Greenth Street

Framing It All In

2008-10-20T10:27:00.004-05:00

Construction at 1347 Forest has been in progress for about a month and a half now. It's amazing how quickly a site can be completely transformed from a sparse patch of dirt and gravel to a fully-framed house. The following pictures show the framing progress:

Sustainably Harvested Lumber

Framing in the First Floor

Looking Northeast

Looking North

Looking Northwest

Vinyl Windows and Fiber Cement Siding

The Reverse Open-Roof Dormer

Kitchen/Living Room

Steps to Basement

Second Floor Bedroom and Bath

COSC Workshop: Basements and Foundations

2008-10-20T10:21:00.006-05:00

The first public workshop sponsored by Center on Sustainable Communities (COSC) took place at Greenth Street on September 23, 2008. The workshop was led by Jacob Kvinlaug with input from David Downs, Greenth Street's contractor, and Shawn Pippert, CHDC Construction and Maintenance Director.

The first half of the workshop took place at the construction site, with a follow-up session and refreshments served at the Forest Avenue Public Library.

Below are some pictures from the event:

Missing Pictures

2008-10-13T10:23:00.003-05:00

We apologize for the under construction look to the website -- for some reason our pictures have been booted out of google's system. We will continue to add posts here, but we have also started a mirror-site at "ongreenthstreet.blogspot.com" that has all of the pictures included with the text.

Again, we apologize for the inconvenience.

"Living Green"

2008-10-02T14:55:00.002-05:00

To view coverage of Greenth Street by WOI ABC5 in Des Moines, please click the following Youtube link: "Living Green".

Got Foam?

2008-09-17T11:39:00.005-05:00

Above are pictures of the house foundation being insulated with R value of 5, 1" insullation foam. This method helps prevent heat loss from the house's basement and provides a tighter seal.

On site changes to building plans are a common occurance during the construction phase as onsite issues arise. This is true of Greenth Street, as well. The architect and contractor originally intented to use a 2" layer of R value of 10 insullation with which to swath the foundation, but there were concerns that this thickness would not allow a flush and tight envelope between the foundation and the framing. There was also a concern about the insulation not being rigid enough from which to hang the house's heavy fiber cement siding.

Waste Management Plan

2008-09-16T16:04:00.004-05:00

'Waste not the smallest thing created;
For grains of sand make mountains,
and atomies infinity"
--E. Knight

People don’t think that much about waste. They use a product (or don’t); when the product is empty or has gone bad, they throw into a trashcan. Once or twice a week a dump truck rumbles by and carries the trash away. Meanwhile, people put a new trash liner in their trashcans and the process starts all over again.

The adage runs: out of sight, out of mind. It’s a very apt adage when it comes to the topic of waste removal. We empty our dumpsters and the waste company hauls it away to be buried or burned – out of sight, out of mind.

Part of the green build process is to make people think about waste. It does this in a couple of ways, one by encouraging contractors to employ build techniques that reduce waste, such as advanced framing. Second, green build experts recommend on-site source separation of waste materials. This means that each recyclable material (e.g. metal scrap, cardboard, framing remnants) is sorted by type into a separate, clearly labeled roll-up container or bin. Each type of waste material may then be weighed before it leaves the work site or as it arrives at the appropriate processing site. As much as possible, the material is diverted from the landfill to recycling centers, is reused in other building projects, or is renewed (turned into another usable product). In order to keep track of all this waste, how it will be separated, and where it is being directed to, a recycling coordinator may be assigned to the project to develop a Waste Management Plan. This plan is shared on a regular basis with everyone on the construction site from the workers to visitors. Communication is key to making sure that the Waste Management Plan is carried out properly and that the process is accurately documented.

It seems like a lot of work for waste. Indeed, for a step that is normally straight forward in the construction process, this step caused us some serious frustrations. These frustrations generally centered around finding the appropriate recycling centers in the area to take the kinds of materials that Greenth Street would be producing. In addition, the main company that we originally intended to use for most of our recycled material closed its operation, requiring us to start the process all over again and find separate centers for each type of waste material. We also had to decide how many bins and roll-up containers we would need for each type of material we could recycle (plus one container for non-recyclable material going to the landfill). Fortunately we had some help addressing these issues from Waste Management, Metro Waste Authority, and Iowa Waste Exchange.

