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owner’s wish? Rebuild the home nearly identical to how it stood before, only with a few modifications to update the insulation and HVAC systems. With its zinc-coated
E
copper roof and long, low silhouette, the home wouldn’t look entirely out of place in a Civil War gunship duel with the Monitor or Merrimack. Its concrete foundation, cantilevered out over a hill on one end of the home looks like a futuristic bow, forming the first floor decks. In the center of the building is a sunken
‘conversation pit’ with a luxuriously curved couch. Visitors soon realize they’re in the middle of a giant sea nautilus with swirling kitchen counters and an elaborate spiral staircase. Organic shapes are continued throughout the home, including a lounge with stunningly constructed live-edge timber framing. The new building
envelope has a much higher R-value than before. Wall interiors and the attic were sprayed with Icynene spray foam. Triple pane, argon filled windows help substantially, and an ERV allows for guilt-free fresh air circulation year round.
Mechanical makeup “Before the home burned down, water-to-air geothermal
heat pumps took care of the home’s heating and cooling demands, “said Eric Jones, vice president of Jones-Rogers Inc., the mechanical contractor chosen to complete the mechanical systems. “The geothermal exchange field was
e Circle 60 on reader reply card
SUPPLIER PROFILES
unharmed during the fire, so the melted lines coming into the mechanical room were cut and re-fused.” The geo-exchange field consists of eight bore holes, at
an average depth of 320 feet. Four, 42,000 BTU water-to- water geothermal heat pumps draw from the geo-exchange field to heat and cool the house. The original geothermal system was entirely water to air, but when the heat pumps were destroyed in the fire, the homeowners wanted to upgrade to hydronic heat with radiant floors. The new units provide hot water for the in-floor
Nautilus-inspired, and Green before ‘Green’ was cool
ighteen years after being showcased in Architecture Magazine, a custom-built, 10,000 square-foot home burns to the ground. The
radiant system, and cool water to fan coil units throughout the house for air conditioning.
Hidden detail The water-to-water heat pumps supply heated water to
10,800 lineal feet of Watts Radiant Onix EPDM radiant tubing. The mechanical system design was drawn up by Dave Chandler, designer at Salisbury, MD based engineering
firm, Allen and Shariff Engineering, LLC.
“We chose the EPDM tubing because of its durability and flexibility,” said Chandler.
“With all the curves in the floor plan, installation was much easier, as opposed to using a PEX product.” On the ground floor, foil thermal board
was installed between the radiant tubing and the existing slab, to augment the two- inch extruded polystyrene insulation that had been installed below the slab in ’84.
Then, an inch and a half of concrete was poured over the tubing. Upstairs, Onix tubing was again laid across the floor, but this time, a light-weight concrete was poured over the tubing and vapor barrier. The home has 11 hydronic zones, each served with a
Watts HydroNex control panel. “The prefabricated HydroNex panels were a huge timesaver on a radiant job this size,” said Jones. “You pretty much just plug them in and go.” ;
www.wattsradiant.com
phc may 2011
www.phcnews.com
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