Townhomes by The George Woodward Company

LEED Certified!

2009-05-13T16:54:00.004-04:00

The George Woodward Company received the highest green building certification issued by the USGBC for the four new environmentally friendly twin homes in Chestnut Hill, making Philadelphia the home of the nation’s first LEED Platinum certified side-by-side duplexes.

Platinum certification is the highest rating offered by LEED for Homes, a rating system that promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes. The duplexes, which were designed by Re:Vision Architecture and built by Gardner/Fox Associates, exceeded the Platinum certification level by a whopping 9 points. Yahoo!

Landscaping Complete

2009-05-13T16:46:00.007-04:00

Rain barrels capture rainwater for watering the low-maintenance native plant material in order to reduce the strain on the potable water supply. Natural swales and pervious driveways help the on-site water table recharge.

The twin homes were built on the site of a playground that had seen better days, yet was a neighborhood favorite. George Woodward Company's development plan included an open park where children could frolic and run about.

Master Bed and Bath

2009-03-02T15:02:00.002-05:00

The master bedroom features a private second floor terrace.

Light streams into the master bedroom through aluminum clad windows with insulated glass that features Low-E glazing and Energy Star certification.

An efficient gas-fired hot water heater provides hot water on demand for use in the home's three bathrooms.

Upstairs: Bed & Bath

2009-03-02T14:48:00.005-05:00

The second bedroom opens to the outdoors via a small covered balcony.

Entrance to the second bedroom.

The first room at the top of the stairs could be used as a den or bedroom.

Dual flush toilets reduce water waste. Built in shelving creates accessible storage in the hall bath.

Living Room and Foyer

2009-03-02T10:14:00.004-05:00

Built in shelves and a coat closet provide handy storage solutions at the front entrance. Gas-fired logs in the living room create ambiance for cozy nights at home.

One of the home's three covered porches can be accessed from the living room and dining area.

Front Office

2009-03-02T10:11:00.003-05:00

A sunny room at the front of the house could be used as a bedroom or home office.

Dining Room

2009-03-02T10:02:00.004-05:00

The dining room opens to the living room and kitchen.

View from dining room to living room and front office. Abundant windows capture plenty of natural light.

Kitchen Finishes

2009-02-27T16:57:00.004-05:00

Range, microwave and dishwasher all received Energy Star certification.

Solid surface kitchen counter tops constructed from recycled glass.

Detail of recycled glass counter tops.

Final Exterior Finishes

2009-02-27T16:21:00.010-05:00

The twin homes will soon receive tenants.

The rear porches at the first set of twin homes.

First and second floor covered porches at the second set of homes, sans railing.

Sidewalk and final exterior finishes complete at the first pad site.

Sidewalk Installation

2009-02-03T09:28:00.002-05:00

Wooden forms removed from the completed sidewalk.

In order to give the sidewalk flexibility during expansion and contraction of the soil, workers cut sections in the concrete so it doesn't crack with the movement of the ground underneath.

Cement slides down the trough into the form as workers begin the process of leveling and screeding the concrete.

Site work begins in preparation for sidewalk installation.

Exterior Finishes Continued at Pad Site 1

2008-12-17T10:07:00.005-05:00

Stonework installed all the way around the lower perimeter of the twin homes.

Workers apply stucco finish to the rear of the structure.

The glass doors seen here will lead from the living room to an outdoor patio.

View from the living room to the dining room.

Module Installation at Pad Site 2

2008-12-17T09:56:00.006-05:00

Crane sets the second box atop the foundation as workers measure and adjust placement to ensure proper alignment.

Box one set on the foundation.

Stitching Modules Together

2008-12-11T14:32:00.004-05:00

Door and trim installation will cover the module mate line in the door jamb.

Bathroom with tile finishes before the installation of shower doors.

The top and bottom floors of the separate modules must be joined together. The line on the stair railing shows the separation joint.

Site Grading

2008-12-11T14:18:00.003-05:00

After the installation of exterior insulation and vapor barriers, grading covers the exposed foundation.

The foundation remains exposed around the perimeter of the building as work continues.

Safety First!

2008-12-11T14:11:00.003-05:00

View of the fire wall in the attic that separates units one and two to prevent fires from spreading.

Workers wear harnesses connected to this safety line to prevent falls while working on the roof.

Mechanical Systems

2008-12-11T14:09:00.002-05:00

Flow center for ground-source system. Liquid filled pipes run 375 feet underground.

Ground-source water heating and cooling system.

