Eco-friendly closet systems

Yes, it's possible to build a beautiful closet and use recycled and reclaimed wood materials as well as working with a company that cares about energy usage and environmental concerns. We haven't yet filled our closet, but it was built by Eco-Nize, www.eco-nize.com. The price is competitive with the many closet installation companies, but the quality is great and you don't have to worry about the environment. We are thrilled with our new closet!

Now, to a "greener" closet by Eco-Nize

The next step, after remodeling the bathroom, is re-organizing the walk-in closet in our bedroom. We were able to recover some extra space in the closet by removing the HVAC flue chase. The flue was no longer in use, since our 2007 installation of a high-efficiency hydronic furnace system vented out the side of the house. The bathroom remodeling included removing the chase to create a rectangular closet, moving the closet door to center it, and wiring the light to a switch outside the door. Now it's time to add shelving, etc. We have contracted with Noel Sweeney of Eco-Nize, www.eco-nize.com, a green closet systems installer. Noel is able to offer a high-quality product at a wonderful price in comparison to the standard closet installers. The materials are "EPP certified 100% recycled or recovered wood or wood fiber." The company business practices are tuned to energy efficiency and recycling, with the company a member of the U.S. Green Building Council. Noel measured our space, listened carefully to our needs and budget concerns, then send us several great designs. He worked with us to choose an optimal layout. The designs were sent by email, with great graphics detailing what we should expect. We hope to have the systems installed in the next couple of weeks and I will write about it when it's done, along with posting photos.

Before & After- "Green" bathroom remodeling

The first three photos show the tiny bathroom before construction began. The house was built in 1962 and the bathroom was leaking from every possible pipe. The 24" door blocked a small closet that took up room to the right of the sink cabinet. The closet was mostly obscured by an old accordian door. We believed that the space to the right of the sink cabinet, hidden by a wall, was an empty chase formerly used for the old furnace chimney flue. When the furnace was replaced last year with an ultra-high efficiency hydronic system (see previous posts) that vented to the side of the house, the old flue, which went through the room, was abandoned. We intended to pick up this space for use in the remodeled bathroom. As it happened, there was a return duct in the space, which had to be re-routed. Delayed progress, but was workable. When demolishing this bathroom, the contractors carefully removed anything we could reasonably donate as usable building materials or recycle. The vanity cabinet was donated to Habitat for Humanity ReStore, the sink & faucet and toilet went to the usable building materials section of the county recycling center, the medicine cabinet (minus the mirrored doors, which we are using elsewhere) was recycled, and excess aluminum from the re-routing of the ductwork was recycled.

The view from the pocket door to the shower. All of the tile is of recycled material. The red tile is from Sandhill Industries, Inc. and is made in the USA of 100% recycled glass. The shower walls (Terra Classic) and bathroom floor (Terra Traffic) tiles are from Terra Green Ceramics. From a supplier's website, "The body of the tile contains over 55 percent waste glass from windows, mirrors, and post-consumer glass like bottles and jars. The rest of the tile is made of nonmetallic minerals such as special clays, feldspar, sand, and silica." The shower floor is by Oceanside, a recycled glass mosaic blend called Disco Inferno. The manufacturer is in Mexico, a negative to the product, and the manufacturing process is not as energy-conscious as with Sandhill Industries or Terra Green Ceramics. All of the companies' tiles are handmade.

The toilet is a Toto dual flush, which, incidentally, performs like magic- a very efficient flush.

We purchased some of the items online, but much of the tile and the toilet were ordered through Amicus Green Building Center, a complete "green" supply company located on Howard Avenue in Kensington. The owner and staff are very knowledgable and prices are quite competitive.

This is the Oceanside tile.

The granite pieces used in this bathroom were scraps from a kitchen remodeler who polished these pieces for us instead of discarding them.

The 12" sun tube illuminates the room completely in the daytime, even though it was installed on a north-facing roof and it is winter. We anticipate that the summer light will be even brighter. This photo was taken without flash. The sun tube is Energy Star rated.

The light in the shower is part of an Energy Star exhaust fan using CFL lighting. Reflecting in the glass doors (standard construction, not "green") are two LED recessed light fixtures. They are 12 watts each, are dimmable (we installed a dimmer) and are expected to last 50,000 hours.

