Hey Jim,
I’m excited to follow along and be entertained and educated all at once. How do I do that? Can’t seem to find a place to register for updates.
Cheers,
John
Ps – okay, i see now that i can check a box when i post this comment, so question answered!
Jim!
Did you take down your older posts?
I was looking for your deep dive into the harbour fence’s raison d’être to share but it only goes back to 2018 now?
Can’t understand this Evan. I have no problem finding all the posts on my various devices. After you scroll down from the latest post and get to the bottom of the page (before “FIND US”) you will see a number with arrows right. Click on the arrow and it will take you to the next grouping of posts … and so forth. Should be 5 such groupings. Take Down the Fence is a May 14th, 2019 post. There’s also a May 3rd, 2020 post called Harbour Fence Post Covid-19. I don’t have anything that predates 2018!
Very funny and true — should be required reading for all the engineers within transportation and works. Engineering has become a farce – the quality of the program at MUN is very low, work terms are often useless assignments and anyone can get their P.Eng. by simply existing for four years after graduation. It doesn’t matter what you do or if you do it well. — everybody gets their P.Eng. if they pay the dues. Very few Newfoundland graduates go on to advanced studies so there is really no comparison between the average engineer and a well educated architect with two or more degrees and studies at a masters level. You can try to educate them but you are just casting pearl before semi illiterate swine. There are fine engineers of course but they generally don’t stick around for low paid work in government and get good jobs elsewhere.
New topic. There is a world class piece of architecture in Bowering Park that is ignored and left to rot for decades. I’ve been on CBC twice in the last 5 years about it, and have heard directly last year from Deputy Mayor and Councillor that they were very concerned to get it done – BS, nothing has happened.
Two years ago, the V&A, the most venerated design museum in the world, did a celebratory showon the man who designed it, Ove Arup, said to be the foremost concrete structural engineer of the last CENTURY. Said bridge was not included, and overlooked because WE overlook it. He once said that after the Sydney Opera House, this was the favourite of all his work. It’s in the book Newfoundland Modern.
Newfoundland is a shameful place that doesn’t respect things right under its own nose.
Discuss.
(Thanks)
Excellent observation and a great reminder that since CBC carried a story about its redvitalization in October 2017, nothing has been done. Very sad indeed. Perhaps I should do a post on Arup’s bridge in Bowring Park. Might make up for all the slagging I’ve done on engineers lately.
The Winter avenue “hotel” is a real eyesore and WAY out of scale to the neighbourhood. Shameful. If I was the neighbour to the east, I would sue and demand he pay me top dollar to leave. He’s dwarfed them to look like a shit-shack. The people across the street are now looking at the front of a hotel, virtually.
Money-ed people frequently have no taste or sense.
I enjoyed your article on monster houses in St. John’s. As a late resident of Winter Avenue it’s pretty heartbreaking to see my childhood neighbourhood landscaped by someone like that. Returning home this winter felt quite different with all of the trees on the street removed.
Hey Jim. Just read your piece about Winter Avenue. I’m a freelance journalist working on a story about old Quinnipiac and the new Winter Ave property. It would be great to get your insight on the matter. Could we arrange to speak?
Hi Jim, I fully support the points you make here. I come at it from an urban planning / legal perspective. I am willing to join with you to advocate for a change. I didn’t buy the City council and Port Authority rhetoric when it first was approved and I don’t 8 years later. Particularly now, with Covid, I’d like to take back what is ours to return the waterfront to what it was when I was a child/ teenager in st John’s . I vaguely remember the Portuguese ships tied up, or maybe my Dad just talked about them a lot. Like Halifax and NY, our waterfront can be a mix of industry and recreation. It’s not an “all or nothing” proposition. So where to start…?
Kim Mackay
Hi Kim! Thank you for your kind words. Where to start (?) is exactly the question. Not sure how much fight I have left in me, but always willing to chat. If you wish to correspond further on the topic, feel free to email me at jcase58@gmail.com
I’m the president of Transfer Energy and we specialize in high performance air sealing using AeroBarrier – a great example of proven, highly economic tech being used elsewhere that has now made it to NL.
You can find more info, including a few videos at http://www.TransferEnergy.ca or better yet, I would really enjoy a conversation. My number is 1 (709) 699-4641.
Go to the menu and click on Feedback. Scroll to the bottom of the page where it says “Leave a Comment”. There is a click box immediately below this that says: “Notify me of new posts by email”. Check that box. Should work fine.
Read your article in the evening telegram,,,what I found most interesting is the insulating of footings, I gather this is the u/s? What does this look like, and what material specifically.
