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A project I recently wrapped up, the “ICF Project,” takes a health and wellness approach to building that provides the perfect combination of beauty and strength. This home is designed and built for the health, wellness and comfort of its occupants and guests, sustainability, and withstanding Oklahoma’s unpredictable weather patterns without sacrificing luxury or charm. Making wellness choices IS our focus!!
Many homes (and buildings) are beautifully appointed and many of the interior finishes, fixtures and features may include health and comfort benefits. Adding performance to the structure of the home, and the major systems, results in a home that looks great and performs well. We are pursuing green certification through the ICC-700 National Green Building Standard™ (NGBS) and health and wellness certification through Wellness Within Your Walls. These “above and beyond” certifications distinguish the project’s quality, innovation and performance.
“Green building is essentially thoughtful design and execution, representing a more holistic understanding of building science with five main pillars or areas of focus: energy, materials, water, health, and place.” from Rate It Green’s An Introduction to Residential Green Building Certifications: Part I
Buildings are evaluated by practices in different categories which work together to create buildings that are more holistic, healthier and more efficient. These categories are:
First, the home was constructed from ICF – Insulated Concrete Forms from Fox Blocks. ICF homes and buildings are some of the most air-tight, resilient, and comfortably constructed. Oh, and did I mention that they are quiet. These “Lego-like” blocks of foam are stacked in a pattern to reinforce the strength of the walls.There is a cavity in the center of the blocks and rebar is run through the cavities for additional strength. Then the cavities are filled with concrete. Exterior and interior cladding (i.e. drywall) may be attached directly to the blocks along the nailing strips in the blocks. A blower door test is run once the home is fully constructed to measure the airtightness.
To sum it up – an ICF built envelope from the inside out:
The home was designed to take advantage of passive solar practices through shading of the windows via roof overhangs of 12’ on all sides. Both exterior doors are protected by patio roofs.
While all the exterior walls were constructed from ICF, the roof was not. It was framed and sheathed in accordance with the IBHS Fortified High Wind and Hail guidelines. We are hoping we will be able to achieve this certification as well. Gutters with buried downspouts were installed around the entire edge of the roof to carry water away from the foundation and home.
The attached garage is built on to the outside of the ICF construction to provide excellent vapor sealing between the living space and the garage. The door between the house and garage is also gasketed to protect occupants from emissions in the garage.
For added comfort (and energy efficiency and air-tightness), the roof deck was sprayed with a certified low-emissions spray foam. Since the HVAC blower unit is in the attic, spray foam insulation on the roof deck will provide a conditioned space to protect the HVAC unit and potentially increase its operational efficiency and longevity.
We chose the best windows the budget allows. Windows fill holes in our well-insulated walls and create opportunities for drafts and heat transfer, if not installed properly. Ensure windows are properly flashed and sills permit ample drainage.
Now that the house is much more energy efficient and air-tight, we worked with the heating and cooling contractors to ensure the systems selected were right-sized for this particular home with its increased benefits.
By running a software modeling program (Manual J), a “digital model” of the home is created using wall, window and door types and dimensions, the direction the home faces, and insulation values, and the heating and cooling load is calculated. This is how much heating or cooling the home is expected to use in different circumstances. From here, the size of the systems needed can be calculated and matched to the type of system planned (Manual S). Duct run software (Manual D) was also run to optimize the way the ductwork is run through the home. We later tested the ductwork to ensure it was not leaky and delivered air the way it was designed.
Any home designed and built for air-tightness needs mechanical ventilation to ensure the people living in it have fresh air to breathe. We chose to use an Energy Recovery Ventilator for whole house ventilation. It operates in concert with the heating and cooling system and continually exhausts stale air and brings in fresh air
A high efficiency hot water heater was installed. Be sure to align the system and fuel choice with what will work in the climate and locale.
The systems we have in our homes are the biggest energy user and also one of the critical contributors to our comfort, as well as our health and well-being. With a better constructed home, smaller systems typically are needed and we can use the “trade-off” for better systems to support the people living in the home.
All (95%+) light fixtures are LED or use LED bulbs. Motion controlled exterior lights were also used for several exterior garage lights and others. We installed ceiling fans in the living area and all bedrooms for increased comfort. Light colored paint and finishes were used to reflect more light
Energy Star appliances reduce energy usage and are easily available in many options. The following appliances are Energy Star qualified.
There are many beautiful lines of plumbing fixtures that are low-flow and WaterSense certified.
We installed a smaller system in the mechanical closet that did not take much space. There was no exterior irrigation installed.
In addition to how the home is constructed, intentional choices for the interior contributed to the overall health, wellness and comfort of this home. We started with choosing finishes, fixtures and materials with natural ingredients or responsible use of ingredients that may have longer term effects. By reducing VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and other toxins found in many building finishes and materials we were able to improve indoor air quality for better breathing.
Low or no VOC paints, flooring, cabinets, adhesives, stains, and glues are readily available and help reduce the VOCs and toxins in the home. Products and materials were chosen that do not contain formaldehyde.
Together the design-build team and the homeowner worked through the many options and selections for a home that looks great and performs well.
Using the ICC-700 National Green Building Standard™ (NGBS) – the only residential green building rating system approved by ANSI as an American National Standard – as the chosen green rating system for this project provides a path that has been followed by over 460,000 homes and units to date.
Wellness Within Your Walls(r) certification for the health and wellness portion was chosen to compliment the green home certification.
Choices for appliances, fixtures, lighting, plumbing, and finishes consider the many “smarter” options readily available to save resources – energy, water, and materials – while keeping the indoor environment of the home as healthy as possible. Both certifications work “hand in glove” to achieve these outcomes.
And finally, owner education and documentation help both to operate and maintain the home better. This practice is required by both NGBS Green Home Certification and Wellness Within Your Walls Certification. This stepped approach allows the project to first utilize advantages easily gained with design and build but difficult to implement later. Certification with NGBS offers proof that the project reached its green and sustainability goals. Certification with WWYW proves the health and wellness goals were reached as well.
Together, we created a home that works for our client. Can we design and build one for you?
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At Green Home Coach, helping you to create and discover healthier, more comfortable homes is what I do. I work with home professionals – designers, builders, realtors, and more; home owners and dwellers … just about anyone that works with a home in some way.
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