Hill House

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know we were lucky enough to get a grant from the City of Portland.  This is indeed a great thing.  Green roofs have many benefits – here is a brief explanation from the City of Portland web site:

“Ecoroofs replace conventional roofing with a living, breathing vegetated roof system. An ecoroof consists of a layer of vegetation over a growing medium on top of a synthetic, waterproof membrane. An ecoroof significantly decreases stormwater runoff, saves energy, reduces pollution and erosion, and helps preserve  fish habitat.

Ecoroofs also absorb carbon dioxide, cool urban heat islands, and filter air pollutants. Ecoroofs increase habitat for birds and insects and provide much needed greenspace for urban dwellers.”

In keeping with our general gravitational pull to try to do something different and ultimately more interesting than the ‘norm’, we new we needed the right team to help us figure this out.  Green roofs are extremely tricky to install successfully when you add into the equation weight restrictions and limited soil depths.  Basically, we have tundra conditions less than 500 fee above sea level – not to mention complete drought in the summer for 3 months.  When we were awarded the grant, we knew exactly who to work with.  2.ink studio is more than willing to take a chance with us.  They have a great eye for conceptual design and the fit so far has been perfect.  I have attached some images below from our first presentation meeting with them.  They developed a series of conceptual ideas breaking out the 3 green roof decks we have on floors 2 through 4.  These decks are all North facing and will see little, if any lighting.  This image shows a layered approach, with ferns around the perimeter with miniature hastas and smaller mexican grasses.  To add a layer of contrast and to flex the brightness of the colors, 2.ink inserted rows of small basalt blocks.

conceptual idea of roof deck

The roof itself is both technically and conceptually different.  Technically, it will get sun and during the 2-3 months in the middle of the summer when we don’t have rain, it will need to be watered.  Our plan is to use a gray water system sized to allow us to sprinkler irrigate the roof all year as needed with recycled water.  Because the roof is visible from neighbors behind us, and because we’ll be using it as outdoor space, we really wanted to push the design in a direction that is flexible, rhythmically interesting and graphic.  There were 4 conceptual options we looked into, but this one, with it’s undulating plan and colors seemed like the best fit.

conceptual plan for green roof

Another component to consider with the green roof is the plant species and how those species behave throughout the year.  Ideally, you’d want 50% or more evergreen so you have some coverage during the winter.  2.ink developed a calendar that shows what species thrive during specific times during the year.  For someone who is visual by nature, this is an excellent tool for us.  This file is a little difficult to read, but you get the idea.  At the moment, these concepts are being detailed further  to the point of construction drawings.

calendar of plant activity

We finally have bids on several options for mechanical systems…everything ranging from in-floor radiant to forced air.  We probably won’t choose one for a little while, but at least we have the information.  Here goes:

Option 1 – Hydronic Radiant  $45,400:

$17,320 = tubes, manifolds, thermostats and tankless water heater

$22,000 = warmbard material only

$3,300 = A.O. Smith Vortex high efficiency water heater for domestic water

$2,870 = Lifebreath HRV installed

This includes in-floor hydronic radian system in warmboard.  Due to weight, we cannot use gypcrete.  We did consider some less technical installation methods, such as stapling the hydronic tubes to the underside of the flooring, but in our case, we think the decreased inefficiency isn’t worth it.  This does not include any cooling if it should be needed in the future, nor a means to easily add cooling

Option 2 – Mini-split ductless heat pump $32,550:

$26,380 = Fujitsu 3 heat pumps, and 9 interior fan coils

$3,300 = A.O. Smith Vortex high efficiency water heater for domestic water

$2,870 = Lifebreath HRV installed

This is the most efficient system we have priced out.  On the plus side, it’s efficient, doesn’t use ducts and can heat and cool.  On the negative side, we have fan coils to look at (even though a couple of them are concealed), and during the very coldest and hottest extremes, the system may have a hard time keeping up.  The higher price may be justifiable with the energy efficiency over time, especially if we can incorporate solar.

Option 3 – Unico high velocity system w/mini split ductless for the ADU $29,175:

$25,875 = Unico high velocity running off SEER 13 heat pump by Ruud, Daikin mini-split pump w/2 fan coils, HRV

$3,300 = A.O. Smith Vortex high efficiency water heater for domestic water

So far, this option feels the most appealing.  We have both heating and cooling.  The design of the house won’t be compromised by ducts.  The ADU gets it’s own efficient heat pump and the high velocity system is extremely quite and feels much more comfortable than traditional forced air.

Option 4 – Traditional forced air $23,960:

$20,660 = gas furnace, standard programable thermostats, HRV and air filter for the HRV

$3,300 = A.O. Smith Vortex high efficiency water heater for domestic water

While this is a much less expensive options, there are two major drawbacks.  Firstly, we haven’t designed the house with soffits for venting, nor do we want to change the design to accommodate them.  Secondly, it’s forced air which is not what we were hoping for.  This does not include cooling, but an AC unit can easily be added in the future.

