The original siding is ¾” x 10” clear beveled cedar, covered with a few coats of leaded paint. In a blog last month I described removing this siding from a portion of the house to accommodate the addition. Aluminum siding still covers about three quarters of the building and because major changes will be made in two additional areas, will remain in place over the coming 2 or 3 years.
Until the aluminum cladding is removed, it’s impossible to determine the condition of all the original cedar siding. Therefore the homeowners are undetermined whether to remove all the cedar and replace it with something different or to strip and repair it. This in turn has led them to choose not to apply any siding to the addition until all remaining aluminum siding is removed and a final assessment made. This is where our latest challenge comes from; what to do with the shell of the addition in the meantime.
My initial reaction to this challenge was horror. No one leaves a home unsided, let alone one or two years. No products exist that perform under these conditions. But, I decided to investigate possibilities and products that have potential. Considering ultraviolet radiation and wind, my first solution was two layers of Tyvek building wrap with taped seams held in place with 1x2 battens installed vertically on 16’ centers. Being involved with the Passive House community and after multiple conversations with building envelope specialists, I concluded to choose European products only. I chose to use a Vaproshield product. They wanted to work with me to see how their product performed under conditions never designed for.
We are installing it per their instructions, but using other products not manufactured by them for our window and door flashings. Part of their program will be sampling portions of their product after exposures of 9 months and one year. They may go longer, but that remains to be seen. By using other products, our other challenge was using products based upon butyl chemistry because mixing with asphaltic based products will produce corrosive chemical reactions. We don’t know how any of these products will perform under continual UV radiation.
Having a manufacturer involved in experimenting and monitoring their product under conditions never contemplated, and using common sense in their application is exciting. It may be that a year from now the building wrap will need to be over layered or replaced. But should it last up to two years, the old will be removed and replaced with something new before a final siding product is applied. I will report as it develops.
Cheers,
Wayne
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