Lighting Selections

It is the 2nd week in April and winter is STILL rearing its ugly head. We were at the house meeting a reporter from the Pioneer Press when the winds started blowing and snow started falling. Now (11 pm), we're getting a weird combination of thunder, lightning, snow and sleet. Old Man Winter is like some tortured soul that won't be put to rest without a fight.

So, the word is getting out on EcoDEEP Haus. There was an article in the local newspaper, the Highland Villager a few weeks back. The green resource website JetsonGreen, http://www.jetsongreen.com/ recently featured the project and the St. Paul Pioneer Press will have an article in their April 21 issue. Also, look for us in Architecture MN magazine May issue.

As we were at the house on this gray, blizzardy April day (something is just wrong about the word blizzard and April in the same sentence), we noticed how light-filled this house is, even in these adverse conditions. Even when we’ve been at the house in the early evening, we’ve been amazed by how well-lit the spaces are. There is no lighting or power in place yet but soon they will begin fixture installation.

Picking out lighting fixtures can be a daunting task. The lighting budget can very quickly get out of control, as something like a dining room fixture can cost anywhere from $150 to thousands and more. (And it turns out we usually prefer the most expensive ones! Go figure.) We started out with a very modest lighting budget, so we’re doing the best we can with what we have. But it’s very difficult to judge quality from a small picture viewed on the web!

In addition to the budget constraint, the MN Green Star program we are following has some tough guidelines on lighting. They give credit for use of CFLs, halogens and LEDs. They also give points for “no recessed lights in insulated ceilings”. This requirement made lighting selections difficult for some spaces on the upper floor of the house- namely the bathrooms and hallways where you’d usually see recessed can fixtures.

We found this fixture, which is a halogen fixture by WAC, and used it in a variety of ways. It’s adjustable, comes in several colors of shades and can either be wall or ceiling mounted. We used it above the kitchen sink/counter along the exterior wall, in the upper floor corridor ceiling, on the walls of the “hole” (opening between 2nd and 1st floor) and at the bridge walkway ceiling. We were also going to use it above the bathtub- but Mr. Code Official said no to that. http://www.waclighting.com/USA/products/?categoryid=218&productid=950

This fixture will be used in the bathroom ceilings as general illumination. There’s a fine line between too fussy and clean/modern fixtures. We’re hoping this one will pass muster when we see it in real life.

http://www.formplusfunction.com/12333.htm

This is what we selected for the bathroom vanities. It’s a halogen display light with an adjustable arm. We have one of these in our attic space and love the clean, industrial look of it. The bathroom vanity light might be the most difficult light fixture to select. Most of the options available are way too fussy and ornamental for us.
http://www.techlighting.com/default.asp?page=products&subpage=systemselect&sysid=7







This simple George Kovacs ceiling fixture will be used for all the bedroom ceilings. In this case (and many other fixtures in the house), we order them with standard lamping, but will use CFLs.
http://www.allmodernlighting.com/George-Kovacs-by-Minka-P852-044-gkv1442.html










This is another George Kovacs fixture for use over the dining room table. This one will set you back about $200.
http://www.allmodernlighting.com/asp/print_detail.asp?sku=gkv1368












This is the pendant by Vado for the Kitchen countertop. Simple and won’t compete with out Apple Martini Countertop!
http://www.lightinguniverse.com/products/view.aspx?sku=771845&linkLoc=









This fixture is for the exterior overhead soffits at the front and back door. It’s a standard fixture that's been around for years.





You can get it at a number of places. Here is one:









http://www.lampclick.com/lighting/item/9103-20296/13/Access_Lighting_Nauticus_Contemporary_Outdoor_Bulkhead_Wall_Sconce.html

A Rant about Electrical Codes

First of all, here is a disclaimer. I am no electrical engineer. The following comments are based on what the electrician is telling us is code. I haven’t personally memorized the entire code, so I probably shouldn’t be complaining. But I will anyway. I am used to dealing with life safety/building codes. They can often be maddening, but for the most part, you can understand that the intent is to save peoples lives in case of a fire or other emergency.

