Times are changing says builders Michael Wrather, Left, and Joe Swanson Jr. TMP/M. Willard
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Building Green is the future of homebuilding and the future is now for Swanson Realty LLC and Construction Co. that is putting on the market the first Green home certified by the leading international building rating system.
A 2,014-square-foot house in Kingdom Ridge Subdivision off Highway 96 will be certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a third-party-driven process that qualifies that Green homes are indeed Green.
“We don’t decide whether we are in compliance” with Green standards, Swanson Realty’s Michael Wrather explained.
To achieve LEED certification a house must meet standards in all areas of construction that are rated by third-party experts and submitted to a board for approval on a point system to provide transparency and authenticity.
Wrather and Joe Swanson Jr., have been working for more than a year to become LEED “certified Green professionals.”
Their efforts in going Green are driven by future market considerations and concern for the community.
By 2010 a national homebuilding group estimates 40-50 percent of homes will be “Green.”
“Things are changing. If we don’t change with it, we get left behind,” Wrather said.
Swanson also sees it as the right thing to do, saying, “We owe it to the consumers and ourselves.”
Wrather added, “The older I get the more I care about this community,” and going Green in homebuilding is “the right thing for the community, consumers, the environment and our children.”
By investing a “lot of work away from the job site,” Wrather said Swanson is building according to LEED standards “at the same cost as others.”
The Kingdom Ridge house will be listed at $179,900, he noted, which is just over $89 a square foot in a market where homes are currently selling around $90 a square foot.
Swanson estimates that LEED houses will be cost effective, as any increase in construction costs, and therefore higher mortgage payments for buyers will be directly offset in energy and water bills.
The Green movement is widespread for Swanson that is constructing a unique multi-use project off Thompson Lane that will be LEED certified.
When the company lost a new office building on Thompson in the Good Friday Tornado, more than 80 percent of the salvaged material was recycled.
“We have to be responsible to the community, our children and the environment,” Wrather said, and ultimately with planning “at the bottom it saves money.”
He noted the some of the many measures used to achieve LEED certification:
• The process starts with harvesting of the raw materials that eventually are used to construct the house. LEED established a chain of authority running from the logger to the cabinetmaker to ensure that materials used are in construction are environmentally friendly.
• High efficiency heating/cooling systems are used with attention to providing balance in airflow through ducts and returns to lower demand on the units. Wrather said airflow is engineered according to the house.
• Low volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as sealants and adhesives, are used with some common VOCs such as formaldehyde avoided. Paint with low or no VOCs is used.
• Non-chemical termite control.
• Recycled concrete is often used to reduce fly ash.
• Foam insulation is used in foundation blocks
• Blown cellulose insulation is used in walls instead of batted insulation, providing higher efficiency.
• Radon venting is installed under the floor system to eliminate the odorless, colorless gas that has been linked to cancer and is prevalent in Middle Tennessee.
• High-recycled drywall.
• Low-energy windows that Wrather describes as “technological marvels.”
• Low-flow fixtures in baths and kitchens.
• Energy Star appliances and CFL lighting is used throughout the home.
The LEED process and the effort that has gone into achieving it prompt Wrather to proclaim, “There’s Green and then there’s Swanson Green.” |
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