Working to Develop Affordable Housing and Installing a Maintenance Free Vinyl Picket Fence

Project: Manhattan Remodel and Cape Cod Affordable, Episode 10, Part 1



Bob is back at the affordable housing project in Mashpee, Massachusetts, where he meets with developer Joe Valle, the chair of the Mashpee Zoning Board of Appeals, Mashpee's Assistant Town Planner, and a representative of the Mashpee Affordable Housing Committee to review how Act 40B benefited the community and the developer through creative zoning relief. At one home site, Bob learns about the detailed and finial-capped, maintenance-free vinyl picket fence from Perfection Fence that will sit in front of each home. The exterior of the house is being clad with cedar shakes on three sides and LP SmartSide engineered lap siding on the front fa?ade. This siding is made of medium-density oriented strand board (MDO) faced with a textured paint-based overlayer that gives a rough-textured, pre-primed, cedar-look appearance to the clapboards. SmartSide siding resists fungal growth and termites and carries a 30-year transferable warranty. Inside they are putting up the fabric to hold in the Blow-In-Blanket insulation in the wall and ceiling cavities. Pulling the fabric tight across the cavities holds the insulation in place and prevents settling. Once the untreated fiberglass insulation is blown in to a two-pound density, the exterior walls will have an R-value of 15.
Part 1: Working to Develop Affordable Housing and Installing a Maintenance Free Vinyl Picket Fence
Bob is in Mashpee, Massachusetts, where the affordable housing project is well underway with five of the eleven homes currently under construction. Bob talks with developer and general contractor Joe Valle about the pace of the project and the four homes that will be designated as affordable by housing agency guidelines. Valle introduces Bob to Zella Elizenberry of the Mashpee Affordable Housing Committee, Jamie Regan the chair of the Mashpee Zoning Board of Appeals, and Eric Smith, the Mashpee Assistant Town Planner. Together they explain the process that led to the approval and construction of Mashpee's first ever 40B affordable housing project. Regan explains that just 10 years ago zoning would have permitted the construction of four homes on this parcel of land, but today it is zoned for only two. While the board sees the need for affordable housing, they wanted to be sure there would be moderately priced housing, too. Elizenberry explains the original intent of the law, which was to prevent "snob zoning" or exclusion of lower-priced homes in communities. Smith explains 40B special zoning permits, for example, smaller lot sizes and reduced frontage requirements. Bob meets Todd Skulksy of Perfection Fence as he installs the classic New England-style vinyl picket fence. This product has a wood look and is made of mono-extruded vinyl so that it has only one layer and will not show nicks or discolorations over time. The fence is installed without mechanical fasteners and has been engineered with the crimps molded into the rails. The rail locks into the post piece and the crimp holds it in place. Perfection Fence vinyl fences come in different styles, this one with traditional New England features like the Colonial cap and ball finial for the top. Skulsky explains that these fences are moderately priced and cost less than finished wood fencing, but more than an unfinished wood fence. They are maintenance free, however, which will save money over time.
Part 2: Installing Smartside Engineered Wood Siding
Part 3: The Blown-In Blanket Insulation Process
This project deals with two very different notions of home. Bob begins on New York City's Upper West Side, where an 1890s Brownstone is revitalized through high-quality craftsmanship and sensitive design. New York's past meets its present, as the entire floor is recaptured and refurbished to create a spacious urban apartment on the doorstep of Central Park.

At the same time, Bob works with a Cape Cod developer to apply Massachusetts land use statute 40B to create affordable housing, and a neighborhood of homes in Mashpee, MA. These Energy Star certified homes show how quality building practices and reasonable asking prices can work together to provide livable, affordable homes and neighborhoods to those who work in our communities.

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