ECO-HOME NETWORK/GLOBAL GREEN ECO-BUILDING FORUM

Saturday, December 8th
Noon-5:00PM

GREEN LOFTS 8636 Graham Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90002 Eco-Home Network/Global Green members - FREE Guests of Members - $5 per person General RSVP- $10 per person At-the-Door - $15 per person The Eco-Home Network is pleased to announce our collaboration with Global Green USA in the presentation of our next Member Open House Forum, renamed the Eco-Building Forum. It will take place at Ryan Flegal's “Green Lofts,” a near-miraculous “green” reincarnation of a disintegrating old brick light bulb factory in south LA into stylish and functional multi-family, live/work loft rental units. The project transforms the ugliest building in the neighborhood into a sustainable model, replacing a graffiti-marred magnet for gang activity with a safe, attractive urban development.

It is a work in progress. At the time of the Forum we expect the upstairs unit and roof deck to be nearly completed with the downstairs units under construction. This is optimum for our tour because we'll get to see the process as well as the final product. In addition to developing the Green Lofts, Ryan is a broker at a pioneering green real estate company, KJM Real Estate, which is also a co-sponsor of this event.

We strongly encourage use of public transit as parking in the area is sparse and security cannot be assured. For more detailed instructions on traveling to the Green Lofts via public transit Click Here.

The Green Lofts project is particularly exciting because it meets so many criteria for sustainability:

1. It is a retrofit, rather than a tear-down or new building on new land, thereby preserving the embodied energy of the existing building. This is especially true in this project because Ryan Flegal has been extraordinarily conscientious about salvaging and reusing all possible materials from the original structure.
2. The eco-renovated structure will be energy and water conserving with added insulation, increased natural day lighting, improved roof reflectivity, rainwater storage, efficient lighting, retrofitted existing factory windows with low-e dual glazed replacement glass.
3. The project creates higher density close to public transit, reducing automobile dependency. Live/work units further reduce automobile dependency.
4. All of the closets and cabinetry, skylights, and most of the windows, framing materials, plywood, bricks, doors, light fixtures and much more have been salvaged from other deconstruction projects diverting some of the demolition waste stream from landfills and helping to create a market for re-used building materials. Re-use is preferable even to recycling as there is no energy expended or waste created in re-manufacturing products.
5. New products have been carefully chosen to protect indoor air quality. Natural clay finishes and non-toxic paints and wood floor coatings are just a few examples.
6. Renewable, non-polluting energy sources will be employed including a 24-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array feeding clean energy back into the grid. The sun heats hot water as well.

Ecolution: Why did you choose to take on a green building project?

Ryan: I'm really interested in being part of the green solution in a way that works for everyone. That means that to really gain universal acceptance of green building, whether we live in Santa Monica or South Los Angeles, our design and construction practices, the materials we choose as well as where we build have to be both affordable and environmentally sustainable.

E: Can you articulate your overall vision of the project?

R. The Green Lofts is designed and built to demonstrate that building in harmony with our environment is a win, win, win. The residents and construction workers win because they live and work in a place absent many of the toxic chemicals we have complacently come to expect and accept in most building materials and with the benefit of a lifestyle built around public transport and green living. The pocketbook wins because building green with quality re-used materials, while maximizing use of what the site provides, means less expensive construction costs than conventional building. The planet wins because this project minimizes the new resources stripped from the land, minimizes the pollution of manufacturing and transportation of materials, reduces dependence on dirty power sources in the operation of the building while providing clean power back to the grid, and lessens the urban heat-island effect.

E: What caused you to settle on this site?

