Custom Rustic Stone Wall Designed by Landscape Architecture, Inc.

With respect the Desnoyer home renovation in St. Paul we are looking to put the creative touches of salvaged stone on a design feature as simple as an egress window. First of all with any window well maximizing light into the window is always critical. Thus, we want to specify a stone wall material that is generally lighter in color. Secondly, we would like to have a stepped design to not only allow for additional light but also create a code compliant means for escape if needed.  Incorporating these design principles on this project is especially a hit since the window is facing south and there is also a large shade tree in the front yard creating some dappled shade in the summer and full sun during the winter months.  With these parameters in place we recently stumbled into some gorgeous salvaged sandstone that we are really excited about incorporating for this design element. This stone material that is pictured was reclaimed as part of a local demolition project for reuse by folks like us. The sandstone was originally quarried in north central Minnesota for bridge abutments most likely more than 100 years ago. In addition to the striking character and rustic staining, this is a perfect color mix for this home renovation project. We hope to incorporate this green and creative feature within the next week so I will update the blog with process and finish photos soon.

Recycled / Salvaged Sandstone

Stephen Mastey, ASLA, CLARB, LEED AP
Landscape Architecture, Inc.
856 Raymond Avenue, Suite C
St. Paul, MN 55114
651.646.1020 office
651.246.1151 mobile
www.landarcinc.com

Before I turned on the jack, my friend stood back. We thought all hell would break loose as the jack hammered the old floor into rubble. We thought the very foundation would shake and we would have trouble staying upright. Well, it turns out to be quite a bit mellower then that. It may have been the fact that the concrete floor was 4-5″ thick, it may have been that there was more Portland cement in the original mix then a sane man would specify. Whatever the reason, the floor barely budged. After a few hours of trial and error, I started to get the hang of it, with the last hour cruising by. Needless to say, it was not a walk in the park, but it was better then just using an 8LB hammer like the first time (I felt like I was going to die from strain.) After 6 hours we had a 12′ diameter hole. That was enough for one day.

The next day my girlfriend and I laid down some foam (for a little insulation) and 17 bags of sand mix cement. That’s over 1,200lbs of concrete. It took us 6.5 hours. And man is laying concrete hard (especially when you care about how flat it is. One thing I learned was that sand mix can be easily smoothed out when dry, so about 1.5 hours of back-breaking work perfecting the skimming was wasted time. Live and learn.

In looking for an HVAC contractor, I recommend finding one that will give you many options and thoroughly discuss the pros and cons. Since renovation projects require so much on the fly changes and so many compromises, you want to know that your HVAC contractor can think creatively as well as aggressively protect your interests. In the case of Stafford Home Service’s HVAC installation, they have went to the trouble of splitting ducts to get around a beam, tucking things in hard to reach areas and placed the returns in the attic to give more headroom in the basement. Now that’s some great HVAC service.

Add to all that, just the other day I come in late, just to check up on the place and Stafford is still there, working overtime to get the furnace in. Nice!

How to control all of this you ask? Well, my dear, with my iPhone of course! Yes, I said my iPhone. Or maybe a iPod touch if I want to let visitors have fun too. The Buletooth controllers on the PS3 and the Wii only five bout 30′ of distance so they will ne installing a Bluetooth repeater in the kitchen (the basement media room is abutted to the stair, so that is not an issue. The Wii controllers also use a control bar which emits light, so another remote bar will be installed in the 1st floor. Sick, isn’t it? One can walk from the basement to the 1st floor, Guitar Hero “guitar” in hand, jamming all the time. Now that’s class my friends. Or some kind of digital excess yet to be named.

One great advantage to this madness (or brilliance, depending on your Luddite or Jobs tendencies) is that fan noise is greatly reduced or eliminated. The PS3 is still screaming out billions of cycles and driving it’s fans like rented mules, but it is safely ensconced in a separate room, in a tidy rack. Ahhh, peace and quiet. Now, when I am watching a classic film, with plenty of moody silence, like The Third Man I won’t be distracted by the steady roar of the PS3′s insane fans.

Another advantage is the savings of not having to have duplicate hardware;  in space, cash, and energy (I guess that’s kind of a Geen Renovation thing as well. Nice!)

Stay tuned for updates and photos.

