zetlandparade.com Blog

Thanks for your e-mails!  We have been so busy on site the Demonstration Green Home blog has gone wanting! We left off with the drywall taper working.  He actually went over 4 days (stress!) due to some poor drying weather and his careful work but the finish is first class.  Dave from Proper Painting arrived on Friday and Saturday August 16 and 17 to prime and paint ceilings.  Then Steve from LaPlante Custom Home Improvements started the flooring including marble in the foyer (more on that in a minute) and bamboo in the dining room and great room.  He also constructed the main stairway with maple treads to match the kitchen.  

We did it, We did it, We did it -Yeah (theme from Dora the Explorer)!  Everyone pulled together and we were able to hang the sheetrock in the house last weekend.  The taper is in now working and he expects to have the house ready to sand on Sunday and clean next Monday the 13^th.  The Presby Environmental septic system was inspected and approved by the State of NH and is all backfilled.  The roofers are here working as well.  

It was close though.  Due to delays on other jobs, the crew from Quality Insulation had to work until 11:00 Thursday night and most of the day Friday.  Thanks Duncan, Rick, and Mike for making it happen! We had the Energy Star insulation inspection with Kevin from Horizon Energy Friday at noon and he was impressed.  We ended up spraying an inch plus of foam on all the exterior walls to seal the house and then using the Optima BIB (blown-in blanket) system, giving us about an R24 in the walls and a very tight home.  Kevin especially appreciated the foam on the blockers around the rim joists which is usually a trouble spot.  The crew from Blue Rock Building supply loaded sheetrock Friday afternoon. 

The home takes on a completely different look and feel with the sheetrock up.  We have already noticed a couple of changes to make to the floor plan the next time we build it (we are offering this plan with several different exteriors and have the lot next door available).  This week I am focusing on choosing colors for the paint, tile, and wood flooring.  Still tight for having everything done for October 5 (the Grand Opening Party) but still doable.  So far it is a builders dream as there have been no “slack” days.

Well it has been a very busy and stressful few days!  As background, our drywall installation crew is comprised of union help who usually work in the Boston area and “hang” homes on the weekends for extra money.  The upside is that the work is fast and top quality but the downside is we have to be ready by the weekend they are scheduled.  This last week we still had a long way to go to have them in this coming Saturday.
Monday was the day set aside for the plumbers and electrician to finish anything not done last week and we were also scheduled for the central vacuum  (Vacman and Bobbin) and low voltage (phone, cable, audio) roughs.  On top of that we had the Town of Loudon rough inspection and the LEED inspection as well.  Due to some scheduling conflicts, the low voltage (Instalz Custom Wiring) and central vacuum crews were pushed back to Tuesday which was scheduled to be the first day to insulate.  As it turned out, the Quality Insulation foam crew also got stuck on another job and bumped us to Wednesday.  That worked but only gives the insulation crew 2 ½ days so we can have our Energy Star insulation inspection and load sheetrock on Friday afternoon.
Paul and Seth from the Jordan Institute came on Monday to do the first LEED inspection.  We were joined on site by our architect Barry Arthur Hoeg.  They checked the house and site and gave us a couple of requests on erosion control.  Other than that they were very complimentary and were amazed by our progress.
Bobby from Instalz Custom Wiring has some great technology he is featuring in our Green Demonstration Home.  All the phone and cable locations also have a line for data and are network ready – everything goes back to a control box in the basement similar to an electric panel.  We also have surround sound in the great room which we normally do anyway.  But in addition they are running distributed audio to the deck, the kitchen, and master bedroom and bath -can’t wait to try that!  Bobby even ran a wire to the front door for a security camera.
Outside the Presby Environmental septic system is in and waiting for state inspection.  We are also working on running the conduit from the road to the house for the underground utilities.
As long as everything goes smoothly today and tomorrow, we will be hanging sheetrock this weekend which is the start of the finish phase.  I will keep you posted.  

Looking for some other Green folks out there to join forces and show-off the wonders off all things Green in the home this October! I met with Nancy from the new Real Green Goods Store in Concord last week. She has all kinds of wonderful products in her store like bamboo kitchen ware, energy saving lightbulbs (you won’t find these at Home Depot!) and other home friendly products! Her website is also a great place to check out the store’s products and just get some information on what is Green! It looks like Harris Family Furniture is interested in helping us show-off the interior of the home with some of thier fine high quality furniture. Steve and I purchased our own cherry hand crafted dinning table from Harris last year and we love it! The quality is unbeatable… and its a classic (our boys will be fighting over it someday!) Wine sponsor where are you? We would like to do a wine tasting fundraiser on the 12th for the Concord Merrimack County SPCA. So far it has been really hard. I am very interested in the Flag Hill Winery in Lee and I hope they will work with us. We want to support New Hampshire’s growing Green business population and Flag Hill Winery is just that! More to come soon!

