Portland Built » Highlights

Portland Architecture’s Renovation Review

Shawn — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:37:53 +0000

Brian Libby, author and host of the pre-eminate blog on Portland architecture, has a splendid review of the last ten years of “renovations” in Portland. Portlanders will recognize many of these projects and it’s great to have a bit of the back-stories to these wonderful landmarks.

I’ve followed Brian’s site for some time and appreciate the volume of work and his ceaseless effort at putting Portland architecture on the map. Writing fresh content on a weekly (and sometimes daily) basis takes a tremendous amount of work. Even though the site runs on a sponsorship model, I would hazard a guess that it’s more of a labor of love than a big-time money maker.

So, spend a few moments at Brian’s blog, Portland Architecture. It’s well worth the visit.

Photo Credit: Brian Libby.

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Vent Pipes Never Looked So Sexy

Shawn — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:52:03 +0000

On my last trip to the Harpoon House I observed a cool strategy for getting plumbing out of the walls. Why would you want to do this? For one, insulation improvement. The more stuff in the walls, the less insulation can fit in the cavity. More insulation = more efficiency = lower heating/cooling bills.

Here’s an example of a simple yet brilliant way to deal with one of the most common pieces of plumbing: a vent pipe. By running the pipe outside the house and behind the siding, the homeowners have effectively increased their wall’s R-value without adding significant additional costs. Since the home’s design already included a rain screen, bumping the siding out another 2″ meant they could run the pipe up the side of the house.

Harpoon House makes use of SIP panels, so this makes even more sense (SIPs are pre-fabricated, preinsulated panels). The fewer holes and tunnels you put in the panel and insulation, the fewer opportunites for air intrusion and heat loss. Kudos to the Harpooners!

Insulation: Calculating Your Cost and Savings

Shawn — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:26:05 +0000

One of the big revolutions in building technology has been the significant increase in insulation. And I’m not just talking going from R-13 walls to R-21. No, what I mean are the super-insulated buildings you see in both LEED and Passive projects (often with walls as high as R-40!)

The revelation, of course, is that energy is an increasingly expensive commodity, and that insulation is one of the cheapest, easiest to use building materials available. Simple changes to the design and framing can have a dramatic impact on energy use…to a point where homes can be heated by the equivalent of a hair dryer! Yes, that’s right – imagine heating your home with just a few hundred watts…

How much is enough (or is there such a thing as too much)?

Of course we all have a budget, so determining the “right” amount of insulation is critical. At the Live/Work project, we were recently faced with this dilemma. The plans called for 2 1/2″ thick insulation under the slab perimeter, and 1″ in the field. Since this idea of multiple thicknesses for insulation seemed somewhat silly (it was easier to just insulate the same thickness across the field) we ordered 2″ for everywhere under the slab.

However, after giving this some more thought and research, we considered adding more than one layer of foam. The question was: how much makes sense?

Do the Math

To help decide how much foam we needed, we performed a series of calculations based on the loss of heat per hour (BTU) and assumed a number of heating days per year. Here’s how we started:

Assume 50 degrees outside, 70 degrees inside (20 degree differential equals “Delta T”)
1000 sq ft of surface
Formula to calculate BTU loss: 1/R-Value x Delta T x Area.

Now, we were planning on using 2″ board across the surface – this would provide us with an insulation value of R-10. Pretty much standard building code these days. However, passive houses use as much as 16″ of foam (R-80), so we needed to dig a little deeper in our analysis.

2″ Pink Board (R-10): 1/10 x 20° x 1,000 sq ft = 2,000 BTU/hr – This was our baseline
4″ Pink Board (R-20): 1/20 x 20° x 1,000 sq ft = 1,000 BTU/hr

Ok, so I’m not sure what a 1000 BTUs looks like, but loosing 1000 of them per hour sounds significant. But what about the cost?

2″ Pink Board = $1,097 per 1000 sq. ft.
Subtract the cost of gravel that will no longer be required under the slab ($216)
Total additional cost for 2″ board = $877

Next, we needed to calculate the cost of a BTU. This is a little tricky, since the gas company measures in “gas units” and “therms.” So, to avoid getting even more geeky than what we’ve discussed so far, it boils down to this:

1 Therm = 100,000 BTUs.
In Portland, using NW Natural, at current rates, the cost of 1000 BTUs per hour is roughly .015 cents (based on NW Natural’s recent rate reduction – it had been closer to .017 cents per 1000)
If you’re using electricity, based on the rates in our NE neighborhood, your cost is roughly .027 cents per hour.

The next calculation gets even more subjective and is based on the number of heating days per season (in other words, out of 365 days per year, how many days require you to use the home’s heating system).

Based on a 150-day season, running the system 24 hours a day, our annual heat loss cost is $54 (gas) at 1000 BTUs per hour.
At that cost, and factoring in the $877 for extra foam, it would take us 16 years to obtain payback on our additional 2″ of foam.

In the end, we decided to split the difference and go with 3″ of insulation, achieved by two staggered sheets of 1″ and 2″ foam. This decision was made for two reasons. First, going to 4 full inches of foam was a bit of a budget buster. With the 16 year payback, it was a tough sell, especially considering that this math was based on several factors:

We’re assuming 24-hour occupancy of the lower floor. Since the lower area will be used primarily as an art studio, its use will be much more limited in duration.
We’re assuming a 70 degree constant temperature. In reality, a working studio space doesn’t need to be nearly this warm, as the act of working and moving around the space diminishes the need for higher temperatures.

