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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
There’s no defining moment when a home becomes green. No single element is a magic bullet drawing the line between “green” and “almost.” Rather, a combination of factors — building strategies, designs, and products — interface, like tiles in a mosaic, to create a green home. The products and designs on the following pages are some ways to build that mosaic.
Design: Passive Solar Energy for Light
We all know the easiest way to conserve electricity—turn off the lights when you leave a room. But you may not have to turn them on in the first place if your home is designed to take full advantage of natural light. Lake Country Builders is working on just such a home in Minneapolis: Plentiful south-facing windows and transoms let the first floor soak up the sun throughout the winter. The stairwell stays bright thanks to a line of windows along the top of its northwest corner. And natural light finds its way further into the home’s interior throughout the day—through interior transoms, small windows just below the ceiling of the powder room, and solatubes in the upstairs bath and laundry room.Learn more: Lake Country Builders • 952-474-7121 • lakecountrybuilders.com
Locally Grown Wood
Look for Forest Stewardship Council-certified Minnesota wood products. “Using sustainably harvested wood products is a good first step when it comes to product selection,” says Michael Anschel, principal of Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build. In the home pictured here, Otogawa-Anschel took it a step farther by using locally grown oak for all of the millwork. “Minnesota has a large number of well-managed forests and wide variety of wood species that are readily available,” Anschel explains. “Supporting local mills and local jobs helps to strengthen the community and the economy. Less transportation means less energy consumed and less pollutants in our air.”Learn more: Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build, LLC • 612-789-7070 • otogawa-anschel.com
Architectural Glulam Wood Beams
Manufactured by Rosboro, glulam members are wood beams (pictured on the ceiling at right) made of individual pieces of dimensioned lumber, end-joined together to produce long lengths and bonded together with adhesives. Glulam beams have great strength and stiffness compared to more traditional dimension lumber. They span distances with little need for intermediate supports, giving homeowners, designers, and builders architectural flexibility. Because glulam is engineered wood, it’s an efficient use of resources; large glulam members may be manufactured from smaller trees in second- and third-growth forest plantations.Learn more: SALA Architects, Inc. • 612-379-3037 • salaarc.com
Aqua-Bric and UNI Eco-Stone Permeable Pavers
Borgert Products’ Aqua-Bric and UNI Eoc-Stone permeable pavers create an elegant hard-surface pavement that still allows precipitation and water to soak into the ground. Lack of runoff helps recharge groundwater storage, and mitigates the impact of pollutants or flooding on nearby lakes and streams.Learn more: Borgert Products • 800-622-4952 • borgertproducts.com
Geothermal Heating and Cooling System
Tap into the power of the free energy under your feet. The Envision Series from WaterFurnace International utilizes the energy below ground, instead of fossil fuels, to heat and cool a home at a fraction of the cost of conventional HVAC systems. This system collects and transfers heat energy through a system of underground pipes beneath your backyard. It’s a great way to counter high energy costs: compared to ordinary furnaces and air conditioners, the Envision system provides up to 70 percent energy savings.Learn more: WaterFurnace International, Inc. Find a local dealer at waterfurnace.com
InSpire™ Roofing Tile
Keith Waters & Associates has a reputation in the Twin Cities as a leader in green building, for the designs and products incorporated into the company’s homes. One such product is InSpire composite slate tile. Using technologically advanced methods and eco-friendly materials, InSpire roofing has the appearance of natural slate but is more durable, thanks to its 100 percent recyclable blend of virgin resins and natural limestone. InSpire stands behind its products with a transferable 50-year limited warranty. See InSpire on the Keith Waters home in the 2008 Luxury Home Tour.Learn more: Keith Waters & Associates, Inc. • 952-974-0005 • keithwaters.com
Green Kitchen
For a kitchen that is green to the core, go beyond the obvious Energy Star appliances and compact fluorescent lighting. This kitchen includes a renovated wood floor, conserving resources; natural marmoleum countertops made of linseed oil backed with jute; a 42-inch-high custom bar top made of ground, recycled industrial glass and concrete; and new cabinetry finished with a volatile organic compound-free stain for healthier indoor air quality. The remodel minimized waste: Lumber was re-used in the project. The existing cabinets—in excellent condition—were donated to the Re-Use Center, part of the Green Institute. And the waste drywall was turned into agricultural fertilizer at the Hennepin County Recycling Center.Learn more: Reagan GreenBuilt • 612-518-6429 • reagangreenbuilt.com
Reclaimed Wood for Cabinetry and Flooring
That old, sagging barn country has life in it yet. Wood used for building a century ago may be weathered, but it still has value for today’s homes—and its history is part of the charm. Reusing lumber from old barns, mills, and homes for custom cabinetry, millwork, or furniture extends the life of a resource already harvested. The results are gorgeous. “At one point, it was a beautiful barn, and now it’s continuing this beautiful legacy,” says James Mitlyng, cabinet designer for Trademark Wood Products. “It results in pieces that cannot be replicated any other way, and it’s the right thing to do.”Learn more: Trademark Wood Products, an M|A|Peterson company • 952-925-9455 • mapeterson.com
Design: Extended Roof Overhangs
Something as simple as broad roof overhangs contributes to green design. Conventional overhangs are generally 2 feet deep or smaller, but overhangs double that width do a better job protecting walls and foundations from moisture. Moisture leads to mold, which harms indoor air quality and often requires extensive renovation, consuming resources. And extended eaves in the appropriate locations help reduce a home’s summer solar heat gain.“It’s a simple and attractive method to green a home, whether it is being newly constructed or remodeled,” says Steve Kleineman, AIA, of SKD Architects. “SKD has been designing this way for years—it’s a matter of knowing how design affects the home and its surroundings.”
Learn more: SKD Architects 763-591-6115 • skdarchitects.com
iForm ICF Walls
Manufactured by Reward Wall Systems, and available in Minnesota through Cemstone, iForm insulating concrete form walls bring huge energy savings home. Made of poured-in-place concrete and insulated by two layers of polystyrene (seen above, before exterior siding is added), ICFs create solid, air-tight walls that are sound and fire resistant, and able to withstand storm winds up to 200 miles per hour. Because ICF walls are substantially more energy efficient than traditional frame walls, they offer home heating and cooling savings of up to 50-80 percent.Learn more: Cemstone • 800-CEMSTONE • cemstone.com/ICF
The Bellflower - The Mosaic Comes Together
The Bellflower—a home designed by Terra Verde Architects featured on HGTVs “Dream Builders” series for sustainable design—illustrates perfectly how a green home is the sum of many parts. Its features read like a litany of green from the ground up: This home takes advantage of passive solar design; reuse of site topsoil; a concrete foundation with high fly ash content; fast-growing aspen wood floor joists; glulam and engineered wood structural beams; certified sustainable Brazillian cherry flooring; recycled wool carpeting; insulation with high recycled fiberglass content; radiant hydronic heating and a 95 percent efficiency furnace. “Terra Verde Architects is a sustainable firm whose designs are ‘green’ by virtue of their energy efficiencies and use of natural and engineered materials that are renewable and recyclable,” says Brian K. Nelson, AIA, of Terra Verde Architects.Learn more: Terra Verde Architects, LLC • 612-253-0504 • terraverdearch.com
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