Today, it was both the Garden Show and Home Show in Manhattan. We met lots of professionals in the area. I had a nice talk with the owner and the landscape designer at Horticultural Services who seemed interested in my plans to use edibles and "nostaglic" flowers in my landscape. However, they don't do irrigation systems, so we'd have to work with them and another company. We also met representatives from Blueville Nursery, Master Landscape, Rothwell Landscape, Howe Landscape and Lee Creek Gardens.
We talked to Christopher Shaw, who sells the Quad-Lock system of insulated concrete forms. It's an interesting option, which substitutes concrete and rebar inside of sytrofoam forms for the traditional wood framing on a house. It's more insulating and stronger than a typical house. It also costs more. We will need to research it more to see if it's a good choice for us.
Not all of the builders came prepared to show examples of their work. That was a bit disappointing, since that was our reason for attending the home show! I realized, however, that it is probably best to select our architect, get the plans ready, then shop for builders. At this point, it feels a bit too abstract.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Landscaping
Ah, exhale. It's been a really long and busy week. Last night, I felt my personal tolerance for stress slip gently over the edge, during the clean up of our chest freezer's meltdown. As it turns out, our toddler had found the temperature control on the freezer, turning it up to "rotten meat" mode. After extensive clean-up, our house went from smelling like a back-alley slaughterhouse to simply smelling like a dead pig in a swimming pool (Mike's words.) This, coupled with a very busy week at work has led me to need some "la la" time. By that, I mean time to stick my fingers in my ears, say "la la la la" and escape reality for a while.
What better way to do this than to indulge myself in fantasizing about landscaping our future home? La la la! So, where do I start? Let's start with what I like. I like "old fashioned plants" (peonies, bridal wreath spirea, hollyhocks, lilac, iris, lilies) that give a feel of an older garden, ones that you might see on an old farmstead. I love the idea of including as many edible plants into the landscape as possible. Not just in a garden set aside for edibles, but sprinkled throughout the landscape (herbs, asparagus, rhubarb, plum bushes, cherry trees) I like the idea of using plants and hardscaping to make outdoor "rooms," dividing up a yard into usable spaces. I'd like to have mysterious places, secret spots, and a little magic in my yard. I prefer perennial, or self-seeding, plants. One-shot annuals feel like a waste to me.
Now, on to what I don't want in a landscape. I really don't like landscapes that feel sterile and corporate. If it would be appropriate for a golf course, I don't want it at my house. This includes shrubs groomed into ball shapes and large tufts of grass. I don't like surrounding my plants with rocks (both because it looks "cold" to me, and because it's a pain to dig up in the future.) I'm not into landscaping that is meant to blend seamlessly into the surrounding environment. I realize that sounds bad, maybe even offensive to some. How do I explain this? I want a garden that, while it's in tune with the environmental and soil conditions of our area, stands out from the prairie landscape. Something that feels like a human creation, rather than a slight shift from what is already there. I want a garden that would look at home near an English cottage or an old American farmstead. Something with gorgeous color, wild and untethered. I'm not really a fan of subtlety.
Ah, exhale. Nothing like a little trip into la la land.
What better way to do this than to indulge myself in fantasizing about landscaping our future home? La la la! So, where do I start? Let's start with what I like. I like "old fashioned plants" (peonies, bridal wreath spirea, hollyhocks, lilac, iris, lilies) that give a feel of an older garden, ones that you might see on an old farmstead. I love the idea of including as many edible plants into the landscape as possible. Not just in a garden set aside for edibles, but sprinkled throughout the landscape (herbs, asparagus, rhubarb, plum bushes, cherry trees) I like the idea of using plants and hardscaping to make outdoor "rooms," dividing up a yard into usable spaces. I'd like to have mysterious places, secret spots, and a little magic in my yard. I prefer perennial, or self-seeding, plants. One-shot annuals feel like a waste to me.
Now, on to what I don't want in a landscape. I really don't like landscapes that feel sterile and corporate. If it would be appropriate for a golf course, I don't want it at my house. This includes shrubs groomed into ball shapes and large tufts of grass. I don't like surrounding my plants with rocks (both because it looks "cold" to me, and because it's a pain to dig up in the future.) I'm not into landscaping that is meant to blend seamlessly into the surrounding environment. I realize that sounds bad, maybe even offensive to some. How do I explain this? I want a garden that, while it's in tune with the environmental and soil conditions of our area, stands out from the prairie landscape. Something that feels like a human creation, rather than a slight shift from what is already there. I want a garden that would look at home near an English cottage or an old American farmstead. Something with gorgeous color, wild and untethered. I'm not really a fan of subtlety.
