Wow, the framing crew totally cruised through the this project. Everything is going smoothly - the Zip Wall and Roof System is up and taped, just in time to keep the house dry from the big rainstorm that headed our way this evening. As I sit here, the crew is installing the support beam for the front porch. They still have to install the lower roofing, which should be done on Friday. Looks like the rain will keep them at home tomorrow.

Big kudos to Dave Luther from Structural Systems and his super efficient crew. Heres a few shots of the progress....

Just thought I'd put up a few shots from last fall when we removed much of the vegetation from the old house and transplanted them next door at the Weaver's new house.

Cutting Down the Old Elm

Bartley Corp has completed work on the foundation for The Incredibly Green Home! The process went smoothly, and we had great cooperation from the weatherman. The footers were dug and poured in one day, and they contained 30% fly ash and slag. The walls were poured two days later, we got the ground works completed, and then the slab was poured. We added a bit of concrete accelerator as the weatherman called for some cold nights. The walls and slab contain 50% recycled cement, and all materials came from within 500 miles of the project. See attached documentation from LaFarge.

John with a big stick

A dramatic shift in our economy and the green building industry has occurred with the recent passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Installation of "alternative" energy systems have been given a huge tax credit incentive, which will significantly drive up demand for geothermal and solar systems. The law grants a 30% uncapped tax credit toward the system, covering the entire installation including labor. That's BIG NEWS! When you couple that with the Maryland state grant of up to $3000, and the fact that the hardware in a geo system is NOT taxed by the state, the savings is enormous.

The Return On Investment, therefore, will be greatly reduced to a few years, making it a complete no-brainer for anyone looking to build.  This includes The Incredibly Green Home, which will have a top of the line Water Furnace Envision system installed by ARS.

This past Monday, as we were finishing getting the Thermomass forms finalized, a gentleman approached and introduced himself as David Price of The Environmental Protection Agency. He was holding a camera. Gulp. After clearing the lump in my throat, I asked what brought him to our site.

To my relief, he said he had heard about our project and since he was in the area, had stopped by to see a Thermomass setup. Whew.

While on the subject of electricity, I figure this is a good time to briefly discuss our plans to prewire 220V and 110V to the garage for a future plug-in electric vehicle, and what that vehicle might be. This area seems ripe for an electric vehicle explosion given our proximity to downtown Bethesda and DC. Chevrolet sees the potential here and thats why they are debuting the Volt here in DC.

Since riding around my grandparent's retirement village in their golfcart 20 years ago, I've always loved the concept of Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, without knowing they were called that. There is a wave of new NEVs coming to market, including the ZENN (Zero Emission No Noise), which looks really promising. It looks like it needs another generation of refinement before I'd buy one, though. NEV's 25 MPH top speed would certainly make you think twice about jumping onto River Road. Buy you'd never have to worry about getting ticketed on Connecticut Ave by the speed cameras!

Our local electric company, Pepco, recently announced that they are introducing a pilot program to install "Smart Meters" in thousands of homes in the Bethesda Chevy Chase area. Pepco is promising several benefits to these new meters and their underlying system.

One benefit is the ability to see outages on a house by house basis. This is particularly important in this area with our mature trees and above ground power lines. Personally, I wish they would just bury the lines.

If you are following this whole green building movement at all, you've probably read about the Passivhaus (aka Passive House) concept. Christian has just gotten back from a Passivhaus seminar in Denver and is, needless to say, quite excited by the thought of designing one. The thought of a home so efficient that it doesnt need a HVAC system is quite intriguing, and for some, more desirable than a LEED cert. The PeakOiler's will love it. Of course, our HVAC contractor might not like the concept too much, but hey, there's still ductwork to run and an ERV to take care of.

In the Bethesda/Chevy Chase area, the biggest limiting factor may be site selection. Good lots are hard to come by, and one that allows the home to be sited properly for ideal Passiv is even rarer. Now that I think about it, our friend Scott Herrick has a lot on Loring Court that might just be perfect...

Jim Bartley of Bartley Corporation stopped by this morning to discuss the Thermomass foundation that we will be using on The Incredibly Green Home. I'l be posting a short video introduction on the Youtube Channel for The Incredibly Green Home. We went over all of the details and changes we've made on the home since Christian's initial design. These changes include taking out the basement stairs and replacing it with an egress window.

We also determined exactly which walls of the home will be "t-massed". Obviously, the garage will not be in the envelope, so it will get regular concrete, as will the part of the basement under the porch, and egresses.

A slow day here due to an ice storm, so I thought I take some time to discuss our plans for marketing The Incredibly Green Home.

From the beginning, Peter and I established that the primary goals of the project were to:
1) Establish Bethesda Bungalows as the preeminent green custom home builder in our primary market (Lower Montgomery County, Maryland, and Northwest Washington DC).
2) Enthusiastically promote our very generous sponsoring manufacturers, suppliers and subcontractors.