Our New Home: A "Green Home" in the Forest


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The adventure begins Four years ago, we started down the path to build our dream home. Along the way we got delayed for various reasons but today we are on the road to living in our new home at 217 Stonington Road. Follow along as the adventure unfolds.
"Living the life" Wow, time is flying by, we moved in starting May 29, 2007, it took quite a while to get organized and we did not move fully out of our townhouse until October. One by one area’s of the house morphed into their intended use: the garage is now just that. Two bays for parking and one for work (with a lift); the upstairs loft/library is complete with couch, bookshelves and Pat’s desk. The geothermal system keeps the house very comfortable and every morning I take a nice hot shower powered by the leftover energy from the heating system. (BTW: the shower from Hudson-Reed is outstanding at ½ the price of US models). Springbrook Forest is a great place to live! The neighbors are all friendly, it is so quite you hear the squirrels scamper about; you look out and see small herds of deer wandering through and you are only 5 minutes from two Metro stations. I have finished my lower level shop, and installed shelving in the basement so every week more and more gets unpacked and put away. Speaking of the lower level, all the extra insulation we put in has keep the lower level in the high 60’s without the heat coming on. I have a data system setup to monitor the Heating/Cooling system, which you can see an up to the minute view of below. Here is a link to a detail report with graphs, power use and more. I think building this house has been one of the most fun and rewarding projects Pat and I have done, together we have created our own Shangri-La.
Why go Green ? There are many reasons to go green: Save the planet, and reduce dependency of foreign goods. But to me it is all about Dollars ($) and Cents. Our investments in energy reduction includes Geothermal Heating & Cooling from Ground Loop Inc. Heating and Air Conditioning, BIBS insulation from Carroll Insulation, innovative heat storage and the use on-site resources are investments in our own future with a tremendous return on investment (ROI). No stock market investment will returns us the money that our reduced cost of operation in electrical and gas will provide us. If along the way we help save the planet for our children that is good too. Click here for system at work details:

The heating/Cooling (HVAC) system internal data are only correct when the Well Pump is On although the usage totals, Hot water tank (DHW) and outside temps are correct all the time. The Burner status and totals show the Propane usage to supplement the domestic hot water as needed. Both the HVAC and DHW have daily and monthly usage totals. We are creating a historical set of readings each minute in our SQL database and are using that data to optimize the house to yield the best comfort level at the lowest energy cost.

Geothermal System Status

System Performance Reports:

Daily

Last 7 days

This Month

Last 30 days

Year to Date

It Begins..

On August 8th we filed for building permits in Montgomery County, nothing happens fast in here Montgomery County, but it looks like we should have our permits by the first week of November (Actual was Nov 13th). But they are issued and work has begun.

Now begins the exciting part of the job, our builder thinks it will take five months to finish the house, but with our luck it will be six of more.

Anyway the Blog on this site will keep you filled as we go along, so check back often.

Blog

“How sweet it is”

Time moves fast and all of the sudden it’s February and its 25 degrees outside. We awake each day to a unbelievable surrounding, although the leaves are all down and the forest looks bare it is teaming with life. This morning as we had our coffee a herd of 13 deer were wandering through the back yard. The house is warm and my energy logging system is building one heck of a database on the geothermal system.

As I make minor adjustment to the computerized HVAC control system we study the effects on both system efficiencies but power usage also. Pat says I am too much of an engineer, but as always for me the puzzle is more fun than the finished results. My objective is to make the house comfortable for Pat (70-73 degree range) at the lowest energy cost.

It’s a bit to cold to work in the garage, so the 944 on the lift will have to wait. But the 914 is looking forward to its turn to get ready for first race of the year.

Pat is on the look out for an area rug to match the new couches it is not an easy tasks as our desires are so different but “some day our rug will come”.

Well that’s my note for the day; I will try to get back on track to keeping the site up to date.

Dan & Pat

Our new Home

We Are In

Saturday we started moving in and had our first BBQ.

