Sign of the Times

The Neighborhood now has a new and official sign. You can see a part of the lovely landscaping they've done near the entrance as well. Predominantly native plants, all of the plants in these landscaped areas are drought tolerant and low maintenance.

I'll post some new pictures of the landscaped areas when I get a chance. The plants in here include Joepye weed, Black-eyed Susan, Gaillardia, Stokes Aster, Sweetgrass, Panicum northwind, Magnolia and Live Oak.

We're excited to see all these plants come in. I'm sure by next year, they will mostly be well established and ready for a hearty season.

Alley work begins this week

Survey work for alley completed Friday.

The crews will be starting permeable paver alley work behind our house this week. On Friday they came out to survey and on Wednesday, they are supposed to start the digging work which will push us to park on the street until the construction is completed in about 60 days.

For an idea of what it will look like when it's done, take a look at my post from last week.

New Alleys

We got a note today from the HOA that they had completed the first alleys with permeable pavers and will be starting on ours this week. Here's a pdf link to the note (Elias asked if I could post it to the blog).

The new alleys that are completed look excellent and although the 60 days for completion will be no fun (nor will the extra construction noise that we were starting to get used to missing). Regardless of the noise and inconvenience, seeing how nice the alley will look makes it worth it.

Bioswales at work!

Yesterday we had a front of heavy rain move through Charleston. These were really heavy sheets of rain. In many communities, all of that rain water would be redirected into the storm water runoff systems in a short period of time. All of that storm water treatment would have meant more expense to the taxpayers and less fresh water being absorbed where it fell. In Oak Terrace Preserve, that water is actually captured by a series of systems that helps make sure that fresh rain gets returned to the water table without a trip to the water treatment plant.

One of the mitigation methods being used in Oak Terrace Preserve is the construction of bioswales. Bioswales are landscape elements designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water. They also allow water to settle and filter into the water table over a longer period of time than would normally happen using traditional storm water runoff systems.

So here is a photo of a bioswale in action. About 24 hours after heavy rains, the water in this bioswale have lowered considerably. in another 24 hours, this water will be gone. The water doesn't hang around long enough to be a mosquito nest, but it does allow the ground to absorb the water slowly. In the coming months, these bioswales will be seeded with plants that enjoy being moist but can survive in dry conditions. The plants will fill in to be an attractive landscaping feature while the bioswale helps the environment and our tax dollars. Less storm water treatment means less expense for the taxpayers.

Home Stretch ...

Ok, so Home Stretch is a bad pun but I couldn't resist.

Here's a shot of the house with the neighbor's house started next door. Just days ago that was just a cement slab and now they're moving quickly towards getting a roof on. Before we know it, we'll have neighbors. The folks in the two houses behind us and to the right (you can see they're both bluish colors) moved in last weekend.

Along with carpet installers, the appliance guys were there today.

Wood floors look great

This post is a little out of date but I wanted to share the picture from the 17th of February. Here are the engineered hardwood floors we put in. We were very excited about having bamboo flooring from the obvious resource renewability of bamboo. Unfortunately talking to other folks who have had higher grade bamboo installed, they were very disappointed in the durability of the material. For those of us who are extra picky about scratches in our flooring, this engineered hardwood was an excellent choice. From a green perspective, no material is perfect but the way this flooring is made still allows for an additional sanding and refinishing in the (hopefully) far flung future of the home and uses minimal material today. Further, these materials were produced in North America and didn't hitch a transpacific ocean ride to get to Charleston.

Regardless, the floors look great.

Power

On Tuesday I went by the house to find the power company had come to install the meter and connect the power. The lights are all shining brightly and I really appreciate the look of the under cabinet lights in the kitchen. When the kitchen cleans up a bit, I'll post a picture.

Kitchen with the Counters

I don't think I've sent an updated picture of the kitchen since the countertops were installed. The blue you see is just a plastic film over the surface to keep it from getting scratched while all the other chaos goes on around it. These countertops look really rice and are a neutral color. They are a solid surface material called Staron. We're very pleased with the final product.