All of these options also include the necessary bath/laundry/kitchen venting and gas hook ups.  We have a lot of time to decide which system we’ll go with, but please feel free to add comments on what you think is best.  I’ve learned when it comes to the mechanical system, there is hardly ever a ‘golden’ answer…usually a few good choices and a few bad choices.

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that we have received a grant from the City of Portland for our eco roof.  All three levels of the house have their own eco roofs in addition to the main roof.  We met today with our very talented landscape architecture firm, 2.ink Studio. They are a great fit for us as they are open to doing something that is out of the ordinary – maybe something that hasn’t been done before – and their graphic eye to modern design works well with our aesthetics.

Our roof is completely visible from our neighbors deck behind our lot.  They’ve expressed concern with what they’ll be looking at visually.  Because of the visibility factor, we really want to do something out of the box that is visually stunning, but still performs the functions of a typical eco-roof.  2.ink Studio has done a great first round pass at design and we’re really excited to hopefully have something electronic to post after we meet with them next.

Also – to follow up on the HVAC design.  The reality of a forced air system seems to be looming over us.  To aid in our informative decision process, we’ve decided to also get pricing on a Unico high velocity forced air system.  I’ve used this system in the past and it works great for modern architecture where duct runs can potentially alter design.  The system relies on a main trunk duct with multiple 2″ flexible ducts extending from the trunk.  This allows for installations without the need to drop soffits for ducting.  It also blows much more quietly and efficiently than a traditional ducted system, plus it can run off a heat pump, electric furnace, or can be coupled with your domestic hot water of all things.  I’ll keep you posted on all bids when I have them in hand.

Working through all the bids and negotiating with subs has certainly taken some time.  On top of this, our checksheets from the City of Portland for Structural and Soils were fairly lengthy.  The architectural set of drawings referred to the structural set in many cases.  The structural set then referenced the Geotechnical Engineer’s report.  The City didn’t like this at all.  They wanted all the Geotechnical information shown in the drawing set.  Their argument is they don’t think a sub contractor would look in a report.  Maybe slightly picky, but makes sense.  We ended up making a new set of ‘Geotechnical’ drawings to add into our overall set….should work.  We’ll submit them next week and see what happens.

In the mean time, we’ve been looking into the multitude of heating and cooling options.  To get into some basic costs, the Warmboard floor sheathing we have specified in the house runs $22,000 (typical plywood sheathing is $3,000).  This price includes a ‘trade’ discount, which is nice.  On top of this, we have a radiant system that will run $15,000 – $20,000 for pumps, tubes and manifolds, plus water heating equipment (boiler, tankless or tank heater) at another $2,000 – $6,000 depending on the equipment.  On top of this, we have very minimal insulation bids at $25,000 for full perimeter 1 1/2″ flash and batt to $35,000 for 3″ flash and batt.  Flash and batt refers to a ‘flash’ pass of spray foam, followed by a less expensive batt or blown in insulation for the remainder of the wall cavity.  My theory has always been to spend your money on a tight, well insulated building envelope and spend less on smaller, more efficient HVAC equipment that will use less energy during the life of the building.  Keep in mind, we are building 8″ thick walls and 12″ deep roof diaphragm that needs to be completely filled with insulation.  I did stray from my theory towards a more expensive and luxurious heating system that may cost up to $48,000 to install.  In addition, because you don’t turn a radiant system off, you’re wasting energy while you’re away from the house during the day.  A humbling exercise.  We have determined our radiant system to be a fantastically wonderful luxury.

At the moment, we are getting bids on three systems:

1. hydronic radiant heat with a gas fired AO Smith Vertex water heater and another for domestic water

2. Fujitsu mini split ductless heat pump for heat / cooling, Vertex water heater for domestic water

3. Fujitsu split ducted heat pump for heat / cooling, Vortex water heater for domestic water.

Why not a tankless water heater?  With the addition of the ADU in the building, we have a potential of 3 showers and 2 dishwashers running at the same time.  This load if fairly difficult for even the best tankless to keep up with.  Using a dishwasher with an internal water heater can help, but three showers at once is still tough to manage.  We’re working with EcoHeat on pricing.  We’ve found them to be extremely professional, knowledgeable and competitively priced.

We’ve been working hard getting bids from subs.  The prices have been all over the board.  The biggest change however over the past two years is the willingness for subs to negotiate their prices.  Our plan is to make sure we have at least two bids for each trade, pick a sub and see how we can do with pricing.  A good example of this is our electrical category.  I’ll be purchasing all the fixtures myself through a local electrical supply store to avoid further mark up on fixtures, but we have three bids for electrical labor – $17k, $21k and $35k.  This is a fairly large difference in pricing.  The highest bidder also has the most exclusions in his price.  It’s very important to read all the exclusions.  Subs will often include in their exclusions items that are on the plans and even noted to be included – this can be especially confusing when installation happens and you notice you’re not getting what you expected.  With this kind of market, I have a feeling I can offer the job to the lowest sub at $15k and I’m fairly confident he’ll happily take it.

