Building Green in Rockford Woods

Our Green Home on Great Lifestyles

2010-06-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

Our House Showing

2010-06-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Greener than Green

2010-06-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

It comes to no great surprise that our new how has scored the lowest HERS rating than any home in our builder's histroy! A HERS rating is a measure of energy use in a home. A HERS rating of ‘100′ represent the energy use of a home built to the American Standard Energy Code from 2006. A HERS rating of ‘0′ indicates that the building purchases no net energy (a Net Zero Energy Building). The lower the rating, the more energy efficient the home. Until now, Potterhill’s lowest HERS rating was a 52.
Our home scored a 42! Read More at Potter Hill Homes.

Our Potterhill Home Takes Shape

2010-04-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

April 12, 2010	April 13, 2010
April 15, 2010

Building Accelerates in Rockford Woods CiTiRAMA '10

2010-04-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

March 18th, 2010	April 2, 2010
April 3, 2010	April 6, 201

Homearama Canceled

2010-03-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

Homearama, the region’s largest luxury home show, has been canceled this year as the high-end housing market continues to lag and builders struggle to land financing.

This year’s show would have been the 49th in the event’s history and is the first time the show has been canceled. The annual show is hosted by the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati.

The association is setting its sights on Citirama, scheduled to be held June 3-13, the HBA said in a release.

“Members of the HBA, civic and government leaders and the public, have responded with incredible enthusiasm and excitement for Citirama,” said Josh Blatt, president of the HBA.

“The HBA feels that having a high-end traditional Homearama show this year would draw attention away from the important themes of Citirama 2010, so we decided to make it our signature show for 2010.''

Citirama is being hosted this year at the In-Line Development community of Rockford Woods, located off of Interstate 75 in Northside.

The urban home show features energy-efficient homes priced at $190,000 and up. Participating builders include Perry Bush Building Group, Greystone Homes, John Hueber Homes, Maple Street Homes, Maronda Homes, M/I Homes of Cincinnati and Potterhill Homes.

BY LISA BERNARD-KUHN
View more at Cincinnati.com

CitiRama 2010: Ground Breaking Ceremony

2010-03-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

This was a busy and exciting week for Troy and me, the builders, the HBA and the Rockford Wood's community. Thursday, March 18th was the ground breaking ceremony for CitiRama 2010. At 10:00am Mayor Mark Mallory, select council members, representatives from the seven builders, key members of the CitiRama and HBA organization, our soon to be new neighbors and the media came together to officially open up the second phase of Rockford Woods for the CitiRama event that will be open to the public from June 3-13 (with a ribbon cutting ceremony and preview event on June 1-2).

Before the ground breaking ceremony began, Troy and I were interviewed by our local ABC news. The focus of the story was on what the rebounding economy means to local builders and home construction. There are significant signs that building more economical homes (economical in terms of both small, more affordable houses and more environmentally friendly) is contributes to this. With 36 homes planned for Rockford Woods, seven of which will be a part of CitiRama, and three of those already sold, Northside, and city living seem to be at the forefront this year. In my opinion this has to do with the diversity and activities available in the area. And Troy is correct that building green has value over less efficient homes.

The ground breaking ceremony was definitely an experience that both Troy and I will remember. We were also privileged to be asked to speak about why we choose to live in Northside and why we will be moving to Rockford Woods. It was very nice to be a part of such a great community project that will help grow the area.

Another article on CitiRama and the ground breaking ceremony is available by the Cincinnati Enquirer. Troy and I are happy to be building with Potterhill Homes and having the geothermal heating and cooling system that will lower our energy bills, but more importantly contribute to a better, healthier environment.

Building Accelerates at Rockford Woods

2010-03-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

Rockford Woods: 3/9/10
There has been a lot of activity going on at Rockford Woods over the past couple of week. This is evident by the number of houses that are at different stages of being built.

The first house that started was by Perry Bush builders. When I went to the site on 2/24/10, after a bit if a hiatus because of the snow. I was surprised to see their foundation was complete. A couple of days later when I returned they were framing the floor. A couple of things surprised me when I saw this house go up.

