Coons Construction—Eclectic Artist’s Kitchen and Bath Remodel

Vital Stats
Location: Greenwood, Seattle Certification: Built Green Remodel and Zero Carbon Emissions Label Checklist version: 2023 Remodel Verifier: Balderston Associates

The artistic homeowners of this Greenwood bath and kitchen remodel viewed their home as the latest canvas for their artistic expression. Intention and personality shine through all the color, patterns, and small details. As artists, the homeowners’ goals were focused on the long-term livability of their home, showcasing their love of art and color, and limiting their impact on the environment. When Nathan Coons, of Coons Construction LLC, presented the idea of certifying their remodel with Built Green’s new 2023 Remodel certification, there was no hesitation.

Coons Construction Eclectic Artist’s Remodel, guest bath

Like many other homes in Seattle, their 1960’s split-level home was under-insulated, heated by a central, natural gas furnace with no A/C, and had partial remodels over the various decades. The kitchen remained mostly original while the bathrooms had attempted to be remodeled more recently.

To maintain the home’s livability for the coming decades the homeowners wanted to incorporate changes related to accessibility, indoor air quality (IAQ), and thermal comfort. The primary bath was fitted with a walk-in bathtub and grab bars were installed in the new shower. The low-flow bath and kitchen fixtures and water-smart landscaping was modeled and showed a 45% reduction in the home’s total water use over a standard home. A Moen-Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff provides real-time leak alerts and protects the home from potential water damage. Low VOC and Greenguard Gold certified finishes, and natural Marmoleum flooring were used to support healthier IAQ. Air sealing and electrification were important components of the project scope to improve indoor air quality, comfort, and reduce their carbon emissions.

Coons Construction Eclectic Artist’s Remodel, kitchen

The homeowners communicated they did not want any walls to be removed, because they were an important part of displaying their art collection. Air sealing and insulating older homes is always a challenge. This is especially true when only a small portion of the home is being opened during the remodel, but it’s one of the most important and cost-effective ways to improve comfort and reduce energy consumption. Adding to this challenge was the 2:12 low-sloped roof. The initial blower door test resulted in 14 Air Changes per Hour (ACH). Coons maximized the insulation throughout the attic and garage ceilings to the current code minimum of R-49. Wherever they could access, air sealing took place, even if it was a single outlet in a room. Blueskin, a self-adhering air and vapor barrier membrane, was used wherever possible, including to create an air separation between the home and the attached garage. At completion, the efforts paid off, the new blower door test was 6.5 ACH, a 53% improvement! The home’s final ACH score may not seem impressive, when compared to the much lower ACH scores that are typically achieved in new construction or down-to-studs remodels, but imagine if this was done to all existing homes!

For this older home to be ready to exist in a future of electrified, zero carbon emission homes the homeowners were not satisfied with just removing gas at the meter. They had gas capped off at the street to ensure this was a gas free property. A Tier III heat-pump water heater and induction cooking range were installed. New wall-mounted heat pump mini-split units supply heating and A/C to the main living space on the upper and lower floors and are zonally controlled for maximum comfort. Bedrooms and bathrooms are supplied by a new forced-air heat-pump air handler and its ducting in the garage was insulated. The original electrical panel was replaced with two new 200-amp panels that are pre-wired with infrastructure to support installation of future solar panels and an EV charging station.

Coons Construction Eclectic Artist’s Remodel, bathroom

To keep materials out of the landfill and limiting consumption of new resources, reuse became a key strategy of the project. The homeowners spent a lot of time shopping at salvage and reuse suppliers. Elements and materials in the home that still had life and were saved and reused, including light fixtures, toilets, and doors. In the bathrooms two hand painted vanities had previous lives as commode dressers. Excess materials were donated to Habitat for Humanity Snohomish County. Nathan found that recycling debris had the biggest visual impact during construction because they utilized on-site separating of debris. The piles of debris being taken to recycling facilities, versus landfill, were enlightening. He noted the biggest challenge was creating the habit with crew members to separate debris on site, rather than dump it all into one bin. The project recycled 85% of demolition and construction waste. This project benefitted from a lot that provided room to easily facilitate the on-site separation. Nathan intends to maintain the crew’s new habit by source-separating recycling as much as possible of future remodel projects.

