ClearSense Update: Reuse – Big and Small

It recently occurred to me that in the midst of moving at a million miles an hour on this project, we have only been updating our BuildSense|Studio B “on the boards” and “under construction” facebook page with images of the new building during construction. This is truly unfair, because it is only half of the story. For those of you unfamiliar with Downtown Durham, you may not be aware that this building has had a previous life. Originally constructed in 1945, the one story masonry building served as a farm equipment and tractor service center. In the early 1970’s it became the “Tire King” and has been largely recognized as such for many years until they relocated up the road two years ago.
That’s where our story of reuse started. Though the building was filthy, dark, and dank, and reeked of old oil, we observed a masonry shell that had not endured significant cracking or damage after certainly settling and shifting to its maximum over 55 years. We were happy to know that we could reuse this existing structure to support the needs of raising the roof and adding a second story.
Interestingly, the decision to add a second story prompted numerous ideas for the best manner to achieve it. The roof was comprised of 2x10 wood joists supported by steel beams. While this certainly supports a typical residential floor load, the commercial loading requirement would have required additional joists and still flexed underfoot. Furthermore, the exposed ceiling would offer little for sound insulation from the first to second floors, nor have any fire resistance value. Some combination of insulation and gypsum board ceiling would be required. The topside would surely require an additional layer of plywood to smooth out the surface after the old membrane roof removal destroyed the existing underlayment. Then we would be required to finish the floor with a final floor covering. Is this all worth it; especially knowing that it would continue to have the 3” slope over 50 feet (the slope of the old roof)? The answer for us was “no”, and I am very pleased with the decision.
We removed all the old wooden joists and salvaged them on site. We installed new infill steel beams between the existing beams and columns and added a steel deck above. We poured a composite concrete slab from 5” to 8” in order to remove the slope. Additionally, it serves to structurally strengthen the existing steel and provides a structural diaphragm for the overall stability of the entire building. There is absolutely no bounce in the floor. It carries a one-hour fire resistance rating. It provides great sound insulation. Both the underside of the steel deck and the sealed concrete floors will serve as finish surfaces. The moral here is that sometimes striving to save certain items, though it emotionally feels right, is actually the wrong decision.
So how did we get back to feeling great about both the new concrete floor and removing the old joists? We stored the joists on site and have used them for infill framing and blocking for interior non-structural framing. Additionally, we have made use of them in a rather non-traditional manner by designing and building our new main staircase of the repurposed material. Members of our skilled team, including George Thorpe, Bradley Yoder, and Scott Metheny have been transforming the old lumber into a new feature. In a unique manner, the new stairwell will tell the story of the old building every time a visitor traverses the stairs. (Below, Scott stands on one landing laid out in the shop with treads in the foreground).

ClearSense Building December Update

December saw lots of changes at the ClearSense building on Rigsbee Ave in downtown Durham. We started the month with the new steel frame, roof, and floor slabs in addition to what remained of the exterior shell of the original single story building. We are very pleased with our choice of roofing panel. The R-42 insulated metal panel is both super insulated and aesthetically pleasing on both surfaces. The underside will be the finished ceiling to the second floor interior space. (see photo below)

By the holiday break (at our required pace for this project, none of our team took much time off), one interior stair was roughed in, plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems were at 50%, storefront window frames were installed, and some of the second story siding work was completed. Most prominently, the wind turbines and photovoltaic array are up! (see photo of the ClearSense rooftop below) These systems combine for a rating of approximately 35.5 kW to power the building of just under 12,000 square feet. The turbines are quite prominent, practically a beacon of clean energy generation. We're very proud of them - are they the first building mounted wind turbines in Durham, in the triangle, in the piedmont? Please let us know. Unless someone tells us otherwise, we'll take credit for that as another of many "firsts" in our local building industry (see our website “Recognitions” page for more).

