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Vujovich Design Build – The Idea Farm: New Home Gold

New Home Gold

Vujovich Idea Farm

Vujovich Design Build has received MN GreenStar’s highest New Home honor – Gold Certification. The project named, “The Idea Farm” is the first MN GreenStar certified project built by Vujovich Design Build.

Using local materials and building suppliers, The Idea Farm combines the state’s farming history and with modern sustainability. Connecting the home with land and nature, building practices included the use of recycled materials, geothermal heating, rain-water collection, reuse of gray water, composting, and reseeding native prairie grasses and pastures.

“In designing and building The Idea Farm our goal was to combine the highest possible levels of green building with sophisticated architecture; green + beautiful,” states Peter Vujovich, co-owner and founder of Vujovich Design Build.

By Peter Vujovich, Vujovich Design Build

Idea Farm KitchenVujovich Idea Farm

For more information on this project visit www.vujovich.com.

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Quarve Contracting: Remodel Type I Gold

 

For more information on this project visit www.quarve.com.

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Crockett & Crockett Builders: Remodel Type IV Bronze

Remodel Type IV Bronze

This project was initiated by the City of White Bear Lake to demonstrate how a 1950’s single-family rambler-type residence can be modernized to the way many people want live today. The City decided that GreenStar certification would be the best way to emphasize and educate the public about green remodeling practices. It was a way for the city to demonstrate their commitment to quality and to show that certification can be achieved even on a tight budget. The rambler was a logical housing style choice for this project as more than one-third of the City’s single-family housing stock is comprised of rambler-style homes.

The property included a 973 square foot home with a two-car detached garage. The home had a great envelope: newer windows, a decent roof and siding in good shape. This allowed the team to focus their attention on the interior of the home. The City worked with Rust Architects to design a new layout which opened up the common areas of the home by removing the stairway walls to create a spacious great room feel; building a new 165-square foot kitchen and mud-room addition; and reconfiguring the main floor bedrooms to create a true master bedroom.

A bedroom was added downstairs to compensate for the one lost upstairs, so that the home remained a 3-bed/1-bath. Many energy improvements were made throughout the home. After new insulation in the attic and the basement, all new mechanicals, appliances and fixtures. The staff estimates that the home is now 30% less leaky and energy costs are reduced by about $700 per year.

The intent of the project was primarily economic. Not only was an investment made in a particular house and therefore in a particular neighborhood, the city used a local architect, a local general contractor and some of the subcontractors were local as well.

The larger intent was to inspire reinvestment and revitalization of an aging housing stock. The hope was that the project can be replicated, to some degree, by young families wanting to relocate to White Bear Lake. The project was meant to demonstrate how to bridge the gap between first-time homebuyer’s dreams of owning a new home and the realistic attainability of owning an older, more affordable home.

The City hopes that most people will be inspired by at least one idea from this project and also that residents and City staff have learned about green remodeling as well as the true cost of various home improvement projects.

Get more information about this project at RamblerRevolution.com. Also, this home is for sale:
Contact Jane Bacchus Ray for information.

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Buck Brothers Construction Inc.: Remodel Type I Gold

Remodel Typr 1 Gold

Buck Brothers Construction

For more information on this project visit www.buck-bros.com.

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Castle Building & Remodeling: Remodel Type III Silver

This St. Louis Park couple came to Castle Building & Remodeling needing to expand their attic space in anticipation of a new arrival. They knew they wanted to use sustainable and locally sourced materials, convert the household mechanicals to energy efficient systems, and conserve or recycling materials wherever possible. Castle Building & Remodeling designed a unique shed dormer that gave these homeowners nearly 800 sq. ft. of newly finished space, including two bedrooms, a full bathroom and an office/nursery area.

Castle Building & Remodeling

Some of the key elements of this project that qualified it for green certification were:

  • High efficiency heating and cooling systems
  • A tanklesswater heating system
  • Energy Star rated lighting fixtures
  • Low flow plumbing fixtures
  • Advanced framing techniques that conserved on lumber usage
  • Engineered headers and beams to maximize the use of forest products
  • High efficiency windows
  • Advanced insulation techniques to increase R-values and eliminate air leakage
  • No recessed fixtures penetrating unconditioned attic space
  • Lifetime warrantied steel shingles
  • Bituminous roofing over entire low pitch roof areas
  • Fiber cement siding & wood composite exterior trim materials
  • Low VOC paints and finishes
  • Recycled framing and roofing materials salvaged for the existing house
  • A Waste Management Plan to deal with all refuse
  • Rain barrels to collect water runoff from the roof and to be used to water the yard

Castle Building & Remodeling

For more information on this project visit www.castlebri.com.

