The gray green house

Last week the Greater Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce invited me (and 475 other people) to "a ribbon cutting ceramony at Bruce Saylor’s new subdivision, Sunset Ridge which is located just of Sparling Avenue." Because I have posted several times on things in this subdivision (see here, here, here, here, and here), I decided to go. Not only did I see the official ribbon cutting, I learned that the gray duplex is actually green. That means it meets some official standards for design and materials, using recycled materials and materials that will not end up in landfills, at least not soon.

The siting of the house is part of its greenness. It has a short north wall with only one window--even modern windows leak more heat than walls. (My house has more windows on the north than on any other side. However, it is green in the summer because the vines cover it.)

The two units of the duplex are completely different, though both have fireplaces. The unit on the north is smaller, with a bit more than 1400 square feet, while the one on the south side has over 1500 square feet of space. Below is the living room of the north unit.

Below is the kitchen from the dining area. A utility closet is to the right. Each unit has a system to control humidity as well as temperature, and the fans for that system are located in this utility area.

Maybe you cannot tell from this picture, but the living room of the south unit is a bit bigger.

And the kitchen is completely different.

There are 34 lots in the Sunset Ridge subdivision and only two currently have buildings. There are plans for a community center near the entrance. I heard a lot about how the building was green, but most of it I did not understand. However, you can learn all about it for yourself. There will be an open house for these two units on Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16, from 1 pm until 4 pm.

Bruce Salyor thinks that the housing market may be coming back a bit. He said that he has had more inquiries in the last six weeks than he had in the previous 18 months.

By the way, there is now a Rensselaer Adventures page on Facebook. I do not really know what I will be doing with it, but I am amazed at how many groups and businesses use these pages as a way of communicating. Right now I think I will highlight a post or two a week and maybe give a hint of what topics are upcoming.