Exterior Finishes

2008-12-11T14:02:00.004-05:00

Stucco and Hardie Board will cover the exterior. An alternative to vinyl siding, the fibrous concrete board takes paint very well and is impervious to moisture.

Standing seam metal roof shelters the front entry.

Detail of cultured stone.

Installation of cultured stone water table.

Preparing for roof finishes.

Exterior insulation and vapor barrier and blocking for exterior finishes.

Exterior insulation and vapor barrier installed.

Pad 1 Roof Installation

2008-11-17T08:52:00.011-05:00

Front view of Pad Site 1 with roof installed.

Site workers apply finishes.

Crane carefully setting the roof in place.

Crane and site workers ready to position the roof panel.

Crane lifts the roof panel into the air.

Pre-framed roofing material has just arrived on-site.

Watch the Video of Module 2

2008-11-05T11:53:00.000-05:00

Modular Box 2 Installation

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Ready for rigging.

Site workers remove the protective tarp on Module 2.

Watch the Video

2008-11-05T09:58:00.008-05:00

Watch the video. It's like being right there, but without the muddy shoes, honking cars, and drizzling rain.

Modular Box 1 Installation

2008-11-04T17:37:00.014-05:00

Team members Tansy Yamaguchi, Brook Gardner, and Phil King discuss progress.

One down! Light rain necessitated the installation of a protective covering over Module 1.

The first box arrived around 11 am. Site workers removed giant tarps before hooking the box to the crane and hoisting it into the air.

Preparing the Crawl Space

2008-10-30T14:21:00.005-04:00

Several passes with a screed board evens out the pad and knocks down the high spots. Low spots must be filled with fresh concrete and several more passes with the screed board ensures the top is flush. Here workers float the surface to force gravel down and allow excess water and air pockets rise to the top until the slab is smooth.

After the support columns are set, the next step is to prepare the crawl space. The pads are covered with gravel and fine sand and then topped with a layer of plastic. The plastic serves as a vapor barrier and helps prolong the life of the pad. Workers measured and cut steel mesh to the shape of the pad to reinforce the concrete.

Foundation Walls for Pads 3 and 4

2008-10-14T14:16:00.018-04:00

After the concrete has been poured and set, the columns are attached to a metal plate and a quick-setting grout is applied. The use of leveling grout allows the columns to be positioned properly.

Elevations must be confirmed before the supporting mid-span columns are ready to receive the modules. The large black pipe seen here connects to the sump pump.

The foundation wall has been set in place and a truck pours concrete for the interior structural piers.

Reinforcing rod sits inside the footing and will be filled with concrete to the top of the pin - exactly 12 inches.

Expect the completed exterior wall to resemble this mock-up.

Site workers cover structural reinforcing pads. The pads provide structural reinforcement for point loads for the building foundation.

Workers check the foundation stone in preparation for the foundation wall to be installed. Two types of aggregate cover the pad site. The darker brown 1A gravel provides tighter contact points along the perimeter of the foundation wall. The lighter colored 2B aggregate sits beneath the poured concrete slabs.

Watch Foundation Wall Installation

2008-09-30T15:25:00.006-04:00

Green Foundation Walls

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Superior Wall's precast foundation wall systems look gray, but are actually very green.

Energy Efficient - A continuous layer of R-12.5 insulation bonds directly with high-strength concrete to minimize heat transfer. The pre-studded wall panels include a cavity for additional insulation to maximize R-value.

Material Conservation - Since the foundation wall panels are engineered and manufactured with insulated concrete studs, less building materials are used.

Better Air Quality - The 5000psi concrete has a lower water-to-cement ratio to increase durability and prevent moisture transfer. That means less mold and fungus.

No On-Site Soil Contamination - Superior Walls are built off-site, eliminating any on-site soil contamination from such materials as the form oil used for poured walls. And because damp-proofing is built in to the walls (ESRs 1553 & 1662), no on site sprays or bituminous coatings are required.

Reduces Job-Site Waste - The foundation arrives on-site ready to install, producing virtually no on-site waste.

September 22: Foundation Prep Complete

2008-09-30T10:08:00.006-04:00

Pad 1 foundation preparation complete! Stone for the Superior Wall foundation has been placed and grade elevations checked. Future pier locations are marked by two square indentations in the ground.

September 19: Foundation Drain

2008-09-30T09:19:00.005-04:00

Even though you can't see a building yet, a lot of important work is being done on-site. Here you can see the placement of the foundation drain at Pad 1. By damp proofing or waterproofing the foundation appropriately, installing appropriate foundation drains, and properly backfilling and grading the soil around the site, future moisture problems can be averted.

