tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:48:02 +0000This blog details the trials and tribulations of trying to build an energy-efficient passive-solar house in Carlisle, PA. A picture repository has been set up at <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/carlislegreenbuild">sites.google.com/site/carlislegreenbuild</a>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)Blogger44125carlislegreenbuildhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-6844928500780892208Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:14:00 +00002011-07-19T10:14:53.515-04:00Greetings! After a nearly three-month hiatus from this blog, I finally decided an update was entirely overdo. First, I'd like to welcome any Dickinson Magazine readers who have stumbled upon this site. Dickinson Magazine, the college's quarterly alumni publication, published a wonderful story on our house in the latest issue. Titled "Green on the Inside," the article gives some insight into http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/3XylH2IY0Ps/green-home-award.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/3XylH2IY0Ps" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2011/07/green-home-award.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-2093610543057637488Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:16:00 +00002011-04-27T08:21:09.671-04:00On Sunday, April 17, the Harrisburg Patriot News kicked off Earth Week with an article on our house titled "Our Green Home."  It's a little strange--and fun--to open the paper and see a large color picture of yourselves staring back out at you.  The article was written by Diana Fishlock and overall I think she did a good job.  However, there are a few places where the point we were trying to makehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/a_w6MCpduBM/patriot-news-earth-week-article.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)3<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/a_w6MCpduBM" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2011/04/patriot-news-earth-week-article.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-2310723444698909328Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:12:00 +00002011-03-31T10:12:17.640-04:00The March 26 open house was a big success. We had a steady stream of people from 1:00 until 5:00 and probably had 60-70 total visitors. And the weather cooperated perfectly. A few days before the open house we got a cold spell. This allowed us to fire up the masonry heater so it would be good and warm when the visitors were here. To top it off, we set a solar record by generating 35 kWh of http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/HxpcZH40zUc/visiting-hours-are-100-500.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)3<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/HxpcZH40zUc" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2011/03/visiting-hours-are-100-500.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-104142214662806204Sat, 05 Mar 2011 19:55:00 +00002011-03-05T14:55:09.212-05:00March is here and it has certainly come in like a lion in terms of sunshine.  The first four days of March saw the sun shining brightly with not a cloud in the sky.  It's still cold but spring is definitely on the way.  March is also the month of the Pennsylvania Home Show in Harrisburg.  It runs from March 5 through March 13 and as usual, Bridlewood Builders will have a booth.  Following the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/s72Pe3vM21E/march-26-open-house.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/s72Pe3vM21E" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-26-open-house.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-8113977778143218217Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:36:00 +00002011-02-22T06:57:52.091-05:00When we first starting thinking about building a house, our plan was not to build the most efficient house in the world.  But as we got started with the design phase, we decided that we would let energy efficiency be the driving force behind many of our decisions.  Of course, we also decided that we were not prepared to live uncomfortably; what's the point of designing and building a house if http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/UbaLjvE_21w/net-zero-energy-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/UbaLjvE_21w" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2011/02/net-zero-energy-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-4736493255579697606Sat, 05 Feb 2011 13:37:00 +00002011-02-05T08:37:56.734-05:00For the past month or so, Carlisle PA has been pretty darn cold. High temperatures have been averaging in the upper 20s and low 30s and lows have been in the low 20s and into the teens. I'm not complaining - I know there are places that are far colder. But now that we've gotten into a routine with the masonry heater, this past month has given us an opportunity to get a feel for the winter http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/7pabEcgHGQk/winter-performance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/7pabEcgHGQk" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2011/02/winter-performance.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-6491521587485448722Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:57:00 +00002010-12-27T15:57:36.231-05:00A lot of things have happened since my last entry and I hope to post some updates in the next few weeks. The year is drawing to a close and we are definitely in mid winter here in Carlisle, PA. While I do appreciate all four seasons, I must admit that winter is not my favorite season. Having said that, I have been looking forward to this winter more than any other because we would finally get http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/-udM6iQigD8/masonry-heater-comes-to-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)11<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/-udM6iQigD8" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/12/masonry-heater-comes-to-life.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-5255498390979511372Sat, 27 Nov 2010 22:06:00 +00002010-11-27T17:06:17.735-05:00I finally found some time to organize the pictures from Virginia's surprise party, so this post comes a few months after the actual event. The party was difficult to plan because I really wanted it to take place in the new house but I wasn't sure if the house would be finished. Plus, I needed to give people as much advance notice as possible. Even still, a good number of people were not able http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/XqfgdopCX4g/virginias-40th-birthday_27.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/XqfgdopCX4g" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/11/virginias-40th-birthday_27.