A Quick Sheathing Lesson

This photo is of an exterior wall of a home we are rebuilding. It shows how air passing through the exterior wall has been filtered by the fiberglass insulation. What appears to be staining on the yellow fiberglass is actually years of particulates, pollutants, being filtered from the air entering the house. So you thought buying replacement windows would prevent air infiltration?

Why do you care about air infiltration? 1. Most of the pollutants do get through into the home. 2. The air getting in is hot in the summer and cold in the winter and costs you. 3. Wet air is drawn to dry air. In the summer your, most likely, over-sized HVAC unit short cycles and can't remove the humidity and you argue with your spouse over the thermostat. Yes, you care about air infiltration. The best part? The home pictured was built to Georgia code. This a tiny example of a huge shortcut that can be taken to make your home profitable to a "to code" builder.

How do you do it properly? Sheath with Huber's Zip System and use open cell spray foam insulation. It will add 12k to a large project and pay you back within a few years financially and immediately from an air quality point of view. How do you repair an existing home? Rip off all the existing siding, sheathing, insulation or re-size your HVAC, add HEPA air filtration, add a dehumidifier. Both of these options are bordering on ridiculous. The point? Cheap goes down to the bones. Ask a 3rd party construction science group to recommend a builder or remodeler. An example is Southface in Atlanta. You could go with an EarthCraft builder or Remodeler. Or you could make your life easier and just hire me.

The Shame...

I have an admission. I added a second story to my own home a little over 5 years ago. We ran out of Hardie trim and added Windsor One corner board to my chimney because it was easier to purchase on the fly. I noticed last week that is is already rotten. Yes, rot on my own 5 year old project...unacceptable!

I have steered my clients away from using wood of any kind on their exterior for years. On my own home, on the area mentioned above, I used Windsor One which comes primed and then we primed the end cuts. This is the best exterior wood trim on the market today, but it didn't matter. Wood these days comes from smaller and smaller trees thus softer and softer wood. hardie and other manufacturers produce cementitious products to replace wood siding, trim, soffit, and nearly every other necessary exterior product. What is not made in a cementitious product is made from PVC. Why are cementitious products better? They are made of cement and wood fiber, they don't rot, they don't burn, carpenter bees do not eat them. Because they do not expand and contract very much they hold paint for an average of 20 years. Expect to repaint wood at least every 5 years and probably 3. A well done exterior is the key to long term sustainability. Eliminate rot which eliminates mold which helps eliminates bad air inside your home.

Your architect will most likely whine about authenticity and the natural aging of your home. Ask them if they will mind chipping in on the maintenance.

I can show you many examples of sided homes that have no wood on their exterior that would surprise you. I only build incredible homes and this is a small example of how to keep them looking and behaving that way.

San Marco Mineral Paints

I have discovered, not in a Columbus way, but more like an "I found out about" way, San Marco Mineral Paints. This is very cool stuff. They have many products but I'll focus on their lime based products. The base is made of lime stone that has been soaked in water for 2 years. The technology was established at least as far back as 400BC with the Roman Empire. The "paint's" properties actually absorb CO2 for 1000 years as part of it's curing process, slightly longer than you home will last, partially solving the problem of modern tight building envelope issues. Its alkalinity makes mold and mildew impossible. The product has zero VOCs, no really no VOCs, unlike typical latex paint. Typical latex paints do not have to include the VOCs in their pigmentation as part of their net count. San Marco's paints meet current European VOC standards which far exceed US standards. It is also fade resistant. Although there is minimal availability in the US, the Italian company has been around for over 50 years. Luckily, we do have a dealer in Atlanta. Oh, and the best part, it costs the same as Benjamin Moore’s "low" VOC products. We will be transitioning to using this product exclusively.

As with all posts I can assure you this is an unpaid endorsement. Its just one of those things we should all be using.

Find out more: http://san-marcousa.com/index.html

WicksteadWorks Recognized for Achievements in Green Building

What is being said @ us...

WicksteadWorks Recognized for Achievements in Green Building
Atlanta renovator/remodeler earns numerous distinctions/honors

ATLANTA – WicksteadWorks, one of metro Atlanta’s top design-and-build construction management firms continues to be recognized for its outstanding achievements in environmentally friendly renovation and preservation.