September 17: Soil Inspection

2008-09-29T16:50:00.005-04:00

Pad 1 site excavation ended today with a soil inspection. The inspector examined samples from six random bores within the foundation area to verify soil types.

The inspection is required by the city for proper documentation and is an integral part in any new construction project. Soils vary in type, composition and strength, and the differences can be significant. Some soils are very strong and can support significant weight, while other soils are weak and compress under light loads.

September 16: Excavation Discovery

2008-09-29T09:57:00.008-04:00

Excavation of Pad 2 unearthed a foundation that was completely buried 6-feet below ground level. "That kind of thing happens sometimes" says Project Manager Scott Kotcamp, "especially in a city that's 200 years old." The foundation was broken up and removed, with a minimal time setback.

Installing Curb Vents & Valves

2008-09-17T12:01:00.004-04:00

Utility tie-ins for units 1 and 2 is complete and workers begin backfilling the trench.

September 11 - Shut-off valves for the domestic water lines are installed 3 feet below the frost line.

Cutting into Water Main

2008-09-17T11:50:00.002-04:00

September 10 - Drainage and water lines are brought to the main site. The photo shows the water department cutting into the 8-inch water main.

Utility Lines

2008-09-17T11:38:00.004-04:00

September 9 - Site workers cut into sanitary and stormwater lines 13 feet below street level.

Stormwater and sanitary pipes for units 1 and 2 are tied-in to the 100 year old piping system fully encased in concrete.

Opening the Street for Utilities

2008-09-17T11:13:00.014-04:00

September 8 - The street is cut open so utilities for Units 1 and 2 can be brought into the building.

Setting the Site

2008-09-03T14:02:00.005-04:00

The site work contractor will be opening the street for utility work starting on Thursday, September 4th.

Water, Water Everywhere!

2008-08-21T16:58:00.005-04:00

It’s no surprise that the derrick hit water, but it was gushing out at about 50 gallons a minute! To put it in perspective, water comes out of the tap at about 5 gallons a minute. We pump it out to a silt bag where it’s filtered and released back into the water table.

Stacked bags of grout behind the trailer will be mixed up to line the walls of the wells.

Drilling the Wells

2008-08-21T16:37:00.005-04:00

Derrick drills the wells for the installation of the ground source heat pump. A total of 8 wells will be drilled to a depth of 275 feet.

Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are basically air conditioners that use groundwater or soil to cool the condenser instead of an outside coil and fan. It still takes energy input to operate a GSHP system, but a GSHP can be as much as 300% to 400% more efficient when compared to highly efficient furnaces. Even better, because a modern heat pump can be run backwards, both heating and cooling can be provided using the same equipment, and the most efficient uses of GSHPs are in mixed climates like PA that need both heating and cooling.

The easiest GSHP installations are on lots with large areas of open land for the installation of the loops in shallow trenches (5'-6’ deep), but ground source heat pumps can also be used in tight, urban installations. For locations without large areas of open land available, such as this one, vertical bores, rather than horizontal trenches, are used for the loops.

Inside the Lines

2008-08-21T16:14:00.006-04:00

Survey markers delineate the limit of disturbances (red) and the property mark (yellow).

Wissahickon Watershed regulations strictly indicate areas of the site in which construction and other land-disturbing activities must be contained. The low black silt fence prevents run-off. Stones at the site entrance act as tire scrubbers to prevent dirt from being tracked into the street.

Dirty Work

2008-08-21T16:03:00.003-04:00

Topsoil stripped from the site was sent in truckloads to a temporary site where it will be stored for re-use.

The Building Site

2008-08-21T15:46:00.014-04:00

A bulldozer clears the site before site preparation begins.

The new homes will be built on the site of an old playground in Chestnut Hill. It's within walking distance to the neighborhood’s outstanding resources, including Wissahickon Park.

Situated in the Northwest corner of Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill is an affluent commuter neighborhood that experiences marginally cooler temperatures than Center City, due to a slightly higher elevation (400-500 feet above sea level).

The Plan

2008-08-06T11:14:00.017-04:00

Rendering by Re:Vision Architecture

Gardner/Fox was retained by the George Woodward Company to manage the planning, design, construction and development of two twin townhouses on a 15,000 square foot parcel in Chestnut Hill. Gardner/Fox will be working closely with Re:Vision Architecture and Leed consultants from MaGrann Associates to complete four units, each approximately 2,100 square feet.

The homes have been registered for Gold Rated LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and may be the first LEED Gold rated homes to be built in Philadelphia under the current certification requirements.

Construction is scheduled to be complete in November.