The Making of A Sustainable Home in Chester County, PA

Green Technologies at Work

This is a 360 degree view of one of the mechanical rooms at 60 Bragg Hill.  This room contains the solar panel inverters, the geothermal water-to-water heat pumps, most of the radiant floor manifolds, our well water system, domestic hot water and wireless Lutron lighting system.  This is the hub of most of the green technologies that powers the home.  The room was designed and built by Frank Ent, Timothy… Read more →

Vertical Concrete Wall Forms Complete

All vertical construction of 60 Bragg Hill Road was completed today with the last ICF pour. Under a crisp blue sky, the three remaining gables were infused with concrete and “topped off”.  The only remaining vertical structure is the farmhouse cupola which won’t be built until the roof framing is complete.  Fabricating 12x12 pitch gables with concrete is tricky.  Many ICF homes avoid this step and revert to traditional wood… Read more →

Upper Level Surprise

One of the tenets of green building is minimum disturbance of the earth.  One way of doing this is to build build vertically with a small footprint.  60 Bragg Hill was designed with this philosophy.  We knew that the house would be tall.  What we didn’t know was the spectacular views that would be reveled to us.  Now that the second level ICFs are poured and the structural beams in… Read more →

Lower Level ICF Structure

Final preparations are made to stabilize and assure the ICF walls are straight and level prior to being filled with 11 feet of concrete.  The Lite Form walls are stabilized with Reechcraft adjustable ICF bracing that keeps the walls straight and provides a scaffolding platform required for the concrete pour.

House is re staked in preparation for the start of construction

Next to a large pile of top soil at the top of Bragg Hill, the team from Regester Associates re staked the boundaries of the future home in preparation for the excavation of the foundation.

Top of Hill during Winter Solstice

A full spherical panorama of the top of the hill where the property is relatively flat.  These images were taken at the time the sun is highest during the shortest day of the Winter.

View from proposed house location in Winter

This is the Winter panorama view of the proposed site where our home will be built.

Meadow in Fall

Panorama view from the center of the meadow at the Southern area of the property.  The fall light and colors are in stark contrast to the same Winter Meadow Panorama.

Meadow in Winter

Panorama view from the center of the meadow at the Southern area of the property.  This view presents a clean profile of the hill where the proposed house will be built.

Valley view in Winter

This perspective is taken from midway up the natural valley that winds its way from bottom of the property to the proposed home site.

Autumn view over Benzel field

Dramatic view over the fields of the Benzel Family Trust. This is a view to the East on an October afternoon.

Bottom of Bragg Hill

This view is taken at the lowest point along Bragg Hill Road at the intersection of the horse trail, the Brandywine river and the train tracks.

Halfway up the driveway in Winter

Mid way up the original dirt road/driveway in Winter.