Recently, Frank Wickstead owner of the seven-year-old firm received The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Environmental Leadership Award for his commitment to green and high performance building standards as well as his commitment to education about the subject. The award celebrates an individual or group that has had a significant environmental impact via a long-term commitment, resulting in a body of exemplary work.

Earlier this year, WicksteadWorks captured The Southface Energy Institute’s EarthCraft Renovator of the Year Award. The firm also won the honor in 2009. Created in 1999, EarthCraft House is an environmentally friendly building program of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (HBA). The EarthCraft House program was co-created by the Home Builders Association and Southface Energy Institute and was named 2004 and 2008 Green Building Program of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders. The voluntary green building program has consistently provided a model for healthy, comfortable homes that help reduce utility bills and protect the environment. The EarthCraft House certification process follows a checklist designed to verify that each EarthCraft home addresses site planning, energy efficient techniques and equipment, waste management and indoor air quality.

“With the EarthCraft program we are able to consistently double the square footage of a home while lowering overall utility usage and cost.” said Wickstead. “It is a great feeling for us to be able to eliminate asthma symptoms of a home’s inhabitants while also lowering our client’s overall monthly bills.”

WicksteadWorks was also recently awarded the distinction of being named a GuildMaster with Distinction from GuildQuality. GuildMaster is a volunteer third party customer service surveying company. The award celebrates service excellence in the building, remodeling, contracting, and real estate professions. Each year, GuildQuality gives special recognition to the companies that demonstrate an ability to deliver a consistently superior customer experience.

In June, WicksteadWorks was named one of Remodeling magazines, Big 50. Each year since 1986, the publication inducts the owners of 50 remodeling companies that have set exceptionally high standards for professionalism and integrity through exemplary business practices, craftsmanship and impact in their community or the industry at large. The Big 50 selection process has become increasingly rigorous in recent years, and the result is one of the strongest classes to date. All 2010 inductees stood up to detailed examinations of their businesses and books, and demonstrated an admirably deft ability to restructure, retrench and hustle to remain viable in a challenging economic climate.

Also last month, WicksteadWorks was named one of Qualified Remodeler magazine’s 55 quality leaders nationally. In the article Frank Wickstead was quoted as saying that, “Our best business practice is very simple. It is to keep our customers happy through what is, at best, a stressful endeavor. It may sound counter intuitive from a business point of view but the client and their project must be more important than the money. It is a leap of faith that living by this principle will pay off in the end, but it does.”

About WicksteadWorks
WicksteadWorks has completed a wide variety of projects earning numerous honors for their work. In 2009 and 2010 the Atlanta-based remodeler was recognized by Southface and The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA) as EarthCraft Renovator of the Year. In 2007, WicksteadWorks received an OBIE Award for Best Renovation. WicksteadWorks completed a whole house renovation transforming a 1930’s bungalow into a modern energy-efficient home, while maintaining the original architectural integrity. More recently, WicksteadWorks was featured on Renovation Nation, a regular program on the Planet Green channel, for the innovative water conservation and rainwater reuse techniques they incorporated into a Myrtle Street project. For more information about WicksteadWorks visit www.wicksteadworks.com.

We won EarthCraft's Renovator of the Year again!

WicksteadWorks won the 2010 EarthCraft Renovator of the Year! This is the second year for us. We were busy last year and we are almost booked for 2010. I attribute this workload to our partnership with the EarthCraft program. Opening ourselves to third party inspection is a way to sharpen our own processes and be policed when our eye wanders off the ball. Thank you to Southface and the Greater Atlanta Home Builder's Association for the acknowledgement. It is incredibly appreciated.

Lead, Your Home ,and the EPA

The fact is that if your home was built prior to 1978 it most likely contains lead. It is contained in most coatings prior to being outlawed in 1978. Coatings are paint, lacquer, polyurethane, stain, etc. Lead is a bad thing, especially for children under 2 years old when everything goes from hand to mouth. Lead can be a major, obvious problem in high doses. Lead, on the other hand, can show up in subtle ways in low doses. Low level lead poisoning can result in emotional problems, A.D.D., and a 5 - 7 point reduction in IQ.

