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May/June 2008
Green Grows in Brooklyn:
Part IX
The Natural Home Show House weathers a tough New York winter.
Things are happening at the Natural Home Show House at the corner of Nevins and Pacific streets in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill. The roof is on, and four of the building’s small outside decks are in place. The windows and rooftop solar panels have yet to be installed, so the interior is still exposed to the elements—and at times, wintry weather slowed construction to a veritable crawl. Construction crews have spent a lot of time battening down the hatches and vacuuming accumulated rainwater off of floors and other interior surfaces that could be damaged by moisture.
Topping things off: Architect Tony Daniels of Cycle Architecture in Brooklyn chose two different materials for the roof. Traffic surfaces—those meant to be walked upon—will be covered in Schluter-Systems insulating sheets topped with pavers set in mortar. The Schluter sheets’ waffle-print design gives them a high insulation value and allows moisture to drain, preserving the building material below. Because the sheets drain so well, the pavers can be set in a very thin bed of mortar—important because the Show House is extremely close to reaching its height limit. (New York City has strict zoning laws when it comes to height. Inches count!) Roof surfaces that won’t be trod upon will be covered with a conventional bitumen sheet, which has a 25-year warranty. "The durability of a roof is very important to sustainability," Daniels says. "Anything that gets water damage will ultimately have to be removed and thrown away."
Water, water everywhere: With the roof more or less in place, the push to install the building’s storm drains has begun. "New York City’s sewer system is notoriously overburdened," Daniels says. "It’s an old combined-sewer system, meaning that rainwater, sewage from people’s toilets and industrial wastewaters all go through the same pipes. In times of heavy rain, the system overflows, the runoff combines with raw sewage, and it all gets dumped into the waters around New York." (Obviously, this is bad for the environment and public health.) To mitigate the Show House’s sewer contribution, Daniels hit on a simple solution: rain barrels. Two of them will be installed—one on the second floor and one on the third—and the homeowners will be able to use the collected rain to water plants and irrigate their rooftop gardens.
What’s on tap? Next, crews will install all interior pipes and ducts, finish the subfloors and put in the windows. Once the building is sealed, the interior framing work can begin. At the same time, work on the building’s limestone-veneer exterior will continue.
Check back for more updates! A new
Natural Home blog will track the progress, until construction is complete. Entries will be updated every few weeks. Check it out at
www.NaturalHomeShowHouse.com.
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