Our new address is 217 Stonington Rd,Silver Spring, MD 20902.

For the time being the house phone is 301-244-5410

After Verzion closes out our old line we will be transferring back to old phone number. Till then you can reach us on our cell phones or the house line, if you don’t know them email us.
We welcome all visitors, it gives us a chance to take a break from unpacking and show our friends the house, maybe even play a game of pinball or two.
Pat and I are just about beat, there are so many boxes, but the pleasure is worth the pain. We wake up to the sound of birds and have our morning coffee on the deck looking out over the woods.

Pat & Dan

May 24th - Yeee HA !

It is DONE!

Thursday May 23rd , Norm, Kandie, Pat, and I did the finial walk through, and a few small items remain but they are easily completed. Friday the 24th there will be a finial cleaning and then it ours, YEEE HAAA!

Saturday we start moving in

From now on our address is 217 Stonington Rd, we will be transferring our old phone number as soon as the utilities can do it. Till then you can reach us on our cell phones, if you don’t know them email us.

We hope you have as much fun watching our progress as we have had in making it. We will continue to update the blog as we go along but it might be less often as we work hard at getting the move done.

Pat & Dan

Oh My, it's just about done

Wow, Thursday we had our walk through and no major surprises, the house is looking great, Norm finished the Sun Tunnel into the upstairs bath and it works great, one less light that needs to be turned on.
Montgomery County finished its final inspections and passed the house.
Friday the wood floors got another coat, and Monday the painters came back to do finial inside coat. Then it’s on to the exterior for foundation and trim work.

With luck, the house should be done by the end of the week.

I can’t say enough great things about Norm Queen our project foreman, he has always been there for us overcoming disasters and turning them into minor events, Norm’s "get it done right attitude" coupled with his knowledge of all the trades and tricks has made this whole project an on-time successful job for all concerned.

We can only say that Norm has made it all work out right everytime.

May 12th - Happy Pat

I called today Happy Pat, click on her picture to see why.

The yard is now mostly finished, the landscapers were there almost all day, bobcats going every which way, they attached a device called a Rock Hound and it found a couple of tons of rocks and now the yard is smooth and waiting for the grass to sprout.

Norm, had a health scare Friday, and god willing he will keep doing what he does best for many years to come, our houses success is largely due to his efforts and we will never forget him!

Come Tuesday the house should be ready for occupancy and use (O & U) then it’s just nick picking.
Everything looks great! Thank you Norm!

May 11th -We are cooking with gas

Things keep getting done everyday; yesterday the Kitchen came on-line (Stove, hood, dishwasher etc.) The gas water heater was checked out, but by now the Geothermal had heated the tank, so it was just a small burn to make sure it all works.
The painters are coming back to do another coat and early next week they will paint the foundation.
Norm, hopes to have Use & Occupancy done by Tuesday, and we are doing the initial walk through on Monday, it’s just days away from move in!

May 10th Getting Close

The view out the front say it all, the house is almost ready for us to move in. The fire marshal passed it yesterday, the Use & Occupancy should be done by Tuesday, the data center is online, kitchen is just waiting for plumber to make the stove work.
This weekend the landscapers do the finial grading and spray the grass seed. We are set to do the walk through next week and take over the 25th. We won’t do a full move in until Watermill is fully under contract, but we will be unpacking boxes living there real soon.

