Case Study: Leota Commons

Vital Stats	Section	Points
Location: Seattle Star Level: Built Green 4-Star Checklist: 2018 New Construction Single Family Verifier: Balderston Associates	Site and Water	146
	Energy Efficiency	81
	Health and Indoor Air Quality	78
	Material Efficiency	61
	Equity and Social Justice	31
	Total Score	461

Written by: Tom Balderston and Kate Romero

Project Overview: Leota Development completed a new 3 Unit project in a walkable neighborhood next to Woodland Park Zoo in late 2023. The project replaced a single-family home with a detached home in front and two large townhomes on the improved alley. The project was designed by Akasha Architecture and built by Paul Williams. The 4-Star project includes the latest all-electric design and plenty of Built Green features.

The energy model for this project earned an ERI score of 54, which qualified this project for the performance pathway option on the Built Green checklist. The performance pathway allows more credit for items such as orientation and windows, the best-in-class heat pump electric clothes dryer, and the induction range; enabling the home to qualify.

Leota kitchen

Energy Use: The project is Built Green 4 star with 2 additional energy credits compared to the 2018 WA Energy Code minimums. It features advanced R-42 foam/FG Batt ceiling insulation, a high-efficiency Mitsubishi Ductless Heat Pump system, 100% LED lighting, efficient Heat Recovery Ventilation, and ENERGY STAR appliances.

Low Impact Development and Rainwater Catchment: The project features 100% pervious paving on parking and walks for stormwater infiltration, roof drains to biofilter planters, EPA Water Sense toilets, water-efficient fixtures and shower heads, and drought-tolerant and native landscaping with no lawns. The project has easy access to shops and transit, with a “Walkscore” of 80, and the front entry and shared parking encourage community.

leota living_balcony

Indoor Air Quality and Moisture Protection: The project features no carpets, Kraus "Natural Home" Engineered Oak Flooring that is EO certified for air quality, framing lumber moisture tested before drywall cover, low VOC interior paints, caulks, adhesives, and sealants, and cabinets and MDF trim that are CARB 2 certified for low added formaldehyde. The project also features a Wrap Shield high-performance exterior weather barrier with under-windowsill flashings, a drainage plane, and all bath and kitchen fans were tested for proper flow.

Materials with Reduced Environmental Impact: The project features cabinets, trim, tile backer, doors, and railings with recycled material content. Additionally, it has Kraus "Natural Home" flooring that is FSC certified, long-life Hardie Panel fiber cement exterior siding, a heat-welded TPO roof membrane, plastic decking with 55% recycled content, and exercised efficient framing practices with pre-cut studs and roof trusses. The project underwent 3rd Party Built Green Verification at the foundation, framing, and final stages.

Built Green highlights:

Site and Water:

Urban, Transit-oriented infill
Seattle Green Factor Score of 0.61
82% of stormwater from site managed on-site
No turf grass in final landscaping along with drought-tolerant plant selection

Energy Efficiency:

Ductless mini splits throughout the units
Centralized hybrid heat pump domestic hot water heater
100% electric units
Energy Star appliances

Health and Indoor Air Quality:

Anti-idling and healthy jobsite practices implemented
Low VOC products used throughout
GreenGuard Gold Certified flooring
Rainscreen installed under siding

Materials Efficiency:

Used locally and regionally manufactured materials
Engineered lumber used for floor system
Used recycled-content roofing materials

Equity & Social Justice:

Designed to promote pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods
Built within walking distance of transit, schools, shopping and parks

Photo credit: NWMLS

We want to send out a big thank you to those who attended the Built Green Conference on September 13! What an invigorating, inspiring, thought-provoking day it was! With many builders and policymakers in attendance, as well as elected officials, consultants, vendors, architects, nonprofit staff, real estate agents, and students, we had a great opportunity to discuss and learn about issues impacting our region through a green building lens.

A key takeaway was the interconnectivity of many issues, as green building relates to the environment, healthy communities, workforce development, equity, and more. After all, Built Green supports green building because of the positive impacts it spurs for the planet and for people.

Built Green Conference 2018, Alabastro Photography

Keynote speaker Vien Truong began the day by relaying her inspiring story. Truong illuminated the link between environmental issues and the impacts they have, particularly on poorer communities. She also emphasized that everyone deserves healthy homes and communities, free of pollution, and that “being green isn’t partisan”—it’s the right thing to do. Her address left many moved and even prompted a question from the audience about whether she would run for president!

Following the keynote, the day was filled with educational sessions. Conference-goers had the opportunity to attend sessions from four different tracks: Greening Construction, Building Innovations, Advancing Policy, and Bettering Community. Session topics ranged from embodied carbon, prefab building, and deconstruction to displacement, a mayors’ panel, and how to get involved in code development. The excellent content variety ensured there was something for attendees from all sectors.

The day ended with a reception and awards ceremony. Some of the best projects from the past year were highlighted and Built Green supporters were recognized for their contributions to the program. Surprise awards included builder TC Legend Homes winning Project of the Year for their West Seattle Emerald Star home. Tadashi Shiga of Evergreen Certified and zHome residents Bryan Bell and Karin Weekly were also recognized as Built Green Pioneers for their advocacy. The Green Genius Awards were also announced, recognizing real estate agents and offices for their efforts in listing and selling green homes.

Throughout the day, conference attendees kept up conversation using the hashtag #builtgreen18 and connections were made both online and face-to-face. Several sessions were also livestreamed and can be found on our Facebook page.

We hope everyone who came to the conference learned something and walked away feeling inspired. See you next year!