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Keith Waters & Associates: New Home Silver

New Home Silver
Keith Waters & Associates

This home by Keith Waters & Associates, Inc, is MN Greenstar New Home Silver Certified. Some of its “green” features are solar water heating, sustainably-harvested hardwood floors, and high-efficiency lighting. Its driveway pavers are made from recycled tires and are installed in a way that lets rainwater seep between them into the earth, recharging the groundwater supply while reducing undesireable runoff.

By Jacquie Cripe, Keith Waters & Associates

For more information on this project visit www.keithwaters.com.

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Buck Brothers Construction – Bath Project: Remodel Type I Gold

Previous to this bathroom project the homeowners contracted with Buck Brothers Construction to construct a GreenStar “Gold” Certified 2nd floor addition. They wanted to continue the “Green” renovation of their home with the decision to complete the installation of their master bathroom. Space and basic mechanics had been planned and laid out during the development and construction of their 2010 2nd floor addition.

Supported by an established collaborative relationship and clarity to the goals of sustainability and efficiency the owners and our staff finalized the scope and details for the bathroom. Reclaimed pedestals sinks and faucets from a local salvage company, a dual flush, water conserving toilet, low VOC paints and flow restricted faucets were folded into the shell constructed in their previous project. The completed bathroom presented them with an open, airy room including a porthole view of their front yard treetops.

The design process, construction and, most conclusively, the final product were a testament to the initial commitment and planning invested by the homeowners. Decisions made three years earlier ensured a continuation of their dedication to a sustainable construction and life style. An added plus for them was achieving another Gold certification for their Green home.

For more information on this project visit www.buck-bros.com.

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Showcase Renovation/SALA Architects: New Home Silver

New Home Silver

Showcase Renovations

Showcase Renovation Inc. won the 2008 “Excellence In Green Building” Award for remodeling with this project.  The home has been rated Silver by MN GreenStar.

Replacing an energy and structurally deficient home, this MN GreenStar pilot participant begins sustainability with simple concepts in a new 2050sf house.  Methods including solar orientation for passive heating and cooling; use and re-use of durable, recyclable, and sustainable materials; reduced energy consumption; improved indoor air quality; and increased attention to water management, retention, and respect of the mighty Mississippi.  The elongated plan and prominent shed roof focus river views while minimizing northern exposure.

Among the features included in this home:

  • FSC lumber and millwork
  • In-floor heat powered by heat pump
  • Closed cell foam insulation, R-50 and R-60 ceilings
  • Advanced framing technologies
  • Low VOC or no VOC and free of formaldehyde finishes
  • Air exchange system with heat-recovery or energy-recovery
  • Flourescent, low voltage, and LED lighting
  • Energy Star rated appliances
  • No-Mow Landscape with rain barrels and rain garden for conservation

The clients were dedicated to building green and made this project both challenging and exciting. This home was designed for its site responding to conditions both natural and man-made.  It provides an example of the beauty, efficiency, and longevity that results when regard for limited resources meets sustainable design and quality craftsmanship.

By Stephen Roche, Showcase Renovation Inc.

Showcase RenovationShowcase Renovation

For more information on this project visit www.showcaserenovations.com and www.salaarc.com.

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Morr Construction: Remodel Type III Gold

Eian Residence — Minneapolis, MN

This neglected and partially obsolete 1927 Minneapolis home was in desperate need of repairs and updates. Not only was it lacking a design identity—all trim and period details had been yanked—but its performance (comfort and energy bills) was extremely poor as well. Homeowner and German-born architectural engineer Tim Delhey Eian used a holistic approach pioneered locally by TE Studio to address both shortcomings and bring his family home into the 21st century.

The house features around 2,500 finished square feet in its two-story layout, including a finished basement.