Our goal is that the building itself will be constructed to be approximately 50% more energy efficient than a typical existing commercial building of the same size and use and that the clean energy generation will provide approximately 37% of the remaining power needs of the building. Though our team only designs and builds energy efficient and certified "green" buildings, we were able to exceed our regular standard and install the clean energy generation systems with the help of a grant proposal accepted by the North Carolina Green Business Fund. We are very pleased to have established this relationship and thankful to the NCGBF for their assistance. Stay tuned for more on the innovative work at 502 Rigsbee Avenue.

What Are Your Real Fuel Costs?

I recently wrote and made a Rotary Club presentation about using compressed natural gas (CNG) in vehicles. I drove one of our freshly converted CNG powered Ford Escapes with me to demonstrate. Part of the process was to calculate fuel amounts and costs and to compare those costs with the cost of conversion to CNG. I’ve done exercises like this before but for some reason I seem to forget a startling fact: if you keep a vehicle until it is dead or mostly dead, to about 200,000 miles, you spend quite a bit more on fuel than you do on the purchase price. Imagine how it would influence car-buying decisions if that number was first and foremost on the minds of consumers; perhaps even posted along side the vehicles MPG information?

Our 4-cylinder Escapes average a respectable (but not great) 25 miles per gallon. At $3.90 per gallon (probably a low average for the next few years), we could spend $31,200 each in fuel alone on these vehicles. Our large service vans or our dump truck get about 16 MPG. We could spend $48,750 each in fuel over the lifetime of these vehicles. Because we will convert them to CNG, our actual costs will be less than half of that. The switch I made from a 19 MPG Dodge diesel pickup as my personal vehicle to a 40 MPG VW Jetta Sportwagon diesel is saving over $20,000. That is practically the cost of the car.

The initial cost of the Hybrids and plug in electric vehicles seem high. If you are in it for the long haul, though, they are a good deal. The difference in fuel costs between the 28 MPG standard Toyota Camry and the 41 MPG Hybrid Camry is $8,832, considerably more than the difference in the purchase price. Still, the benefit drops the higher the MPG of the comparison vehicles. The difference in overall fuel cost between a 49 and 50 MPG vehicle is just $318 where the difference between 15 and 16 MPG vehicles is a whopping $3,250. This is why it is not difficult to understand the number of diesel Sprinter service vans in use by businesses (we have two). If you can average 21 MPG instead of 14 MPG for a comparable van, you’ll save $18,571.

So, the next time you look at buying a car or truck, think about the total cost of the vehicle, not just the purchase price. And please ask your favorite local elected officials to think about this as well. I’d like our taxpayer money to be spent effectively.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
 

Paint 'Em White

That is one item on Bill Clinton’s list of 14 Ways to Create Jobs. He is talking about roofs on buildings. Our Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, has been talking up the clear benefits of white or reflective roofs. When making a roof material and color choice on a new building, this is a no-cost way to significantly reduce the energy needed to cool buildings. Zip. Zilch. A white roof does not cost more than a black one. And when in the process of replacing a roof on an old building, it does not cost more to install a white roof. Again, not a penny more.

In commercial buildings in the southeast, most of the conditioning load is to cool the building. Because of internal heat generation from lights, people, and machines, cooling systems are often running even when it is cool outside. This is another reason why a reflective roof choice is so effective in our climate. It reduces the load of the primary mode of operation of the mechanical system.

We chose a white metal roof for our commercial building in Durham. We chose it because it looks good, because it is extremely durable, because it is a great surface for collecting rainwater that we will use for irrigation and for flushing our toilets, and because it has the highest Solar Reflectivity Index (85) of any roof that met the rest of our design criteria. Not only does this save on utility costs over time, it allowed us to install smaller systems to condition the building. Yup, the color of the roof saved us money before we received our first utility bill. Why isn’t this the primary color choice for roofs?

http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/13/news/economy/white_roofs/index.htm
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/06/19/it-s-still-the-economy-stupid.html
http://www.facilitiesnet.com/roofing/topic/Picking-A-Cool-Roof-SRI-Index-Is-Key--19903

Pictured below: The low-sloped white roof of the ClearSense building at 502 Rigsbee Avenue overlooking Downtown Durham. The rails will support solar panels (soon to be installed).

