Greenovation
by Cyndy Cerbin

On March 1, 2007, the sky began to roar, the lights went out. Jon Kendrick and his young son Michael ran for cover under the stairs.

When they emerged just minutes later, they found the roof caved in above them, windows blown out and walls teetering. A tornado had left the house, along with four others in the Brookstone neighborhood of Columbus, damaged beyond repair.

But the Kendricks liked the neighborhood, and liked their lot at the end of a cul-de-sac, and liked the large backyard, perfect for a vegetable garden or tossing the football. So the old house came down and Jon started making plans with local builder Mac Flowers to start over, this time with a house that would live up to today’s emphasis on efficiency and environmental protection.

“I’ve always been interested in doing things in an environmentally sound way, but it also just made sense to build something more efficient, more protective of our country’s resources, something that would promote higher indoor air quality and guard against the probable increase of energy costs over the years,” Jon explained.

After doing some research, Kendrick decided to build an Earthcraft home, the first of that kind in Columbus. Earthcraft is an Atlanta-based company that will certify a home’s construction if it meets
certain energy saving and recycling standards.

Building a so-called green home costs a bit more than the average home, but experts say the difference is made up in energy savings over a short period of time. Kendrick says there are other benefits, too, like improving the home’s resale value and comfort. “It’s definitely more comfortable. No matter what you have the temperature set at, you don’t have any drafts. So whatever you set it at, it stays consistently at that temperature.”

The old house had lots of windows and lacked features to control energy costs. Kendrick estimates, with the changes he’s made in the new house, his electricity (which runs everything but one water heater) costs an average of about $90 a month. The house has 3,400 square feet. “Energy bills in the old house ran to about $200, plus it was much less comfortable,” he said.

Builders of green homes seal every seam and crack in the house to keep good air in and bad air out. They use double-paned and low-e windows, which have an ultra thin metallic coating that reflects heat back to its source. They look for opportunities to use recycled products. Kendrick’s hardwood floor contains certified reforested wood.

When construction is complete, the builder does a thorough inspection. “When they come out to test air leakage, they hook up a blower outside and see how much air can get through the walls,” Kendrick said. “This house was found to be substantially more efficient even than it was required to be.”

In addition to locking air in or out, Kendrick has an advanced air filtration system which helps remove pollutants and contaminants from the house. “When you have a tighter house like this, you still need fresh air to come in because there are things in the house, like cleaning products, that can create pollution.” Air in the house is purified, then fed to the home’s heating and cooling systems.

Even the bricks on the façade of Kendrick’s home are environmentally friendly. “Instead of using natural gas to bake the bricks,” Kendrick explains, they’re baked with peanut oil. They bake at a higher temperature which actually makes the bricks a different, more saturated color, which I like.”

From this homeowner’s point of view, building a green house is no more challenging than any other. Kendrick says the builders do all the work, leaving him with only decisions to make about flooring materials and paint colors. “People warned me that I’d probably go crazy trying to build this house,” Kendrick said, “but it was really easier than I expected it to be. I’d do it again if I had to.”

He may not have to. This house is built to last. But Jon and Michael are prepared for anything. They’ve designed the master bedroom closet to be a safe room, with thicker doors and reinforced walls to keep them from harm next time Mother Nature strikes.

Smaller Budget, Smaller Footprint
Kevin and Michele Elmore knew when they bought their 1,400-square-foot home in rural Harris County several years ago that it needed major renovation. Both are avid environmentalists who were “captured by the green movement” even before it became popular, and they knew they wanted to make the smallest possible impact when it came time to fixing up their fixer-upper.

“We knew we wanted to repair an existing building within its footprint instead of taking down the next piece of woodland and starting from scratch,” Michele explained.

They did a little research on Earthcraft homes and found a local contractor already familiar with the requirements. John Teeples drew up some plans and helped them make tough decisions about what would fit into their budget and what would have to be cut. He also helped the self-described ‘compulsive recyclers’ find even more ways to be environmentally friendly.