R: I'm a real estate broker and I'm an environmentalist. We have learned that it is important to recycle our bottles. I think it is time that we all learn to recycle our buildings. When I found this building, everything about it was shouting out that it wanted to be turned into loft spaces, and already, the project on its own embodied some green attributes. For example the building has super-thick brick walls, nearly 20 inches thick with a natural thermal mass to regulate temperature. More importantly, the site was situated across the street from excellent mass transit and had plenty of sun-filled roof space for solar power generation. This is the only industrial building in a residential neighborhood, thus the complete transition to residential lofts is a benefit to the neighbors. The building was already permitted as both a residence and a factory when I bought it, so there was an existing grandfathered use of the property as live/work. The property is “location efficient” as it is right across the street from the Blue Line station at Firestone Boulevard conforming to the regional plan for urban densification along our transportation corridors. Supermarkets, shops, recycling centers, the library, the park and much more are all within walking distance. And within a few blocks of a nearby light rail stop there is a Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, farmers markets, theatres, a ton of restaurants and night life, LAX, Union Station for long-distance trains and the fabric of diversity that makes our city what it is.

E: Did you enlist professional help? Architect? Green building contractor or consultant? Green building materials consultant? Interior designer?

R: I've had a great team of people working with me. This building has been my classroom, and I've been able to learn as I go, and I've been using information I learned at past Eco-Home events and Global Green's monthly Green Building Panels, and I continue to ask questions at Global Green's Green Building Resource Center and from the team of green real estate agents I work with at KJM Real Estate. I have a great engineer that worked with me to create a successful and efficient plan for the earthquake retrofit. I've had a strong sense of the layout I wanted for the project. So I took my rough sketches to a professional design firm, Zanja Design, and then they created a great set of plans that resulted in really comfortable and functional spaces. I hired a general contractor who has experience with green projects. Once most of the materials were on site, the project manager and key builders made use of the Blue Line to get to and from the job site and they've taken care to educate sub-contractors on the benefits and requirements of green building. Many ideas for colors and interior design have been decided with suggestions from manufacturers like American Clay. All together I've been really hands-on but it's been a very collaborative process.

E: Did you plan it all out in advance, the design, construction, systems, materials, costs, etc. with a budget?

R: Most people design the building first and then buy their materials. I've been able to buy my materials and then adapt them into the design. This has helped ensure that I have a really high percentage of salvaged and re-used materials in the Green Lofts, enabling me to obtain these environmentally preferable elements at a much-reduced price as building blocks for the loft units. For example, the solid maple closet units were salvaged from the former Armani Exchange store on Main Street in Santa Monica. The maple kitchen cabinets, which are actually office cabinets, bigger than normal kitchen cabinets, but perfect for high-ceiling lofts, came from a deconstruction/ demolition and recycling company. I have plans to use large tempered glass walls and glass doors I salvaged from the big glass conference rooms at an entertainment company suite about to be demolished. The glass will be used in many of the bathrooms. This way I have the advantage of being able to get great deals on used windows, doors and skylights and then designing and building openings to fit. Anyone about to embark on a remodeling project would be better off if they took a trip to local salvage yards, craigslist and ebay first to get ideas, save money and raise the level of sustainability in the construction industry. I've also made a concerted effort to design with less material. For example, rather than install new flooring, I'm removing decades of old flooring layers and refinishing and staining the wood and concrete floors original to the building. It's standard practice to sell (and buy) products in roofing for a single purpose so if you also want a deck surface you have to add it over the roof. I aimed to reduce and combine layers to create an insulated walking deck surface without pavers or decking so the roof was integrated into the waterproofing membrane and applied directly to salvaged plywood resulting in a substantial reduction in roofing materials and cost. The parapet walls had to be braced so the south facing parapet wall was strengthened at an angle optimal for solar gain so the solar hot water panels could be installed without building an additional structural support. I haven't had a budget. Instead I've had a goal: To build inviting, attractive, energy efficient and functional homes for less money than conventional construction.

E: How were design, systems, materials and construction decisions made?

R: Every decision aims to maximize sustainability with factors including cost, durability, energy efficiency, waste reduction, re-use, air quality, and more. I've made decisions after comparing options, consulting with experts, and based on what is locally available.

