Signs are up!

visit our new website at www.goarchdesign.com

Come to our open house September 29, 2011 from 4-6pm

We'll have some refreshments and other goodies!

Reclaimed Tile

It took some time to get the pattern right but the tile floors are finished finally.  We used left over tile from a recent renovation project and with had exactly the right amount, like it was meant to be.  The tile doesn't contain recycled content but at least we were using up left over material.

Caro San bringing out the "wet" look

After further research the muriatic acid looked just too dangerous and not the right product for our beautiful terrazzo floor.  Our local Caro San had some products by Buckeye that are PERFECT for the floor and have given it a great "wet" look. I love Terrazzo and want to use it everywhere!

Terrazzo Floor Finishing

We've been painting like mad trying to get done so Mike can move in before the end of the month.  The floors are terrific but we're having an issue getting a nice shine to the existing terrazzo. We've cleaned it with Simple Green but it hasn't been very effective.  We're looking at using Muriatic Acid, but I'm worried out the safety of it and how to dispose of it once we're done.  I'm calling in reinforcements to help us decide!

Grid goes in

The grid goes up and the paint is chosen.  We're using a low VOC paint to help the indoor air quality, and our acoustic ceiling has 55% recycled content.  I'm making a list of the green things we didn't or couldn't do and I'll post those soon.

It's Not Easy Being Green...or Actually it Is!

The building is starting to come together and the painting should be done this week.   John Riggs 252.626.7556 is a Glidden Paint Professional and helped us specify the correct primer and paint grade for our masonry building.  They have a store on Neuse Blvd. and are very easy to work with.

House of God Reappears

We scraped off the vinyl letters to reveal the old House of God.

The insulation has been installed and we're ready for drywall which is being installed today.

We're using 1/2' gypsum board with recycled content.  We're using over sized boards with the long side vertical to reduce the waste of cutting and taping the boards. 

Let's Get This Painting Started

The pressure washing has exposed the old vinyl letters for the House of God. We're hoping the building's former use of a place of worship means there will be some added goodness around the place!

Time to get painting.  What color you ask?  Well green of course!  Two other buildings in the immediate area are bright blue (Mexican Bakery) and dark red (Blondie & Sons Building).  We are thinking a nice pale green will clean up all the miss matched brick and signboard.

Better than a Broken Window - HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning)

Officer Rios has promised to get a patrol car to our site for some added protection.  The City of New Bern will also install street lighting for a small monthly fee on a City pole.  And, we've added some interior lights to show that there is really nothing in the building to take!  Unless of course you need some HVAC duct work.

On that note, the duct work is going in, all wrapped in R6 or R8 to keep the cold or warm air cold or warm on it's way to the each room.  We've been working on sealing up the small leaks in the building to stop airflow.  Moisture can enter a building through airflow (convection), so make sure you bring air into your building deliberately.  Letting a building "breathe" can bring in unwanted moisture to your structure.

Window Broken as Construction Continues

Someone has given us some more natural ventilation.  We were trying to work that into the design, but they've helped us free of charge.  The security system was set to be installed next week; I guess we'll make sure that happens.  We want to be good neighbors, we want to turn a vacant building into something we love, it just might take more effort than we thought.

Natural Waterfall Needs Gutters

We've got a flat membrane roof with a slight pitch to the rear, although you'd never know from the waterfall gushing off the front of the building.  It's quite beautiful having a waterfall at the front entrance, but water is one of the biggest reasons that building fail and water HAS to be controlled.  The gutters should be going on soon.

Cayton Plumbing has installed a new line for the break room sink.  We have a beautiful terrazzo floor that had to come up partially to get in the new line, but it's not a terribly complex process.  

So what are we doing that is green right now?  The gypsum board for the walls has been ordered, specifying recycled content.  We are also trying to finalize the lighting selection.  It's harder than I first thought to actually buy LED fixtures.

Everblue Training - Energy Analysis

I've been gone for a week up to MD to do training through Everblue to become a HERS RESNET rater.  This will allow me to perform energy analysis on buildings.  It will be great to get the blower door test out for this building and see how well it performs!  So, being gone, I haven't posted anything in a while, but work continues!

The windows and doors were finished last week and the framing is almost complete and they should be done this week.  We'll then work on getting the electrician started, and HVAC duct work going.  It's very exciting to walk the spaces and get a real feel for the place.

We finished the new walk to the side entrance while I was gone and Mike and the kids "personalized" our walk!  What a memento, they really enjoyed making it theirs.  They've already picked out spaces in the building that they insist will be "theirs" and are quite insistent about it. We'll see how it works out!

Windows being installed

The aluminum windows have begun to be installed and the framing continues.  Things are advancing!

Framing has begun!

