Washougal’s Crown Point Estates is about to get one of the state’s first homes meeting national green building standards.
The 2,500-square-foot house will be one of only three in the state of Washington, and the state’s first built outside Seattle. Renaissance Homes of Lake Oswego, Ore., projects its completion for early November.
The home is expected to meet standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, one of the nation’s primary benchmarks for environmentally friendly building practices. While Oregon has several homes meeting LEED standards, Washington’s are fewer, possibly due to a lack of tax incentives.
The three-bedroom, 2.5-bath structure will be a prototype home, allowing Renaissance to test the feasibility of building more like it in the region. The firm is testing systems that are cost effective for both home owners and builders.
At the Washougal site Renaissance is using green building techniques from the ground up, including specially prepared layers of soil, rock and local aggregate to keep all storm water on site. To cut cement use 30 percent, foundations contain fly ash, a post manufacturing material from coal plants.
Framing lumber comes from the Warm Springs mill, which cuts from certified sustainable forests. More efficient engineering has cut framing lumber use by 13 percent.
To help prevent build-up of mold, a Rain Screen exterior wall system will allow air to circulate between the siding and house wrap.
Inside, the home boasts a 95 percent efficiency furnace that runs as needed and can bring a five percent energy savings. A ventilation unit allows heat from warm, stale outgoing air to transfer to cooler incoming air, and it’s all held in with spray insulation.
Hot water is distributed more efficiently thanks to a single pipe running to the center of the house. The pipe branches to each appliance location rather than running along the outer walls.
Renaissance Homes also has projects in Vancouver and Camas, plus Southwest Portland, several Portland suburbs and a golf course in Tukwila. Last year the firm hired Karl Lange as a full-time manager of building science, and Renaissance says he is the first such hire in the area. The firm’s homes all comply with Earth Advantage and Energy Star standards.