Now our framing is (mostly) done except for a few details and the windows are in! We are using Pella Pro Line Windows with Low-E and Argon gas that have a U value of .33 – well below the Energy Star threshold. It is time for the “roughs” before the house is closed in. Scott from Logan Mechanical worked over last weekend to do the forced hot air vents for our heating system. Then Dick and Rick from R Baron Plumbing came in on Monday to do the rough plumbing. Our electrician, Kevin from Kevin’s Electric is starting today. And we still have security, a central vac, and home audio and phone/cable network to rough in by next Monday. As you can see, we are on a compressed schedule to be done for the Parade of Homes in October. Thanks guys!

Outside, we are expecting the delivery of the Presby Enviro-Septic system components today and then Roy the excavator will be installing them this week. The sand in the field area is already in place.

I met with Mike from Quality Insulation to measure the house yesterday. We are planning on doing 1” of blown foam as an air barrier and to seal all the penetrations through the walls. Then they will install the Bib system which is blown fiberglass with an R value of 23 in the 2×6 walls. Watch the Feature Technology page on our site www.zetlandparade.com for more info.

We had been contacted by the NH Homebuilders early in the year about their first ever Parade of Homes in October but had not signed up as we already had two homes for sale in inventory. Then on May 15 I attended a seminar with nationally known new home marketing expert Jerry Rouleau who was emphatic in his support for this type of event which is very popular in many parts of the county. After mulling it over for a couple of days, we decided to build a home especially for the Parade of Homes.

The immediate problem was the time line as it is very difficult to take a new home from design and permitting to 100% completion in 4 and a half months. Fortunately we had been working on some new house plans after affiliating with the Barry Arthur Hoeg, a New York Licensed architect noted for his residential work. One new plan we had on the drawing board features many current design trends including flex rooms, a drop zone by the garage entry, second floor laundry, ample storage, and compartmentalized baths. It is designed so a buyer can choose different exterior trim packages including colonial, folk Victorian, Art & Crafts, and French Chateau. Now for a building site. . . Again fate helped as we found a lot in a new neighborhood with an existing permit and the developer preferred a builder who would commit to doing the Energy Star rating. No problem! After meeting with him, we signed a Purchase and Sales Agreement on June 4 and were digging on the lot by June 13.

On June 14 I met with Kevin from Horizon Energy who is the Energy Star rater to get his input. That was followed by a meeting with Paul and Seth from the Jordan Institute which is the NH provider for the LEED for Homes pilot program. I was thrilled to learn that we could be the 3^rd or 4^th LEED certified home in the whole state. I was even more thrilled after meeting with them again on the 20^th to do the preliminary rating and sign the paperwork that we would be aiming for the Silver level certification.

Another bit of good news came on the 18^th when we found that our drilled well was providing 50 gallons per minute at 150’ which was enough for geothermal heat. Once the well rig left, work began in earnest as we began to excavate for the foundation. Here is where we are to date:
6/21 Poured footings for house
6/22 Poured house walls
Foundation drainage, damp proofing and inspection
6/27 Footings for garage
6/28 Poured garage walls
7/10 Started framing the house – late start due to material delivery around July 4 and rain
7/18 Poured garage and basement slabs

At this point the framers are finishing up and we are beginning the “roughs” on Friday with the rough heating (ductwork).

This timeline is condensed and I have left out the inevitable snags and minor problems that come with building. If you are interested in any more detail, let me know!  

Welcome to our blog for the 21^st Century Victorian Demonstration Home! There is so much information to bring you up to date that we will split up the first two posts into an overview and a timeline.

Once we decided to build a home for the 2007 NH Parade of Homes (new homes to be showcased throughout the state), we wanted to find a way to really make it stand out from the 30+ other new homes in the Parade. Our first thought was the USGBC (US Green Building Council) LEED for Homes program, which is still in the pilot phase. We have been following the green homebuilding movement closely, partly as a response to client requests and partly from our interest in new technologies and advances in building science. Our experience is that a lot of homebuyers are interested in different facets of green building without calling it that, especially energy efficiency and low maintenance/ durability. At the same time, green building emphasizes items that we feel set Zetland Homes LLC apart from the average builder including excellent design capability and high performance construction techniques.

As of today, there have been no LEED homes certified in NH. There are a couple in process, so we will be the 3^rd or 4^th in the whole state, depending on the timing. We are going for the Silver rating. In conjunction, the home has to be Energy Star rated and we expect to achieve the 5 star+ rating. The Demonstration Home is just under 2300 square feet with 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, and a 2 car attached garage. The exterior is going to be detailed in a folk Victorian style. It is located in a new neighborhood known as

in Loudon. The location is perfect as it has a real country feel but is just minutes to Concord. One of the technologies we hope to spotlight is geothermal heat (and cooling and domestic hot water). We have been receiving many inquires about geothermal from potential new home clients.

We are framing the house now with the somewhat difficult goal of having it 100% complete for the Parade starting the first weekend in October. Our trade contractors and suppliers know it is a tight schedule and seem enthused about the project. Several national companies have already come aboard as sponsors with several more on the way.

One of our main goals with this Demonstration Home is to show you can build green homes without using unusual or off the wall products. Instead we are focusing on materials and techniques that are considered mainstream even if they are newer and that are a result of current ideas about building each home as a total system.

Coming next . . . a timeline of how we got to this point.