The other end of the small bathroom (only 48" wide) has the two vanities. The vanities and medicine cabinets are made of old rubber trees, but the sink bowls and faucets are standard. The counter bridging the cabinets is recycled plastic from 3-Form, Inc. The material comes in 4' x 8' sheets and is easily cut, but I found a scrap in their online "reclaim" page. It comes in a huge variety of thicknesses, textures, and colors. Amicus Green Building Center has a complete selection of samples and can order the material.

The pendant light between the mirrors (shown without the translucent white cylindrical globe, still on order) is a CFL fixture.

All in all, this was a really interesting project to see to completion. We are enjoying the new bathroom immensely. Our contractor was excellent. During the process of the job, he insulated wherever possible (and useful), and installed cellulose insulation in the attic to an R-38 rating.

State of the real estate market in North Bethesda

As in other areas of the country, prices are declining in our DC Metro area. Fall and early winter are often "slow" seasons for real estate sales, as people are focusing on getting children in school and gathering for the holidays. However, there are still buyers looking for good properties, and the buyers who are looking during this season are serious about purchasing. Many potential sellers are waiting for the "spring" market to list their homes, so the available housing inventory is now lower than it had been for the past two years. The combination of reduced attractive inventory and fewer, but more serious, buyers means that sales continue, with reduced volume of transactions. Here in North Bethesda, we have a variety of housing types, and the detached single family homes and newer townhouses have the advantage over the condominiums in this market. For the month of November, 2008, there were 51 single family and townhouse listings in the 20852 zipcode, with 101 condominium listings. Fourteen houses and ten condos went under contract in the same month. This gives an absorption rate of 27.5% for houses and 10% for condominiums. The absorption rate defines how much of the available inventory is removed (sold) in that time period. An absorption rate of about 30% is a reasonably balanced market between buyers and sellers, so the 27.5% rate for houses shows more strength in the market than we had previously. It is neither a sellers' nor a strong buyers' market for houses that are well kept and properly priced. Properly priced, for our area, means that the housing prices are roughly what they were in early 2005. The condo market, on the other hand, with a 10% absorption rate, is a strong buyers' market, so that, if the inventory is not reduced, prices will have to drop to create an environment in which buyers will be confident in making the commitment to buy.

I have been certified by the Association of Energy and Environmental Real Estate Professionals

As an adjunct to my other professional designations and specialties, I have completed the certification process for the green Realtor designation. The education requirements include coursework on air quality, hazardous materials, environmental issues, energy-saving products and building techniques, passive and active solar systems, building orientation issues, insulation, window design and materials, energy ratings for new construction, energy audits for existing residences, special financing for energy-efficient residential property, and other relevant topics. It is my goal to be able to serve my clients in the most complete manner possible, and I look forward to working with some of the excellent business partners in the field. Call or email me (or comment to this blog!) if you have are interested in referrals to green contractors, suppliers, products, energy auditors, air quality and environmental evaluators, etc.

Green bath remodeling update

For the background, see my post from September. We have ordered all but one or two items, and it's all piled up in the dining room, waiting for construction to begin next week. The tile is gorgeous, but we did order a little tile from Oceanside after all, since Sandhill's glass is too expensive (and slippery) for the shower floor. The cabinets arrived and are everything I hoped for. We bought a dual-flush Toto toilet at Amicus Green Building Center in Kensington. As for lighting, which hadn't been addressed previously, Rexell Lighting off Gude Drive & Calhoun Ave. has a number of low-energy-use options. Mel was very helpful and respectful of my priorities when I came in there, asking for guidance. We will install two LED recessed fixtures. The light color is wonderful, there is no heat generated, the lamps never need to be replaced (guaranteed well past my lifespan!) they are each 12 watts, and they are dimmable, unlike compact flourescents. Between the 2 medicine cabinets, we will hang a pendant fixture, which uses a 13 or 18 watt compact flourescent lamp (about 8" long). We bought an energy-star exhaust fan online; a little research gets the best price. Upon demolition, the contractor will save any reusable items, and we will take them either to the Habitat for Humanity Restore on Gaither Road (just east of Home Depot off Shady Grove Rd.) or to Community Forklift in Prince Georges County, off Kenilworth Avenue. Both of these places have normal working hours, take donations, and sell reusable building materials. It's amazing what you can get there! We shopped at Community Forklift, but they didn't have enough tile for our whole job or cabinets that would fit, but I encourage you to check them out. Habitat for Humanity is closer to us, and the offerings change daily. A good choice for recycling.

