Well House LEED Gold Gut Rehab uses housing first model to help homeless
| Give a summary of the project | |
| A complete gut Rehab. The interior was demo’d down to the studs. Wall cavities were insulated with open cell spray foam. Basement walls were insulated with R10 eco-cell and crawl space walls were insulated to an R10. Essentially everything was new on the house except for the studs and were able to save the original floor and have it refinished. On the exterior, there was an energy star 35-year shingle put on the roof. The existing siding was covered with an R2 fanfold foam board and then covered with a vinyl siding. Gutters were added, and a low maintenance landscape was added with a combination of native plants, stone, and bark. | |
| Give us success stories as well as lessons learned | |
| Achieving the gold certification was definitely the biggest success. The biggest lesson learned would probably be the realization of how difficult it is to make a tight a home when you’re dealing with stone foundations, balloon framing, and crawl spaces. Another lesson learned would be just learning how to navigate through LEED on the requirements, and with all the paperwork. | |
| Tell us what is unique or innovative about this project | |
| The house was built before 1900 and still had the old gas lines for lights in the walls. | |
| Any special thermal envelop, insulation or passive heating & cooling details? | |
| Wall cavity’ were filled with open cell foam. Attic was filled with R50 | |
| Any special HVAC systems worth mentioning? Describe them | |
| ERV was installed | |
| Explain your water conservation strategies | |
| A special donation from Niagara Conservation on a dual flush toilet that goes down to .6 gallons per flush. Low flow showerheads, and bathroom faucets with low flow aerators on them. There is a very small amount of lawn that will need to be mowed. The majority of the lot is native plants surrounded by Mulch and stone. | |
| Explain your materials & durability strategies | |
| The original floors were saved and refinished. All the original framing stayed in place. One of the bathrooms we were able to reuse the bathtub. In the entryway and bathrooms, ceramic tile was installed on the floors as well as around the tub and shower in the bathrooms. | |
| Detail the health and indoor environmental quality benefits | |
| All materials on the project were either low or zero voc. The ERV constantly exhausts stale air and brings in fresh air to the occupants. | |
| Tell us about your place or location strategies | |
| The location is close to many community resources such as parks, bus routes, grocery store, library. | |
Project Team Details
Builder: Travis VanLuyn
Developer / Owner: Wellhouse Grand Rapids
Architect/Designer: Lott3metzarchitecture
HVAC: A&E Heating and cooling
Plumber: Tauler
Energy /Green Rater: Jamison Lenz Catalyst Partners
Consultants:
Network 180
Herringa Electric
Standale Lumber
Revery
Michigan Lighting Systems
Wege
Theresa Hogerheide (USGBC)
Danny Mcgee Wellhouse
Jesus Alvarado Wellhouse intern
Nate Gillette Architect LEED AP
LEED Funding – Grand Rapids Green Affordable Housing.
Project Basics
Project Type: Gut Rehab
Conditioned Space: 1055 square feet
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2
Lot Type: Infill
Project Certification Details
Certification Program: LEED Version 4.0
Level: Gold
HERS Rating: 62
67 / 110 LEED Points
Review a copy of the
