Builder prefers home renovations that are better for environment

Don't tell Brandon Weiss that renovating older structures into energy-efficient homes is expensive. He has the statistics to prove you wrong.

Welcome to Illinois' first Emerald-level, green-certified remodeled home under the National Association of Home Builders' Green Building Program. Not only that, the house is the first LEED Platinum remodeled home in the state and — at the risk of boasting too much — it's the first remodeled home in the world to receive the highest NAHB and LEED certifications.

Located at 336 Wabash St. on Elgin's Southwest side, the remodeled frame bungalow has met a number of green designations verified by third-party organizations that attest to the home's energy efficiency.

“It's not just about making the home energy efficient, it's about making a healthier environment,” Weiss said. “We used a lot of nontoxic water-based finishes in here with low VOCs (volatile organic compounds).”

That healthier environment starts even before one walks into the house. The property has a rain barrel to catch precipitation, which may be used to water the backyard vegetable garden. In the front yard, a native species flower bed, which features plants that can withstand torrential rains and are drought-tolerant at the same time, catches rainwater runoff from the roof.

Weiss' company, Weiss Building and Development LLC, purchased the home in February, began remodeling work in March and finished the job in May. One of the first things his company did was perform a blower door test to determine where air leaks were in the 1,845-square-foot house, which Weiss says was built sometime during the 1920s.

“The HERS (home energy rating) score of this house was 170,” Weiss said, noting the home's extreme energy inefficiency. “The average home before remodeling has a score of 130. A home built to code is 100 and an EPA energy efficient home is 75. We got this one down to 65.”

In addition, air exchanges before remodeling were 18.6 per hour, which Weiss likened to leaving the front door wide open. Afterward that number dropped to three. The home's drafty nature was due primarily to its old, inefficient windows, which were replaced by ultra efficient triple-paned windows filled with krypton gas.

At first glance, however, it's difficult to tell the windows are replacements as they look like they “belong” in the 90-year-old house. Making the home energy efficient wasn't enough.

“When I bought the home, I wanted to make it as high quality and green as possible,” Weiss said. “But at the same time I also wanted to match its historical integrity.”

Therefore the frames not only match woodwork, the new windows also have the same grilles present in old windows that remained in the interior of the front entryway. Likewise, Weiss kept an existing iron cast bathtub in place, simply refinishing it to make it look new.

Also contributing to style as well as energy efficiency is the fiberglass Energy Star-rated front door. While both the door and windows attract attention, it's what's underneath and around everything that really makes the house special. While potential buyers will see the new roof and siding, new underlayment and particularly new exterior insulation eliminated the dew point inside of the home's walls, which posed a potential mold threat. Weiss triple secured flashings installed around windows, doors and other potential air and water entry points so that if one method would fail in the future, two others will be there to back it up.

Weiss also re-insulsated the home's box ribbon as well as other areas in the basement and crawl space that are prone to heat loss. He used a combination of energy efficient open- and closed-cell insulation that reaches into areas where traditional fiberglass insulation cannot reach, sealing tiny cracks and crevices.

Another significant but hidden improvement affecting the home's energy efficiency was the placement of heating and cooling ductwork. Before changing the ventilation system, Weiss performed calculations to properly place supply and return registers. Supplies were previously on inside walls but were moved to outside walls with returns on the inside.

“What is behind the walls is what makes a quality home, not just the pretty finishes,” Weiss said.

Nevertheless, the home is pretty inside, too. Weiss included a number of upscale, yet inexpensive higher-end finishes that one wouldn't expect in a house priced at $169,000.

“I wanted to show that the traditional concept that green remodeling is expensive is simply not true,” he said.

These include oil-rubbed bronze fixtures in the existing first-floor bathroom and in the new bathroom his team built as part of the second-floor master suite. Recycled glass tiling is used as accents throughout both bathrooms and Weiss even included such popular features as recessed soap niches in shower areas. Epoxy-based, maintenance-free grout was used between the tiles. For plumbing, the house is equipped with dual-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads, while the sinks are water-sense rated, detecting the presence of a person to switch water flow on and off. Exhaust fans also run at 30 percent capacity at all times in the bathrooms but switch to a higher mode when the room is in use.

The modern kitchen is attractive too, featuring stainless steel Energy Star appliances and a durable surface recycled paper countertop manufactured by KlipTech. The kitchen floor is made of bamboo, one of the most durable surfaces and renewable product used in today's green homes, while the cabinets have a low VOC water-based finish.

“Nontoxic, low VOC sealants are better than using toxic polyurethane because they make the air inside the home healthier,” Weiss said.

Low VOCs extended to the recycled content carpeting installed on the second floor. What once was a large open space with a chimney smack dab in the middle was turned into a master bedroom with bath. Even the drywall was green. Weiss obtained the drywall from the U.S. Gypsum plant in East Chicago, Ind., which is the only facility in the county that manufactures drywall.

The master suite contains another hidden feature in the sloped south side wall — it's prewired for solar power should the future owners wish to add outside panels.

In addition to all the green features present in the home, Weiss estimates that about 98 percent of what was taken out was reused or recycled in some manner, through donations to paces like Habitat for Humanity's ReStore in Elgin, or taken to sites that deconstruct used building materials. Some items, such as the brick chimney that rose through the middle of the house, were used as pavers for the outside garden.

Being green

An Elgin bungalow has earned accolades for its energy efficiency and low environmental impact.

• First Remodeled Green Home in Illinois under the Green Building Program of the National Association of Home Builders.

• First remodeled home to earn NAHB Emerald level certification. Only the second Emerald-level green home in Illinois (the other was new construction).

• First LEED Platinum remodeled home in Illinois

• First remodeled home in the world to get both LEED Platinum and NAHB Emerald.