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July 24, 2007
Video: Green Reno of a Prospect Heights B'stone
Check out this video of the green renovation of a Prospect Heights brownstone. The contractor Blake Holden walks through the work-in-progress, displaying and discussing the reclaimed wood flooring, salvaged doors and, yes, blue jean insulation. Lots o' fun.
Greening a Brownstone [Yahoo Video]
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Comments
This dude is my neighbor--It is in Prospect Heights, not Park Slope---we need all the press we can get!
Posted by: Anonymous at July 24, 2007 10:32 AM
I wonder if the radiant heating bangs just like radiators do? seems like a cool guy - next time we have cash, would love to have a contractor like that and NOT the one we used the first time around...
Posted by: lady miss at July 24, 2007 10:53 AM
Radiant heating does not bang.
Your steam radiator system has a problem if it's banging. Call a plumber.
Posted by: Anonymous at July 24, 2007 11:53 AM
Radiant floor heating does not bang like radiator's. They do make the wood floors skweak (expanding wood)a bit when the heat gets turned on after being closed for a while. I hear it when the heat comes on in the morning when it has been off for the night (at first I thought there was intruder in our house walking around but I have gotten used to the sound). and then it only skweaks once and not hissing all day.
The feeling on your feet when walking on heated floors is great!
Posted by: Anonymous at July 24, 2007 12:24 PM
This guy is as green as sludge. The things he is doing are standard building methods. I could see if he was using geothermal and solar but he is not. The radiant floor heating is PLASTIC tubing. TOXIC material. Also...what a mess! those tubes are all over the place. He needs a haircut and a better line of BS to convince me this is "green" construction.
Posted by: Anonymous at July 24, 2007 2:14 PM
Never mind the blue jeans, he's blowing in Cocoon cellulite (old newspaper) from Home Depot. The machine is rented from them. I did it too and it's great.
You're supposed to leave the machine outdoors--too messy inside. Where's his helper? It's a four-hand operation.
Posted by: tom at July 24, 2007 4:17 PM
Stripping that moulding sure the hell aint green.
Posted by: Anonymous at July 24, 2007 5:19 PM
Man, oh man, you're a rough crowd! Give this guy a break. Some compromises are essential, otherwise building or renovating green will be only for the very wealthy. Yes, solar panels would be nice but they are currently extremely expensive and if he can realize significant energy savings through better insulation, more power to him. Stripping the molding may be a slightly toxic process but he's doing it to avoid dumping the molding in a landfill -- and hey, he's preserving historic detail at the same time. Love the recycled maple flooring too. Anybody (10:32am poster) know how Blake can be contacted?
Posted by: NeoGrec at July 24, 2007 5:57 PM
10:32 here--I don't know his number but I would suggest sending Brownstoner your contact info to forward on to Blake
Posted by: Anonymous at July 24, 2007 6:31 PM
the "plastic" tubing, commonly called PEX, used for radiant floor heat is not toxic. in fact, it's approved for household plumbing and not just heating, you can safely drink water that's piped through PEX. get a clue 2:14 dude.
Posted by: Anonymous at July 25, 2007 1:00 AM
Hey, we can all try to do the best we can in our own budget. If you really want to open your mind to green and get angry at big oil. Rent the movie " Who killed the electric car ?" Making all these small adjustments in our personal life toward "being green" is so small compared to our dependence on big oil.
Posted by: Rick at July 25, 2007 7:42 AM
I'm from RiverWired, we produced these videos, and are very glad you liked them!
Posted by: Cris at July 25, 2007 10:21 PM
Thanks everyone for the dialogue. It is important to have these conversations in the green community. I shot and edited the video, and there are many things that Blake is considering, including solar. Currently, in NYC, there is a complicated solar permitting process that we should all be trying to change. Blake is putting in a geothermal system and already has the geothermal AC units installed,but has not completed the digging.... and in 5 min., we can't address everything. Thanks again!
Posted by: Jillian at July 26, 2007 3:41 PM
fyi: It's in Prospect Heights, not Park Slope. I will ask Blake to post his contact info.
Posted by: Jillian at July 26, 2007 3:43 PM
Thanks for the responses the Jillian's video. I can actually go into a lot more detail about what makes this building green as opposed to just brown(stone) or "sludge" as one poster proposed. I am willing to do that for interested people who want to contact me.
As Jillian stated previously I am planning a geothermal heating/cooling system but have run out of time and money for it as of now. Hopefully I will do it sometime in the fall. I may to some solar panels to pre-heat water.
The stripping inside the house was done with "green" stripping solutions. I did have stuff dipped that was clearly down with toxic stuff. A money compromise for sure. But I used little wood (OSB and maple plywood) with dectable levels of formaldehyde...the cabinets have wood with soy resins and water based lacquer. I did use some 1/4 exterior grade plywood with some formaldehyde that I sealed with a water sealer to prevent off-gassing. All adhesives had very low or no VOCs. Floors were shellac and water based poly.
I also used a concrete block for the extensions that is called AAC that has good insulating value and works like wood. A great material that is widely used but not much in Brooklyn as far as I can tell.
As I said before I am happy to discuss this stuff with any interested people. Just contact me via email.
Oh, yes my wife also thinks I badly need a haircut, but my daughters like it so they win for now.
Blake
Posted by: Blake Holden at July 26, 2007 5:40 PM
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