Martha Rose Construction

by,  staff Eco-Redux

Home builder Martha Rose, of Martha Rose Construction, has designed and added a collection of functional furniture and site accessories made from recycled building materials from a 1920s farm house, as well as hand-forged ironwork by locally blacksmith-artesian Jason Reed Brown.

The community, Fish Singer Place (FSP), a four home 5-Star Built Green low-impact-development looks allot like something out of “Edens Lost and Found” mentions Adrian Willanger, founder of Eco-Redux a marketing consultant on the project. Each home features a porch facing a central community fire-pit; Rose added one to her last community, Queen City Eco-Village, “it has proved to be a great site amenity cherished by all.” The goal for the overall look and feel of FSP is to minimize the visual impact of utilitarian components such as; front-loading garages, utility meters, trash and recycling areas.

Recycled, true, dimensional lumber is being used around the site for benches, trellis, and privacy screens, thoughtfully installed to help lessen the visual impact of utility boxes and meters as well as defining outdoor living areas. Each of the home’s outdoor collection and recycling stations are enclosed with re-crafted wood doors and repurposed fencing. Metal wildlife sculptures, created by blacksmith-artesian Jason Reed Brown, will be prominently installed around each home.

Martha believes that people are “rediscovering their sense of community,” which has greatly influenced her decision to add whimsical and functional artistic elements that help connect the past to the future by integrating the best materials from both eras.

For more information please visit FishSingerPlace.com

By, Eco-Redux staff

Developments At Fish Singer Place-Sustainable Hardwood Floors & Flat Plate Solar Panels

Martha Rose Construction, as you are likely aware, takes great pride in building not just green homes, but green homes that are innovative and affordable.  Our Fish Singer Place development is a great example of both our approach and philosophy toward home building and building green homes. Increasingly, builders as well as the average homeowner are becoming aware of the value of “going green.”  They are seeing just how easy and rewarding it can be to do so. 

Here are a few updates regarding what we are doing right now:

Currently, we are sanding and finishing our sustainable hardwood floors.  What makes them sustainable you might ask? Our wood floors are sustainable due to the fact that we harvested trees from the construction site.  This reduced the carbon footprint of the constructions substantially as there was no need to transport lumber from another part of Washington or even somewhere else in the world. Additionally, most will agree that there is just something that feels right about sourcing local trees for your home. After all, this was the way it was done for thousands of years.

The concrete flooring on the three out of four of our homes have had their final two sandings.  In total, there have been seven sandings on the concrete flooring.

Today, we also installed the flat plate thermal solar panels. These thermal solar panels work to preheat the hot water, which of course, saves homeowners money on energy bills and helps reduce homeowner carbon footprints at the same time.  This technology has been used for decades in Israel for heating water on rooftops and has proven to be a highly practical and functional way to heat water and reduce overall energy consumption.

Another development involves an on-site class on Low-Impact Development and Stormwater Management that is being taught by Patty Moriarty of Native Growth. This is quite exciting as Moriarty will be discussing how low impact strategies and techniques can work to both lower utility bills and lessen our impact on nature and wildlife.

For those of you would are interested in our Fish Singer Place development, prices range from $638,000 to $788,000.  Feel free to contact Martha Rose Construction at 206-406-4395 or info@martharoseconstruction.com if you have any questions about our homes, our green building procedures or philosophies. 

By: Adrian Willanger

Shoreline, WA. – It’s official the permanent power at Fish Singer Place (FSP) has been connected. What seems like a pretty insufficient thing, on a building site it’s a major source of celebration, particularly on a low-impact develop (LID) site like FSP. Unlike a traditional development where the roadway and sidewalks are put in early, an LID differs, by completing most of the construction up to the final finshing touches, then the pervious pavement roadway is installed giving it 2-3 weeks without any heavy trucks driving on it.

Completion Update

“We’re still pushing for a spring completion” mention builder Martha Rose. Needless to say these next 10-14 days are going to be extremely busy around FSP.

Enjoy our latest video: Powering up “Waiting for the Sun”

By, Adrian Willanger Eco-Redux

What effect will the proposed International Green Construction Code (IGCC), that will guide the design and construction of green commercial projects, have on residential home builders?
In June of 2009 the International Code Council (ICC) along with the American institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) partnered to draft a new green building code, known as the IGCC committee that will draft documents which will be used as a starting point for new green construction measures.  The first draft will be available for public comment sometime in 2010, with publication for adoption projected in 2012. With the goal of providing a code template that many municipalities could adopt.
The code uses California and the city of Aspen’s green building codes as their blueprint, focusing primary on energy efficiencies like;  construction debris recycling, water conservation, energy,  insulation, indoor air quality and solar power.
Ever since the first oil embargo of the 1970’s small steps have been taken throughout the country to increase energy efficiencies in homes and buildings.  With the new administration it is highly probable we will experience the greatest increases in energy conservation measures in a generation.  Energy retro-fits have been gaining momentum; electric companies are offering rebates and incentives for home owners and business to become more energy efficient.  Government tax rebates for energy efficient measures should help at a time when financing is hard to come by and the market for new construction is lagging.
Developer/builder Martha Rose, owner of Martha Rose Construction (MRC), builds high-performance houses in the Seattle marketplace, mentions “the most conservative use of energy- is not to use it.”  “Consumers really didn’t understand the value of our homes until the price of gasoline skyrocket to over four dollars a gallon.”  A growing consumer market that demands higher energy performance is driving the development for new energy efficiencies and green programs across the nation.
MRC’s participation in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Builders Challenge provides her company with advance techniques, product technology and cost savings from making the best material and equipment choices. Rose, who is an award winning Green Builder states, “working with the Building America team has provided me with cutting edge solutions to reducing energy costs.”  For more information visit Fish Singer Place.

We have started!

Selective demolition has begun on the historic farmhouse. We intend to reuse as much of the old house as possible in the renovation including the doors, hardware and fir floors. Our goal is to create an essentially new house that retains much of the character and charm of the old home. We will reuse materials wherever we can and new materials will be chosen for their quality, sustainability and contribution to the healthy home.

Ultimately the roof will come off and a full second story will be framed, the two chimneys will be removed and the bricks salvaged. The house will be air sealed and insulated to our rigorous energy standards and made healthy to live in. The goal is to attain a 5-Star Built Green rating on the renovation, a notably difficult and lofty goal. Even if we don’t achieve 5-Star we will be doing everything we can to make this house as sustainable and energy efficient as possible.

The renovation of the Farmhouse is merely the first phase of this exciting project. Construction of the 5-Star Built Green new homes will follow. We are looking for one pre-sale to allow phase two to go forward. So, if you have wanted to buy a Martha Rose home, this may be the perfect opportunity.

Throughout the construction process we will be sponsoring educational opportunities for both the public and industry professionals about our green building strategies and techniques. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at one of our behind the walls tours. Martha Rose Construction can also provide consultation and customized educational opportunities for your group either at your location or ours.

You are the ones who will make this community flourish. Experience smart Eco-Living through low utility bills, breathing healthy indoor air, walking to the grocery store and harvesting vegetables from your garden.