Note from our president

Welcome to Reno Contracting’s Breaking Ground July 2009 edition. We are celebrating the successful completion of our LEED^® Certified Construction Trailer, the first of its kind, as far as we know.

In January of this year, Kaiser Permanente informed us that they were interested in having a “Green Construction Trailer” for their LEED^® certified Parking Structure project which we are scheduled to start this month. We set out to see if we could do just that, and got to work. Eric Scheidlinger, Reno’s LEED^® AP Leader/Estimator took charge, while the design teams of Mechanical Engineering Firm Xnth and Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects generously agreed to help. The trailer will serve as the on-site offices for the Reno project team and Kaiser’s project manager and will also provide space for project meetings.

Once the basic design was completed, we formulated a plan to obtain the required LEED^® points:

• Material Reuse: The frame and exterior walls of the trailer were salvaged from an old trailer and reused as part of the new one. This kept the project from requiring new steel and wood framing.
• Green Construction Materials: Many of the building products used in the trailer contain recycled or reclaimed materials.
  • Carpet Tiles - Made from recycled rubber tires.
  • Wall and Ceiling Insulation - composed of cotton from shredded denim jeans.
  • Wall Paneling- Made from recycled PVC piping products.
  • Countertops - fabricated with crushed recycled glass.
• Indoor Air Quality: In order to keep dust from contaminating the HVAC system during construction, the mechanical unit and new ductwork were sheeted over in plastic. Also, the adhesives used in the new casework and the paint applied to the accent walls have extremely low levels of Volatile Organic Compounds. This insures that the air inside the trailer is always of the highest quality.
• Natural Lighting: Through the use of large storefront style windows and a reflective interior light shelf, all of the trailer occupants will have high levels of direct and indirect natural light.
• Energy Consumption: The HVAC and lighting systems have been designed and constructed to minimize the amount of energy that the trailer uses.
  • Fluorescent Lighting- All of the light fixtures within the trailer use low energy consuming fluorescent light bulbs.
  • Lighting Controls - in addition to having switches, all of the lights within the trailer are controlled by occupancy sensors, so that if no one is in the trailer the lights will automatically switch off.
  • Operable Windows - each of the windows on the trailer have an operable function which allows for outside air to easily circulate throughout the trailer, minimizing the need for the use of the mechanical AC unit.

The subcontractors and vendors who really made this project possible deserve a big thanks and plenty of recognition: 3form, American Marble, B&B Acoustics, California Sheet Metal, Casper Company, Dynalectric, Hess Roofing, Howard’s Rug Company, Alcal Arcade, MBO Inc., McBride Door and Hardware, Montbleau and Associates, Motivational Systems Inc., National Air and Energy, Quality Painting and Wall Covering, Shaw Contract Group, Sherwin-Williams, South Bay Welding, Sunset Glazing, Vetrazzo/Cal-Ply. The expected LEED rating for the trailer is “certified” for Version 2.2 for New Construction, and we’ll likely get 29 points.

In other LEED news, the end of June signaled the final opportunity for LEED accreditation 2.2, and after an in-house 10 week training program taught by Heidi Lambert, our LEED AP Trainer, 7 people tested to become LEED Accredited Professionals.

Reno’s score card:

1. LEED AP’s : 12
2. LEED Certified Structures: 4

Serving as a board member of the AGC, I have been given the opportunity to Chair the new Green Building Committee, and I am excited to enter into conversation with other industry organizations on Sustainable Construction in Southern California.The movement is still in its infancy but is moving very quickly.

The premise is right, the impact to our community is clear and the emerging technologies for sustainable energy will provide us with an opportunity to identify what makes sense and allow our construction industry to make a difference. It’s a great life, with a lot to celebrate!

Sincerely,

Walt Fegley, LEED^® AP
President

Next Month: LEED EBOM

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