The Making of A Sustainable Home in Chester County, PA

Reclaimed Redux

Handmade furniture from reclaimed wood has taken a new twist at 60 bragg Hill.  Our specification called for four simple wood vanity bases for the various bathrooms in our home.  Rather than buying new, we turned to Wolfe and Hale, a local thrid generation custom millwork and cabinetry shop.  Bob and Tom Hale worked closely with our architect, Matthew Moger to find the right wood for the vanities that faithfully… Read more →

Timber Frame Details

While much of the attention on this blog has been paid to the exterior features of the nascent barn, not much has been said about the interior. One of the most significant and visible features of our home is its grand staircase. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in the front door and it will become its predominant visual element. Our staircase will command the giant glass… Read more →

Forest Stewardship Plan Initialized

Part of our commitment to the sustainability of the land is the care and preservation of our woodlands.  Most of us don’t give much thought to the health of our forests.  The general thinking is that they will take care of themselves if you leave them alone.  For the most part, this is true.  Forests are complex ecosystems, and in our case most of the 10 wooded acres have been… Read more →

60 Bragg Hill achieves final PNDI clearance

The formal letter from the US Department of Interior was received today clearing 60 Bragg Hill from the outstanding environmental concerns posed by the State of Pennsylvania.  These state and federal government regulations are imposed to protect endangered species from being threatened by development.  Specifically, the concern for the region of Chester County where the property is located, especially due to its proximity to nearby wetlands is the Bog Turtle… Read more →

60 Bragg Hill receives partial PNDI clearance

The Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) gave 60 Bragg Hill a clearance today for screened endangered plants, terrestrial invertebrates, natural communities and geologic features. Last month, The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) expressed a preliminary concern about a potential for the existence of six endangered plant species on the site including:   Andropogon gyrans (Elliott’s Beardgrass)   Aplectrum hyemale (Puttyroot)   Scleria pauciflora (Flowered Nutrush)   Senecio anonyma… Read more →

Landscape Concepts Developed

Once the footprint of the house was established, Jonathan Alderson and his team went to work to design the courtyard and the landscaping scenario for the home.  Keeping with our desire for minimal disturbance of the environment and careful control of storm water runoff several courtyard concepts were presented.  Each of these designs utilizes an impervious self contained gravel courtyard designed to be functional and aesthetically balanced with the new… Read more →

Milling Trees Onsite

Prior to our purchase of the undeveloped property now known as 60 Bragg Hill, we found that the wooded acreage had been pillaged by loggers who decimated our newly purchased woodlands.  The largest of the trees had been “harvested” leaving a tangled web of hastily cut stumps and and many damaged trees from the trucks and earth moving equipment that raped the forest with abandon.  To help us clean up… Read more →

Bragg Hill: Our Story

Building a home, especially a green home wasn’t on our list of “must dos”.  My wife, Nancy and I wanted to move to a more rural area once our children graduated college and moved out of the house.  Our desire for more land was as much for our souls as for our dogs.  The marketplace for existing homes on a decent plot of land in the western suburbs of Philadelphia… Read more →