EXTERIOR
Chandler’s crew wrapped the walls with Tyvek Wrinkle…
EXTERIOR
Chandler’s crew wrapped the walls with Tyvek Wrinkle Wrap and then taped the window flanges and electrical penetrations and lapped and taped the step flashings. They covered the Tyvek with two layers of 15-pound asphalt felt and then stapled lightweight fiberglass SpiderLath every 6 inches each way down the wall. They then applied a two-coat ¾-inch-thick layer of type-S stucco and sealed it with an elastomeric paint. The slab on-grade foundation is wrapped with 9-inch PolySteel ICFs with two layers of 1-inch XPS foam underneath. Tyvek: 800.448.9835. http://www2.dupont.com. Circle 348. SpiderLath: 870.725.3902. www.spiderlath.com. Circle 349. Polysteel: 800.293.3210. www.polysteel.com
John Ripley
KITCHEN
Norcraft formaldehyde-free cabinets, a 1.8-gpm Kohler S…
KITCHEN
Norcraft formaldehyde-free cabinets, a 1.8-gpm Kohler Simplice faucet, Energy Star-rated appliances, and Cambria quartz countertops grace the open, airy kitchen. Norcraft: 866.802.7892. www.norcraftcabinetry.com. Kohler: 800.456.4537. www.kohler.com. Cambria: 866.226.2742. www.cambriausa.comWINDOWS
The home is sited to maximize views of the countryside and adjacent airpark while controlling sunlight. Peachtree 700 Series double-pane, low-E windows (0.30 SHGC and 0.30 U-value), 37-inch roof overhangs, and exterior shade structures on the south and west side help control summer heat gain. 800.732.2499. www.peachtreedoor.comINTERIORS
Products chosen for their contribution to healthy indoor air include tile flooring and Sherwin-Williams low-VOC paint. A Morso 6148 wood stove provides extra warmth on cold days. Upstairs, floors are made of wide-plank local oak. Sherwin-Williams: 800.474.3794. www.sherwin-williams.com. Morso: 615.323.0561. www.morsona.com
John Ripley
ROOFTOP PATIO
The brick tile floor of the roof floats on two l…
ROOFTOP PATIO
The brick tile floor of the roof floats on two layers of HardieBacker boards laid on ½-inch Ameridrain plastic drainage mats above the rubber roof. To keep the roof from getting wet, the floor is flashed into the wall with galvanized steel flashing. For maximum enjoyment of the space—the owners’ favorite hangout—Chandler included a water spigot and a gas outlet for the barbecue grill. James Hardie: 888.542.7343. www.jameshardie.com. Ameridrain: 800.242.9425. www.americanwick.com
John Ripley
RAINGARDEN
A 20-foot trench on the far side of the driveway and…
RAINGARDEN
A 20-foot trench on the far side of the driveway and an 80-foot trench on the north side under a concrete retaining wall collect rainwater and feed it to plants via passive capillary action. Materials to make the rainwater system cost about $156 per 20-foot section, Chandler says.
John Ripley
SOLAR THERMAL system
Three rooftop panels in the SolarHot drai…
SOLAR THERMAL system
Three rooftop panels in the SolarHot drain-back system heat water, which is stored in the 160-gallon storage tank and used for heating the floors and for hot water. The panels have an SRCC rating of 86. A Quietside ODW-120 gas on-demand water heater with 15-gallon tempering tank provides backup hot water but is rarely used, Chandler says. SolarHot: 919.439.2387. www.solarhotusa.com. Circle 351. Quietside: 888.699.6067. www.quietside.comAIR CONDITIONER
The 15-SEER Heil zoned bypass heat pump air conditioner was selected for its ability to optimize dehumidification, Chandler says. When one zone turns off, a bypass damper allows a small amount of the air that would have gone to that zone to mix with the return air from both zones, which pre-cools it and helps reduce static pressure on the blower and maintain air velocity over the coil, resulting in more complete moisture removal from the air. www.heil-hvac.com
John Ripley
MASTER BATH
A Panasonic WhisperGreen fan in each bathroom prov…
MASTER BATH
A Panasonic WhisperGreen fan in each bathroom provides distributed ventilation with optional time-delay operation. To help minimize water usage, the owners selected low-flow faucets and Kohler’s WaterSense-certified 1.28-gpf Cimarron toilets with Class Five flushing technology. Panasonic: 800.211.7262. www.panasonic.com. Kohler: 800.456.4537 www.kohler.com
With five certifications and an Energy Value Housing Award from the NAHB Research Center, the project taught Chandler a lot about how different green rating systems compare in terms of stringency and ease of use (see Builder Profile)—as well as cost. He spent about $650 to comply with Energy Star and the DOE’s Builders Challenge programs, $650 more for the NGBS report card, and about $1,950 more for LEED certification.
John Ripley
Michael Chandler and Beth Williams
Owners, Chandler Design-Build
Now that this project is complete, Chandler foresees a role for the two national programs in his business: He plans to continue to certify all of his homes to the NGBS and save LEED for only the highest-performing projects. “It seems to me there is no cause for tension between the two,” he concludes.
In 2007 Michael Chandler helped create the ANSI-700 National Green Building Standard, and he is proud of its easy-to-understand, flexible approach. As much as he is committed to the standard, he has always found comparisons between it and the USGBC’s LEED for Homes unproductive.
In building the Bryant house to both programs (his first LEED project), he discovered similarities and differences: While both culminate in a sustainable house, he found that the LEED program is more focused on design and planning and the NBGS rewards actions during construction. ‘LEED is planning focused, so you have to document everything in the early stages,” he says. “But I find it’s easier to document the execution—just grab a camera and take a picture while you’re building—and that’s how the Green Building Standard works.”
Profile: Michael Chandler and Beth Williams
Owners, Chandler Design-Build
Name: Bryant Residence, Saxapahaw, N.C.
Size: 2,498 square feet
Construction cost: $158 per square foot
Completed: June 2009
Certifications: LEED-Gold, NGBS-Gold, Energy Star, Builders Challenge, Green Home Builders of the Triangle-Gold
That flexibility suits Chandler’s on-the-fly style, which thrives on the freedom to experiment during construction. “The NGBS allows you to improvisationally make the house greener than the plans as you go along,” he says. After 34 years as a green builder—eight of them working with his wife, designer Beth Williams—Chandler is overjoyed to see high-performance construction enter the mainstream marketplace. “When I first started out, we had to get special paint to meet green standards for low VOCs,” he recalls. “Now almost all paints are low-VOC. What was once thought of as high-performance building is now code.”