One thing he explained is how he was going to mount the basement ducts a couple inches lower then I had first assumed. He said these critical few inches would make the ducts that much more quiet, as they would better isolate the vibrations of ducts and movement of floor. Brilliant! He was also very concerned with the placement of vents for cosmetic and functional reasons. He explained many situations where ducts would be a problem. If it were up to me I would have ended up choosing locations that would have essentially heated the outside and the furniture. Nothing like a great HVAC contractor to save the day!

Next was the Stafford Electric team. Kris came in on Thursday and walked through the entire space with me and Jason from Stinson Builders. Even though we had blueprints (do they still call them that?) and had previously discussed many of the options, Kris insisted on walking through every detail again and making sure we were all on the same page and that we were moving forward in the best possible way. As we walked through, Kris proposed new options that were better then the old, like recessed lighting in the basement guest bedroom and workout/craft area. Jason and Kris pointed out that those spaces would benefit by having finished ceilings. I am so happy that I began this process with Stinson Builders; Jason’s subcontractors are friendly, committed to the job and my satisfaction, and unbelievably helpful.

One exciting idea Kris cooked up, for the rest of the basement was to put in conduit and cage lights, in between the floor rafters Something like this (but cheaper, more industrial, and steel instead of brass):

This is perfect for the industrial look I am going for. I had the ceiling spray painted with BIN paint which has shellac in it (the only thing sure to lock out the lingering dog and cigarette smoke odors.) which I tinted a light blue-grey. I think it’s going to look great. Thanks Kris!

As we walked around the space I got a glimpse at the complexity of a good electrician‘s job. The melding of practicality, ease of use, efficiency, code compliancy, cosmetics and the like creates for a difficult terrain. Make sure you have a great firm like Stafford Home Services’ electric department to navigate the landscape or you may find yourself pulling things out later (at much higher expense), and being disappointed with the results.

One simple, electrical Green Renovation solution that Stafford is installing is dimmer switches at all locations. (there are even 3-way, adjustable light switches!) Did you know light dimmer switches were Green? Well they are. Kris and Dan told me about a Green Home workshop they attended that trained electricians and home services on going Green. Evidently the human eye only needs about 80% of a room’s full lighting. They were shown a demo and said they could not tell the difference, once their eyes adjusted. I assume that’s a 20% savings in lighting bills! Nice!

As we walked through the space, Kris stopped one of his electricians and had him move a flush, floor-mounted electrical outlet. It was just a rotation of a outlet that already had been installed. The electrician did not look happy but Kris insisted. I went back later and saw why: to rotate the box, there had to be new framing to support each unit. To think, here they are making more work for themselves, work that I would not have thought of until another contractor was done and gone, and they doing it just to make sure the aesthetics are just right. That’s the kind of electrician I want!

All said and done, this has been a good week. Stay tuned next week for updates on the Green electrical and Green HVAC installations.

-M

I’m very glad I have such a good team to work with and to help me work through these crippling decisions. Phillip Broussard, the St Paul based architect from Architron, is (and I’ve said this before, so forgive me) a saint. He has such an amazing way pf presenting options and discussing them, from so many angles. Things like, how sight-lines will be effected, traffic patterns, efficiency and green (environmental) impacts, etc… There are so many factors to any decision, you will do well to find yourself a top-notch architect like Architron. Don’t take chances here, and don’t skimp!

Now I can’t just stop here because my builder, Jason Stinson, from Minneapolis’ Stinson Builders, Inc., has been a lifeline and a great construction consiglieri. He has such an easy way about him and has been a great resource on design and layout as well as environmental building and renovating on a budget. He always gives me a easy to understand and well-thought out perspective. I can’t say enough about his support and design and building talents.

Anyway, I guess the gist of this post is to make sure you have a great architect and builder (general contractor) for your renovation project, as you will use them, and never underestimate the difficulty in making renovation decisions.

Of course, placement is a very important issue as well. Ideally, you have an architect a builder and a landscaper work with you on this. If you get a great contractor, like Jason, and a great landscape architect, like Stephen, you can get all the essentials (important if you are adding an egress window as a stand-alone project and want to keep costs down.) The light is very important, of course, but other factors are perhaps even more important, like placement of pipes and supports, stacked stone or concrete with facing brick, safety and code, and one of the most important: drainage! Working so close to the foundation, you definitely do not want to create a source for water intrusion.

So, don’t do it on the cheap and hire some shop who whips up an all-vinyl solution, willy-nilly. Hire a top builder and landscape designer and get it done right.