The only thing missing from this house is bars on the windows (and sans apocalypse, that is a good thing).
On the surface it looks like a cute 1918 Craftsman in West Seattle. But peek below the surface and you will be impressed by the uniqueness of this property. It’s not for everyone – this is an eclectic and fun 1918 Arts and Crafts Movement home that has stood the test of time and offers forward-thinking “green” upgrades. 2+ bedrooms (used to be three, can be returned to three) and large studio space (in former garage) allow the occupants to live large with a very small carbon foot print. It has something for everyone – for the green at heart and also the traditionalist. New 200 amp electrical service for quick charging the electric vehicle or powering other hobbies (kiln?) The Master Suite addition offers luxury, comfort, and a unique place to relax. People just drool over the images of this bathroom! Let them be envious for a reason.
Come look at this property up close, admire the Master Suite and the gigantic hammered copper soaking tub, and meet me, Wendy Hughes-Jelen, Green Real Estate Specialist, EcoBroker, and Realtor. Let’s talk green homes!
I like to have fun with my marketing. I just launched a new listing over the weekend, and this house is so very cool in its self-sustain-ability that naturally survival in the face of The Walking Dead (I am a recent fan of the show) came to mind.
This home is “green” although it is not an Environmentally Certified home from a local or regional green building program. However, the laundry list of upgrades and additions made to the property by the current owner of 22 years is extensive and noteworthy. See below the embedded video for more information.
House is 1,360 square feet per King County Records, and the lot is 5,480 per the same source.
has a permanent greenbelt behind the property. It has stood the test of time and offers forward-thinking “green” upgrades.
beams, and romantic lighting, with a view of the garden. Totally private.
Floors are a mix of oak, cork, ceramic tile, white oak, and Brazilian walnut. Single slab granite hearts under both wood stoves.
Bring on the zombie apocalypse, survive in style here!
This property is listed by Mountain To Sound Realty and marketed by Wendy Hughes-Jelen, Green Real Estate Specialist, EcoBroker, and Realtor.
King County Green Tools staff Patti Southard and Kinney (missed the other name) made introductory remarks for Mr. Hayes. First they gave us some statistics and diversion rates for construction materials. Newest edition of the Construction Recycling Directory just came out. He suggests that builders use 2 bins on sites so the sorting is done immediately because it is very time consuming to sort it later. He also mentioned the 20/20 Refit Challenge. Rehabilitating older homes to become healthy, comfortable, energy efficient homes is a lot more sustainable than deconstructing a structure and building something new It’s all about keeping materials out of the waste stream.
Patti thanks the staff at Built Green for creating such a great model that others in the country look to. Collaboration is key. She says every day we are working on making this a beter planet it is like writing a love letter to the Earth. She says we are lucky to have the kind of leadership we have in our area – with Denis Hayes, the founder of Earth Day, having joined our community. She shared her own memories of how Earth Day is a holiday not for religion or anything else, but for doing something for others and the plant.
Bullitt Center – Hard costs up through TI: 17% more expensive than regular Class A office space and found they can’t rent it for any more than regular Class A office space. If you are a tenant in their building and meet ll of your energy goals, you have no energy costs, it’s free. Society needs to start placing real value on things that endure. These major investments count for something. He talked a lot oabout the features that went into this new building. I missed the last tour a couple weeks ago! So I sent an email to find out when the next tour will be. Defnitely have to get it on it.
If I had to do it gain knwoing what I know now and this will sound ridiculous – this is the first time I have worked on a building, but it has given me a lot of humility. So he deerred t a lot of te experts, vendors, and contractors, for elements and aesthetics that if he woudl have won on if he had stuck to his guns. And he would hold out to have it his way next time.
Coming to you live this morning from the Built Green Conference in gorgeous Mukilteo. We are at the Rosehill Community Center above the ferry terminal.
The structure this year is breakout sessions bookending a keynote speech at lunch. There also is an expo where we can meet vendors and other stakeholder sin energy efficiency and green homes. It is hard to decide which session to go to. I picked the one that best matches my personal interests and professional role as a real estate broker.
This is a panel of multiple perspectives, including building science, outreach, marketing, and workforce development.
Do Energy Efficiency Programs transform markets?
Have local programs transformed our market?
Interestingly enough, I was an early participant in the Community Power Works program, before it reached its current iteration of providing a $95 energy assessment. A volunteer came to my home and talked about energy efficiency and how to cut your personal energy use. Low hanging fruit (one of the easy. low cost things you can do) included replacing all of our existing light bulbs with CFL bulbs. This was about two years ago. I had not changed out the light bulbs from when we bought the townhome as new construction in 2007. It is a 3-Star Built Green Certified home in the Built Green Certified Community of High Point in West Seattle. Besides energy efficiency, changing to a lower usage bulb makes your home more comfortable. All of those incandescent bulbs put out a lot of heat.
There are a number of measuring tools that are being utilized to show the results of the Community Power Works retrofits. Over 500 homes have been completed, with over 240 in the pipeline now. The gal si to reduce energy use by at least 15%. Only one home has not met that goa, anf there are some “audacious” homes that are saving 50-60% in energy use on their utility bills.
Rather than write all new specs, they use Department of Commerce specifications for building performance.
Reducing air leakage in a home (insulation)- leaky recessed lighting fixtures increases heat loss/gain, and can cause ice dam problems.
Measurement used to be in carbon savings. Most people couldn’t understand it so it was changed to energy savings. Quality assurance has to be evaluate frequently so course corrections can be made. Programs like this leverage current training to bolster both new and existing workers and create not just jobs but quality companies.
Most homes were built before 1959.
Washigton State University (WSU) is a big participant in the program, helping with surveys of homeowners after they have participated in the program.
Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union (PSCCU) has developed a special home equity loan for homeowners who participate in the program.
What is the future of Community Power Works?
Under negotiations now withs stakeholders trying to get interest gauged from utilities and assessing market need. By Jan or Feb 2013 there may be an extension to the program (but no new money coming in).
This is a working blog post and will be updated as more information becomes available to flesh out the details of this session.
Something that came across my Facebook feed this weekend was a report from Earth911 about a paint made from PET bottles. I had no idea this existed, so of course I had to share it.
In 2011 Sherwin-Williams received an EPA green chemistry award for its paint formulation that contains recycled plastic bottles PET plastic bottles, in addition to acrylics and soybean oil. The paint combines the performance of alkyd, or oil-based, paints, with acrylic paint’s low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can cause respiratory irritation and damage to kidneys, lungs and nervous systems.
Look for ProClassic Waterbased Acrylic Alkyd, ProMar 200 Waterbased Acrylic Alkyd and ProIndustrial Waterborne Enamel.