Going for the [LEED] Gold!

We've dotted our i's and crossed our t's, this week we submit documentation for LEED Certification! 

There are 8 LEED Categories with a total of 136 possible points. We need 66.5 to achieve Silver and 81.5 for Gold. Here are the 87 points we are attempting in these categories:

Innovation & Design: 8

Location & Linkages: 10

Sustainable Sites: 18.5

Water Efficiency: 6

Energy & Atmosphere: 29.5

Materials & Resources: 3

Indoor Environmental Quality: 13

Awareness & Education: 2

And some pictures of the complete project!

The final touches

Took a trip to RYL today and the units are absolutely beautiful! Here are some of the highlights:

Unit 3 with a switchback staircase to the master bedroom loft and 18 ft. ceilings

Geospring Heat Pump Water Heater - The integrated compressor and evaporater use a fan to draw in heat from surrounding air to heat the refrigerant. Then the heated refrigerant runs through coils that wrap the tank all the way to the bottom, transferring heat into the water tank. Uses less energy to heat the same amount of water as a traditional water heater!

Drought tolerant plants such as holly ferns and bamboo in the planting beds at the front of the property

Conducting a blower door test to see if there are any leaks in the building envelopes. It passed the inspection :)

Slate gray tile and Kohler water-efficient fixtures

Huge Windsor windows open up the living room to the back deck

The finish line is in sight!

We stopped by last week to check out the almost-finished Railyard Lofts, and it's full of beautiful and innovative design features such as waterfall granite countertops, spiraling staircases, and an indoor atrium - just to name a few! Really looking forward to it being completed in the next couple months.

Low VOC Adhesive is also an
Environmentally Preferable Product

You can earn credits for LEED by using Environmentally Preferable
Products such as paints with Zero VOC content

Air and Vapor Barriers

Weather and moisture barriers Hardiwrap and Jumbo Tex are applied to the exterior of Railyard Lofts - this is especially important protection for a building in such close proximity to the beach.

Making progress!

The Railyard Lofts project is really coming along! Mark Benjamin, the owner/developer, will soon be building another similar project a few doors down. This area is really changing for the good.

Today's topic: Insulation

Effectively insulating a home is one of the most important ways to increase its energy efficiency. Quality insulation keeps the heat inside during the winter and keeps it out during the summer, thus minimizing the energy needed for heating and cooling.

At Railyard Lofts, EcoBatt and blown-in cellulose are currently being installed in units 2 and 3. EcoBatt is made primarily of sand, one of the most abundant and renewable resources, and contains a minimum of 61.9% post-consumer recycled content. Blown-in cellulose is also primarily made of recycled materials, consisting of around 85% cardboard and paper. Both types far exceed the required 20% recycled material to be listed as an Environmentally Preferable Product under LEED standards. Quality insulation also reduces noise pollution – a necessary feature of a home walking distance from the railroad!

Blown-in in cellulose - cellulose is blown into the wall around the pipes and electrical so there are no air pockets for heat to transfer through. 

After the cellulose is blown in, the extra is sheared
off to make the cellulose and frame edges flush.

Unit 3 coming along beautifully with a
switchback staircase.

EcoBatt is the insulation on the left, and blown-in cellulose on the right. The
horizontal metal bars you see are Resilient Channels - the metal bars are placed horizontally
on the studs and the gypsum board is placed on top of those, so the metal bar creates a thin air
gap between insulation and gypsum. This allows outside sound to dissipate into the
gap before entering the room.

Promoting Public Awareness

We've hung a 6 square foot sign outside the construction site to promote public awareness about LEED for Homes. To earn this Public Awareness credit, we created this sign, the website you're looking at, and also plan to generate a newspaper article about our project.