Check out proposed building heights

Some of the plans for North Bethesda include building heights as high as 28 stories around Rockville Pike. This is approximately 300 feet. On Saturday, Sept. 20, Luxmanor Civic Association sponsored a balloon test, in which they flew a huge balloon near Marinelli Road, demonstrating the potential height of such buildings in our town center.

Letter to planners regarding North Bethesda development plans

Below are some of my suggestions to the county planners and councilmembers as they consider White Flint Sector Plan. Currently, planning staff is recommending phasing the development by geographic area, which ignores the readiness of owners of various sites and will throw the area into chaos. Also at stake is the redevelopment of Rockville Pike into a Bethesda-style boulevard (see Wisconsin Avenue), with smaller blocks to facilitate pedestrian crossing and use. We can't create a "town center" if people can't walk around, and the shops created won't be successful without pedestrians. They are now talking about needing a new elementary school to accommodate the new local population. Placement of the school is being discussed... 1. Rockville Pike improvements phasing - Rockville Pike is the backbone of the sector. All planning is directed toward its success as a circulation corridor. It is critical that the conversion in the Rockville Boulevard concept is begun in Phase 1 so that any commercial development in the corridor can proceed with the Pike infrastructure in place. It cannot be left till the last phase. 2. Geographic project phasing - I heard about this concept first at the last advisory board briefing by staff. This concept was dismissed by all of the private citizens and developers in attendance as an artificial barrier to the development process. Phasing should proceed using the criteria currently in place in the Bethesda CBD, with individual projects staged based on the sector development and needs, not cutting the sector into smaller geographic pieces. This coordinates with the concept that the Pike must be constructed in its "boulevard" design at the earliest opportunity. 3. Revenue distribution - Any tax revenues generated by developers in the White Flint sector must remain in the sector for infrastructure and transit use. These monies cannot be diluted into the general Montgomery County "pot." Infrastructure needs in this sector are and will remain extremely high, and the money the developers contribute is critical to the success of the overall plan. 4. MCPS elementary school site - I understand that MCPS wants a future school site to be located within the sector plan. However, the two sites that have been identified to date, Wall Park and White Flint are each totally unacceptable. Wall Park is right on major roadways and will be an unsafe site, as well as removing an important park asset for the surrounding residential communities. White Flint is too close to Garrett Park Elementary School, is on the fringe of the sector (not near much of the new housing to be built) and will also remove a valuable asset from the White Flint and Garrett Park Estates communities. The optimal site for a new elementary school is the current WMATA bus depot, which is of sufficient size and is located near The Sterling, The Gallery, and the new LCOR residential units. As a bus depot, it is a supreme waste of acreage as the sector density increases. The depot must be relocated and the land used as a positive community resource.

New, free website rates consumer products

Check out www.goodguide.com. This new site is free and has rankings on over 61,000 household products, with ratings for effectiveness, environmental responsibility of the company, social responsibility, and consumer satisfaction. The detailed information on each product includes the product's ingredients, and there is a "shopping list" you can compile for the products you want to start buying so you will remember the ones you liked the best. It is easy to use, and you can also sign up so that your settings can be saved. All around, a great new site!!