Solar Panels: That Simple?

When installing solar panels, you stagger the rows so that one row of panels does not shade the next. And, of course, it makes sense to tilt them towards the sun. That simple? Nope. Throw in a few more factors like limited area for the array installation, the limitations of the rack systems, the relative cost of more and less efficient panels, and the surprisingly small reduction in efficiency if the panels are not at the optimal angle to the sun and another, better route emerges.

For the array that we are installing on our commercial building in Durham, we made choices that yield a cost-effective solution but that seem counter-intuitive. While slightly more complicated than this, our options boiled down to two alternatives that both exceeded our energy generating goals. Option one: expensive and highly efficient panels installed in consistent and optimally tilted rows. Option two: a larger quantity of considerably less expensive and somewhat less efficient panels installed mostly in consistent and optimally tilted rows but with two leading rows that are not tilted towards the sun. In fact, they are tilted slightly to the north. The lack of tilt allowed us to install the first rows more compactly without shading the next row. We picked option two. Option two delivers slightly more power. Option two saves over $40,000 in up-front costs. Not bad. Our only concern is hearing the comment: “Hey, Mr. Solar Intelligence, the sun is to the south.” To those folks, I’m happy to tell this story, enjoy the clean energy, and put the money in the bank.

For any energy geeks (this term used endearingly) reading this, the first rows of panels are on a separate inverter so the reduced output from these rows does not degrade the output from the optimally tilted rows. Option two schematic roof panel layout shown below.

Home Comfort and Performance: Myths, Expectations--Don’t Worry, We Can Help

Just because your home was, or may have been, built to code standards whenever it was built does not mean that those standards had your family’s best interest in mind. It's more than likely there is a room or a space in your home that you have no intention of ever going into by choice. Crawl space? Attic? Basement? “Bonus” room? No, thanks! You know there is something wrong, but you don’t really know, or don’t want to know, what may be causing it. It may be too hot, too cold, too musty, too stinky, too dark, or too something. To make matters worse, you actually pay to heat, cool and maintain this space. It's living space that’s not worth living in.

There are some others who like their homes, the colors, the layout, the location, but for some reason they aren’t sleeping well, or there are allergy or respiratory issues in the family, or they don’t understand why their energy bills are painfully high. They’ve never stopped to think that the house itself, or the way it’s built, could be part of the cause, and that a small change or two could transform it for the better.

It’s your home, folks. The place that you count on to be a place of rest and comfort, peace and security, a place to recover, rejuvenate, and renew. We’re finding out, more and more each day, that American homes sometimes do the quite opposite. You may be throwing money out the window, or into the yard, and suffering from pollutants building up, or poor ventilation. You let things go, blame yourself for not keeping up with cleaning, say you'll get around to it later. But, when you get around to it, who do you call? The window folks? The heating and air people? The electrician? The insulation installers? An interior designer? Where do you start? And, finally, you may be back to putting it off again.

The team at BuildSense has been building homes "right" for twelve years in the triangle area. Their team has well over 100 years of experience in environmentally responsible and energy efficient design and construction. They are Home Performance Specialists. They provide a single source of expertise in understanding building science, viewing the entire house as a system, and can put the pieces together. When most people think of energy efficiency, they think of replacing windows. The truth is that may not address their real concerns according to the actual problems in their home and their available budget. If a room or two are too hot or cold, do you call the heating and air contractor to see about replacing the unit? That may be jumping the gun. For most folks, when it comes right down to it, comfort is the number one priority in their home, and if energy savings comes along with it, that’s a bonus. The complexities can be overwhelming, and sometimes what we think we need turns out to be something with an entirely different solution.  How can you expect yourself to put the pieces of your home performance puzzle together when you have your own work and family life to keep in order?

Each house is unique, and each family is as well. Preferences, budget, how they use the home, all play into decision-making. How these two—house and household—fit together is critical when trying to meaningfully solve problems. You really need somebody who knows how to listen to them both. We believe that’s what homeowners who are serious about making lasting changes really want.