The good news is that lead coatings can be encapsulated. A fresh coat of paint can seal the lead away until it is disturbed. This is not the case when paint is allowed to chip and peal. When this has occurred then it has to be professionally remediated. Long story short, maintain your house on a regular basis. Have your painter back for a pressure wash and touch up on a yearly basis. It is relatively inexpensive and it will prevent wear, rot, and bigger problems like a lead contamination. Already have chipping and pealing? First, avoid the pressure washer which can spread the contamination. Second, call a remediation group for advice specific to your home. The remediation team should be certified by the EPA for Lead Removal or have Lead RRP (Remodel, Repair, and Painting) certification. I would recommend a painter with RRP certification. It will usually be the most cost effective.

As of April 22, 2010 all painters and remodelers will be required to gain Lead RRP Certification. This ensures that they have gone through the EPA training and have a basic knowledge about how to reduce the spread of lead and cleaning up properly when repainting, repairing, or renovating your home. If interviewing a firm within that realm, remember to ask if they have made the time to gain the certification.

For more information about Lead RRP certification visit: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm
For more information on lead poisoning and avoiding lead visit: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/

If you have questions or comments about the information offered in this article or anything having to do with residential design and construction please feel free to email me directly at frank@wicksteadworks.com.

"Putting Up" a 1920's Bungalow

Originally published @

http://thecom-position.com/
juliette@thecom-position.com

This Atlanta residence and home to Architect Richard Bunn and Ken Felts completed its renovation in 2008. The project is a 900 sq ft addition of a large kitchen, seating-den space, master suite with work area and outside porch with a fireplace and wood-fire stone baking oven. The design and construction was intended to extend the life of the house for the next 100 years. The purpose of the renovation was to create space responding to their modern lifestyle and design sensibility. The kitchen extends onto the porch, connecting the inside to the outside.

Ken who has not been involved in a design project prior to this one noted the obsessive level of detail occurring during the design process. He says he can now truly appreciate the time it takes for a designer to work thru the design. The success comes out of the detailed needs assessment, careful planning and three-dimensional study of spatial relationships.

Ken also witnessed the positive “tug of war” occurring between Dick as the Architect and the Contractor during the building phase. They both had visions of how something should be done which at times created friction. The final solution solved collaboratively made the project stronger, illustrating the importance of the designer’s involvement through the construction process.

Ken moved into this house from the typical large newly constructed home with big furniture. Now living in a much smaller but well thought out space with a Knoll Risom Chair replacing his Lazy Boy “lounger” has been a positive change.

He says everything is so comfortable and

perfect for the way they live and entertain. The kitchen

can accommodate ten cooks, and has.

They spend most of their time in the kitchen, living, Master and outside. Evidence to how we don’t need a lot of space if it is well designed.

The renovation was designed and constructed based on Earthcraft principles. “Earthcraft House created in 1999, is a residential green building program of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association in partnership with Southface Energy Institute. This program serves as a blueprint for energy and resource efficient homes.” Definition from the Earthcraft’s website. The mission of Southface is to educate research, advocate and provide technical assistance for residential and commercial sustainable building technology for architects, designers, builders, owners and realtors. The Earthcraft program is specific to the southeast region due to building specifications responding to the climates of the region.
Some of the features designed into this home are the Tankless water heater, Water filtration system, HVAC and Electrical systems and building shell construction.
Dick educated the contractor on Earthcraft materials and methods. Since then the builder has passionately adapted these practices for his own business and is now a listed Earthcraft builder.
Dick Bunn, Principal Architect and Interior Designer with Insight Design in Atlanta Georgia has produced over 5,000,000 square feet of space for his corporate, professional service, retail banking and higher education clients.
Dick’s design knowledge and approach fostered talents of many fortunate interior designers and architects mentored over the years.
Wicksteadworks, an Atlanta based construction firm specializes in sustainable residential construction . Their customers rave about the thorough process, high quality work and excellent communication. Their work has been in national publications, HGTV Ground Breakers, Better Homes and Gardens and Bob Villa.com
Dick and Ken both have a passion for cooking. See our article Preserving… It’s Not Just For Your Grandmother

Designer/Architect: A Richard Bunn, AIAhttp://www.insightinc.netBuilder: WicksteadWorkshttp://www.wicksteadworks.com
Guiding Principles: Earthcrafthouse.comwww.Southface.org
Photographer: Nate Dorn http://www.dornbrothers.com/
Photographer: Lee Grider http://www.f64studio.com
Also see information at the USGBC website on sustainable building at LEED for Homes, LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=147