“We chose a bamboo floor, we recycled all our metal, and Reaves brought in a 12-ton dumpster so we could collect and recycle all our sheet rock,” Kevin said. They also are reusing the doors and windows from the old house in a renovation of a shed on their property. Bricks from the old house will be used to create a trail through the woods and to help control soil erosion. The old cedar siding will become a new fence. Even some of the old insulation that was still in good shape was picked up by a neighbor looking to save money and the environment, too.

The new home’s exterior is clad with fiberglass cement siding which resembles wood but holds up well to weather, insects or fire for decades. The roof is metal. Windows are made of low-e glass and appliances are energy efficient. The Elmores were able to buy a smaller heating and cooling system because the house is so well insulated.

The couple stays green in other ways, too. They started using cloth bags at the grocery many years ago, when baggers weren’t quite sure what to do with them. They compost their organic waste and collect rainwater in barrels. They discovered a half-inch rain running off just one quarter of their roof would fill a 55-gallon drum. “It kind of turned us on to the utility of capturing rainwater,” Michele said.

They use the rainwater to water plants and feed their hobby of natural gardening. “We use native plants in our landscaping, and with native plants you don’t have to water a whole lot,” Michele said. The Elmores also grow vegetables at home, and plan to install an underground cistern and pump to store roof run-off. It will hold about 20 times more water than the rain barrel. “We’ll be able to hook a hose up to it and it will be like turning on the faucet,” Michele said. Except the water will be free.

The Elmores acknowledge that building green costs a little more than traditional construction. But they believe anyone can do it. “We have modest incomes and we were able to do it. It’s about investing in the right things.

“We’re still young and there are a lot of things outside our reach. But if you’re really committed to it and you plan for it, you can do it without creating too big of a pinch. There’s nothing elaborate about this house.”

There is still work to be done in the Elmore’s house. Kevin will be doing the trim work to cut costs, and new furnishings will have to wait until some of the bills are paid off.

In the meantime, Kevin and Michele are enjoying significant savings on their energy bills. Their highest cooling bill in 2008 (in the old house): $140. The largest in 2009: $90. They expect to save
similarly on heating, especially after installing a new wood stove.

Would they do anything differently if they could start all over again? “Maybe spend a little more of our budget on a computer-generated model of what the rebuilt house would look like. It’s hard to tell what something is going to look like if you’ve only seen it in a picture in a magazine,” Kevin said.

And maybe an interior designer. “There are just so many decisions to make. One … or more … every single day. It’s stressful,” Michele said.

“It might have been nice to have some more experienced hands guiding us through that part of the project,” Kevin added.

But perhaps the biggest thing they’d do differently is live offsite during the renovation. For four months, Kevin and Michele shared a cozy, 24-foot RV parked in the backyard while the house was being rebuilt. Workers traipsed in and out every day. Tornado warnings prompted evacuations to the home’s bathtub. “Let’s just say there were defining moments,” Michele said. “Not all bad, not all good, but definitely an experience to remember.”

Responsibility
Jon Kendrick and the Elmores both feel a responsibility to leave as little impact on the environment as possible. “It’s a lot easier to build something from scratch than to do a major renovation,” Michele Elmore said. “We had to remind ourselves from time to time that we were doing the right thing. It’s a matter of principle.”

Kevin hopes the federal government will start encouraging more green building by offering more substantial tax credits.

Jon believes that with education and time, the local community will become greener. “As energy costs go up, it starts to make more sense to everybody. Once people learn more about the value of going green, more will go that way.”

To learn more about current tax breaks for Energy Star products, click here.

To see this story complete with photos, pick up the latest issue of Columbus and the Valley at a retail outlet near you, or click here to subscribe online so you’ll never miss a word.

Phone: 706-324-6214
E-mail: contactus@columbusandthevalley.com