First, I was surprised to see how fast the construction crews work. I know that from talking with Carolyn at Potterhill Homes that construction moves fast. When the blueprints are finalized, permits are approved and materials are ordered houses go up quickly. But until I saw it I wasn't prepared for how quickly progress is made. Over the last couple of weeks I've made my way to Rockford Woods about every other day. Each time I visit I am more and more amazed at how much is accomplished since my previous visit.

Second, I was surprised to see this house being build so early because the official ground breaking ceremony for Rockford Woods isn't scheduled until March 18, 2009. I was imagining that the day after the ground breaking ceremony all of the construction crews, from all of the builders, would be clumsily working on top of each other, digging basements, pouring concrete, nailing walls and flooring and putting up drywall. I wondered how they were all going to work together in such a small space. I am relieved that there is some staggered building, at least at this stage.Since April 24th, most of the builders have started their homes to some extent. Foundations are dug, basement walls are poured, and in the case of Perry Bush, the first builder, most of the house seems to be framed. That is, to say, with the exception of our house. Our permits were submitted for review and approval on March 3, 2010. We are all anxiously awaiting them to be approved for building on our house to start. I know that no matter how fast houses are built, we can't move in before the middle of June. CitiRama won't take place before June 1st, no matter how patiently the houses sit and wait, completed or not. Potterhill Homes is more than confident that there is plenty of time for them to build our house, however, I am sure that they, too, are eager to get started. For me, I want to see all of the planning and anticipation come to a new beginning, where the idea of our house becomes reality.

Until that time, I will share the excitement that our new neighborhood is being built and taking shape.

Turn out lights at Homearama

2010-03-08T13:43:00.000-08:00

"...Even without Homearama, there’s plenty of opportunity for local home builders to market their skills by concentrating on their inner-city home building show and a “scattered-site” home show produced jointly with home builders in Northern Kentucky during three weekends in late April and May.

Groundbreaking for the urban CitiRama, to be held at the Rockford Woods subdivision in Cincinnati’s Northside neighborhood, will take place March 18. CitiRama, which includes about a half-dozen homes and highlights “green” building features, will be from June 3-13.

If local home builders would take a few years off from turning northeastern farmland into upscale subdivisions and instead focus on rebuilding some of the many charming neighborhoods inside the Interstate 275 circle freeway and filling in the unsold lots in already existing developments, Greater Cincinnati’s housing market and our region as a whole would be much better off."

More at the Washington Business Journal

Learning More About Geothermal

2010-02-17T18:07:00.000-08:00

Ah, there is nothing like a mid- to late winter Arctic blast and record-breaking snow storm to give your the opportunity to research alternative heating and cooling methods. Well, this is what I did this past President's Day holiday when we were snowed in and I wasn't about to go out. Since Troy and I made the decision to with a geothermal heat pump, I decided to do a little research and understand the system a better. I knew the basic principles of a heat pump, but I wanted to know more about the system that we were going to put into our house. With my great investigative skills (and a lot of time on my hands), I didn't think I was going to have a problem.

Yea, I was wrong.

As it turns out heating and cooling is rather complex. No, the basic principles of heating and cooling are not complex, but there are some complex terms for someone who isn't in the know. Couple that with all of the different manufacturers of heating and cooling systemsout there and I was feeling pretty overwhelmed trying to understand what some of the general systems would be used in our home.

However, Vicki at Potterhill Homes put me in touch with the company who will be installing our system. Matt, with Scheffer & Co. Custom Builders was more than happy to talk to me about geothermal heating and cooling, and specifically the system that he believed would be used in our house (he hasn't seen the exact plans yet, but given the information I had he was more than knowledgeable about the system we needed).

He said that for our 2200sqft - 2300sqft house he would recommend a 3-4 ton unit. This will be a closed loop system that will require 3-4 holes, each about 10-15 feet apart, and about 150ft - 200 ft below the ground (vertical system). The exact system he recommends and will be installing is a Climate Master Tranquility Residential 2027. My research indicates that this is a good system, and it received positive reviews from what I could tell.

The system will have a desuperheater, also. This essentially uses "wasted" heat from unit to heat the water. So, in addition to using the constant temperature of the Earth to heat and cool our home, we will be able to heat most of our hot water.

I thought my conversation with Matt was very exciting, and I liked learning about this system. I love that we will be reducing our carbon footprint and saving some money, too. I know that the savings realized in relation to the cost of the equipment is often debated, but believe me, with the numbers that we ran, we will be helping our bank account and our planet. It makes me even more excited to move into our new home.