Service Brings A Smile

A tornado rolled through downtown Raleigh this past Saturday, taking with it all the trees in my back yard, much of my fence, lots of my roof shingles and siding, my grill and yard furniture, as well as depositing more trees then I ever had growing. I wish my yard had played host to the forest that landed there on Saturday afternoon. In Sunday’s aftermath, I found no major roof problems, so grabbed the chain saw and the rake to take on some of the yard. I couldn’t tackle it all alone, but figured I would pull the big items to the rear of the yard where most of the other debris had gathered. It was shaping up to be a long day, as I knew the task was too great to complete by sundown. Lo and behold, along came the cavalry. A pack of NC State students on a volunteer prowl wandered into my neighborhood looking to give their sweat and muscle to those in need. Many hands make light work. Over the next four hours, my neighbor’s son and I kept the chainsaw rolling and the kids got everything to the street. Aside from missing the shade of the trees, the yard looks pristine, giving me some semblance of normalcy in an otherwise uncomfortable situation. Thanks Trevor, Will, Jesse, and the rest of your crew of too many names to remember.

Why do I take the time to recount this story? Why am I so pleased with the work these kids took upon themselves? Yes, I am glad to have been the benefactor of their efforts, but more importantly, I know the rush provided to the giver of those efforts. I know what those kids are starting now will persist in them forever and more people will benefit from their continued efforts in the future. Though I had performed occasional volunteer work through my youth, it was usually a school or association requirement. However, in 1999, as an intern architect fresh out of school, I started on a path that profoundly altered my perspective. Oddly enough, I didn’t exactly get involved for the right reasons. As a matter of fact, the reasons were plainly selfish. Habitat for Humanity of Wake County sponsored a competition to design an affordable house, which, if selected, would actually be built. I looked at it as an opportunity for me: an opportunity to design and build a house without yet having received my architectural license. The design was selected for construction and I decided to see the project through by volunteering every week on site. What started as a selfish endeavor of designing and building a house, turned out to be a valuable lesson in providing a great and deserving family with a home and hope for the future. Their lives were directly affected by the work I was doing. Each week became less about building a home and more about helping a family. When Stephanie, my homeowner, expressed to me that her children would get the opportunity to go to college because of the environment her new home had provided, I fought back tears. When her children smiled and thanked me at the neighborhood dedication, it was too tough to fight. And what I’ve found is the fighting of those tears or the tears themselves are like pure adrenaline. It’s a rush of it’s own. Some choose to skydive, some prefer motorcycles, the x-games are awesome, but work and sweat your ass off helping someone who really needs it and you’ll find it just as exhilarating.


























































In March, I took my second trip to Granada, Nicaragua with the Rotary Club of South Granville County, NC. They work in conjunction with the Granada Rotary Club and have constructed four school libraries, one medical clinic, and one school in the Granada area over the past twelve years. My business partner, president of BuildSense, and Rotarian, Randy Lanou has organized the last two trips, written the grants, procured the funds, laid out the budgets, and lead some great teams in the completion of a highly productive medical clinic and a great new elementary school. Nicaragua is the second poorest county next to Haiti in our hemisphere. The life conditions are horrendous. I’ve never seen anything worse, but the people are happy, spirited, and full of smiles. They take pride in what they have even if that means they sweep the dirt in front of their shack. It’s a good place to put in perspective how much we take for granted here in the USA. When our crew of 20-25 volunteers draws close to completing our full scope of work, a large gathering of local families join us and present us with some small token of appreciation, many smiles, and perhaps a song. I keep my sunglasses on because here come those tears again. I’ve got what I wanted. The rush is back and I know once again, that it is truly better to give than to receive.
































To learn more about my experience of designing and building with Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, read Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism by Metropolis Press.

To learn more about service through the South Granville Rotary Club and Rotary International, go to www.rotary7710.org or www.rotary.org.