we've moved! it's official.

Over the weekend, thread and mark+elliott moved into trouthouse.  and although we sit between many towers of boxes, and winding computer cables, we are very happy amongst the chaos. 

new address : 225 Troutman Street, studio  Brooklyn NY 11237.

trouthouse inspected

Yesterday we passed the DOB Certificate of Occupancy site inspection with zero objections.  Pretty incredible since the inspectors always like to find something little thing to mark down.  We leaped over another hurdle in the long closing out process.  In the meantime, we are tackling the nitty gritty punchlist and cleaning in preparation for our move (next week!).  

pheww! Energy Star testing passed!

Steve Klocke, of Steven Winters came to the site on Friday to test Trout House for our Energy Star certification, and after a very long day, and a very patient Steve, We Passed!  The day entailed blower door testing, kitchen and bathroom exhaust testing, carbon monoxide testing of stoves and boilers, HVAC verification, lighting inspection, and thermal bypass inspection.  Phew. and we flew through with flying colors with a small exception - the bathroom exhaust...which required a little tinkering, but more on that later.

a whole lot of equipment came with Steve to conduct the tests.

A blower door test has to be performed for each individual unit, a requirement for the Energy Star certification.  This is testing the air tightness achieved during construction.  and while we were vigilant throughout the construction process, ensuring our wall assembly, and penetrations met our air sealing requirements, it is still a little nerve-racking waiting to know the results.  The blower door test is conducted using a powerful fan that mounts into the frame of an exterior door, or apartment door. The fan pulls air out of the unit, lowering the air pressure inside. The higher outside air pressure then flows in through all unsealed cracks and openings. A metering device then measures the pressure differential. Blower Door tests are typically performed at a pressure difference of 50 Pa.  Before the testing starting, we taped off the vents, and closed the windows tight.

Steve setting up the blower door test in the door frame to the apartment unit.

this is the fan that de-pressurizes the apartment interior.

air pressure gauge showing a reading of 468.

The gauge above shows a reading of 468CFM at 50Pa, and a target of 756CFM.  Air tightness is typically measured in ACH (air changes per hour). For Energy Star V3.0 the target is 4ACH and V2.5 is 5ACH and Passive Haus is .6ACH.  Trout House units were at about 2.48ACH (calcuate CFM*60/volume).  So we easily beat the Energy Star requirements. (but are 4x above the strict Passive Haus goals)

Next was the vent testing for the kitchens and bathrooms.  The diagnostic testing requires an exhaust fan flow meter - that basically looks like a big plastic tub with a hole in it - to be held up to the fan and test the CFM.  Our kitchen ducts were perfect performing at 300CFM.  But one thing to note - Energy Star V3.0 will require much quieter fans than earlier versions (2 sones).  This is to encourage their use, since loud fans tend to be annoying, but limits the options available.

But the problem arose when we tested the bathroom fans - coming in at a very low 5CFM, when we really needed 40CFM.  With such tight construction, we rely on the mechanical ventilation to bring in fresh air continuously.  The testing helped to reveal that the exhaust fan had been sized too small, and needed to be much larger.  Before the end of the day, the GC was able to install a 600CFM rooftop fan, that then helped us reach our target of xx CFM in each unit. Phew and a big thanks to Jimmy and Tommy. But goes to show that the testing is extremely helpful in revealing what is working and what is not working in the mechanical system - very important when constructing these types of very tight houses.

graph on the exhaust fan flow meter that correlates the flow to pressure

pretty cool that Steven does not need a ladder to reach the ceiling vents.

gas leakage testing

The last test focused on the potential gas leakage of the stoves.  Each stove was fired up for the first time, and tested for gas detection, to ensure that combustion is complete.  Steve places a probe into the stove exhaust after the oven reaches about 450degrees for a stable temperature.  An interesting thing to note - our higher end stoves by Bertrozzoni  actually did not test as well as the less expensive mid-range stoves by Frigidaire.

a hint of color

We started out with a 40ft vertical stripe of hot pink on the building, that then morphed into beige cement panels for all sorts of typical construction decisions like budget and time. Disappointment ensued, but the hot pink has persisted and will finally make a showing in the details of our house numbers.  Finally going up on the facade.  Here is Elliott mocking it up.

Instead of large canvases of color we decided to go with small high-lighted details - pink house numbers, red mailboxes, green stair railing, colored kitchen cabinets....perhaps the duct garden will get a high-light as well.

Trout House For Rent

 










Finally we are nearing completion of the rental units, and ready to find tenants.  The third and fourth floor units are available, and thread will be occupying the lower two floors.  thread collective is looking for tenants who will enjoy the building, the neighborhood, and convivial creative atmosphere.

