Our Reconstruction Goes Green
“After a sprinkler freeze caused extensive water damage to our corporate headquarters at 45 Water St. in Newburyport, MA, I thought about how we could turn this negative into a positive. Rather than just replace everything, I decided to turn this into something positive and green. I hired Gimbrere Associates of Newburyport to help me rebuild my mid-1800’s structure into an example of a business committed to sustainable energy use. The concept of designing lingerie in a green environment was something that I was very excited about. The building looks beautiful and everyone in our company is thrilled.”
- Jacalyn E.S. Bennett, President, CEO, Head Designer
Sustainable Techniques Utilized for Building Evaluation:
Infrared Thermal Building Survey
Infrared scanning camera used to identify any air movement irregularities and other thermal deficiencies of the building. The report generated by this evaluation guided us in prioritizing the upgrades that the building needed.
Basement Moisture Health Issues
The existing basement had a wet dirt floor and fiberglass insulation needed proper drainage to eliminate the mold and allergens that had built up. We installed a floor drainage system consisting of drainage lines, a heavy duty sump pump, a moisture barrier and a complete gravel floor. We finished the floor and joist band with Closed Cell Soy Based Foam Insulation, both as a moisture barrier and as an insulation.
Green Materials Used in Building Renewal:
Soy Based Spray Foam Insulation
Soy based spray foam insulation is manufactured from renewable soy beans and expands to 100 times its volume to completely fill every void. It's thermal seal keeps your heating and cooling costs low and provides an R-Value of 3.6 per inch or greater. The barrier keeps out pollutants and greatly reduces noise pollution. It controls moisture/condensation and has no food value for rodents or insects.
Anderson Woodwright Replacement Windows
The Thermal Efficiency report identified a large number of sub-standard windows. Phase One of the project replaced 22 old windows with new Andersen Woodwright Replacement Windows. These windows have high insulation and solar gain values and will greatly contribute to the efficiency and the comfort of the work areas.
Air Conditioning
The existing space had been cooled by eighteen individual window units. We replaced this inefficient system with two four-ton condensing units, each one designed to cool an entire floor of the building. This greatly decreased the energy consumption needed for cooling, as well as increasing the natural daylight in the space, while significantly reducing the noise levels on each floor.
Flooring
Installed a Shaw Green Edge commercial carpet tile. This carpet is completely recyclable and can be replaced in 18”X18” squares, greatly reducing the cost of maintenance and the amount of damaged carpet that enters the waste stream. This product is an EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Award winner and is installed with non-VOC adhesives.
Ceiling Tiles
Replaced all ceiling tiles with Armstrong Ultima Ceiling Tiles. These tiles are made with 82% recycled content and have a high light-reflectance which increases daylight effectiveness by 10% to 15%. Armstrong also has a ceiling tile recycling program which has recycled over 70 million sq. ft. of tile since its inception in 1999.
Lighting
Installed all energy efficient fluorescent bulbs. Installed motion sensitive detector switches in common areas to eliminate unnecessary lighting use.
Contractors
Contact Names
General Contractors:
Gimbrere Associates (John Kelley & Michael Gimbrere), Newburyport, MA
Thermal Imaging:
Proscan (Steve Rittenberg), Amesbury, MA
Insulation:
The Green Cocoon (Peter Strattner), Salisbury, MA
Air Conditioning:
Walsh & Sons Plumbing and Heating (Tom Walsh & Tony Mazzola), West Newbury, MA