April finishes and soon we are

The work load of getting Watermill ready to sell has taken a lot out of Pat and I, but it is ready to go to market and our backs are shot.
The basement has been insulated so most of the lower level work is done and our box pile is growing each day.
Saturday I started setting up the server racks and configuring basic network connections. The intent is to set up a lights-out backup data center and after checkout, make it the primary with Watermill the backup.
Sunday John and Dianne came by after picking their Granite (Turns out they picked the same stone as ours) and we moved some easy boxes in. Later in the day I moved over 914 parts and then pat and I had lunch on the deck with the Track fold up chairs.
It was so quiet that we could hear the birds sing and the children a block away playing outside. It is almost unbelievable to be so in-town, but so far from the maddening crowds. I just love it!
Check out the view from our bedroom windows

April 25th - Deck, Shower, and more

Things are moving fast, the plumbers have put in all the fixtures and water is running, electricians have got almost everything hung and working, the Basement got insulated, the alarm system is in, phone lines are in and work. The deck is finished except for the chairs and beer & wine service. Data lines have been delayed for a week but come in with the cable at same time. Check out the master shower on the left. When I drove by this morning they were digging the dry wells for rain gutters and were planning to be done today with that job.

April 23rd

Things are moving fast, I have a hard time keeping on top of what is going down each day. Last week the wood floors and stairs got done (They look great). Mr. Clark did the front walkway and rear door walkout pads (He did them with curves and they look great). The Ground Loop people finished up the domestic how water hookup. Today I had to go over at lunch time to drop off a light and they were hanging lights and the central great room fan. Painters were doing the outside trim, and they were delivering the deck top "wood" and rails.

April 17th - Inside and Out

Busy day inside and out. It started early for me, 6:30 I meet with the plumbers to set the big tub fixture, afterwards they set up the shower. Then the day started for the floor people who laid down the white oak floors. Meanwhile outside the bull dozer was cutting the finial driveway and laying down the base stone. The shots on 4/17 show my car sitting on the circle.

April 11th - Stone Work

Dropped the Microwave off this AM for install and found the Stone Men installing counter tops, they look great! The tile man was finishing the remaining bathrooms after finishing the master (take a look at the tub area) on the right side click on it to get a BIG shot). I will post Stone shots tonight.

April 5th - Mother Earth is heating the house

Power to the People ..Lights & Heat (It got cool) The Geothermal systems is in and running, lights are on, and tile is going down. The stair rails are done and Monday the wood floors are to be delivered. Kitchen is ready for stone, the Stove is idling in the master bedroom (all 350 lbs of it).

We picked the Stone

Well after looking at literally tons of stone we picked this one.

April 2 - Pedal to the Metal

Things are coming together: The Geothermal systems is in place waiting for Power (which is due in Wednesday April 4th), kitchen is ready for stone (awaiting our decision), the Stove is idling in the master bedroom (all 350 lbs of it), the ceramics (mud room, Baths) work starts today, some paint touchup in desk area, the deck is starting, and they are laying out the driveway… Things are flying left and right!

March 27 Kitchen & Trim

Wow, Allan (The finishing man) is setting the kitchen up, and is doing a great job. It all looks outstanding! He is also doing the Crown molding in the dining room (you should take a look when you get by at the trim around the curved entrance it is outstanding.

March 21st Painting

Paint is flowing, 1st they sprayed a coat of white, which is what Pat is looking at. Then they went through and spotted the areas to touch up (Point Up) then Tuesday they sanded those down and today they start to paint in force. From what I understand it is ceilings, then trim, then walls.

March 13th - Trimming it out

The trim work is moving along and should be done today, next comes the painters. The kitchen is on its way; the cabinets are due in the 26th and Stove the 28th. The dishwasher and hood are on order and should be close to the 1st. All in all things are moving along nicely.

March 10 - Road Trip to two houses

We took a road trip with Dianne and John to see how their new home in PA is coming along, which is pretty fast, they might just catch up with us. Their place is very cool, it has a tube based water distribution system that is color coded and all meets in a big manifold in the basement (check out the pictures in the 3/10 photos). Afterwards we came back down and showed them ours. It was great day including the "small" calzone at Franks in PA.

March 7th Stone work done

The fireplace is done, check out the mantel that I made from some solid maple that my Dad had in the garage. Now when I look at the fireplace I see a bit of Irv.

217 Stonington Road

Our New Home: A "Green Home" in the Forest

Hold the mouse over an image to pause the slide show or click on it to see it full size..