One of the other reasons we decided to go with the 1″+2″ foam combo was that it would allow us the benefit of staggered seams. In other words, by overlapping the sheets of foam, we’d achieve a benefit of greater vapor resistance than if we had just used a single layer of 2″ or even 4″ foam.

Additional Resources

There’s a lively discussion of this topic over at the Green Building Advisor. Just as we discovered, there is a tipping point for insulation where the cost of installation starts to outweigh the benefits. Other resources include (of all things) a great page from Fairbanks Natural Gas which shows how to compare the cost of natural gas to other heating sources. Of course, if you are factoring in CO2 emissions, there’s more to consider than just dollars and sense.

And, to get some perspective, here’s a photo of what 16″ of foam looks like (Photo credit: GreenBuildingAdvisor.com)

Partners

Shawn — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:53:57 +0000

Support Portland Built!

Interested in Portland Built’s Partner Program? Here’s how it works…

We review Partner candidates that have businesses in Portland, or who conduct business in the Portland metro region. The criteria for Partnership are:

Ethics. Your business places a premium on doing things right, honestly, and fairly.
“Best in Class.” Portland Built is interested in supporting businesses that set themselves apart through exceptional service and products.
Innovation. Your business seeks to continually improve and look for new opportunities that better yourself, the people you work with, and the products/services you offer.
Good Neighbors. We’re interested in businesses and individuals that are adding real value to the community around them. Our Partners are great neighbors, employers, entrepreneurs, and leaders.

The Benefits

Website Traffic: We’re building a site designed to help your business grow. We’re optimizing Portland Built to attract visitors who will be interested in what you have to offer.
Reviews: The format of Portland Built is created around the blog concept. We’ll feature your business and the people who work for you in compelling, professionally-written articles.
1000 Words: This site is designed to tell stories through pictures and videos. We’ll give visitors to the site a hands-on tour of your products and services.

What does it cost?

The goal of Portland Built is to provide a low-cost opportunity to promote great businesses. Each Partnership is arranged on a case-by-case basis.

Learn more:

Call Shawn Busse directly at 541-941-9920 or send him an email to shawn{at}portlandbuilt{dot}com

Welcome to Portland Built!

Tax Incentives, Rebates, and More!

Shawn — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:32:06 +0000

Debbie Cleek from the city of Portland put together a great overview of resources for tax credits, rebates, and other green building incentives. It’s great to see the city of Portland (and the state of Oregon) taking a leadership role in the green building movement. Thanks Debbie!

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Dry Wells: Save Water, Make Money

Shawn — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:45:45 +0000

Not many homeowners give much thought to where the water from their roof goes. Most people figure if the water isn’t going in their house, then it’s not a problem. Except…

In cities like Portland, stormwater is a BIG problem. Old and undersized city pipes mean that big rains create big headaches for city officials. Clogged drains are one visible symptom, but much worse is what happens at the Willamette river. You see, when the storm drains back up, so do the sewers. Which means – you guessed it – raw sewage gets into the river. Yuck!

So, as part of a comprehensive plan to reduce storm water runoff, the city incentivizes home owners to “manage” their own storm water. Simple examples include disconnecting your downspouts (so the water simply flows back into the ground) or saving the water in rain barrels for future irrigation. More ambitious methods include saving the water in underground cisterns or even cleaning it for consumption (keep in mind you’ll need a metal roof and some serious hardware).

The Live/Work Project is taking a middle-ground (ha!) solution. We’re placing a drywell roughly ten feet from the building. A dry well is simply a concrete canister filled with rocks…when the rains come, gutters direct the water to pipes that run underground and out to the dry well. The water then percolates back where it belongs – in the water table.

Dry well

This solution has several benefits. First, you’re putting water back into your property where it can be appreciated by trees, plants, and other helpful organisms. Second, it saves you money. The city gives you a small discount on your water bill each month as credit for not taxing their already overworked system.

For new construction, it’s a no-brainer. You’ve got to send the water somewhere, and piping it into the storm drains represents an expensive plumbing proposition. Dry wells save money and solve the problem in one graceful step!

Live/Work Update: Kitchen Installation

Fuez: Portland’s Green Countertop Option

Shawn — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:03:36 +0000

I’ve followed the evolution of the Fuez line of countertops for some time. Last spring I visited the facility and showroom to see how this great product is made. Aside from the fact that it’s positively beautiful, Fuez offers some great advantages over other materials.

First, if you’re in the pacific northwest, it’s a relatively local product. By producing the slabs in Portland, Fuez minimizes your carbon footprint. Recycled glass and fly-ash concrete contribute to the products green qualities. And, unlike most granite, this product won’t contribute to strip mining. Oh, and did I mention you can have just about any combination of glass size, color, and shape? All around, this is an outstanding product.

If you want to see samples, it’s available at several outlets. In the Portland metro, you can visit the Fuez showroom in North Portland. If you live in SE Portland, Fuez is available at a number of showrooms including Ecohaus.

Fireplace Makeover

Shawn — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:01:50 +0000

Over the last few months I’ve been working hard to update my 50′s fireplace. Nothing says “mid century” quite like those flat, red bricks. The final product is the result of a custom mold, dyed concrete, and a dead-fall fir mantle from Mt. St Helens. You can see the finished result above – next I’ll post on how I tackled the project.

In the meantime, here’s a quick “before” photo. The wall to the right and left has been cut away to expose the seriously old “insulation” that was eventually replaced (I think it has an R-value something akin to shredded newspaper).

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