In March, Steven Gardner, president of RemodelWrights, in Bristol, R.I., welcomed a group of JLC Live attendees to a tour of his newly completed green home (above). From radiant floor heating that keeps the Gardner family warm (even when the thermostat reads just 65°), to an energy-efficient tank-less water heater/boiler system, the house sees low utility bills.
Want proof? The family's previous home consumed about 500 kilowatt hours (kwh) of electricity per month, Gardner says. Now, with roof-mounted solar panels, the house generated more than 1,100 kwh in just the first three months of 2007.
Included on this GreenSpec page are some of the products used throughout Gardner's home, and some you can install in your next green project. Visit www.remodelingmagazine.com/webxtras for more photos and information.
Uponor. Though Gardner had the maker's radiant floor heating installed within his home's concrete foundation, the Quik Trak system is designed for faster and more cost-effective radiant heating installation in remodeling and retrofit projects. Aluminum heat transfer sheets are attached to ½ -inch-thick wood panels measuring 7 or 8 inches wide and 4 feet long. The panels feature grooves, including U-turns, that accommodate Wirsbo hePEX plus tubing. 800.321.4739. www.uponor-usa.com.
Insulspan. These structural insulated panels (SIPs) sandwich a molded expanded polystyrene core between two sheets of OSB. As in Gardner's home, the units are useful as wall, floor, or roof components. Load a home's blueprints into the Insulspan SIP System's computers to have SIPs manufactured to your project specifications. The SIPs will arrive at the jobsite ready-to-assemble. 517.486.4844. www.insulspan.com.
Vinyl Technologies. The VBuck Block-out and Bracing System makes it easy to create rough openings in almost any formed wall or ICF, such as those from Polysteel in the Gardner's foundation walls. Replacing pressure-treated wood or steel block-outs, VBuck locks into place when concrete is poured. 888.578.2825. www.vbuck.com.
3-Form. To add lightness and character, Gardner used Varia panels in doors of some upper kitchen cabinets, and in a transom between the kitchen and foyer. An organic leaf pattern is encapsulated in high-recycled-content Ecoresin. For small projects, customers can purchased reclaimed or leftover panels instead of full sheets. 801.649.2500. www.3-form.com.
For more product information, visit ebuild.com, Hanley Wood's interactive product catalog.