Hot Water

So our visit on Friday turned up a brand new hot water heater . Those of you unfamiliar with tank-less hot water heaters may think we got swindled but that little box (about 3ft by 2ft) is the hot water heater. It heats the water on demand so there's no need to heat water just in case you need it. You only heat what you use. Tankless systems save an average of 25-40% off of your utility bill. Better yet, these little beauties are manufactured right here in Charleston by Eccotemp so we're helping the local economy and saving on the "not-so-green" costs of shipping products around the world.

Plumber's Handiwork

Well folks, another day another new addition in the house. The Plumber was at the house on Thursday morning and went right to work on installing the fixtures. When I was there on Wednesday at lunch time, the counter tops in the bathrooms weren't in. All of the separate contractors are in and out finishing up their work.

The contractors are doing a really professional job and Verdi, the builder, is patient with all of our perfectionist tendencies. We have a walk through meeting on Friday afternoon so who knows, there may even be more to see by then.

The Tileman

As Sara and I were leaving Oak Terrace Preserve on Sunday, we noticed a couple trucks behind our place that hadn't been there long before. They were the tile men apparently as the bathroom tile is in. This picture is from the downstairs half-bath.

The electricians were there as well Sunday or Monday as all the lights are installed and it looks like the counter tops are going in soon.

I've been quiet but the builders haven't

The painters put up the first coat of interior paint. We went with a simple tan color for the walls. Sara and I were by the house making measurements for area rugs and blinds. The tile guy will be at the house this week to do the bathroom floors and the plumber and electrician will likely be in this week as well. There's just about 6 weeks until we move in and it's coming along really fast.

Two More Neighbor homes

These two are from two different builders and are on the street behind ours.

This house is built by the Verdi Company, the same builder as our home.

I believe this home was built by the David Weekly builders.

More Action Inside

As if a freshly painted exterior wasn't enough! There was more going on inside as well today. The multimedia wiring guys came and put in the structured wiring. What's structured wiring you ask? The structured wiring is a bundled cable that makes it easier for the installer and owner to have all the communications wiring in one place. So our coaxial cable (like cable TV), phone line, and network lines are all bundled together. They are still separate cables but the bundling makes it a lot easier for the installer as all of those lines come back to a central communications switch. The white box in the picture is where those wires will come together. This makes it really easy to activate network lines, phone lines, or cable outlets right from one place.

If that wasn't enough, they placed the interior insulation and the drywall folks are starting tomorrow! Drywall will take a couple weeks, so the flurry of updates will slow for a bit.

Our house is green! No, I mean the color.

Imagine that! Our little "green" house is actually green.
The painters did the house yesterday and finished up the trim today. It looks really nice and bright. I for one am very pleased. There's a lot of other things going on inside as well, but more on that in the next post.

Here's another shot of the house, from the back, where you can see some of the details a little better.

Some Neighbor Homes

Several folks have asked for an idea of what other homes in neighborhood look like so here are a couple of pictures.

This house (lot 75) is all but done and is two lots down to the right of our house (if you looking from the street).

This is lot 74 and is built by the same builder as the photo above but a a good bit further to go before it is complete. I'm not sure if either of these homes is sold yet.

Siding Complete

As seems to be the case in many aspects of home construction, the siding work seems done in short order. I dropped by on Friday and the painters were out preparing parts of the house for a coat of primer.

The siding work looks excellent. I had a chance to chat with them a bit one day and found out they are mostly family originally from Brazil. The crew was very proud of their work and were eager to point out the other homes they had worked on in the neighborhood. I was pleased to get a chance to talk to the guys who are putting in such hard work to make sure the house is solid. It's always encouraging to hear how proud someone is of the work they do.
You can see that they have also started the railing for the porch. The guy on the roof of the porch actually provides a great scale for the size of the house.

Oak Terrace Preserve in the news - Again.