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-8489387742611188914Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:12:00 +00002010-11-12T07:12:59.846-05:00It's been over a month since my last post and I finally have something significant to report.  After all kinds of paperwork problems and a 5-month delay, the photovoltaic (PV) system was finally installed!  Although we are heading into the shortest days of the year, the weather was spectacular for the installation.  After two days of work, the system went live and we were generating electricityhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/Pns_DVGftyo/solar-panel-saga-ends.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)3<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/Pns_DVGftyo" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/11/solar-panel-saga-ends.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-2165491635057737530Sat, 25 Sep 2010 10:02:00 +00002010-09-26T11:43:35.025-04:00Now that we've been in the house for a while and life is getting somewhat back to normal, I thought I'd fill you in on our solar panel saga. In the beginning it all seemed so simple. Build a super efficient house, add solar panels on the roof, and then watch the meter to see how close we are to net zero energy. And with all the federal and state incentives for solar panels right now, it seemedhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/1pbDZtTgHlQ/solar-panel-saga.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)7<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/1pbDZtTgHlQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/09/solar-panel-saga.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-1293925853001836290Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:11:00 +00002010-09-09T09:13:21.828-04:00Well, it's been quite a while since the last post, but I'm happy to report that after about two years of planning and designing and approximately 9 months of construction, we finally moved into our new house!  The last two or three weeks have been an absolute whirlwind as the builders tried to finish up everything on the interior and get a Certificate of Occupancy (CO), plus the move itself threwhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/h7ZZJroXbBE/we-moved-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)8<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/h7ZZJroXbBE" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/09/we-moved-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-6779868576705043182Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:39:00 +00002010-08-15T07:39:03.274-04:00Virginia here, once again, with the softer side of things. I wanted to write a little tribute to Terry & Robin, husband and wife team who make up Bridlewood Builders. They have been a JOY to work with throughout this process—going above and beyond over and over again. I remember sitting around our kitchen table 9 months ago negotiating every word of the 23-page, fine-print contract. We all http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/KMZhQCTQU68/above-and-beyond.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/KMZhQCTQU68" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/08/above-and-beyond.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-628905968389578958Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:17:00 +00002010-08-07T16:17:11.153-04:00As we approach our moving-in date, it has become clear that Virginia and I are officially overwhelmed. The list of tasks to take care of in the next few weeks is paralyzing and I'm not quite sure how we're going to manage. It's funny, at the beginning of the house project the decisions were "big" in the sense that the actual structure of the house was involved. Now, the decisions have become http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/Ge2Lato1Oqo/not-for-faint-of-heart.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/Ge2Lato1Oqo" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/08/not-for-faint-of-heart.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-4678977575868231439Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:18:00 +00002010-08-03T13:18:54.528-04:00Wow! A lot has happened this past week. Bamboo flooring, carpet, kitchen countertops, the rest of the kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, some sinks, faucets, toilets, hot water heater, and more. It's been a busy week. All of a sudden, the house seems completely done on the inside. Well, maybe not completely done, but the end is clearly in sight. Two major changes since my last post are http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/_iSiw6UZecQ/floors-counters-and-cabinets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/_iSiw6UZecQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/08/floors-counters-and-cabinets.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-1605451285237158757Sat, 24 Jul 2010 07:45:00 +00002010-07-24T03:45:48.295-04:00Although there have been a lot of delays recently (and I'll have more to say about that in a future post) some of the finishing work has been progressing quite nicely. I mentioned the masonry heater in my last entry, but in addition, tile and vinyl flooring has been installed and wood ceilings and walls have gone up as well.  Although it still looks like a construction zone, there are glimpses http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/R6EqZBTjD_Y/more-finish-work-and-dwhr-unit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/R6EqZBTjD_Y" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/07/more-finish-work-and-dwhr-unit.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-4884111947843253322Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:09:00 +00002010-07-19T19:43:14.621-04:00The past few weeks have seen a lot of progress and a lot of delays. It's been frustrating because so many things are co-dependent at this point, a delay in one item causes a delay in another. For example, the bamboo floors were supposed to be installed last week. This can only take place once the bamboo has been acclimated to the proper humidity level in the house. But the humidity level in http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/BCjJeGZ9G34/delays-and-masonry-heater-phase-ii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/BCjJeGZ9G34" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/07/delays-and-masonry-heater-phase-ii.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-3028986327765527862Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:40:00 +00002010-06-30T15:40:22.424-04:00It's been a few weeks since my last post and visually, the house looks completely different. After waiting nearly two months for the delivery, the exterior siding finally arrived and was installed. Now the house finally looks like a house on the outside. In addition, the masonry heater entered its second phase (stay tuned for a separate blog entry), they completed the drilling for the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/wYov5QlXxww/exterior-drilling-and-interior-doors.