Archive for the ‘Energy Efficiency’ Category

Applying the Fascia

Time to button up the outside of the building.   Fascia, roofing, windows, siding and trim – in that order.  We are using NuCedar siding, a product made out of 20% recycled PVC  that is painted to our specifications and installed with screws and plugs.   We are very excited about being one of the first projects in RI to use this system.  We have twice visited the factory and met numerous times in the field with NuCedar’s technical reps to learn how best to use this product on our site.

The roof is being shingled with Energy Star asphalt shingles that are designed to reflect the sun and keep the building cooler in the summer heat.   The flat roofs over the beer cooler and wine storage room are being roofed with white TPO, also a highly reflective and durable roofing.

We are committed to making our building sensibly green and examine both the imediate and long term  cost of each product and system we use.

You shouldn’t have to go into the red to build green.

Tommy (LT) and Ryan finishing the tower

The project is about to turn the corner as we finish setting the last of the Climate-Block panels.  But first we have to construct the tower and stairwell that will serve the mezzanine areas. Tricky angles, tough cuts, and a fair amount of head scratching, but we got it right.

We constantlly make adjustments in the field and architect Megan Moynihan is often on site (in this case on the roof) working with the team and figuring out the best way to take what is on paper and bring it to life.

Tim Van Wormer and Megan Moynihan

The Charlestown Package Store will be heated and cooled by a geothermal system drawing water from three 450 foot deep wells.   Today we began drilling the first of the wells.

The first phase, until we hit bedrock at about 125 feet, involves digging the hole and keeping the hole open with drilling mud.   Once we hit bedrock we will set an 8 inch pipe into the hole and pump the mud out. (Yes, this is similar mud to what is being used to try to stop the runaway oil well in the Gulf of Mexico).   After we pump the mud out, we will attach a 6 inch bit and drill down through the bedrock to 450 feet.

The constant temperature of the water we pull from the wells will allow us to heat and cool the building efficiently and without using any gas or oil.   We will have more on the design and workings of the geothermal system in a future post.

The New Charlestown Package Store will be beautiful and green –  with a dramatic interior framed by Douglas Fir timbers, a highly efficient envelope built out of Climate-Block panels, a geothermal heating-cooling-dehumidification system, and very cool lighting.

Dramatic and cool, YES.  Easy to run electric wires, NO!  All of the wires are run in either the chases built into the wall panels, under the concrete floor in conduit, or in channels cut in the exterior of the roof panels.   All of this requires a lot of thought and often it’s best to get together at the construction site and go over the plan.  Below our lighting designer, Evelyn Audet, and electrician, Len Capizzano of Century Electric, meet to work out the details.