"Green" remodeling- our bathroom adventures

We are in the middle of planning a total remodeling job in our master bathroom, which was precipitated by leaks in the shower pan, shower drain, and sink drain in our 44 year old house. The room is small and has no windows, and we have decided to make this environmentally as low an impact as possible. To this end, I have been doing massive research on materials, designs, supply sources, etc. So far, here are some of the factors involved (what to look for and where I found it): 1. Cabinetry Looking for a renewable wood (companies that harvest trees in a sustainable manner earn the FSC certification). Bamboo can be problematic if it has to be shipped here from across the Pacific Ocean, so bamboo (and cork) should be checked for where they were harvested. Maple grows like a weed around here, so it is reasonably OK to use. Another factor is whether or not the manufacturing process includes VOC (volatile organic compounds) and/or formaldehyde. Most particle board contains both, which can be respiratory irritants or worse. Greenway Cabinetry, Inc. has a product line called Breathe Easy, using non-toxic water-based glues, formaldehyde-free plywood, and FSC woods or bamboo. I found a company in Baltimore and another south of here that will order these cabinets. However, due to design and space needs, I ended up ordering a different cabinet that is made from the remains of used-up rubber trees. Tile: Ceramic tile is available that is made with a high content of recycled glass and the remains of other ceramic processes. I found wall and floor tile in many colors and sizes at Amicus Green Building Center, 4080A Howard Avenue, Kensington. This store features all kinds of building materials, and the staff is very knowledgable regarding the sources and processes for the materials they sell. I will be using floor and wall tiles (matte and gloss) from Terra Green Ceramics, Inc., which I will order from Amicus. Glass tile made from recycled glass is trickier (also gorgeous and more expensive, but great for accents); the most common manufacturer is Oceanside, sold both at Amicus and at Home Depot's Expo. However, Oceanside moved its manufacturing plant to Mexico and uses a lower % of recycled materials with a production process that is higher in energy use that two other tile sources. Online, I found Sandhill Industries (www.sandhillind.com) and Stardust Glass (www.stardustglasstile.com). Both use up to 100% recycled glass (post-consumer and bits from windows, etc.) and a less energy-intensive process. These are stunning tiles. Sandhill is based in Idaho, and Stardust Glass is in Washington State. I will be ordering from Sandhill; they are sending me some samples. Neither of these companies has a local dealer, so I have told the owners of Amicus about them. Hopefully, they will expand their product lines. Other architectural-quality recycled glass tile manufacturers are Blazestone from Bedrock Industries and Aurora Glass Architectural Accents. I have not researched these thoroughly, so I can't comment on their product lines. Vanity countertop: We will probably be using a recycled plastic product called 3form (www.3-form.com). It comes in sheet of every possible color, texture, and thickness. The website includes instructions for cutting and modifying the material. I was looking for a thick material that is translucent, and find that I can even find scraps large enough for our purposes on the website. Lighting: We are installing an 18" suntube, which is an energy-efficient version of a skylight. We saw one installed in a friend's bath, and it delivers a lovely diffused light all day long (and will glow gently on moon-lit nights). As we move further along in this endeavor, I will report on our progress.

Parkway closed between E. Jefferson St. and old Old Georgetown Rd.

The forested property to the east of the Getty gas station on Montrose Road is owned by Wilgus Associates. Wilgus Assoc. received permits years ago to build two office buildings between the Getty station and old Old Georgetown Road. This year, Wilgus held an informational meeting about its new plans for the site. Guess where they put the public notice??? This sign is facing the CLOSED SECTION of Montrose Parkway...no traffic, no one passes by. As you can see, the meeting was last month. Traveling east toward East Jefferson Street on the closed parkway, there is a sign pointing to Stonehenge Place, as street that parallels the parkway, but doesn't intersect with it. This will be the entrance to Stonehenge Place. Even though the parkway was not supposed to be a local road and was to have smooth-flowing traffic through North Bethesda, the Wilgus property owners were able to get this curb cut approved with their development. It will lead to the back of the Cherington townhouses, the back of the Getty station, and branch to feed the new Wilgus buildings. Another view of the future Stonehenge Place access point from the Montrose "Parkway." Note that the median accomodates turns across the future traffic. Of course, this section of the parkway is not open. The contractor told me that, although it is completed, it will not be opened until Phase II (the intersection tunnel under Rockville Pike) is built.

Digging under Rockville Pike

The Montrose Parkway Phase II is underway, with construction set up in the old commuter lot at the corner of Montrose Road & Rockville Pike. The first three photos show the construction, as of today, from the corner of old Old Georgetown Road and the closed section of Montrose Parkway. You can see the earth movers have dug right up to the Pike, preparing to tunnel the Montrose Parkway under Rockville Pike. You may have noticed that the trees on the east side of the Pike have been removed. This is to divert the Pike to the east during construction; we will be routed around the intersection on a temporary road that is being built right now. This is a view south on old Old Georgetown Road, looking toward the cul-de-sac behind the Garden Center and Toys-R-Us. The street is being widened to accomodate Montrose Parkway traffic. Eventually, the cul-de-sac will be opened so that this tiny road spur, in its widened form, will intersect with Old Georgetown Road at Executive Boulevard.