Coons Construction Eclectic Artist’s Remodel, guest bath

Coons Construction Eclectic Artist’s Remodel, kitchen

This was Coons Construction’s first Built Green certified remodel. Nathan found the keys to success on this project were planning, communication, supervision, and research. He recently presented this project at the 2023 Built Green Conference and told those considering a Built Green remodel, “There is nothing radical in building a green remodel. Most of the Built Green Remodeling requirements are likely to become standard within the industry as the building code is already starting to require these strategies.” He went on to share the resources available to learn about what materials to use, the benefit of using a third-party verifier and Built Green framework, and how networking was a great way to get good supplier and subcontractor referrals. While the initial learning curve required more time to be allocated during the planning stage, getting experience remodeling green homes now would give a remodeler a head start on what will be required to be built in the future.

If you aren’t familiar, the Built Green Conference has been occurring annually for a decade with the aim of providing valuable and cutting-edge information on green building and sustainability. Notable past keynote speakers include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., David Orr, and Denis Hayes. The conference will encompass a variety of topics related to green building, ranging from building science to policy, from post-occupancy research to discussions on equity, affordability, and community issues. This content will be covered throughout the day, which will include a keynote address, a variety of sessions to choose from, lunch, and a book signing, all followed by an awards ceremony and reception.

This year's conference will be held at Cascadia College on September 14.

Keynote Speaker

The keynote speaker for the 2017 conference is renowned author and founder of Sightline Institute Alan Durning! He will discuss the intersections of green building, affordability, equity, and building policy/zoning. Sightline has been pioneering research on this topic that is not only timely but is highly relevant to our industry.

Durning is author or co-author of more than ten Sightline books. His current topics of focus include carbon pricing, housing affordability, and democracy reform. In 2013, he published Sightline’s first e-book, "Unlocking Home."

Prior to founding Sightline, Durning was a senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, DC, where he studied the relationships between social and environmental issues. While at Worldwatch, Durning wrote "How Much is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth" (1992), which was translated into seven languages and given two awards. He also coauthored seven State of the World reports, along with Worldwatch Papers on topics ranging from animal agriculture to indigenous peoples.

Built Green Conference speaker. Credit Alabastro photography

Call for Proposals

The call for proposals is also open! Do you have in-depth knowledge about a facet of green building? Do you have insight into new trends or technologies? Do you have a unique sustainability story to tell? If your answer is yes, we would like to invite you to participate in this year’s Built Green Conference! Sessions may be lecture, panels, or workshops that are one hour long – or something else; surprise us! Please see this document for more information on what we are looking for and how to apply.

Submissions are due May 15, 2017!

Conference Website

Finally, the Built Green Conference website is live! Check it out for more information on the conference, how to register, and the schedule.

See you there!

Photos: Alabastro photography

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Built Green™

07/06/2017

Built Green Checklist Updates: All You Need to Know

The time has come: Built Green is rolling out checklist updates! What are these, why do we do them, and what do you need to know to keep your projects current? Read on to get all of the answers.

What are the changes?

There are two checklist updates being rolled out right now. One is updating the single-family/townhome checklist to reflect the newest state energy code. The only changes pertain to the energy requirements. The other is a complete revamp of the multi-family checklist. View the updated checklists.

How do I keep up with these changes?

For both checklists, Built Green has enrollment deadlines: if you enroll a project after a certain date, the updated checklist must be used. Prior to that date, a builder can decide whether to use the old or updated version of the checklist. We set these enrollment deadlines in the future so designers and builders have time to adjust and so that plans that have already been made based on the older version of the checklist don’t have to be scrapped. Make sure you get your projects enrolled! Here are the dates to know:

Single-family/townhome checklist enrollment date: Aug. 1, 2017
Multi-family checklist enrollment date: Oct. 1, 2017

Again, all projects enrolled with Built Green after these dates will have to use the updated checklists!

We also have certification deadlines for projects using the older checklist versions to ensure that projects are certified in a timely manner, under the relevant checklist. Here are the certification deadlines:

Single-family/townhome checklist certification packet due date: Aug. 1, 2018
Multi-family checklist certification packet due date: Dec. 31, 2019

Certification packets for projects received by Built Green after these dates will have to use the updated checklist, irrespective of their enrollment date. Multi-family projects are given more time to certify under the old checklist due to the longer timeframe these projects generally require due to their size and complexity.

Built Green will be sending out plenty of reminders as these various deadlines approach. Please pay attention to these communications!

Built Green homes in the Issaquah Highlands

Homes in the Issaquah Highlands, most of which were built under the previous two iterations of the Built Green single-family checklist.

A home certified 4-Star Built Green in June 2017

A home by McDowell Design Build, certified Built Green in June 2017—see the case study.

