Green Building Update - 03/20/2008 (Plain Text Version)View Graphical Version | Subscribe
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Editor... In this issue: Tour of Green Homes: a PreviewThe HBA of Greater New Orleans and its member green builders are hard at work preparing for the Green Home and Technology Tour at the National Green Building Conference. The association will showcase cutting-edge green building products and dynamic new construction techniques as well as the Crescent City’s home builders and remodelers, who are rebuilding New Orleans stronger, greener and safer than ever before. All the houses on the tour are in infill developments. Many will be in devastated areas in neighborhoods throughout the city, some close to the levees that broke in September 2005 during the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The houses on the tour won’t just be green – they will be symbols of the rebirth that is taking place in New Orleans. Among the projects now scheduled to be on the tour: Green Coast Enterprises and PAR Custom Homes. This four-unit condominium is composed of two two-family steel frame structures.The first pilot project in the Crescent City Green building program, this house will be rated gold according to the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines and rated to the Institute for Business and Home Safety's Fortified for Safer Living Standard. Olde World Builders and Remodelers. The company headed by former HBA president Toni Wendell has two projects on the Green Home and Technology Tour. One is a brand-new, raised single-family Creole cottage style house that has been built in an area that was flooded during the hurricanes. The builder expects the home to certify to the Bronze or Silver level in the NAHB National Green Building Program and is on track to be fully completed before the conference begins. The company is also raising, remodeling and adding on to another tour home, a single-family home that also suffered significant flood damage. Another expected Bronze- or Silver-level green home, Wendell hopes to show a fully-finshed home to conference attendees. Future Proof/ Verzura Construction. Rising in a devastated neighborhood, this single-family home is constructed of structural insulated panels. The project includes a demonstration of innovative landscaping techniques, including a rain garden and a cistern to collect rainwater. Step-by-Step Construction. This New Orleans builder will present a remodeling project: A single-family shotgun house in the historic Mid-City district. It's slated to achieve Gold level national certification and when complete, it will serve as an onsite classroom for Tulane University students and others interested in innovative green construction techniques. With a large backyard, the completed home will be a model for protecting natural resources in an urban environment. It will also showcase innovative drainage plans and native landscaping. KC Contractors has entered a remodeling project that included raising the home to help prevent damage from future flooding. The home is in a neighborhood that suffered a 7-foot influx of water during the hurricane. The company is also entering another raise-remodel project that is expected to score to the Bronze or Silver level in the national program. Elite Homes by Wirth. This raised, new construction home is the Green Builder Magazine Vision House Project for the NAHB National Green Building Conference, and is expected to score to the Silver or Gold level for NAHB Green. Plans are to have the construction complete in time for the tour. For more information or to contact us directly, please visit www.NAHB.org | ©2008, National Association of Home Builders |