Detached houses sell well

There aren't many houses on the market in Tilden Woods, North Farm, Old Farm, Luxmanor, and Walnut Woods. The few that come on the market and look great with fair market pricing will sell, although the current average Days on Market is more than it was in the heyday of the market rush a few years ago. Within Montgomery County, the average Days on Market (the number of days it takes for an active listing to go under contract) is just over 90. In our market in North Bethesda, the average is 44 days. This shows great strength for our area. Prices have not dropped as much as elsewhere, although most detached homes that were in the $800k-$900k range several years ago might sell now for $725k-$825k. The key to a sale in a reasonable time and at the best price is to have the house "staged" to show to its best advantage, have the entrance landscaped, the house looking fresh and clean (free of distractions inside), with, hopefully, updated kitchen and baths. Our homes are now 42 to 50 years old, and even servicable original elements now lack the pizzazz that a current buyer is looking for. Some remodeling efforts are well worthwhile. I am an expert in knowing what updates will pay you back and which ones will cost more than they are worth.

Why houses might go to foreclosure

North Bethesda is holding up reasonably well, considering the general market and media attention on the national real estate scene. It is true that, in my 25+ years as a real estate professional, I have never seen such a rate of foreclosures before, the fact remains that the current price rollback is not worse than the percentages we saw in the mid-1990s. My take on the foreclosure situation is as follows: In the lower price ranges, many people struggled to buy their first homes in the past 5-10 years, often combining several incomes from various extended family members to qualify for a loan. I have seen some of them badly used by corrupt loan officers, who placed marginal buyers in loans that were not explained to them and that would be impossible to maintain; typically, the disreputable lender would promise a low interest rate, not revealing that the loan terms would change dramatically in a few years and the payment would jump. Compounding the problem would be if the borrower's first language is not English and they were unable to understand the complicated documents they were told to sign. They might trust a lender who was only trying to get the largest fee. Another scenario would be the marginal buyer who had great credit and worked for years to afford a first home, then lose a job or get sick. There is no help for this situation, and the house can go to foreclosure. Those who owned their homes for a long time and had built significant equity from appreciation sometimes have to foreclose if they have been continually refinancing and taking the equity out of the house. Someone may have paid $200,000 for their house, but refinanced it to $600,000 when the market was high and it could appraise for a little more than that amount. There is no room for error, and when the prices dropped back so that the house might be worth $550,000, there is now a bigger loan out on the house than its value. In this case, it is not the fault of the appraiser, who placed a market value on the house based on its actual value at the time of the appraisal. These scenarios are new with this recent market, which explains the foreclosure rate rising in an area that historically had very, very few foreclosures. Be aware that the figures you see in the media can be misleading; if an area had 10 foreclosures a few years ago, and today there are 20, that will be reported as a "doubling" of the rate. This represents a very small percentage of property sales for this area, which continues to be in some demand due to its proximity to transportation and other amenities.

Condominiums in North Bethesda

A blogger on another site asked about condos in North Bethesda and wanted to know what types and prices there are, whether any back to golf courses, and if there are any designated for seniors. My answer is below: North Bethesda is sprouting condos all up and down Rockville Pike. Existing high-rise condo communities include The Wisconsin, Fallswood, Grosvenor Park, The Gallery, The Sterling, Midtown, and TenTenOne. A bit further north in Rockville are Rockville Town Center (The Palladium), The Fitz, and Americana Center. Just across I-270 in Potomac is a huge community, under construction, Park Potomac. Others are under construction. None are age-restricted at this time, but there are other high-rise communities nearby that are over-55 with various amenities. With the current market, some of the builders who were planning to construct condos have decided to make their new buildings luxury rentals. Garden-style condos include The Gables, Bentley Place, Edson Place, Parkside, and Georgetown Village. The high-rise buildings tend to have upscale facilities. Because we have 3 metro stations in the immediate area, it’s not suburban enough anymore to have golf course properties (other than a few townhouses in Rockville that back to the Woodmont Country Club), but the growing urban environment is exciting, and there is a wealth of opportunity for shopping, entertainment, employment, and outdoor recreation in our parks. Prices for a 2 bedroom unit can range from $300,000+ for a garden community to $500,000-$800,000 in a high-rise. Check my website EmilyMintz.com for a property search in the area and for my pages on local communities & things to do.