E. Doesn't un-reinforced masonry require extensive earthquake retrofitting to meet current earthquake safety laws?

R. Yes, the earthquake retrofit has been completed. A money-saving and green aspect of the retrofit was that I chose, upon my engineer's recommendation, to use wood shear walls instead of a steel moment frame. This allowed me to use heavy-duty salvaged plywood and oversized salvaged wood framing and gave me a five-figure savings.

E: What was the first physical step in the eco-renovation and when did that take place?

R: Before I closed escrow I heard about an office building in Santa Monica that was going to be completely renovated and all the interior tenant improvements were to be demolished. I rented a truck and we deconstructed and delivered over $10,000 worth of materials in two days.

E: Can you outline for us the steps you took in sequence, so we get an idea of how such a large project unfolds?

R: After the salvaging expedition, the earthquake retrofit work was completed, and, simultaneously, the design work was done. Then, the building had to be waterproofed with a new roof and windows, and the exterior was painted. Now I had a serviceable shell. As an additional waiting period is required to obtain permits for the lower units, we began with the upper unit, and the building began to change. We framed bedroom and bathroom walls using salvaged metal studs that were carefully unscrewed from a Burbank office deconstruction. I got some Velux, low-e glass skylights, for about a third of the price of new ones. These were rejects from other construction projects that ordered the wrong size or changed their mind. I also got a couple of used skylights. Some of the windows on the second floor were purchased as salvaged items from the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in Gardena.
The main electrical and plumbing systems were replaced with drain lines put in place for all units. By the time we host the Eco-Building Forum, rough plumbing and electrical will be done, the walls will be finished with American Clay and no V.O.C. paints, salvaged cabinets will be in place, salvaged lighting fixtures will be hung, the Douglas fir floors will be refinished and coated with a no V.O.C. finish called OSMO Polyx®-oil, the bathroom floors will have Marmoleum natural linoleum floors, the roof deck will be inviting, there will be a new strip of drought-resistant landscaping that will replace concrete on the city median next to the sidewalk, rainwater catchment will be ready for the winter rains and so much more. One of the last projects of this phase will be to add the solar electricity and hot water systems. I'll also have the concrete floors downstairs polished and stained and new entrances on their way. There have been many more aspects to the construction process that we don't have space here to mention, like the garage demolition and factory window restoration. The bathrooms are going to be a lot of fun to create with the great materials I've assembled, and so much more that people will be able to see and learn about in person.

E: What about plumbing, sewer hook-up, etc.?

R: One benefit to owning a well-built green building should be reduced maintenance costs. When I bought the building it had corroded galvanized pipes and very old drains. Since so much of the plumbing was changing with added kitchens and bathrooms, I chose to install all new plumbing and unfortunately, this was all with new materials. While a percentage of the copper pipe we buy has recycled content and copper is a readily recyclable product, Environmental Building News does not give copper a very favorable review because of how much energy it takes to manufacture and how destructive mining for new copper can be. I look forward to a day when we will have new and expanded used building materials stores that are large enough to stock quality used pipe. Because copper fetches such a high price as scrap, most re-usable copper pipe is cut down and quickly recycled. In the Green Lofts the rough plumbing is all new materials and built to last. Many of the faucets are salvaged. We cut through the slab on the first floor (over 100 linear feet) and replaced the entire sewage line. I also look forward to the day when we switch from low-flow toilets to no-flow composting toilets. The technology is available and proven. We just need our representatives in government to re-write the building code, and then we need to educate the public. Using clean drinking water as a taxi for our excrement seems especially wasteful in our desert climate and is no help to our fragile and struggling ocean ecosystems.

E: How did you insulate the building?

