Dust is starting to settle

Here is a few from the top lot looking back at the house over the lagoon. It does seems to be nestled from this angle.

Seeing white

After doing the stainless thing already in Brooklyn, we were a bit over the hard to keep clean stainless appliances and decided to full high gloss white with appliances and cabinets. The stainless would spot and would never come clean for us even with stainless cleaner. At least the white when dirty or smugged is smooth and we can use less harsh cleaners to give it back its shiny sheen. The white Bosch oven I think has a great look with its white buttons popping out of the black.

Paperstone

I finally found a company in Tampa that offered Paperstone and was able to deliver on short notice. Tampa is about an hour and a half from where we are. They were training someone new and so I was given 3 different price quotes and they tried to add on an extra shipping charge even though they already had the piece I wanted in stock. It was a 12'x5' slab of Obsidian and it arrived weighing 500 lbs. The retailer decided to forgo giving me all the details about the weight because I was already upset that the price quote went from 1600 to 2k. So instead of telling me all the details of just how heavy it really was, he decided to let me find out the hard way. A terribly run business with some sort of juvenile demeanor and I will find paperstone needs elsewhere. So once that was over a local fabricator my contractor knew was able to take the piece to his shop and them fabricate it for our needs. We love the material. It is basically compressed paper and resin. It has a great look and even better feel- somewhat like soapstone.

Bamboo floors

I just ordered the flooring today. I really did look into all the affordable green options but in the end we really like the bamboo and feel that the interior needs a floor to anchor all the open space. Plus the decking will be dark and so the indoor to outdoor might flow better together. The darker bamboo sample I found online at Eco-Friendly Flooring. The lighter smaller bamboo was from Home Depot. I was shopping for price and color. Both of these came in at $4 sf but the one from ecofriendlyflooring.com had the darker color we liked. This was going to be an expense for after we moved in and caught up on cash but as with anything in building it is less of a hassle to have the flooring in now for when we move in our things. there is some criticism of bamboo as not being green. I pick my battles with the budget and resources we have available but we really think in this subtropical vibe down here the "wood floor" look still works. We'll shall know for sure soon enough.

Toto Eco UltraMax®

I went with the Toto Eco UltraMax® one piece toilet. "Sleek high profile elongated one piece toilet with 12" rough-in. E-Max Low consumption (4.8 Lpf/1.28 Gpf) siphon jet flushing action." We were going to do a dual flush but when I saw this listed at a simliar price I assumed this was an upgrade from Toto. There is a whole world of toilet technology out there and I can only grasp so much before I just outright buy a product from Toto with "Eco" and "UltraMax" in the name. They have so many models now and I don't have time to find out what their differences are and therefore better or worse.

Ceiling fans

When I took the Fl Green Home Designation course at the Fl Solar Energy Center I saw a display of a fan they designed called the Gossamer Wind. I found them at the Home Depot and they had 2 models. These 60" industrial fans which require a 10ft ceiling so they can be used on the lanai. They also had a 52" model I can use inside the house. I had to get a total of 8 but for many days down here in FL having a good fan means keeping the AC off. From their website, "The advanced ceiling fan blades of the "Gossamer Wind" allow the use of a smaller ceiling fan motor. The combination reduces ceiling fan energy use by approximately 40% while reducing noise and wobble. The average ceiling fan using 25 - 100 Watts is in operation 6-12 hours or more each day. The "Gossamer Wind" will save the typical consumer $10-$20 per year in reduced energy use. Further, the improved comfort can allow the cooling thermostat to be raised. Conventional premium ceiling fans cost more. However, the similarly priced "Gossamer Wind" can pay for itself through real savings in household energy use while providing improved comfort and convenience."

A 360 view of hall and pantry

Interior painting

The pace has picked up for us as the final things are awaiting there place. Much of putting things in place requires the painting be completed. We painted over the weekend using an interior paint from Scott Paint's EcoCare line. We are painting everything white to keep it simple. Since we are doing the painting ourselves it adds to the pressure of timing but so far we should be able to keep up.

Exterior paint complete

I am just able to post the completed exterior. It was painted with an EcoCare acrylic put out by a local paint company, Scott Paint. This has been done for a few weeks now but I haven't had time to post much since we've been busy collecting appliances, lighting, cabinets, flooring etc. For the exterior I invested $250 in a product called Insuladd which is supposed to act as another layer of insulation. here's what it says on their website, "The Insuladd® insulating paint additive has unique energy saving properties that reflect, resist, and dissipate heat. The hollow ceramic microspheres reflective quality affects the warming phenomenon called "Mean Radiant Temperature," where heat waves from a source such as direct sunlight cause a person to feel warmer even though the actual air temperature is no different between a shady and sunny location. It is the molecular friction within the skin caused by the sun's radiant energy waves which makes the body feel warmer." I have no idea if it works but for $250 I thought I would give it a try.

Introducing Gottfried Green HOME

Since our project is nearing completion I started another blog which will be devoted specifically to the application process we will be going through to see if the house qualifies for a Green Home Designation from the Florida Green Building Coalition. It follows a very specific checklist in 8 categories: Energy, Water, Lot Choice, Site, Health, Materials, Disaster Mitigation, and a General category. Check in with Gottfried Green Home to follow our progress in receiving the designation.

Kitchen Cabinets

Before the painting begins, we set up the cabinets to make sure they fit. We did opt for Ikea cabinets mostly based on price and look. They will be high gloss white fronts which we hope give the kitchen a clean open look.

Becoming a Green Home Certifier in '08... Check

As New Year's resolutions go, rarely have a I accomplished one right out of the gate. On Monday, I received, in the mail, my Certificate of Completion for the Florida Green Home Designation Course. This allows me to become a Green Home Certifying Agent under the Florida Green Building Coalition. The next step is to submit this proof of course completion to the FGBC and I will be registered as an agent. A green home certifying agent is basically the facilitator of all the information needed to get a home certified green by the coalition. The requirements aren't quite as strict as the US Green Building Council's LEED standards but it is a start in cracking the code of green building especially here in FL. Also, by becoming an agent, I can submit my own package for review so that our house could receive a green designation from FGBC. I only need to submit a disclosure that I am the owner.