Even though we have a double wythe brick wall on three sides and an 8" concrete masonry back wall, we are still furring out the inside wall so we can insulate the exterior wall.  This will give us a great R value and make it cheaper to heat and cool the space.  We'd like to make this building as cheap as possible run.

The bathroom is existing but we've removed the gypsum board and left the framing.  The fixtures will be reused since they are in good condition.  We're still hoping the windows are put in today!

Windows laid out at Craven Glass getting ready to be assembled.

Doors are ready to be receive glass.

Framing is to start next week.

Building Reuse and Restoration Grants Program

We've applied for a grant from the NC Rural Economic Development Center.  This grant is intended to help fund the renovation of buildings that have been vacant for over 90 days.  It's open to anyone in New Bern or in an area that is considered rural.  I don't really consider New Bern "rural" but it fits their criteria as a tier 3 area.  They offer $8,000 for each job created to be put toward the renovation. Visit the website to see the particulars.

We're hoping to use the grant to make some upgrades, including LED lighting throughout, and adding some more insulation and a thousand small things that we are hoping to pack into the renovation.

I LOVE the Finished Jambs for Valentine's Day

Evie shows off the finished window jambs!  It should only take a couple of weeks for the windows to be installed now that the jambs are finished.  The building will be painted when we're done.

Wonder twin power!

Max shows off the back wall.  It's a single wythe concrete masonry wall which we'll furr out with a new interior wall so we can insulate the wall.

Waiting for the Brick...still

It's hard to sit and wait for the brick to arrive to finish the window jambs.  We found out today that it has to be gotten from Virginia because it is not a common brick size, but a "utility" brick which measures 3 5/8" x 3 5/8" x 11 5/8".  We will reuse the brick we've cleaned, but we still need more to finish the job. We could go with a common brick since the exterior will be painted, but for design purposes I'd prefer to have the brick matching.

Our interest only construction period clock is ticking and making me anxious to get the building enclosed.  The windows should be in within a week of the jambs being done and that's good news!

Recycle the brick

Well, what can I say, we're learning every day.  Our big pile of bricks (much coveted by passers-by apparently) that were removed from the building to create the new door opening, has now been organized into a much smaller stack of usable bricks.  We're hoping to create a patio off the side entrance with these bricks.  My big mistake was letting the broken pieces go into the dumpster.  No, no, no, they can actually be separated at the site and then re-used.  So, we're getting a new dumpster specifically for the broken brick and which we will recycle with Hargett, who is supplying the dumpsters.

The mason should be back this week to finish up the brick jambs and then we should have windows.  We're ready!

Let The Sunshine In! We Have Openings

The mason has been busy cutting the opening for the windows and doors and doing a great job.  He's going to re-build the sills with a brick masonry rowlock at a slight angle to keep the water from sitting on the sill.  The steel headers are being tapped into place at the window head by removing some of the grout between the bricks on either side of the windows. This allows the weight of the brick over the opening to be distributed to the brick on either side of the window.

The front wall has been in-filled with a matching brick masonry where the old front door was a few days ago.

The brick walls are a double wythe (two rows) with a sizable airspace in-between. This is good for us as it acts as a natural insulator for the building.

I'm not sure if sunlight has ever touched the inside of this building!

Masonry cuts for my birthday!

What better birthday present than the first cuts in the existing masonry for the new windows.  This building has always looked so lowly with no windows, I'm excited to be able to shed some light inside!  The Mason is a great guy Raymond Howard who owns Reds Masonry 910-358-4550 and next week he'll be finishing the cuts and then re-building the windows sills so we can set the new windows.  We're looking at how we can incorporate the left over brick into the new project.

Low-E Glazing and Energy Efficient Windows

While waiting for the mason to create the openings for the windows we have been looking at our glazing options.  We've been talking with Craven Glass Company on Trent Road about supplying our windows and we've decided on an aluminum storefront system with some operable windows.  Our building gets so much direct sunlight we've decided to go with a low-E coating on our thermally insulated glazing with an thermally broken aluminum casing.

You can get glazing with high or low solar gain low-E coating (how much heat comes through from the sun). Since we'll be more worried about heat from the sun making the building too hot in the summer, we're choosing a low solar gain low-E coating.

The windows will be thermally broken (which means there is a rubber gasket in the metal casing around the window so heat or cold isn't directly transmitted from the outside to the inside) and reduces the chance of condensation forming on the windows.


And, we're making some of the windows operable so when we have a mild day (hasn't been recently!) we can open the windows for some air. I hope we get some of that weather soon!

Cool Roof

One item we'd really like to address is the black roof.  The long term plan is to put solar panels up there, but in the mean time we'd like to have a cooler roof so it will save us some money.  Dark colors absorb heat and lighter colors reflect the heat and can save you up to 15% in cooling costs.  See this recent article http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/news/2010/12-december/6-tips-for-selecting-an-energy-saving-cool-roof.aspx