Yet another article on Oak Terrace Preserve. Last month, the Charleston Regional Business Journal reported on the sales success of the earth-friendly homes in Oak Terrace Preserve. The article highlights the neighborhood's proximity to North Charleston's "historic downtown" and the ongoing developments at the Navy Yard.

Home sales in Oak Terrace have been going well and I can say there have been a lot of new foundations going in this month. There is a lot of construction going on.

Read the full article from the Charleston Regional Business Journal.

Duct Work

The duct work contractors have been busy in the house. There are tubes like the ones in the picture hanging all around the house. The way they are tied up in the attic space is glorious for those of us who appreciate the extra time and effort it takes to do something like that well. I'm sorry there's no picture of the attic ties but the system is very nice. All of the duct work is lifted and attached to the inside of the roof so if you are in the attic, you aren't trying to step over them. I can appreciate the quality job. The electrician is next, I believe.

On the outside, we've noted that several other nearby lots are staked off. That's usually a sign that foundations will soon follow. It looks like Centex homes, one of the other neighborhood builders, is getting ready to start a lot of new foundations. From the looks of it, the lot immediately behind us and the empty on next to it will soon have construction crews.

Plumbing Work

The plumber has been hard at work. The Pex tubing used for plumbing in most modern homes is being used in ours as well. Please see a link below for a PDF file on the green advantages of Pex as a plumbing material. You're looking at the connection for the clothes washer.

Some of the major green advantages of PEX plumbing systems over traditional copper systems include:

• Over fourty years of testing and use, so it is a proven material
• It is less expensive and uses less energy and raw materials for its production.
• PEX tubing is lighter than most other plumbing materials which means less mass being transported from the manufacturer to the construction site.
• Its flexibility calls for fewer fittings and an easier install by the plumber

Here's the link for Pex:

http://www.ppfahome.org/greenbuilding/PEX_green_brochure.pdf

Windows, Doors and House Wrap Too!

Well, I promised these would be the next items to be installed and here they are! The house wrap, windows and doors went up early this week.

I don't have a picture of it yet but the attached storage area on the back of the house is amazingly tall. A very nice space with plenty of room for a lawn mower, bikes and other such items. I see shelves in my future.

If you take a closer look at the picture, the houses you can see through the porch and a little to the right of the porch have been completed and the folks are living there now. They moved in a couple weeks ago already. It's nice to see folks moving in.

We have to pick a house color and shingle color before Monday. Decisions, decisions.

Roof is On

On the 13th of October, just a couple days after the previous post, we stopped by to take a look at the house. They finished putting on the roof on the 11th and were finishing up securing the exterior structure when I drove by on Friday the 12th. So a lot of activity in a very short time.

You can see here that they started on the roof to the entry porch on the side. Although there aren't any stairs to the second level yet, that is soon to come.

Windows, Doors and house wrap are next!

Exterior Walls

We were out of town for a while and although they had rain all last week, between Friday and Wednesday, they went from the block being laid to all the walls being up. Before the end of the week, the roof will be on and next week the actual shingles will likely go on the roof.

The SIPs we mentioned in the last post make the process of raising the walls and getting the house "in the dry" incredibly fast."

This photo is taken from the other side of the alley behind the house. The panels you see stacked are for the roof.

Footings Poured

I stopped by Friday afternoon and the footings were poured. Several folks have asked if there's anything special or "green" that goes into the footings phase of the project. Although there is not anything especially green about this phase, there are some differences due to the project's location near the South Carolina coast and Charleston's history of seismic activity.

As I understand it, instead of post style footings that you might find in other areas, here you must use a continuous footing. A continuous footing means the the footings around the entire house, porch, and storage area are interconnected. Rebar is added horizontally throughout the footing. This gives considerable strength to the footing. The rebars and strapping arranged vertically in the footings are used to attach the blocking of the foundation and the floor framing of the home directly to the footings. All of this makes the house considerably more resistant to wind damage.

Verdi tells me they'll start on the blocking this week.