Design Center Visit

2010-02-11T19:38:00.001-08:00

Whew, what a night. We met with Carolyn (the president of Potterhill Homes) and Jane (the interior designer we are working with) to decide all of our interior and exterior features. It was quite fun and exciting, but it was also tiring. Carolyn and Jane were wonderful and gave us a lot of suggestions for the features of our house. I think we made a lot of really great choices, and I am excited now more than ever to see how it all turns out.

We also learned that there is an official ground breaking on March 18th. While there will be a lot of preliminary work going into building before that, March 18th is the official start. That means that in a little less than 2 1/2 months after the ground breaking the house will be done and ready for all of you to come and visit.

Builders intend to continue Homearama

2010-02-11T11:24:00.001-08:00

...It will also focus its efforts on its Citirama show June 1-13, in partnership with the city of Cincinnati. Scaled back from 12 to five new homes, builders include Potterhill Homes, Maronda Homes, Perry Bush Building Group, Greystone Homes and M/I Homes. They'll break ground March 18 at Rockford Woods, a new 33-lot community off of Hamilton Avenue in Northside by In-Line Development. Two of the five homes have already been sold, Dressman said.
"There is resurgence in consumer interest in moving closer to urban areas to cut down on travel time and take advantage of the amenities available in an urban setting," he said. more on Cincinnati.com

How We Met Our Neighbors

2010-02-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months Troy and I have been pretty active in the building of our new home in Rockford Woods. We visit the property frequently (well, as frequently as the weather will allow us to) and we have set up this blog to share our excitement with our family and friends. One thing I don't think either Troy or I thought we would experience so early in our moving process, though was meeting our new neighbors.

However, we have gotten to know quite a few. Maybe not as well as we will in the coming months and over the summer, but well enough to know that, while we are leaving extremely wonderful neighbors, we are also getting great neighbors.

The first group of neighbors we met were people from Phase 1 of the Rockford Wood development. On a walk through the area someone was coming to get his mail. In Rockford Woods there is a "communal" group of mail boxes. Being the introvert that I am I asked him if he was a resident and Troy and I introduced ourselves as soon-to-be new neighbors. We have a very nice talk, and after a while two other neighbors came out. They were all great. One of our new neighbors is an old friend. It will be nice to catch up after we move in.

We also met our next door neighbors. It was from them reading this blog and contacting me through facebook that we were able to connect. Let me tell you, it feels really good to be able to talk to someone who is going through some of the same experiences that we are. They are also building and will be in CitiRama. We have been sharing stories of our building experiences.

Finally we met our four-legged neighbors. Yes, these are the deer we have mentioned in previous posts. I really like that we are able to co-exist together. I know some will think we are taking up their home, and others will have a different opinion, but I really enjoy seeing them walk around. I hope they aren't too much of a bother for us or the others in our neighborhood because they are so beautiful. Although, I don't know how our dogs will get along with them. Only time will tell on that one.

Our Trip To Hickory Valley

2010-02-07T07:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Troy and I went to Independence, Ky to take a look at a model Earhart that Potterhill Homes has in the Hickory Valley community. While our travel time was a little longer than expected due to quirky directions given by google maps and street signs covered with snow from our recent storm, the trip was well worth the extra drive. The model home has many of the features we have been considering and have chosen for our home in Rockford Woods, and it was extremely satisfying to see them in person. I know some people can easily visualize features or imagine how an end design will look (Troy is one of them), but I tend to do better when I see the real thing.

The first nice feature of the Earhart model that we saw at Hickory Valley was that it had the elevation K selection (image above). This is the exterior elevation that has a porch, columns and stone facade around the garage and lower portion of the columns. It is a very nice feature that we knew we would like, but after seeing it in person we are very glad that we chose it. I do have to say that the porch was not as deep as we had originally imagined. I had plans of putting a porch swing out, as we do on our current house, but I am not sure if that will be possible.

Upon entering the house we were greeted with a very warm, open floor plan. While the overall floor plan wasn't any different than the model that we have seen previously, the 9' ceiling, arches and rounded corners really made the space seem more open and inviting. The warm decorating also gave us some really good ideas for decorating our house, however, it made us re-think some of the options that we've chosen and how we originally planned on arranging furniture.