Ah, exhale. Nothing like a little trip into la la land.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Flooring
One of the biggest questions I've had about building a green house has been about flooring. As we plan to use a ground source heating unit and a passive solar design, there are certain issues for flooring. With radiant heating (from ground source) we need to consider the r-value of our flooring choices. If a floor covering is too insulating, the heat won't be able to transfer from the system to the room (or, for cooling, from the room to the system.) As far as I know, they recommend an r-value under 4.0 for radiant heat systems. For passive solar, you want flooring that can soak up the heat from sunlight coming through southern windows, then release the heat as the sun goes down.
For both of these systems, tile, stone or concrete work well. But, it's also my goal to make the house have a "historic feel" and "have a lot of character." In my aesthetic, these ideal materials fall short. Also, I really like having carpet in some rooms, both for its coziness but also because it keeps dirt from swirling about the house and causing an outbreak of dust bunnies.
So, I've been doing some research. Turns out, I may not need to sacrifice my style for the environment. A low pile, synethic carpet (r=.7) with a thin, slab rubber pad (r=.32) doesn't have a bad R-Value (total just over 1.) Linoleum (which I like for kitchens) has a typical r value of .4. Specifically, Marmoleum has a 2.45 value for the kind you install with adhesive and a 1.7 for the floating floor type. Hardwood floors tend to be around r=.7. Engineered wood flooring around .4.
At the same time, I'm shopping around for ceramic tile. Ceramic tile has a typical r-value of .25 (so, non-insulating) and is good as a passive solar mass. My hope is to find a tile that I really like and use that in the room(s) with the most southern exposure, while using flooring that I prefer for aesthetic or functional reasons in other rooms.
Just to keep myself organized, I'm pasting an e-mail from Marmoleum here:
"It will be fine to install either the Marmoleum sheet goods or the Click(our "floating" floor) over radiant heat. We do recommend having theheat shut off or turned down for at least 48 hours before installation,during and 72 hours after installation. It should then be raisedgradually, so adhesive and material can cure/adapt together. Thesubstrate temperature should never exceed 85 degrees. The R-Value of theMarmoleum sheet goods is 2.45, and the Click with a vapor barrier (whichwill be needed when installing over radiant heat) is 1.70.Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Jennifer Malloy Technical Services"
For both of these systems, tile, stone or concrete work well. But, it's also my goal to make the house have a "historic feel" and "have a lot of character." In my aesthetic, these ideal materials fall short. Also, I really like having carpet in some rooms, both for its coziness but also because it keeps dirt from swirling about the house and causing an outbreak of dust bunnies.
So, I've been doing some research. Turns out, I may not need to sacrifice my style for the environment. A low pile, synethic carpet (r=.7) with a thin, slab rubber pad (r=.32) doesn't have a bad R-Value (total just over 1.) Linoleum (which I like for kitchens) has a typical r value of .4. Specifically, Marmoleum has a 2.45 value for the kind you install with adhesive and a 1.7 for the floating floor type. Hardwood floors tend to be around r=.7. Engineered wood flooring around .4.
At the same time, I'm shopping around for ceramic tile. Ceramic tile has a typical r-value of .25 (so, non-insulating) and is good as a passive solar mass. My hope is to find a tile that I really like and use that in the room(s) with the most southern exposure, while using flooring that I prefer for aesthetic or functional reasons in other rooms.
Just to keep myself organized, I'm pasting an e-mail from Marmoleum here:
"It will be fine to install either the Marmoleum sheet goods or the Click(our "floating" floor) over radiant heat. We do recommend having theheat shut off or turned down for at least 48 hours before installation,during and 72 hours after installation. It should then be raisedgradually, so adhesive and material can cure/adapt together. Thesubstrate temperature should never exceed 85 degrees. The R-Value of theMarmoleum sheet goods is 2.45, and the Click with a vapor barrier (whichwill be needed when installing over radiant heat) is 1.70.Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Jennifer Malloy Technical Services"
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