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Archive for November, 2009

The Park Project

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Model of the bathroom: The walls are CMU block, sealed and painted; the siding is Hardy prepainted “Select Cedarmill”; the roof is Certainteed “prchestnut”; the doors into the mens and women’s restrooms are Thermatru Smooth-Star Fiberglass entry doors; the central gate is custom made wrought iron and leads into a maintenance space that contains all the main plumbing and drain lines, as well as access to the attic space above.

If it seems like I haven’t made very many posts about projects this year, it’s because I haven’t. But that’s not because I haven’t been busy. It’s been because most of my time has been taken up by this project: The expansion of a local RV park, complete with new a new restroom/laundry facility (shown in the model at right).

I haven’t written about it before because—well, there really hasn’t been much to write about. It’s been all about design, regulatory compliance, and so on. All of which has required a design team comprised of three engineers and three additional consulting scientists, including a Ph.d geologist. Welcome to development in California!

Overall the project has been great fun. (I’m looking forward to being able to do another project like this!) There have been a few hitches along the way (in fact, there was one big hitch), but it always seems to go that way. We got them resolved and continued trucking along. We should come out of planning by the middle of December and be filed with the State and its silly two track process by January. Ground breaking is scheduled for Spring, after the rains stop. In the mean time, the Conversion Exemption has already been approved and tree removal has begun.

Rock on!

rv parks, expansion, development

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Energy Efficiency Improvements: Clocking Running Out For 2009

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

If you’ve been contemplating decreasing your home energy costs, you’ve only got until December 31^st to meet the 2009 deadline for the energy efficiency improvements eligible for tax credit under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“the stimulus package”). The stimulus package authorizes a whopping 30% write-off on eligible improvements (up to $1,500 combined for almost all improvements—with some important exceptions). So what qualifies? Here’s a list:

Insulation, so long as it meets the 2009 IECC guidelines. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
Doors and windows, including skylights and storm windows and doors. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
Roofing, both metal and asphalt, so long as they’re Energy Star^® qualified. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
Heating and cooling (HVAC) of nearly every type, including replacement of the main air circulating fan to one that uses no more than 2% of total furnace energy use. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
Water heaters with an Energy Factor greater than or equal to 0.82 or that is 90% efficient. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
Heat pumps that meet Energy Star^® qualifications. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
Biomass Stoves (i.e. a wood burning , pellet, or “corn burning” stove) with a thermal efficiency of at least 75%. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
Geothermal Heat Pumps that meet Energy Star^® criteria. (30% of the cost, no ceiling)
Solar Hot Water Systems that are Energy Star^®rated, with the restriction that 50% of the hot water generated used must be generated by the installed system. The installed system must be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC), and must be placed “in service” before December 31, 2016. (30% of the cost, no ceiling)
Photovoltaic Systems for residential use. Must be placed “in service” before December 31, 2016. (30% of the cost, no ceiling)
Residential Wind Energy Systems that have a “nameplate capacity” of not more than 100 kw. Must be placed “in service” before December 31, 2016. (30% of the cost, no ceiling)
Fuel Cells for residential use. Must have an efficiency of at least 30% and a capacity of at least ½kw. Must be placed “in service” before December 31, 2016. (30% of the cost, up to $500 per ½kw of power capacity)

Visit EnergyStar.gov for complete information about the Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency program. The site has FAQs on all the above programs as well as links to tax forms, IRS notices, and the Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP), an organization dedicated to making government policies such as the Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency comprehensible and accessible to us normal people.

If you need any assistance with your energy efficiency improvement project(s), don’t hesitate to contact us.

home improvement, tax credits, solar, insulation, doors, windows, roofing, hvac, heat pump, wood, pellet, biomass, stove, geothermal, energy efficiency

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US Commerce Says Alternative Building Services is The Best

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

I’m pleased to announce that Alternative Building Services has been awarded the “Best of” award in the Building Contractors category by the US Commerce Association (USCA).

I’d like to thank the USCA for the honor. If memory serves, this is the second time it has awarded Alternative Building Services the award. All of us here are very proud of the quality of work we do and the service we provide to our community.