Upstairs the master bedroom took advantage of the fourth bedroom for a sitting room. This was similar to the model we had previously seen. I am glad that we are doing this. Troy and I don't need four bedrooms, and the extra space in the master bedroom will be nice. Also the previous model had a four-post bed in the master bedroom. This took up space and made the room look smaller than it actually is. The house we saw yesterday had a regular bed, which really helped open up the space. This model also had the vaulted ceilings and the plant ledge in the master bedroom (both in the previous model we had seen). While I like the vaulted ceilings and would like to revisit this, I am not sure about the plant ledge. Troy and I disagree on this one. We will talk about it more.

We also started to re-think the build-in shelves on either side of the fireplace in the Family Room. The extra shelving could be nice. This model didn't have the shelves it opened the space up a lot. Off of the Family Room is the kitchen area, where I had hoped to put a cooking island. I am not sure how we will configure this. I believe that our trip to the design center this week will really help with this. I know that Carolyn and Jane will have great ideas for maximizing our space.

We took a few pictures of the rooms. I took these with my iPhone, so the quality isn't the greatest, nor does it do justice to the house. But it should peak your interest to visit our actual house in CitiRama June 3-13, 2010.

Signs of Progress

2010-02-06T06:22:00.001-08:00

In the middle of winter there isn't much going on. I think most people start to feel a desperate yearning for the continuous warm, sunny days, rather than the isolated teasing of hope that comes in the form of a single day above freezing signaling the summer weather, will, at some point, be with us again. It is during this time when I look for any small change at the building site to give me a spark of excitement that indicates progress is being made and it will be closer to when the house will start being built.

This week when I was at the building site I noticed such a change. It was small, to say the least, but to me it was meaningful. I am sure that over the past several weeks much progress has been made to prepare the land so that our builder can start construction on the house, but it wasn't until this week when I was able to actually see the progress. Maybe it was there and I was over looking it. In the coming weeks I will have to be more aware of changes going on.

This week I noticed that utility boxes were being installed. While I don't know about the specifics of these just yet, I know that they will store much of what the house will need to run like electricity, but other than that I am not sure what will be in them. Also, a street lamp was erected at the end of Hassman near the cul-de-sac, and fire hydrants are in. These indicate that some of the infrastructure is in, or close to being in.

While I was back at the site today I also saw some of our four-legged neighbors taking a stroll around the neighborhood. The deer are very beautiful. On some level we feel bad that we are taking away part of their home. I believe, though, that we will all be able to live together. I like that they are comfortable walking around the neighborhood, and I look forward to seeing them more often in the summer.

Visiting Independence Kentucky

2010-02-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

If the weather holds up, this weekend we plan to visit the Hickory Valley Community in the southeastern corner of Independence, Kentucky. We recently found out that we are able to view a home like ours that has "Elevation K" which is the name for the exterior design that we chose.

Even though this Earhart home is a model, but it may spark some exterior and interior design ideas for our home. We have an appointment planned for February 11th to start the planning process for the home space design. Planning such as: what kind of flooring, exterior and interior paint colors, and even pick out the type of light fixtures!

This will be Tim and my first time we meet the President of Potterhill Homes, Carolyn Rolfes. We have heard great things about her.

Mid-Winter's Update

2010-01-23T10:07:00.001-08:00

The weather over the last several weeks has not been many visits to Rockford Woods or our new home location - from rigid cold temperatures to rainy wintery days. Never-the-less we have been active in moving forward with our purchase and building.

We have signed and received our Agreement of Sale with Potterhill Homes. This defines our floor plan and the structural options we want. This process was more lengthy that I had thought, especially considering all of the work we had done leading up to this meeting. There were still decisions we needed to make. For example, we found that the standard feature a the top of the second floor stairs was a half wall. We felt that this would not give us the open feeling we liked and so we upgraded to railing. The great news is that geothermal is a part of the agreement. It is very exciting knowing that so much energy efficiency is being put into this home. It makes us feel good.

