I wrote a post today on the power of small towns in empowering builders/homeowners to get on the boat for LEED construction. These are interesting times for sure. As the LEED initiative progresses, it will surely be revisited and improved. The fact that we have a govt. sponsored initiative is a big plus in my books. This will definitely spur investment on the manufacturing side to keep up with increased demand. This is great as it seems most of these products are made in the USA.

I comment regularly on the business/investor side of alternative energy on Energy Spin: Alternative Energy Blog for Investors-Served Daily

Cheers,
Francesco DeParis

There is a reason people wall in bedrooms, exercise rooms, home offices, kids play rooms, etc. I’ve had it with waking to my beloved partner’s breakfast prep two hours before I need to get up, and he’s had it with my banging around in my home office late in the evening — with banging around defined as sitting at a desk typing comments on a blog, and sorting papers. All those little noises bounce everywhere, and sometimes I think they’re magnified by pony walls. Sound goes straight to the ceiling and right down to the ears of whoever is not making the sound.

It’s great to see the LEED platinum designation, which we desperately need for residential space. But if you’re thinking about living in a space like this, be prepared to have to retrofit with actual floor to ceiling walls. Be prepared to deal with continued sound transmission through plexi or regular glass (if you want to pay for triple panes and Argon, that’s cool but the cost will skyrocket). Be prepared to tear out your hair over the havoc adding solid walls creates on the ventilation, heating, cooling or air exchange system that was not designed for solid barriers.

In short, be prepared to spend far more than you ever imagined making the space liveable under real-life circumstances. I’d be very curious to know how much of the cost savings per sq. foot came from not installing walls and not having to pay attention to what happens to light, especially on that first floor, if you DO install walls on the upper level.
.