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Saturday, February 01, 2003

By Kevin Kirkland, Post-Gazette Homes Editor

Around Cranberry, they call it the "TV house. " It doesn't look so different from other houses in the Ehrman Farms plan -- a contemporary 1 1/2-story stone home with a tall front portico and lots of windows overlooking a wooded valley.

	The Obergs' house in Cranberry will contain that latest in building innovations, including energy recovery ventilators. (Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette photos)

But then you notice the camera mounted high on a pole out front. It's been there since last summer, keeping its vigil even when this was no more than a vacant lot.

Early next year, in 26 episodes, a new show on the DIY Network will show step by step exactly how Brad and Lynn Oberg's new house rose from the dirt.

Before it has even aired, the show has cast the spotlight on the Obergs, builder Hank Swierczynski of Hendolhurst Homes and local contractors who have worked on the house.

"When the doors were delivered, the stickers said 'TV house,' " said Jason Gurskis, producer of the show titled "Home IQ."

Is this Cranberry's answer to the Osbournes, the rock star family whose bizarre daily life is chronicled on MTV? Not if the Obergs have anything to say about it.

Brad Oberg, chief technology officer for IBACOS, saw the series as an opportunity to show what his company could do. Its specialty is bringing together the latest high-tech products and services to create homes that are functional and comfortable. And because this is the third new house he and his wife have built together, he felt that he knew what he was getting into.

The Obergs and Swierczynski said they soon got used to the camera, which is exactly what Gurskis had hoped.

"We wanted to follow the trials and tribulations of building a new home," he said. "We want to show people what to expect, what the trades go through, how it all comes together."

Gurskis met Brad Oberg while working on another show for DIY, a sister network of Home & Garden Television. A year ago, Homerun Entertainment sent him here, put him up in an apartment in The Pointe at Adams Ridge and let him get to work. He and his camera crew have been with the Obergs for every site visit, every conversation with contractors, everything but the initial site selection.

Jason Gurskis, producer of the new DIY Network show "Home IQ," has been spending time in Cranberry following the trials and tribulations of Brad and Lynn Oberg as they build their high-tech house. The construction, which should be completed sometime in March, will be detailed from the ground up over 26 episodes.

"We're here every day. If they sweep the sidewalk, someone is here. We shoot everything they do."

They went along with the Obergs when they visited showrooms and stores to pick out paint, tile and other materials. Each time, Lynn brought along samples of her Tuscan-style colors -- a ceramic vase and a pillow case -- and a foam board covered with color swatches and magazine clippings of rooms she liked. The cameras caught her visits to four different tile showrooms and Brad's little jig when they found river rock tile for the master bath. Their daughters, Jena, 21, and Amanda, 18, picked out the lighting fixtures, paint and tile in their bedrooms.

Lynn said she's glad the program will show that kind of detail.

"People have got to be proactive. They can't rely on the builders. They have to do a lot of legwork and know what to ask -- Does this countertop stain or scratch?"

For the record, the Obergs chose a combination of granite and Corian for their kitchen countertops. Manor House Kitchens also supplied the KraftMaid cabinetry. Of course, a camera crew was on hand to capture the Obergs' reaction to the cabinets and discussions with Swierczynski on how they would be installed.

The 3,808-square-foot house, which is to be finished by mid-March, is filled with the latest in building innovations, including AQUAPEX plastic plumbing, a whole-house sprinkler system, Icynene blown-in insulation, Tough-N-Dry asphalt polymer waterproofing and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs), which recover heat and moisture from outgoing air during the heating season and help air-condition and dehumidify in the summertime.

Other innovations are less noisy fiberglass ducting, acoustical beams for the media room, new framing techniques, a Lutron dimming/central control lighting system and USG paper-faced corner bead, a relatively small improvement that saves drywallers lots of time. To track how well the various systems are working, the house is fitted with temperature and humidity sensors.

Swierczynski, a custom builder who erects 12 to 15 homes a year, was the Obergs' choice because he was willing to work with new technology.

	Dave Andrews, left, a freelance cameraman, films builder Hank Swierczynski of Hendolhurst Homes and the Obergs as they discuss cabinets.

"I think what's so exciting is how many new concepts are used in this house," he said.

As for the extra time that can add to the project, he added, "I try to keep an open mind."

Brad said the $500,000 house is a learning experience for his company.

"We're used to working with production builders. It's good for us to step back and do a house like this, to look at the things we have issues with. Here we will have to live with them every day."

The Obergs started with a plan from Design Basics, a company that sells more than 1,000 different house plans. To narrow their options down to three, each left the room while the other made his or her choices. As the cameras rolled, they agreed on one. Then they made some modifications, which Brad said is not allowed when you buy copyrighted plans from some companies.

Some of the choices they made were connected with Lynn's arthritis and fibromyalgia. In addition to wider hallways and grab bars, the house's master bedroom and bath and laundry room are on the first floor. The house has three bedrooms on the second floor and 4 1/2 baths altogether.

"We wanted a home that we could retire in comfortably," Lynn said.

But they also wanted a home that suits their lifestyle today. Since the couple are very involved with theater at Pine-Richland High School, Lynn has a special, cabinet-lined sewing room in the basement and Brad has storage area for scenery. On the first floor, a room that was designated as a back porch in the plans has been changed to a "four-seasons room" with lots of glass overlooking the wooded valley.

Stacy Hunt, marketing director for IBACOS, is monitoring the project. She believes the house is a fine blend of homey and high tech.

"You can have all these things and still have it look like a normal house. You don't have to change your life. This home will get people thinking."