I met with the president of the Rockford Woods HOA. I have always been a little concerned with an HOA, and honestly I was concerned when I heard that Rockford Woods required participation in one. While I understand the premise with the HOA, I have heard horror stories where frivolous lawsuits and excessive amounts of money are spend on making a decision on what could have been settled through a civil conversation. I was very pleased, though, with my conversation with the president of the Rockford Woods HOA. He gave me good background on the organization and explained the benefits that it gives to Rockford Woods. He took time out of his busy schedule to talk with me. I am excited about the green space that will be created, being able to build a reasonable fence for our dogs and not being limited to our house colors.

Finally, the weather today allowed Troy and me to spent some time walking the dogs around Rockford Woods. We had the pleasure of meeting a few people who will become our new neighbors. Moving to a new area always brings with it concern over the people who you will call neighbors (and I know that the neighbors share the reciprocal of this concern). The three individuals with whom we talked give me a very good feeling. We will still dearly miss most of our current neighbors (who have become very good and reliable friends), we won't be far for frequent visits.

Initial Pictures at Rockford Place

2010-01-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

Our new street is starting to take shape. We learned just recently that it will be called Hassman Court. Over Christmas we took a walk around the new neighborhood. Here are some pictures of the work that has been done so far. As you can see much of the space has been cleared, and they have marked the location of the CitiRama homes. This was especially exciting to see since we now have a good idea of the size and location of our lot.

I am excited to see the progress that is going to be made over the next few weeks (leading up to building) and beyond.

The Verdict Is In

2009-12-31T11:17:00.000-08:00

Tim and I have decided on a home that fits the needs of our lifestyle. Though it was a long road to get to this point. It started initially wanting to get a home just the same size our exisiting home, but with more amities, such as addtional bathrooms and usable closets, and oh yea a garage too! All these amities do not come with a home build in the late 1800's which we live in now. (See Tim's November post for more about our choice)

The Earhart was one of the homes we looked at last. On paper, it looked way too big. It was about 1000 square feet larger than what we have now! We quickly found out it is quite deceiving when you look at square footage on a NEW home and compare it to your existing home. We did forget that all the extra amities that mentioned above need to fit somewhere!

View the Earhart floor plan

Is Geothermal Heating the way to go?

2009-12-26T18:52:00.000-08:00

Tim and I are considering the great benefits of Geothermal Heating. At first I was quite skeptical of the whole "Heat Pump," but I am finding myself changing my tune. After listening to some very convincing arguments, we are now strongly looking into the option. I do have to admit that the upfront costs is quite shocking. $20,000 on top of a new home can add up quickly. But after further research we are finding that the government is subsidizing 30% of the cost, plus we could save about 30-40% in our energy bills.

I still would like to run some of our own numbers, but if the cost of the Geothermal Heating raises our mortgage costs, and lowers our Energy costs at the same time, could it be a wash? And at the same time add resell value to your home?

As part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, tax incentives for the installation of Geothermal heating and cooling systems were extended. The new legislation covers installations from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2016. Homeowners who install Geothermal systems during this time may be able to claim up to 30% of the installed cost in tax credit in the year the system is placed into services with no cap on the credit.
"Geothermal systems cost approximately $20,000. Therefore, this new credit could be worth over $7,000 to tax payers," said Carolyn Rolfes, President of Potterhill Homes. "Add this to the savings on heating and cooling that Geothermal owners see from the first month and there has never been a more appealing time to intall this kind of system."
Potterhill Homes offers a Geothermal system upgrade on almost all their homes. See an associate for information. Homeowners considering installing a Geothermal system should consult their tax accountant for verification and further details.

Homes For Everyone

2009-11-14T19:36:00.000-08:00

What initially attracted Troy and I to Potterhill Homes was their focus on building energy efficient, Green homes in the city. What keep us interested, though was their large selection of floor plans that are spacious and open, and maximized the space. While our current home has large rooms, it lacks the flow that we want for entertaining and living. With Potterhill Homes we found many floor plans that were appealing to us. When we toured our first Potterhill Home, the Eames in the Mills of Miami community we were hooked, and we thought we had found our perfect home.

However, after looking through all of the available floor plans each one had potential and benefits greater than the last.

We still haven't chosen our floor plan yet. We have seen seven of the models. We have excluded a couple of the models for different reasons. So far the leading contenders are the Eames, Earhart, Inglenook and Touchstone.

Take a look at all of the available floor plans on the Potterhill Homes website.