R: There are three types of added insulation we used. The first is the one I'd be happy to cuddle up in. It really is so clean and comfortable you could use it as a blanket. That is the cotton/recycled denim insulation called Ultratouch from Victor Insulation Products. Ultratouch doesn't have the dangerous fiberglass dust that can make your skin itch and irritate your lungs. It is clean and easy to work with, and we used it in the wood-framed exterior walls upstairs (R-19) as well as for noise reduction between units. I also used a small amount of Cocoon brand blown-in cellulose insulation (crumbled and treated old newspaper) that was used to insulate small cavities between the top of the brick walls and the roof. Lastly, integrated into the roof design there is tapered EPS foam insulation. Though I had significant misgivings about using a styrofoam product, the tapering sloped the flat roof and provided positive drainage while adding significant R value with a rigid material.

E: What about solar hot water and/or photovoltaics?

R: Solar power is where I saw the most significant rebate and savings on this project. Thanks to a special grant from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, as well as the usual rebates from the utility provider, the California Solar Initiative and the tax savings, I aim to install a 24 kilowatt photovoltaic system. This should produce more power than the residents of the building need and I hope, with energy conserving measures elsewhere in the project, to be able to send surplus clean power back into the grid. Permacity is my solar installer. The Sharp brand photovoltaic panels will fill all available roof space on the upper roof and we may need to place some on the lower roof deck. Included in the same grant and contract is the installation of a solar hot water system. When we rebuilt the roof deck and braced the parapet walls we sloped the south-facing parapet wall at an angle ideal for winter solar heat capture. I bought 15 used solar hot water panels to mount there. The roof is built to drain to some pipes to the outside, and I'll be installing some cisterns there to collect rainwater. The lower roof deck is a very private space surrounded by six to seven foot-high privacy walls and no overlooking buildings. I'll likely add an outdoor shower, and there will be used patio furniture from craigslist with an umbrella. I'm looking into adding some planted green roof areas.

E: What were some of the set backs, delays, disappointments you encountered, and what compromises did you find you had to make?

R: The biggest frustration has been working with a planning division that has not yet established green building guidelines. The Green Lofts are located in unincorporated Los Angeles County so there are no city regulations. Los Angeles County has some building and zoning regulations designed to promote urban densification along the light-rail mass transit corridors, and there are some regulations to promote economic development zones. While I was in escrow evaluating the viability of this project I went to the Planning Department and showed them plans of the building, and after evaluating the plans, the gross lot size, the available parking and the fact that I'm within the transit oriented district, they told me I could divide the building into four units by right. I returned to Planning three or four more times and was told the same information by other people at Planning while I learned what I'd need to do and what opportunities I had. Then, when I finally had my design completed as previously discussed with the Planning staff and arrived to get my permit, the Planning staff told me that I couldn't do this by right after all, and I'd have to prepare for a much longer review process.
The staff shared my frustration, and they really wanted to approve the project over the counter as they had expected to be able to. They were especially frustrated because they understood that the Green Lofts met the intent of the very regulations that were now blocking its timely approval. The project takes an industrial building in a residential neighborhood to complimentary residential use. The project brought urban densification into the transit-oriented district. And the project doesn't aim to be excessively dense or in any way burdensome on the neighborhood. After all, each of the four lofts averaging 2200 square feet per unit is still larger than the majority of the adjacent homes. Perhaps more importantly to the neighborhood, additional residential occupancy of this building transforms a dark unfriendly corner into a well-lit residential presence that will reduce vandalism and other neighborhood concerns. So with all that, I have every expectation the remaining construction will be approved by Planning, but the time wasted has been expensive and draining. I also am optimistic that Los Angeles County will soon add green building incentives the same way cities like Los Angeles, Pasadena, Santa Monica and so many other municipalities have. Building green is going to get a whole lot easier with increased governmental support and that is important because green building in turn is supportive of surrounding communities.

E: Were there some creative work-arounds you (or your team or consultant) came up with when faced with obstacles?

