December 6, 2009

Metal roof complete. Most of Building A HardiPlank complete in this photo. Railing complete but left off ends so scaffolding can be placed for HardiPlank application on the upper floors.

When the siding is on we will be covering the upper deck with an awning made of the same fabric as our famous eco-tents.

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December 8, 2009

The HardiPlank siding is taking much longer to install than we originally estimated, but it certainly is beautiful. We found the stainless steel nails were too soft to go thru the siding, they would bend each time so we're having to screw the panels in and it's quite time consuming. Just got a lead on a different nail used successfuly with very hard woods that should work with our nail gun and we'll try it out on B building.

We had hoped to be nearing completion by now but we have quite a ways to go to make it for Xmas. Today we're scheduled for an electric and plumbing inspection. If all goes well we'll close in the first building with interior walls, already cut and tacked in place temporarily, then we'll start tiling the shower stalls. Then paint, ceiling fans, cork flooring, counters and those beautiful recycled glass countertops being fabricated at Maho.

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November 25, 2009 #2

Here are Glen and Crescensio (last seen here in July at the beginning of the project working on the footings and floor joists). They have been making railings at his Mongoose Junction wood shop, brought them to Concordia over the past few days and started installing today. Quite a view from those decks:)

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November 25, 2009

This is Matthew Jarvis and his excellent roofing team. They completed one building in two days, including the shower bump out and dining area bay window roof. He has an amazing reputation on island for fast, professional work and we agree.

He must first apply the Tekfoil insulation then the Energy Star rated metal roofing, a bit tricky since the Tekfoil covers the purlins and makes it hard to line up the roof screws. He found a way to make it happen and the roof looks great.

Painting of fascia and installation of gutters to follow once the HardiPlank is complete; notice Alfredo and Francisco on the scaffold (along with Tasha and Lennox doing the panel cutting down below) have it well underway on the side wall. It's also about half way up the long southern wall out of view in this photo.

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November 20, 2009 Stanley and Glen

Well here they are, the men responsible for the Concordia EcoStudios (and so much more) owner, Stanley Selengut and Architect-builder Glen Speer. Stanley is on island to receive a lifetime acheivement award from the USVI Hotel and Tourism Association. It was a great opportunity for Stanley and Glen to discuss the project and start the process for the next phase.

They met in Glen's beautiful yoga studio, one of a myriad of beautiful spaces Glen has created at his Mongoose Junction in Cruz Bay. mongoosejunctionstjohn.com

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November 20, 2009 part 3

The HardiPlank is going up looking good! Notice the full 4' panel on the ground and the shake look of the final install. Glen decided to rip 20' Treks deckboard for all the corners, giving us a nice straight edge to marry to the HardiPlank and adding considerable strength as well. It also looks great. Click image to enlarge.

November 20, 2009 part 2

Wrapping up window and Tyvek installation on the final wall by Jabudda, Alfredo and Lennox while Steve seals up a wrap gap that occurred during high winds and rain over the past few days.

November 20, 2009

This is the test section of our kitchen countertop. It's made of cement and rough crushed Budweiser bottles courtesy of our amazing Maho Recycled Art Center. Engineered by the Maho Art Center "let's try this!" Dan Kreofsky, these countertops will recycle hundreds of waste beer bottles to create beautiful, strong, custom, affordable kitchen and bath counters. We're using Budweiser brown in the kitchen and Heineken green in the bath. Dan is also working on a glass resin top that is comparable to Corian or Granite in look and feel and uses even more waste glass.

The counters are being formed at our woodshop as I write. Click image to enlarge.

November 13, 2009

Jon & Chris, electricians from Pangea Solar & Electric are getting us powered up. Steve Slade, not yet pictured, the owner of Pangaea (340-776-9528), has been a leader in alternative energy system installations on the island.

We are also working on a permit to install a wind turbine that will offset the power used by these highly energy efficient studio units.

November 11, 2009

...and the electric work has begun...