This is clearly illustrated in Part IV: Foundations. Here you will find that the all sides of the footings have been insulated except for underneath (contrary to passive house standards). The problem was that I would have had to excavate down at least another 12 to 16 inches and I was already into bedrock. The material used for insulating everywhere below grade is Type 3 (high-compressive) Expanded Polystyrene (EPS).
Just discovered the ‘The Sustainable House’ saga and read it all through in one sitting. I wish we had more examples of high-efficient single-family home builds in this province. Are there to be future posts?
David! Thank you for your comment. I have to admit that I have been distracted from my blogging on this topic. There are a few reasons for this. First of all, finishing the project and actually moving in was demanding and exhausting. Secondly, it was never my intention to show the finished product (just as happens in all the glossy architectural and design magazines). I am not interested in sharing my individualistic tastes as I believe that is subjective. I am actually quite a private person, so interiors of our finished product will never be posted! That sort of thing has nothing to do (or very little to do with) sustainability. HOWEVER, I had (and still have) every intention of posting about the mechanical systems which are at the heart of this design. We have been moved in for about two months now – in the cruelest time of the year. I wanted to see how the systems performed before I posted about them. There were many bugs to work out and I had to get up to speed on operations. I am there now and am ready to post about the services. All I need is a bit of time to do so. Expect these posts in the very near future.
Hi Jim,
I found your blog when I did a search for Passive House and Newfoundland – thank you so much for describing your build experiences. I did the search because we just bought a piece of land in Adams Cove and I want to build a single story Passive House as well. I’d much appreciate it if I could have a chat with you regarding builders in your neighborhood, pointers on what to watch out for, etc. We currently live in the US but hope to eventually live in Newfoundland (provided your daughter can get CA citizenship and, thus, let us become permanent residents 🙂
Hello Sir! Glad you found the blog. Advising you on builders in the area may be more difficult than you can possibly imagine! I am not sure I would touch that one with a barge pole!
JC ( curious initials )
Keep up the catharsis of figurative phlegm and vitriol
Hey Jim,
I’m excited to follow along and be entertained and educated all at once. How do I do that? Can’t seem to find a place to register for updates.
Cheers,
John
Ps – okay, i see now that i can check a box when i post this comment, so question answered!
Glad you got it sorted John.
Jim!
Did you take down your older posts?
I was looking for your deep dive into the harbour fence’s raison d’être to share but it only goes back to 2018 now?
Can’t understand this Evan. I have no problem finding all the posts on my various devices. After you scroll down from the latest post and get to the bottom of the page (before “FIND US”) you will see a number with arrows right. Click on the arrow and it will take you to the next grouping of posts … and so forth. Should be 5 such groupings. Take Down the Fence is a May 14th, 2019 post. There’s also a May 3rd, 2020 post called Harbour Fence Post Covid-19. I don’t have anything that predates 2018!
Love it all
Great read. Thank you
Keep up the insights and observations, Jim. Keep that thinking cap on.
I just stumbled on Scale and Context via Twitter and an eye-catching lavender photograph. Thank you, reading your posts is thirst-quenching.
Very funny and true — should be required reading for all the engineers within transportation and works. Engineering has become a farce – the quality of the program at MUN is very low, work terms are often useless assignments and anyone can get their P.Eng. by simply existing for four years after graduation. It doesn’t matter what you do or if you do it well. — everybody gets their P.Eng. if they pay the dues. Very few Newfoundland graduates go on to advanced studies so there is really no comparison between the average engineer and a well educated architect with two or more degrees and studies at a masters level. You can try to educate them but you are just casting pearl before semi illiterate swine. There are fine engineers of course but they generally don’t stick around for low paid work in government and get good jobs elsewhere.
New topic. There is a world class piece of architecture in Bowering Park that is ignored and left to rot for decades. I’ve been on CBC twice in the last 5 years about it, and have heard directly last year from Deputy Mayor and Councillor that they were very concerned to get it done – BS, nothing has happened.
Two years ago, the V&A, the most venerated design museum in the world, did a celebratory showon the man who designed it, Ove Arup, said to be the foremost concrete structural engineer of the last CENTURY. Said bridge was not included, and overlooked because WE overlook it. He once said that after the Sydney Opera House, this was the favourite of all his work. It’s in the book Newfoundland Modern.
Newfoundland is a shameful place that doesn’t respect things right under its own nose.
Discuss.