General amenities include :
      + LEED Silver building (awaiting certification)
      + HERS score of 63 : the building will be 47% more energy efficient than a typical building built to Code
         translates to lots of savings in utility bills.
      + energy star appliances
      + each apt has its own washer / dryer and dishwasher
      + each apt has its own metering
      + cable and high speed internet available
      + green roof, and roof deck and lounge with views of manhattan
      + concrete slab radiant heating system with individual thermostatic control
      + ducted cooling for each apartment
      + modern open plan kitchen, with island and overall modern aesthetic
      + each unit has an 80sf rear private deck, and a juliette balcony off the  bedroom
      + lots of natural daylight and closets in each bedroom and living room

Details : 
approx. 1200sf each
rent : $2,950 month (+one month security deposit)
one or two year lease options
no brokers fee
cats + dog friendly

third and fourh floor : 2-bedroom units with 1-bath
see  below for plan layouts

available : August 1st

please visit the other posts on the blog, to see the process of construction, current finish installation.

if you are interested in visiting the building and for further details about the rental, please email us thread@threadcollective.com 

rental applications can be found here.

Trout House Rental Brochure available here.

a 7 minute walk from the L-train

 

warm floors

Radiant floors were a desire from the start of the project. This type of heating is perhaps the most comfortable, and combined with a thermal mass can be one of the most efficient as well.  How does it work?  Hot water is pumped through the floor - in this case a 3" cast concrete slab - through a series of PEX tubing arranged and spaced to provide the right amount of BTU's per square foot.  The hot water heats the slab, and then radiates into the space.  Because your feet, and body are in direct contact with the floor, you are able to sense the heat through conduction; as opposed to furnaces or convective heating, which tends to be uneven in a space with ceilings being warm, and floors being cold (hot air rises!)  Surfaces in the room of radiant systems will be higher, so typically the air temperature can be cooler, and therefore the thermostat can actually be set to around 65-68degrees instead of 68-72degrees.

The radiant tubes are connected to a combi boiler, a wall hung unit that is mounted in a closet in the hall which provides hot water for both the heating and domestic needs. Each apartment is outfitted with their own - the space efficiency, and individual control are the reasons we chose to install these over a single building system which would have been less expensive.  There are several brands on the market such as Baxi, Rinai, Buderus and Rheem.  Ours are condensing boilers - discussing condensing boilers could be whole other post - but the important factor to take into consideration with radiant and condensing boilers is to ensure that the returning water temperature is below 120degrees, in order to ensure that the efficiencies of the boilers are their max.  The radiant works well in conjunction with this, creating long heating runs that allow the outgoing 180degree temps to be dropped to 120 on the return.

One other important aspect is that radiant floors help simplify a space and its uses.  There are no visible mechanical heating units that are typical in apartments.  Lack of radiators or baseboards allows for flexibility in the room layouts, and a visually is cleaner.  Our windows are able to go to the floor without disruption. In addition, the radiant prevents dust from moving through the house in the winter time.

radiant temps versus air convective patterns

  

radiant tubes loops

radiant tubes

the concrete pump snaking through the space.

cast concrete, before the polish

graph showing condensing temp requirements

field trip to 3D ErgoLab

Last week thread ventured to mid-town to visit our friends, Marc Schwartzberg and his wife Jill Slater, a veteran at apartmenttherapy.  Marc has been in the furniture business for over 30years, inheriting his grandparent's business, Dallek Office Furniture which was an icon in the New York furniture scene of mid-century modern fashion.  As thread contemplated our move into our new offices, chairs were on our mind, and we turned to the expert to help us find something that would meet our finicky standards.

 Marc with his fabulous chair display in the 3D Ergolab showroom

3D Ergolab has hundreds of chairs on display and available for testing.  Marc will even provide loan chairs to test out in your office.  Marc went through the various features of from the high end to the super techno that can bend, mold, and tweak to your body and movement.  After testing nearly every chair in the showroom, we came back around to the tried and true Eames Aluminum Office chair.  Our favorite for style, and comfort although perhaps lacking the ergo wow factor that a lot of newer chairs on the market are pushing.  Marc was excited to chat about the Eames chair, one of his favorites too.  He and Jill just spent two weeks in China doing research on various imports, from the high end to the low end knock offs, scrutinizing factories, quality, and fabrication.   Below, you can see Mark - the other Mark - sitting in the Herman Miller Setu Chair, another good competitor to the Eames chair for comfort, simplicity and shape.  Of course, thread is still contemplating our next office chair.  But we will have to decide soon!

Herman Miller's Setu Chair

Marc talks chairs.....