We have recently added a new rain collection upgrade to our customization tool. The SHIFT_DESIGN Rainwater Collection System is a locally made rainwater tank that can be outfitted with trickle rods to automatically water a planter. Currently, we offer the tank alone. Any additional parts or features will have to be worked out on a case by case basis.
This 56 gallon tank is not an upgrade to be chosen lightly. There is nothing cheap and thus nothing inexpensive about it (+$650). This is a rain collection piece for people who value design even in the most functional of things. It is sleek, modern and fantastically shiny. Between it’s internal overflow and it’s carefully placed hookups, this rain collector is a back yard element that occupies space precisely. It is a welcome addition rather than a necessary intrusion into your backyard design. This tank is about as unbarrel-like as they come.
The integration of this piece into a more complicated and elegant rainwater collection system can be accomplished in a Postgreen Homes backyard. However, it is a difficult upgrade to add to the customization tool due to the necessary adjustments and accommodations that will have to be made for each individual yard. If you are buying one of our homes and you want trickle rods and a planter, just pick the tank, and we will work it out with you later.
We have a new, and as yet, somewhat secretive project that has led us to a brand new model. The impetus behind this model was a set of existing zoning plans that came along with the piece of land in question. These zoning plans were, by and large, pretty similar to most construction in the neighborhood. They featured three stories and fairly standard lot coverage. They were pretty easy to adapt for our own odd purposes except for one glaring discrepancy . . . garages.
Garages never seemed like something we were likely to do. We have a general aversion to the way they place an inflated value on automobile ownership, and we don’t like the blank face they show to the street. However, we have an even stronger aversion to the zoning process which is slow, painful and often seems combative for little to no reason. So, we felt it was wise to incorporate the existing garage zoning into our plans, but as always, we’ll do it our way.
The current concept is to separate the garage entirely from the house. This simplifies insulation and air sealing, and it protects the house from the nasty air that often gathers in garages. In other words, we will basically be building the entire house above the garage. In effect, this is similar to the concept of our WORK model where the entire downstairs is an open space, but in this case, that space is unconditioned. It can be used for storage, tinkering, play or even, car parking, and it will open out directly into the backyard. We also plan to create some level of transparency to the front garage door to soften it’s “blank face” impact.
The following are some conceptual plans we are currently working with. You will note that ISA has developed a sort of split level model with some interesting open space between the floors. We are also hoping to include a roof deck and expect these homes to have a nice view of the city. Take a look . . .
As you can see, there are two different floor plans we are throwing around. For the sake of discussion we will differentiate the two by calling the top one, with the kitchen in the front, “Steve” and the bottom one, with the kitchen in the back, “Gwen”. You will also note that both Steve and Gwen have a rendering associated with them. These renderings show a concept for the back space of each design.
So let’s hear your thoughts. How do you like the overall concept? Do you prefer Steve or Gwen? What are specific elements you like or dislike? Do you want one of these (looks like we are only building four so speak up)?
Some of you may have noticed that the Skinny Project was built by Hybrid Construction. Some of you may have also heard that Hybrid is the name of our new construction company. A few of you may have even visited Hybrid’s site through our new link bar at the top of each of our sites (cool, eh?). Well, now it is official. Hybrid Construction is a fully functioning construction company ready for any new construction, rehab or design/build project that meets our basic standards for efficiency and health (we are a little picky).
The main force behind the new company is Chuck Weiss, our project manager. He has 25 years of building experience and has built over 600 homes. He also has 14 homes worth of LEED experience which probably places him among the most experienced LEED for Homes builders in Philly.
Here is a short (and slightly ridiculous) video for those that like a little visual backup for this type of announcement . . .
I’m not going to go into too much detail here but you can check out the Hybrid site and the official press release for more details. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Last time around we brought you up to date on our kitchen faucet options. This time we are headed to the bath. In the bathroom we have an additional concern beyond aesthetics and ease of install (our main factors in the kitchen faucet decisions).The faucets in our bathroom need to be low flow. In fact, [...]
We have made some changes to our kitchen faucet options. Basically, we have discovered that our plumbing contractors are generally not huge fans of IKEA fixtures. While we may disagree with them in some respects, we have found that there are advantages to working with your plumber rather than against him. So, say hello to [...]
Well, this house didn’t last too long, but I suppose we didn’t expect it to. It really was a very good deal after all. We even had a little competition between a couple of buyers before we finally signed an agreement of sale. This means that we are ready to move forward with construction. We [...]
The Passive Project has been finished for a little while now, but we took our time getting really nice exterior pictures from Sam Oberter, our go-to guy for awesome photos. I particularly like the way he used the owners of the homes in the evening exterior shots. They are a little artistically blurred out, but [...]