Electrical codes are also for public safety, but we’ve come across a few items that don’t seem to be about safety, but rather about making sure electricians have plenty of work!
After meeting with the electrician and going over all the outlets and switches, we’ve had to add a number of outlets to meet code. For a household that is trying to reduce energy use and limit outlets in the exterior walls, this is a bit frustrating. We’ll get over it someday, but meanwhile, here’s my complaint list:

#1. We laid out the outlets at the kitchen countertops to avoid having outlets under the windows. There is minimal space between the countertop backsplash and the window sill, so we kept the outlets to the sides of the windows. According to “code”, we need to have outlets on either side of the sink, so we now have 4 outlets under the windows where we didn't want them and don't need them. Exactly what would I be plugging in so close to the sink and why is that safe?

#2: Code requires a whole lot of outlets along counters within a kitchen- every 4’. Just how many small appliances do they think we have? We have a toaster and a food processer- but that’s about it. The microwave is built-in. Kevin doesn’t believe in using a electric hand mixer and I can forget about ever getting a breadmaker because of his feelings on that... Why would we need so many outlets? I know the intent is to avoid extension cords, but this is excessive I think.

#3: We have a wall in the dining room that will be for side board storage cabinets. We didn’t want outlets behind the storage, so we planned on putting one above the top of the cabinet. This apparently doesn’t meet code, they need to be at least every 10’ and high outlets don’t count. Why not?

#4: Closet lighting. Exposed bulbs and pull chain fixtures are not allowed. So in a couple of existing closets in our house, the electrician had to remove the fixtures. These small closets don’t really warrant a switched fixture, so we’re just going to have to have dark closets. I understand this is about fire safety, but I wonder how many fires have started from light bulbs in closets?

#5: Bathroom lighting. Only recessed light fixtures can be installed above a bath tub. Our bathtub is separate from the shower, so there is really no way that water from the tub could reach the light fixture. We are trying to avoid recessed light fixtures where the ceiling is insulated (MN GreenStar item), so we have not choice but to eliminate the fixtures over the bathtub. Why is a recessed fixture over the tub safe, while a surface-mounted fixture isn't?

Okay, that’s enough ranting for now. Please feel free to enlighten me!

Here is a link to some of the residential electrical requirements that might be helpful to those planning a project.
http://www.electricity.state.mn.us/Ele_insp/Insp_bul/H_owner/rei_inspection_checklist.pdf
Quote from the office today: "Photoshop was invented because of electrical wires."

Rough-Ins are GO!

Looking from living space towards kitchen

This week was an important week. Today was an important day, and next week will see five more of the same. This week saw us get the house fully enclosed and secure so that the balance of the demolition could occur and make the house ready to start roughing in all electrical, ventilation, plumbing and solar work. Today we met with all the various trades and walked through the house with the plans and made sure things could be done the way we intended. Old houses can be tricky, and we've have had to make a few adjustments, but for the most part, we're right on track. The plumbers, electrician, HVAC and solar guys and gals all need to coordinate their work and pathways and needs with each other so they can work fast and furiously next week as Leon the builder wants to get his final framing inspection completed.

It can be a little chaotic with 4 or 5 trades combing through the house, running up and down the stairs and asking lots of questions as they try to find they best and simplest way to get their wires, pipes, conduits, raceways, boxes, grilles, ductwork and equipment installed in a way that be functional and attractive. Lots of issues come up that need to be resolved. "If we do this, then... But the code says we need...Usually we do it this way but you want it done this way instead and so we need to..." In the end, somehow it always works out.


Matt Eastvold, the cabinet maker, was also here this week, taking measurements so they know how their cabinets will fit, determining if we need extra blocking here or there, or where outlets and conduit might need to pass through and behind their work.

I've spent the better part of the last two days working through this coordination effort and it has been time consuming - keeping me away from my real job and serving other clients' needs. But I'm comforted by the fact that the time spent coordinating all of this work now will pay for itself later with a finely tuned house. Changes can be kept to a minimum. Things shouldn't need to get ripped out and reinstalled or have to be moved to allow something else to get by. This will be good.

In dining area, looking towards living (to the left) and mud room (straight ahead). There was a closet in the mud room that we removed to get this connection to the new space.
Here I'm standing in the kitchen. The living space has the corner window looking towards our picturesque backyard (more of a mud pit with a pile of brick pavers right now). The dining room has grown (in our minds) and now seems like it will be finely sized. The grey steel column holds up the existing corner of the house.