Photos of the wonderful Pangea Electricans crew at work will be on the next blog entry.

November 11, 2009

Today the crew applied the roof felt, purlins and fascia to building 2.
Next step, insulated metal roof.

Windows for all views

Each of the four new Concordia Eco-Studios has a remarkable view and the crew is now putting in the windows and interior walls to take advantage of the ocean views.

Interior walls added to eco-studios

Work is progressing on the interior walls of the two new Concordia Eco-Studios. Each studio will have as many windows as possible to take advantage of the incredible ocean views.

Concordia is back open for business!

As of November 1st we are happy to once again have guests after 2 months of being closed. Our staff is very busy moving registration so that it is now located next to Cafe Concordia.

Here are a few of the cheerful greeters who will welcome you to Concordia's new registration office.

October 28, 2009

Jabuddha and Lennox complete sealing the roof panel seams. The 30lb felt has arrived on site. We had a brief delay on the Energy Star rated galvalume, it is on the ocean today and will be ready for install next week.









We're moving inside. Steve is framing up the interior walls, Alfredo is painting the bathroom wall panels. And it was a group effort to get the beautiful PGT impact-resistant windows installed. With the challenge of high salt, sun and the occasional hurricane we've chosen PGT WinGuard windows and frames to be our first line of defence. For more details see the product website at http://www.pgtindustries.com/Pages/Main.aspx?PageID=96

As usual, click on image to enlarge

October 23, 2009

The roof panel edges are sealed.

The crew are now wrapping the building with Tyvek home wrap to help prevent outside water from entering the walls and help to seal the units to keep hot air and radiant heat from penetrating the panels. With the panels and Tyvek there is already a dramatic difference in temperature between the exterior and interior of the building.

When we add the HardiPlank as the final building attire we hope to have created extremely comfortable units with gorgeous views, beautiful cool breezes and a location convenient to the cafe and the trail to Salt Pond Bay & beach.

"DuPont™ Tyvek® HomeWrap® helps reduce homeowner energy bill because homes stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter and dry all year round." For information on Tyvek's Green Approved Product Seal for National Green Building Certification by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center see:

http://www2.dupont.com/Tyvek_Weatherization/en_US/sustainable/green_approved_products.html

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October 22, 2009 Panel Installation Almost Complete

The most roof panels have been installed, just the bay window bump outs to go. Then the edges will be sealed and the panels will be painted to protect them until the metal roofing is added next week. Click image to enlarge.

October 20, 2009 continued...

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October 20, 2009

Roof panels going on.

October 19, 2009 Images 2 3 & 4

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October 19, 2009

Monday morning roofing

October 14, 2009 Image 2

The guys have just finished installing the walls on Building 1, now it's time to complete the roof.

October 14, 2009

Roof panels are on, edges being sealed.

October 12, 2009

The HardiPlank has arrived. This is the fiber-cement siding that will add yet another layer of insulation to our Studios. A description of HardiPlank is printed here copied from the homerenovations.about.com website:

"First, what is HardiPlank made of? HardiPlank falls in the fiber-cement siding class, which means that it is a combination of cellulose fibers, along with cement-like materials." ...A Green Building Material? In this day and age when everything is about green and sustainable, HardiPlank can make a strong argument for being such. The celluose fibers that are used in HardiPlank do not come from endangered species of wood. The cement and sand used is certainly in great abundance. And no toxic materials (i.e. vinyl) are used in the production...Another oft-ignored aspect that makes HardiPlank a green building material is simply that is lasts so long. The James Hardi Corporation...warrents the material for 50 years. But conceivably, HardiPlank can last longer that that, especially if painted and properly maintained."

And, we'd add, it looks great!

Concordia Eco-Studios

Welcome to the new Concordia Eco-Studios blog! We'll be keeping you posted on the construction of the first four units and we hope you'll add your comments along the way.

For photos and entries from the start of construction to October 8, 2009 please see concordiaecotent.blogspot.com

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