LEED Certified Green Home

Energy Efficient

Southwest Michigan’s first LEED Gold certified home. Designed with an insulation strategy of R20 under the basement slab, R30 for the below grade walls, R40 for the above grade walls, and R60 for the roof (combined with triple pane windows and an air infiltration rate of 0.58 ACH50) allowing this home to achieve a HERS score of 32. In layman’s terms this is one of Michigan’s most energy efficient homes! Other features include a passive solar heating design for the winter, an active cupola for passive cooling in the summer, and numerous water and energy conservation features. This is a great example of affordable green design at only $170 per square foot.

Universal Design

In addition to being extremely energy efficient, this house includes a wide array of accessibility features. The home was built with a central elevator shaft to allow for a simple future upgrade, wheelchair accessible doorways and hallways, a handicap accessible ramped entry, and much more. All of which will ensure that this house is capable of accommodating any occupant regardless of age or physical ability. Truly a forever home.

Months of Construction

October 2015

Completion Date

2280

Habitable Square Footage

$385,000

Construction Cost

Environmentally Conscious

Being green means reducing environmental impact. We accomplish this primarily through design. How much of a difference can we make? Typically a builder will park a 20 or 30 yard dumpster on site and proceed to fill it up. They may even bring in more than one through the course of a project. At Abueva Builders we managed to build this house and only generate 12 yards of trash! Understanding how materials are sized and packaged allows us to design projects that maximize material efficiency. In addition choosing materials that have minimal or recyclable packaging simultaneously reduces waste. We have also developed an extensive list of resources for recycling our waste.

However “green” products are more than just about the material contents. Green products should also be durable products. After all if a product doesn’t last, chance are it will end up in a landfill someday after it has been replaced. That’s why we like to say our projects are built to stand the test of time!

A Healthy Environment

Creating a healthy living environment involves careful selection of materials and products installed in the home. We have researched thousands of products so that we can provide our customers with the answers they are looking for. We prefer to use natural products that are sourced locally and have low VOC emissions whenever possible. In addition to reducing the VOC’s during construction, the home is designed with systems for providing a continuous source of fresh air that is free of allergens and other pollutants. Afterall, clean air goes along way towards healthier living.