Some people might think that with the extra work needed to reduce, reuse, recycle and renew it is not worth the effort. However, the alternative – that is, sending all waste material to the landfill or incinerator – adds to a waste stream that is rapidly overflowing its banks. In 2006 the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the U.S. produces 251 million tons of municipal solid waste – approximately 4.6 pounds of waste per day per citizen1. That’s a lot of waste to ignore. And the expense to keep it hidden and contained from contaminating soil, water and air resources can be high. For instance, in 2004 the average tipping fee for landfill waste in Iowa was $32.42/ton and the rate of waste was 6,000 tons a day – a total expenditure of $194, 520 per day just on landfill waste.

Waste management planning for a green, LEED certified project such as Greenth Street, is not always easy, but it is worth it.

For more statistics about waste material production in the United States go to:
The Clean Air Council
http://www.cleanair.org/Waste/wasteFacts.html
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): -- http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm
For the Best Practices Manual: Waste Reduction Construction and Demolition Debris, sponsored by IOWA Life Changing, Iowa DNR, and Iowa Waste Reduction Center go to: http://www.iwrc.org/downloads/pdf/BMP_C_and_D.pdf.
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1From the EPA’s website: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm
2 From Solid Waste Digest, Vol. 14 No. 6.

CHDC's new affordable green homes featured in The Des Moines Register

2008-09-12T11:27:00.002-05:00

Click here to view the article about CHDC's new affordable green homes from the Friday, September 12, 2008 issue of The Des Moines Register.

Growing Forest Avenue: Groundbreaking Ceremony

2008-09-12T10:34:00.013-05:00

CHDC broke ground for Green^th Street on September 9, 2008 at the building site. The event was a double celebration for CHDC as we were also breaking ground for 1622 Forest Avenue, an energy-efficient, HERS-certified affordable home designed by students at the College of Design at Iowa State University. The two houses are being built just a couple of blocks away from each other, giving us at the CHDC a fun and unique chance to watch the houses grow the neighborhood.

About 50 people attended the morning event. Speakers at the event included Mayor Frank Cownie, mayor of the City of Des Moines; Jamie Malloy and Zach Zielonko, architects from Wells + Associates; Nadia Anderson, lecturer at ISU College of Design and Ryan Larson, one of the architect students who helped design 1622 Forest Ave.; Karen Jeske, CHDC executive director, and Heidi Wessels, CHDC associate director.

Following the event a small celebration and review of the design plans was held at the pavilion in Evelyn Davis Park, across the street from the groundbreaking site. CHDC would like to thank everyone who attended and helped make this event such a wonderful occasion!

Meanwhile back at the building site, the construction crew held their own groundbreaking event as they commenced work on digging out the foundation for the house.

See pictures of the event below:

Groundbreaking site for Green^th Street: house foundation is marked out in white

Heidi Wessels, CHDC Associate Director, and Mayor Frank Cownie, City of Des Moines

Jamie Malloy and Zach Zielonko, project architects at Wells + Associates

From left to right: Emily Karsjens, Center on Sustainable Communities; Mayor Frank Cownie, City of Des Moines; Jamie Malloy, Wells + Associates; Karen Quance Jeske, CHDC Executive Director; David Downs, Project Contractor; Zach Zielonko

Watching the ceremony

The pavilion at Evelyn Davis Park

Looking at the site plans

A true groundbreaking event

Location, Location, Location

2008-08-05T08:58:00.022-05:00

As any developer can tell you, it's all about the location.

Greenth Street's location is indeed a bonus. For one, the new house site faces South, rather than East, allowing more sun exposure for the front porch and minimizing heat-loss during the winter. Second, the site is adjacent to both the Des Moines Forest Avenue Public Library and Evelyn Davis Park. It also sits along a main public bus route, offering an affordable mass transportation option to the house's owner. The house is also only a few blocks from Drake University and is about a mile north of downtown Des Moines.

Fig. 1 1347 Forest Avenue: the property line lies between the
pink post on the left and the middle of the driveway on the right.

Fig. 2 Forest Avenue Public Library

Fig. 3 Kids playing in the fountain at Evelyn Davis Park

Another sustainable feature of the house location is that it is an urban infill site. "Infill" is a term used to describe land that was previously developed for residential or commercial use. By building on an infill lot, virgin or undeveloped land may be saved for agricultural use, wildlife habitat, or public green space. Developing blighted infill lots also helps raise adjacent homeowner's land values. In the case of Greenth Street, 1347 Forest Avenue was previously home to a building which the City of Des Moines demolished due to poor structural integrity.

CHDC believes that the location of Greenth Street truly enhances the sustainability of the project.