R: I really like the solution we arrived at for the old steel factory windows on the first floor. I've spent a lot of time looking into whether or not it is better for the environment to replace single-paned windows in our relatively mild climate. The old factory windows I have are great, and they add a lot of character. These are huge windows close to five feet wide and over six and a half feet tall, and they open to allow for good natural air circulation. But when I bought the building the window panes were broken, the steel was rusty, and they needed repair. Rather than install new windows, I decided to restore and upgrade these great 16 light factory windows. The first step was to scrape and sand the old putty, and chunks of rust off them. Then we coated them with a non-toxic rust converting primer from Corrosion Control Industries, and then we painted them with a no VOC non-toxic exterior metal paint from the Ecological Paint Company. The best part is that I had a local window manufacturing company make frameless double-paned low-e glass units with a 3/8” air spacer between the two glass panes. These were then installed just like you would normally replace single-paned glass. The end result is better thermal and sound insulation and a whole new life for great looking old windows.

E: Is there anything you'd do differently if you were to do a project like this again?

R: This project has spanned a long time. Not because the work takes that long but because I haven't been available to do the work. I work full time as a real estate broker, and when the option has been to work on this or serve my clients, this project has gotten the short stick. I would have liked to have applied in full to Planning sooner, and I wish I could have devoted my full-time attention to this early on and then followed it through completion on a part-time basis.

E: Were there any aspects of the job that went better than you expected?

R: I'm thrilled with how the roof deck came out. I was pleasantly surprised to see the exposed bricks after we removed layers and layers of graffiti paint and, on the interior, thick stucco-like plaster. I also really like the floor plans. The design just seemed to fit so well with what the building offered.

E: What about this project are you the most satisfied with, proud of or excited by? It can be more than one thing or feature or quality.

R: I'm the most excited about the salvaged materials in this project. If we would build quality products, repair them instead of discard them, and then re-use them elsewhere when they are no longer needed, we could solve a lot of issues that I think are important to all of us. Some of these issues are directly connected with our consumer habits, but we don't think of these issues when we buy new products. For example, on average, eight people die every day in coal mining accidents in China. China uses that coal to power it's manufacturing industry and export low-priced goods. I traveled by bicycle from L.A. to Brazil, and I saw firsthand how workers are treated and how the land is exploited in Latin America for cheap materials. Whether we're buying metal or wood or paint or stone or plastics, these products came from somewhere, and almost always, they came to us with a cost to our planet and the people who produce or extract them. If we could transform our building industry to think salvage first, to incorporate re-used and then recycled materials whenever possible, we would save our planet the substantial cost of those new materials. We would divert a very significant amount of landfill. Lastly we would reinvest in our local workforce, valuing trades and services at home over exploited workers internationally. Many people would have considered the structure on this property a tear-down. The roof leaked, the plumbing was bad, there were termites, moldy plaster and rotten wood, and there were so many layers of graffiti on the building the paint was nearly a half inch thick. But I understood that underneath all that mess there was still a great structure with immediate access to mass transit, and I was excited about what the building could become. Now, the same structure exists, but stripped down, aired out, sun-kissed and stronger. The interior has been opened up, and finishes have been carefully chosen. Practical steps have been taken to increase efficiency and improve comfort, functionality, and the building's relationship with the community. I look forward to the opportunity to open the doors and invite people in.

Ryan Flegal

Please join us on Saturday, December 8, 2007, from noon to 5pm, to view this remarkable work in progress.

For more information on the Green Lofts, you can reach Ryan Flegal at his real estate office:
KJM Real Estate
8383 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 99
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310-890-8111
ryan@propertymix.com

Directions:
The directions below are from Los Angeles Union Station or the 7th and Metro station. For more detailed Public Transit instructions Click Here!

By public transit: Take the Blue Line to Firestone Blvd. When you get off the train come downstairs, look to your right and across the street and you'll see the Green Lofts, a two story clay-red colored building with big windows at the corner of Graham Ave. and 87th St.

By car: Take the 110 freeway to the Manchester Ave. exit and go east on Manchester for about two miles. Manchester becomes Firestone Blvd. As soon as you go under the bridge for the train, turn right on Graham Ave. Go to the end of the block, and the Green Lofts are on your left at the corner of Graham Ave. and 87th St.

Green Lofts
8636 Graham Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90002