The owners of the Midtown Green House first chose rainwater collection before considering any other green elements. The reason is that at their old house, they had high water bills since water rates have increased in the City of Atlanta. They wanted to be able to water their plants without having to pay high water bills anymore so we installed a 5,000 underground tank to store the water for them. They will also use the water to flush the toilets as well. Here are some videos on how related to the rain water collection here at the Midtown Green House.
For more videos on the Midtown Green House click here
One of our favorite parts of the construction process is the watch the spray foam insulation get installed. Watch this video of Icynene getting installed at the Midtown Green House.
We chose to get many green certifications on the Midtown Green House- one of them is the LEED for Homes certification. We are also going to get the EarthCraft House, and NAHB green certifications on the house so we can compare the different programs.
To get any house certified as being green, there is a process that you must go through. Most of them have a checklist and documents that you must provide to prove that you completed the house to that particular program’s standards.
You can’t just wave a wand and say that it is green. You can- but it will not add any value to the house. In Georgia, green certifications actually add value to the homes. In the past 2 years, green homes have sold for more and sold faster than the non green ones at the same price point.
The Hoots Group is the green builder, however they cannot certify the house themselves. They have to go through a green provider. They chose to work with Carl from Seville Consulting since he was a pioneer in the Atlanta green remodeling and building movement.
The Midtown Green House will have a mini version of it on display at the Southern Building Show May 13-15, 2010. We will also have the Midtown Green House vendors all in the same area on the trade show floor so you can meet them and talk about their products and how that integrate into the house.
One of the challenges of a narrow lot is to build a home that is appropriate for the lot and create a landscape plan that compliments the design of not just the house but the street-scape.
Bennett Design and Landscape created this landscape plan and will be starting on the implementation of the retaining walls in the next couple of weeks.
One of the themes of the Midtown Green House is to show that Modern luxury and green building can coexist without compromise. In our case these concepts are complementary. The cabinet partner for the showcase house, SCIC, just launched a new greener series of cabinets:
Scic Atlanta announces it’s release of System 20 Universal TDW for a Greener World
ATLANTA (February, 10th 2010) – SCIC goes Green. SCIC (pronounced “chic”) Atlanta today announced
the release of its latest System 20 Universal TDW product line that is focused towards the construction/property
developing industry bringing an affordable luxury kitchen with FSC Certification. Continue reading Green Cabinets
The Hoots Group, builder of the Midtown Green House, blogged about the nomenclature of green home and how it is great to see what goes into compared to a standard home which may have some mediocre materials in it. To read the Sustainword post click here.
We are using some great products from Huber Engineered Woods. Check out this video on their Advantech Subflooring that they dominate the market with.
For builders, architects and designers- come see all of the vendors that participated in the Midtown Green House. We will have a mini version of the house on the showroom floor displaying most of the products that we used on the larger house. There are also some great classes to help you stay competitive in this changing marketplace.
For consumers- when you register on consumer day- you get a free raffle ticket for the Midtown Green Playhouse. If you win the playhouse- it will be delivered to your home for your kids to be able to play in!
Our foundation was built off site saving us time and money, but it also has the framing and insulation built into it. These walls require less concrete as well compared to a poured in place wall.
Seems like winter will not go away. If you live in an inefficient house that has not been weatherized, not only will you have high energy bills but you will still be cold! The best solution to quickly weatherize your home is spray foam insulation. In the picture to the left we are using Icynene spray foam insulation. We will also be using their products on the Midtown Green House. Icynene is a great product because it insulates as well as stops the annoying drafts from occurring.
The Midtown Green House now has a fan page where we will be uploading photos at least once a week for you to see our progress. Become a fan and see our updates on your home page on Facebook.
Even though we cannot get out there with the heavy equipment tomorrow, we can still pour the foundations! What? How can we pour foundations in the rain? They are modular and are being created off site! They will be installed on schedule next week.