A Tale of Green

2008-08-04T12:57:00.003-05:00

A lot has been written on the topic of ‘going green’ and websites abound on the internet for helping build or up-grade to a green, energy efficient house. The task can still be daunting, though, especially when you are dealing with a limited budget such as Green^th Street. While durable and affordable construction is something that CHDC has engaged in since its founding, green building is new territory for us. We have had many adventures in figuring this whole “green” thing out – from struggling to find green build material, to understanding the LEED certification process, to developing a sustainable waste management plan. And our adventure is just beginning; this blog will act as a record for our journey into the realm of green building.

In the upcoming months we will be posting updates about the construction progress and will highlight some of the issues that are unique to green building. Our hope is that this blog will help us document our successes and failures in order to develop a Best Practices manual for our future housing projects. We also hope that this blog will inspire people to add green elements to their existing homes and use green, energy-efficient techniques and materials when building new houses. Please feel free to leave comments about Green^th Street, as well as any suggestions that you might have for helping others go green on a low- to moderate-income budget.

Greenth Street: An Introduction

2008-08-04T12:13:00.007-05:00

As part of its sustainable neighborhoods mission, CHDC has embarked on a new project to incorporate green, energy-efficient strategies into the construction of a new affordable home. This project, dubbed Green^thStreet, is being built at 1347 Forest Avenue in the King Irving Neighborhood in Des Moines, IA. Ground-breaking will occur September 9, 2008. Construction is expected to last 4 months.

The three main priorities that CHDC hopes to achieve through this build are:

Longevity of the house, with minimum maintenance needs
Affordable and efficient energy needs of the finished house
High standard of indoor air quality

The project will have a full basement, 3 bedrooms, and 2 baths. The house is universally designed to accommodate those living with disabilities.

The house is expected to cost $150,000 to build and will sell for $125,900 to a low- to moderate-income family based on HUD median income requirements. Gap funding for this project has been provided by the City of Des Moines Home Funds and the Polk County Housing Trust Fund.

Greenth Street: Looking Northeast
Design by Wells + Associates

Greenth Street: Looking Northwest
Design by Wells + Associates

It's Easy Being Green

Resource conservation, energy-efficiency, and healthy indoor air quality are the foundation blocks of green buildings. CHDC’s Green^thStreet will incorporate these standards into the project by:

Using green-certified construction materials
Employing advanced framing techniques to minimize waste, lower material and construction costs, and increase structural integrity
Reducing and recycling construction material through source-separation practices
Monitoring air quality and energy use in the completed home to ensure maximum efficiency
Equipping the house with energy-efficient appliances, mechanical, and electrical systems

Natural daylight will also be incorporated into every room of the house while minimal windows on the north side will help conserve energy costs. The high slope of the roof will not only reflect the architectural style of the neighborhood, but will also allow for rain water to be diverted to rain gardens planted on the site.

The housing site offers further green and sustainable amenities. Once completed, the house will sit across the street from the Des Moines Forest Avenue Public Library, providing on-going learning opportunities to residents, and Evelyn Davis Park, which provides picnic areas, play ground areas, a wading pond, and basketball courts. Green^thStreet is also located along a DART bus route, providing a sustainable, public transit option to future owners of the house. The build will be built to LEED standards, a third-party measurement of design excellence and construction and maintenance efficiency. Green^thStreet will also serve as a Best Practices home in order to improve the quality of future CHDC housing projects.

It Takes a Community

CHDC is working closely with several local organizations to make Green^thStreet a reality. Many of our partners will be donating their goods and services to the project.

Green^thStreet is truly a community-based effort. CHDC greatly appreciates all of our community partners:

Cenergy
Center on Sustainable Communities
City of Des Moines
Double D Construction
Iowa Waste Exchange; Iowa DNR
Kitchen, Bath, and Home; Jeani Lee
Lee Engineers & Surveyors
Menards
Metro Waste Authority
Polk County Housing Trust Fund
TEAM Services
Waste Management
Wells + Associates

For more information about Green^thStreet please contact:

Press Contact:
Heidi Wessels
CHDC Associate Director
515-244-7798
h.wessels@chdcdesmoines.org

Purchase Contact:
Brian Douglas
CHDC Project Manager
515-244-7798
b.douglas@chdcdesmoines.org

For General Information:
Community Housing Development Corporation
601 Forest Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50314
515-244-7798
515-243-8507 (fax)
www.chdcdesmoines.org

Green^th Street: Lower Level Interior
Design by Wells + Associates

Greenth Street: Upper Level Interior
Design by Wells + Associates