Another big savings so far is windows.  Companies encourage architects to use their products by offering discounts.  If the product is for the architect’s own use, the discount can be more.  Because of this discount process we’re able to afford Marvin Windows – which in my opinion is the best wood clad aluminum window we have access to in the pacific northwest.  To sweeten the deal further, Marvin will extend another nearly 30% discount if we have a public tour of the house.  Luckily, I’m a part of the local 11xdesign collective, so I can assure this will happen.  The entire window package is now at $32k for Marvin’s Ultimate Casement.  This casement window offers an opening 42″ wide x 96″ tall – the largest casement window on the market.  Marvin also threw in the Low-e 366 coating – click here to learn more.

As the final numbers come in, I’ll post about the numbers, what they mean and how we intend to handle them.

While we’ve been working away on the Hill House, we also produced the Twigg Residence.  This project is in for permitting and scheduled to break ground soon as well.  Not only is the timing similar, but Twigg is located near the Hill House as well.  Twigg also incorporates some of the same energy efficient features such as: staggered stud wall framing, flash and batt insulation techniques, Warmboard hydronic radiant heat, HRV for fresh air, rainscreen siding and thoughtful use of low maintenance / environmentally preferred products.  Mechanical heating and cooling is provided by an extremely efficient reverse chiller.  The site constraints for Twigg were not as tight as Hill House which allowed us to orient and shape the house to take advantage as much as possible of passive heating / cooling / ventilating strategies.  Another exciting feature, Twigg received grant funding from the city for an eco-roof as well.

As posted previously, we’ve decided to file for an adjustment to our allowed height limit.  Technically, our house is now shorter by 12″, but the overall design has changed just enough the city doesn’t feel they have approved what we were proposing to build.  A neighbor of ours, after receiving the adjustment in the mail suggested we all get together, have a glass of wine and discuss.  We thought that sounded like a fine idea.

The meeting happened during one of our hottest days this summer.  The temperature was around 106 degrees at 6 p.m.  We arrived at our neighbor’s house, were shuffled through the house, handed a glass of wine and ended up on their back deck looking down over our lot.  There were approximately 15 people there included us.  It was nice to see such a concerned group of people taking care of their neighborhood.  After a brief explanation of our design, what we planned to do and what the city was requiring, everyone was happy.  The meeting moved to another neighbor’s house (they had AC) and proceeded into the evening and proved to be a great time.

If anyone is planning on asking for an adjustment, I highly recommend being proactive and discussing your intentions with your neighbors.  Our adjustment closes today at 5:00 p.m. and, knock on wood, we have had no comments – which makes the process move much faster.

While permitting has been going on, I’ve been securing bids and pricing for everything.  I hope to provide some detailed information in the next post about how the costs are looking as well as discuss the possible GC options we’re entertaining.

Well – not totally free, but we received word yesterday that we were awarded the total grant amount available for ecoroof’s of $5 per s.f.  This funding is available to subsidize the cost of design and installation of ecoroofs in Portland.  Not only did we receive full funding for our house, but two other projects we are working on, 14 house and Twigg residence both received full funding as well.  Our three projects represented 10% of the total applicants.

We submitted for permit June 30th, just in time.  Permitting fees went up July 1st.  The victory was short lived.  We were hit yesterday with our first permitting snag.  Our current design is 3′ over the allowed height limit.  Now, this is where it gets complicated.  We already applied for an adjustment to the height limit and were granted approval.  This approved a total building height of 37′ plus a ‘bump up’ light monitor for a total of 41′.

Through the design process with the engineers, the house design altered a little from the time we were granted our approval.  Our current design stands at 40′ for the building height and no ‘bump up’ light monitor.  This is an interesting point.  Even though we are technically under our height limit, the approved ‘design’ is different.  To compound the problem, the other bureaus will not receive our plans for review until the height issue is resolved…it’s a serious bummer.  To get our plans in front of the structural reviewer (which in my opinion is the most important one here) we either need to apply for another height adjustment, or we need to change the design of the house to be 3′ lower.

We decided it would actually be quickest and least expensive to file for another height adjustment.  The adjustment is now $1,027, up from a few months ago when it was $800.  The one saving grace is the ADU adjustment we filed for but did not need will refund $690 back to us.  We’ll apply for the adjustment next Monday and the plans will then be routed to the other bureaus for review.

While all of this is going on, we’ve started to send our project components out to bid.  I’m going to act as GC on our project, but will hire a project manager to make sure things are progressing on a day to day basis.  I’ll post again about this topic in more detail as we don’t have all the ins and outs ironed out yet.  The big picture with this approach is that I’m taking as much responsibility, purchasing mark-up and management away from a typical GC to avoid the additional fees associated with a standard GC approach.  I’m comfortable with this approach as I have a fair amount of experience doing this, it gives me the most controld and ultimately, when issues arise, I’ll have nobody to blame but myself.  Mike in Seattle is at a very similar stage in his project and just wrote a fantastic post on his House by the Park blog about his experience deciding on using a GC or going with a design/build firm – It’s great information.