Why do you update the checklists?

Built Green is a relative certification system; projects are judged based on the building environment and code at any given time. Checklist updates take into account code changes, how widespread processes and products have become, new technologies, and current costs. For example, our checklists require that projects are modelled to demonstrate a certain percentage of energy efficiency compared to current code. As code updates, so must Built Green checklists. Otherwise, Built Green certification would lose its meaning as code requirements caught up with the program. The aim of this voluntary certification is to recognize builders who go above and beyond, after all!

This means that a 4-Star project certified in 2007 isn’t the same as a 4-Star project certified in 2017 in terms of environmental rigor when compared with each other, but that the cost and effort needed to complete each project given the context of its time was roughly the same. This relative grading system also means that Built Green provides builders with a framework to improve their product over time. A builder that commits to only building 5-Star homes will have to constantly innovate and adapt to continue to achieve this star-level over the years as the rating gets more rigorous over time. But this means that Built Green is helping to spur adoption of new technologies and techniques, and that builders who are dedicated to staying ahead of the curve are supported and rewarded for their endeavors!

How do you update the checklists?

We don’t do any of this alone. In fact, we heavily rely on the generosity of many different industry experts who support the program. This ensures that a variety of perspectives contribute to the checklist updates.

Since this single-family/townhome checklist update was only regarding the energy requirements, we worked with energy modeling experts and third-party verifiers to ensure that our new modeling protocol is robust and that the updated requirements strike the balance of being challenging without being too onerous. We worked with other local Built Green programs in different parts of the state to make sure that the various star-levels on offer also correspond with local markets and incentives available for energy efficiency, so Built Green builders can more easily demonstrate their projects qualify.

To update the multi-family checklist, we worked with a committee consisting of representatives from the public sector, consultants on green building, third-party verifiers, energy modelers, and builders. This team spent a year taking the checklist to the next level!

What else do I need to know?

Just a couple of things! First, the corresponding multi-family handbook update is forthcoming and will be published soon. It will be available online, for free, as a PDF. Second, it is important to discuss these updates with your third-party verifier to make sure you are on the same page about the transition and deadlines that you have to meet for current and upcoming projects. Finally, we know that—though necessary—these transition periods can be a bit confusing and hectic. Don’t worry! Built Green staff and third-party verifiers are available if you have questions, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

Now, let’s keep working to make the green building industry better every day!

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Built Green™

10/13/2016

How Seattle’s "Hot" Housing Market Impacts Built Green

By Talia Haller, Built Green™ Intern, University of Washington Student

It’s Hot in Seattle

No question about it: Seattle’s housing market is “hot” - and the media is paying lots of attention. A recent article in The Seattle Times questioned whether Seattle is becoming the next San Francisco, which is known for its multimillion-dollar homes and sky-high monthly rents. Seattleites can’t stop talking about the “out-of-control affordability crisis,” according to an article on The Stranger’s website.

Even national news agencies are cringing at Seattle’s housing market. In fact, Money Magazine selected Seattle as one of the “Hottest Housing Markets of 2016.” Seattle has seen its median home prices rise to the highest point ever at $594,600, according to Zillow in October 2016.

All Bad?

But this “hot” housing market isn’t all bad. For Built Green, it has had some positive aspects. The Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections has a program called Priority Green Expedited that shortens the time it takes for builders to get a new construction permit if they’re building green. To be eligible, the project must be enrolled with specific green building organizations, including Built Green, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and Living Building Challenge. Plus, builders must achieve a basic set of Priority Green requirements for energy and water conservation, waste reduction, stormwater management, and indoor air quality.

In return, builders get priority in scheduling intake appointments, faster initial review of their plans, faster routing of their plans, and faster processing of their permit. All of this saves them time and money while delivering customer satisfaction and encouraging Seattle’s goal to make green building standard practice. It also helps Seattle meet its climate action goals to reduce building-related carbon emissions.

“The ‘hot housing market’ has helped to increase the total number of applicants who use Priority Green Expedited to get their permits faster,” said Jess Harris, the Priority Green Program Manager. “Over the last several years, SDCI has seen about 20% of the eligible project applications use Priority Green Expedited and a huge majority of those are choosing Built Green to reach their sustainability goals. This equates to about 200 projects a year reaching at least Built Green 4-Star.” In this hot housing market, green builders have even more of a leg up on the competition as they take advantage of these incentives.

Save time, save money, and help Seattle meet its climate action goals: register a project with Built Green today!

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