Over the course of 8 years, the home saw key updates and enhancements in these categories:

  • Building envelope updates consisting of new ventilated metal and fiber-cement board siding, vented standing-seam metal roofing, new continuous weather barriers, improved airtightness, and added insulation levels; new windows and exterior doors
  • Second-floor addition built with reclaimed, recycled and FSC lumber and local materials; advanced stick framing techniques
  • New building envelope surfaces with high R-values (walls R-25 to 30; roofs R-60) with closed cell spray foam and cellulose insulation; diligent air-sealing techniques
  • Mechanical systems including new heating plant and zoned distribution with programmable thermostats; new domestic hot water system and plumbing with low-flow fixtures throughout; addition of heat-recovery ventilation and heatpump air-conditioning
  • Energy star appliance package
  • Low and no VOC finishes throughout
  • Earth-friendly landscaping and stormwater management
  • Dimmed low-voltage halogen, CFL and LED lamping throughout

The Eian family is dedicated to living green, sustainably and energy efficiently. The approach chosen resulted in a durable and sustainable retrofit that enables the home to be an asset for the family for years to come. In combination, the carefully tailored design and solutions yielded a GreenStar Gold certification.

For more information on this project visit www.morrconstruction.com.

Design: Tim Delhey Eian, TE Studio, Ltd.
Construction: Various Structural
Engineering: Eric Bunkers, Bunkers and Associates
Photo Credit: Richard Schultz via TE Studio, Ltd.

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Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build: Remodel Type I Bronze

FROM THE HOMEOWNERS:

Our 1978 house had a unique feature which we hadn’t seen in other homes built in the same era: a vaulted ceiling which leads up to the living room framed by soaring arches. There was one Achilles heel, however. The connected kitchen was very small and even worse, was enclosed on 3 sides by walls, further limiting the usable space. It also had only an arm’s length worth of counter space, which could only lead to marital strife during team-cooking sessions!

We enlisted the help of Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build, who were able to design a spectacular space within the existing footprint while somehow transforming the entire house! We now have wonderful storage, counter space, clever built-ins and custom- designed Cambria countertops and bar. When you step past the front door, your eye follows the striking angles of the tile floor through the kitchen and the natural elm floors, up the stairs to the modern black iron railings, which complete the flow of the house. The best part is how much strife was avoided by our investment!

 

FROM THE REMODELER:

When homeowners Eric and Christina purchased their split level home in Mounds View, they loved the neighborhood and the additional square footage. However, the kitchen was an eyesore. Upon entering the home, one was confronted with a small, dark enclosed kitchen cut off from the rest of the house. Whenever the family wanted to entertain, the cook would be isolated from the guests and excitement. The awkward situation prompted them to call Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build for an eco-friendly design solution that better fit the family’s lifestyle.

The homeowners wanted a contemporary kitchen that possessed optimal storage solutions, supported the entertaining of guests and allowed for an abundance of natural light. They desired all of this without adding to the original footprint of the home. It was also important that this project have energy efficient appliances and use sustainable materials.

Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build dramatically improved the function and flow of the entire first floor by removing the interior walls of the kitchen, brightening the area during the day and creating multiple opportunities for hosting in the evening. Now the kitchen is open to the dining room and even to the living room beyond. Bar seating allows the chef and guests to interact. A narrow free standing wall placed between the entryway and the kitchen creates an entry space on one side and a well situated storage center on the other while both areas feel open and spacious.

Proving that green design can be cool and stylish as well as functional, the project boasts eco-resin panels set within the cabinets add a clean vertical counterpoint to the horizontal rift-cut wood and sleek minimalist hardware pulls. The white Cambria split counter block diverges from the straight line of the cabinet wall and adds personality and flare to the home.

Our firm’s Green solution includes cabinets which are custom-made locally with FSC-certified no-formaldehyde-added white oak. The floor is locally reclaimed elm (from trees felled by Dutch Elm Disease). We used recycled-content tile and locally produced Cambria countertops. All paints and stains used were low VOC. The appliances are all Energy Star rated.

Highlights

  • Energy Star rated appliances
  • Eco-resin panels on upper cabinet doors
  • Recycled-content tiles
  • Locally-made custom Cabinets
  • FSC-certified, No-formaldehyde-added rift cut oak
  • Water-based finishes
  • Reclaimed local elm flooring
  • Custom-designed and locally-made steel railings
  • Minnesota-made Cambria counter tops
  • High efficiency Marvin windows & patio door
  • High efficiency lightning
  • No VOC paints and primers

 

For more information on this project visit www.otogawa-anschel.com.