James Wilson
PROJECT DETAILS Project: Timbercreek Zero-Energy House, Lewisvil…
PROFILE: Chris Miles
GREENCRAFT BUILDERS, LEWISVILLE, TEXAS
Chris Miles’ drive to reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment is tireless. While he finished a LEED-Platinum custom spec house last March, just in time for tours during the NAHB National Green Building Conference, he and architect Bill Peck began a zero-energy house with a 14-week construction schedule, this time with a homeowner already attached. “We weren’t going to do a second show house this year,” Miles says, “but in a down year we were afraid we’d lose our sponsors if we didn’t jump on it.” Sponsors are just one anomaly of Miles’ homes and his history. For nearly 15 years every Saturday afternoon, for instance, he’s hosted HouseTalk, a radio show advocating building science and energy efficiency, among other things, to consumers and pros in North Texas.
And while Miles subjects his homes to various green certification standards, he resents manufacturers and suppliers who push green products as a way to gain rating-systems credits. “That’s not why I use a particular product or how I want my business to be known,” he says. “I use something because it’s good for the house, to enhance its comfort and quality, not to get a bunch of points.”
What does excite him about LEED and other programs are the provisions and requirements for using local and regional sources, reclaimed and recycled-content products, water-conservation and reclamation systems, and construction waste management tactics. “Learning about ways to meet those specifications is what’s fun about what we do.” —R.B.