(Thanks)
Excellent observation and a great reminder that since CBC carried a story about its redvitalization in October 2017, nothing has been done. Very sad indeed. Perhaps I should do a post on Arup’s bridge in Bowring Park. Might make up for all the slagging I’ve done on engineers lately.
The Winter avenue “hotel” is a real eyesore and WAY out of scale to the neighbourhood. Shameful. If I was the neighbour to the east, I would sue and demand he pay me top dollar to leave. He’s dwarfed them to look like a shit-shack. The people across the street are now looking at the front of a hotel, virtually.
Money-ed people frequently have no taste or sense.
I enjoyed your article on monster houses in St. John’s. As a late resident of Winter Avenue it’s pretty heartbreaking to see my childhood neighbourhood landscaped by someone like that. Returning home this winter felt quite different with all of the trees on the street removed.
Hey Jim. Just read your piece about Winter Avenue. I’m a freelance journalist working on a story about old Quinnipiac and the new Winter Ave property. It would be great to get your insight on the matter. Could we arrange to speak?
Hi Jim, I fully support the points you make here. I come at it from an urban planning / legal perspective. I am willing to join with you to advocate for a change. I didn’t buy the City council and Port Authority rhetoric when it first was approved and I don’t 8 years later. Particularly now, with Covid, I’d like to take back what is ours to return the waterfront to what it was when I was a child/ teenager in st John’s . I vaguely remember the Portuguese ships tied up, or maybe my Dad just talked about them a lot. Like Halifax and NY, our waterfront can be a mix of industry and recreation. It’s not an “all or nothing” proposition. So where to start…?
Kim Mackay
Hi Kim! Thank you for your kind words. Where to start (?) is exactly the question. Not sure how much fight I have left in me, but always willing to chat. If you wish to correspond further on the topic, feel free to email me at jcase58@gmail.com
Hi Jim – Looks like a great project!
I’m the president of Transfer Energy and we specialize in high performance air sealing using AeroBarrier – a great example of proven, highly economic tech being used elsewhere that has now made it to NL.
You can find more info, including a few videos at http://www.TransferEnergy.ca or better yet, I would really enjoy a conversation. My number is 1 (709) 699-4641.
Interested in following along . Thanks Jim
Can’t see where to sign-up for new post notifications.
Go to the menu and click on Feedback. Scroll to the bottom of the page where it says “Leave a Comment”. There is a click box immediately below this that says: “Notify me of new posts by email”. Check that box. Should work fine.
Looking forward to additional updates. Great job!
Thank you Rick.
Read your article in the evening telegram,,,what I found most interesting is the insulating of footings, I gather this is the u/s? What does this look like, and what material specifically.
This is clearly illustrated in Part IV: Foundations. Here you will find that the all sides of the footings have been insulated except for underneath (contrary to passive house standards). The problem was that I would have had to excavate down at least another 12 to 16 inches and I was already into bedrock. The material used for insulating everywhere below grade is Type 3 (high-compressive) Expanded Polystyrene (EPS).
Jim, Excellent read. Haven’t read it all but the Rainscreen one was spot on.
Just discovered the ‘The Sustainable House’ saga and read it all through in one sitting. I wish we had more examples of high-efficient single-family home builds in this province. Are there to be future posts?
David! Thank you for your comment. I have to admit that I have been distracted from my blogging on this topic. There are a few reasons for this. First of all, finishing the project and actually moving in was demanding and exhausting. Secondly, it was never my intention to show the finished product (just as happens in all the glossy architectural and design magazines). I am not interested in sharing my individualistic tastes as I believe that is subjective. I am actually quite a private person, so interiors of our finished product will never be posted! That sort of thing has nothing to do (or very little to do with) sustainability. HOWEVER, I had (and still have) every intention of posting about the mechanical systems which are at the heart of this design. We have been moved in for about two months now – in the cruelest time of the year. I wanted to see how the systems performed before I posted about them. There were many bugs to work out and I had to get up to speed on operations. I am there now and am ready to post about the services. All I need is a bit of time to do so. Expect these posts in the very near future.
Hi Jim,
I found your blog when I did a search for Passive House and Newfoundland – thank you so much for describing your build experiences. I did the search because we just bought a piece of land in Adams Cove and I want to build a single story Passive House as well. I’d much appreciate it if I could have a chat with you regarding builders in your neighborhood, pointers on what to watch out for, etc. We currently live in the US but hope to eventually live in Newfoundland (provided your daughter can get CA citizenship and, thus, let us become permanent residents 🙂
Hello Sir! Glad you found the blog. Advising you on builders in the area may be more difficult than you can possibly imagine! I am not sure I would touch that one with a barge pole!