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/wYov5QlXxww" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/06/exterior-drilling-and-interior-doors.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-9076997870941188054Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:06:00 +00002010-06-13T19:06:57.099-04:00Now that the drywall is in place, it's time to begin painting, installing kitchen cabinets, putting in lights, and other things of that nature.  Very little of this involves energy efficiency or any kind of innovation so this blog entry will be relatively short.  I did want to at least keep people up-to-date on what is happening with the house.  In some ways, this is a very exciting phase for us http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/h1m-bw_LNiY/finishing-phase-underway.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/h1m-bw_LNiY" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/06/finishing-phase-underway.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-8657568710561411467Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:26:00 +00002010-06-03T05:33:40.003-04:00Two big things happened on the house front over the past week or so. The most visible is that the drywall is now up. This completely changed the look and feel of the interior. The least visible, but most problematic (because of rock), is that the sewer and water lines are now connected to the house. In addition, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the past week was the publicity we http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/7PIpl8oSl70/dry-wall-watersewer-and-some-local.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)5<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/7PIpl8oSl70" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/06/dry-wall-watersewer-and-some-local.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-4374337061789122206Mon, 24 May 2010 19:24:00 +00002010-05-24T19:23:17.353-04:00Virginia here. I know you're all on the edge of your seats about the bedroom locks issue.  (Okay, I'll take Mildly Curious).  If you're just tuning in, a previous post polled readers about whether or not locks should be put on the kids' bedroom doors.  I thoroughly enjoyed everyone's input and stories.  Some left comments and some emailed me personally. The majority of people said, No Locks.  http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/fK8yBoj3qbE/follow-up-on-locks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/fK8yBoj3qbE" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/05/follow-up-on-locks.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-1180985479476737936Thu, 20 May 2010 13:19:00 +00002010-05-20T09:19:49.129-04:00Ever since I started this blog, I've been excited about making this entry. Unless you're from a very cold climate (Russia, Finland, etc.), most people have never heard of a masonry heater. Indeed, I had never heard of a masonry heater until poking around on the web one day. It all started with our very strong desire to have a fireplace in our new house.  The warmth and ambiance is something we http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/yvLSDOFfRi8/masonry-heater-part-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/yvLSDOFfRi8" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/05/masonry-heater-part-i.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-3454090853092822590Sun, 16 May 2010 00:42:00 +00002010-05-15T20:55:45.184-04:00After Virginia's last blog entry, I realize just how technical this blog has been. For those of you that enjoyed Virginia's post (and based on all the comments and emails, there are a lot of you), I must warn you that this post returns us to some of the more technical aspects of the house. But what can I say, I actually find the technical stuff fascinating! Oh well, hopefully Virginia will http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/4FSzBDWAabk/trenching-closing-up-and-blower-door.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/4FSzBDWAabk" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/05/trenching-closing-up-and-blower-door.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-8910258933284947913Tue, 11 May 2010 19:08:00 +00002010-05-11T15:08:58.779-04:00Even though this blog has been by “David & Virginia”, it’s really been all David.  I (Virginia) thought I would jump in here, take us a step away from all the technical stuff, and warm up this blog with some stories about the effect of this process on our marriage! When I was in college, my best friend’s parents were building a house, and I remember them saying that it was hands-down the biggesthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/VnnkgcCt-Zs/state-of-marriage.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)8<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/VnnkgcCt-Zs" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/05/state-of-marriage.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-4376939785728735446Sun, 09 May 2010 17:07:00 +00002010-05-10T10:26:56.391-04:00As mentioned in my last post, things have slowed a bit on the construction front lately.  This gave Virginia and me an opportunity to work on some do-it-yourself house projects. To try to save some money, one of the jobs we decided we could handle without too much difficulty was to stain the wood trim and beams in the house. We know this is going to be a big job and as we got started--well, as http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/MyO4oyDZmao/diy-wiring-and-staining.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/MyO4oyDZmao" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/05/diy-wiring-and-staining.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5391607812818427930.post-2176881298972507339Mon, 03 May 2010 15:32:00 +00002010-05-10T10:28:18.244-04:00For the past few weeks, a lot of little things have been going on that aren't worth blogging about.  This includes more electrical work, installation of fans, and some additional ducting.  Even though a lot of necessary things are happening, it seems like things have slowed down quite a bit.  Fortunately, a few major events have taken place as well.   One is that the concrete slab was poured http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~3/K1Pr-RX_n4E/concrete-slab-and-spray-foam-insulation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David and Virginia Jackson)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/carlislegreenbuild/~4/K1Pr-RX_n4E" height="1" width="1"/>http://carlislegreenbuild.blogspot.com/2010/05/concrete-slab-and-spray-foam-insulation.html