Article Category: Technical Checklists

Tom Owens: Certifying it Twice

Certifying it Twice: High-Performance Home Receives ENERGY STAR® 3 and Green Built Homes Certifications Tom Owens   Clients came to us a few years ago in search of someone who could both design and build a home that would be environmentally friendly, energy efficient and structurally durable. They had a...

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Boone Guyton: Going for Zero and Beyond

Going for Zero and Beyond: The Journey to -8 HERS Boone Guyton   We built our last house with the goal of being net-zero energy. The West Asheville lot is a small 0.08-acre infill lot with great southern exposure. That allowed for both solar photovoltaics and passive solar design on...

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Rob Howard: Practical Priorities

Practical Priorities: Asheville Home Serves as High-Performance Prototype Rob Howard   Today’s homebuyers have a tendency to focus on creature comforts and prioritize the components of a home that can be seen and touched like paint colors, kitchen cabinets, countertops and bathroom tiles. Especially for those designing and building a...

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Jason Martini: Dome Dreaming

Dome Dreaming: Local Monolithic Dome Serves as New Model of Stewardship and Harmony Jason Martini   We are living in such a time where old systems are collapsing and failing, and it’s time to create new models that will support our future generations to survive and thrive. There are so...

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Leigha Dickens: Coulda, Would, Shoulda

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: (Flawed) Reasons People Don’t Use Green Building Certification Programs Leigha Dickens   If I had a dollar for every time a client chose not to certify their custom new home through a third-party green-building program, then I’d have more dollars than you might think. Even among clients...

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Maggie Leslie: Indoor Air Quality Checklist

Indoor Air Quality Checklist Maggie Leslie   Ensuring healthy indoor air quality in a home starts with the very foundation. Many simple building techniques, from radon-resistant construction to drainage planes, can prevent unwanted air-quality problems in the future. To prevent unwanted moisture and contaminants from entering, it is very important...

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Maggie Leslie: Insulation 101

Insulation 101 Maggie Leslie   There are many types of insulation. The most common type of insulation is batt or blanket type insulation (typically fiberglass) which is the least expensive, but requires more careful installation to ensure 100 percent coverage. Blown types such as fiberglass, cellulose (recycled newspaper) and foams...

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Maggie Leslie: Air Sealing Checklist

Air Sealing Checklist Maggie Leslie   Air sealing is a crucial part of building a healthy, energy efficient home. Below is a checklist of items to make sure to seal when building or renovating a conventional stick frame home. A leaky home will decrease the r-value of your insulation effectiveness,...

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Checklist: Choosing a green builder

Checklist: Choosing a green builder By Hans Doellgast on 03/22/2010 As people become educated about the benefits of building and owning a green-built home, more builders are advertising themselves as "green" builders. For the most part, this is a good thing. For those of us who have preached environmentally sensitive building...

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