Photo courtesy Alabastro Photography

making-connections-at-the-built-green-conference

Built Green™

02/19/2020

Indoor Air Quality—How to Not Let It Walk All Over You

Author: Sonja O'Claire, Built Green Program Manager

There’s a lot of focus these days on how volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute to unsafe indoor air quality, from building materials to finishes. With the average American spending about 90% of their time indoors surrounded by these materials, there’s good reason for concern. However, another major contributor to poor indoor air quality often escapes attention—shoes.

While outside, shoes can pick up many harmful pollutants such as allergens, radon, pesticides, mold, heavy metals, and numerous other VOCs. These VOCs can then be tracked into homes, undermining the time, money, and energy put into constructing Built Green homes out of low-VOC materials.

The EPA states that exposure to such pollutants, even short-term, can be detrimental to health and have lasting implications after repeated exposure. Short-term health effects can include dizziness, eye/nose/throat irritation, headaches, and fatigue. Long-term health effects can range from lifelong heart and respiratory diseases to potentially fatal cancers. Asthma is the third-ranking cause for hospitalization among children younger than 15, and Washington state ranks 1.1% above the national median of 9.4% for adults who self-report suffering from asthma.

Built Green recognizes the importance of providing healthy indoor air for all those living in Built Green certified homes. That is why there are numerous checklist credits dedicated to decreasing the amount of pollutants being tracked into Built Green homes by shoes. Credit 4-69 of the multifamily checklist, a requirement for all 4-star certified and above projects, earns a project three points for permanently installed track-off mats, carpets, and/or shoe grates at the principle entryway of a building. On both the multifamily and single-family checklists, two points can be earned by providing a dedicated shoe removal and storage area at the entrance to each unit.

Contemporary home featuring a built-in shoe storage area, built by Model Remodel and designed by CAST Architecture. Photo by Cindy Apple Photography.

Durable and effective entryway strategies for multifamily projects include:

Exterior metal architectural grills
Interior architectural metal grills with carpet and/or rubber tread inserts
Metal roll-up mats (with a cleaning contract)
Replaceable carpet tiles (with a cleaning and replacement schedule)
Segregated vestibules with grills or walk-off carpeting (with a cleaning and replacement schedule)

For single-family homes, a designated shoe removal and storage area could be designed into the home’s entrance to provide an attractive and intuitive place for residents to reduce their exposure. There are a variety of ways to achieve this; examples include built-in seating and/or shelves, space-defining flooring materials, or a closet next to the entrance.

Addressing entrance track-off areas in Built Green projects during the design phase, rather than at the end, will go a long way in providing better indoor air quality, lower maintenance, and higher value for buyers. It could also be the difference between a multifamily 4-star and 3-star certification.

Pictured: Contemporary home featuring a built-in shoe storage area, built by Model Remodel and designed by CAST Architecture. Photo by Cindy Apple Photography. Learn more about this Built Green whole-house remodel in this case study.

indoor-air-quality-how-to-not-let-it-walk-all-over-you

Built Green™

01/04/2018

Karl Pauly's 5-Star Issaquah Home

A new home custom built by the owners in downtown Issaquah blazes the trail for advanced performance and Built Green® 5-Star certification under the City of Issaquah's expedited permit incentive program. The home was designed and built to give the owners decades of great comfort and ridiculously low energy costs.

Vital Stats	Section	Points
Location: Downtown Issaquah Star Level: 5-Star Checklist: Single-Family/Townhome Verifier: Balderston Associates	Site and Water	182
	Energy Efficiency	215
	Indoor Air Quality	135
	Material Efficiency	93
	Total Score	735.5

Built Green Highlights

Site and Water

The site is on an odd-shaped lot next to a park and within a block of Issaquah's historic main street, with excellent access to transit and community resources.

The site is provided with infiltration swales for the roof water drainage that are integrated with native and drought tolerant landscaping. Hardscapes are 100% pervious.

Indoor water use is reduced by the use of low flow sink and shower fixtures and WaterSense-labelled toilets.

Karl Pauly's Issaquah Built Green 5-Star home exterior

Energy Efficiency

This super-insulated home is constructed with Structural Insulated Panels. SIPs are a prefabricated sandwich of plywood and foam that eliminate most of the wood framing, and with it the thermal bridges that reduce insulation value in standard construction. The builder did such careful air sealing that the home is the tightest the third-party verifier has tested in 14 years of practice! At the same time, abundant fresh air is provided by the Zehnder HRV system that was carefully installed and commissioned.

Roof insulation is approximately R49, with R30 in the walls. Slab on grade foundation is double-insulated
Windows are Eagle triple pane, with .16 to .21 U-value
Super tight air sealing, scoring at .19 ACH 50
Efficient Zehnder HRV system for ventilation
Gas-fired hot water radiant heating and domestic hot water, 96% efficient
ENERGY STAR appliances, 100% LED lighting, ready for solar PV

Health and Indoor Air Quality

The home emphasizes simple interior finishes with low toxicity and excellent distributed ventilation for fresh air. There are no carpets and flooring is NAUF bamboo from Higuera Hardwoods. Natural cedar ceilings and other highlights are finished with Safecoat Polyureseal and all of the paints are <1 g/L VOC. The kitchen and bathrooms contain custom cabinets by Superior Manufacturing, made with special order glues and finishes.

Whole house ventilation is supplied by the central Zehnder comfo-air HRV. This system uses innovative 3" plastic flex ducts to provide a supply of fresh air and exhaust for every room. It operates continuously and quietly with very low energy use. This is an important companion to the incredibly air tight building envelope to ensure comfort and performance.

The exterior siding is installed over a "rain screen" air space. The building moisture barrier is a Prosoco liquid applied coating, along with interior tapes from SIGA on the SIPs panel joints. Detailing of weather seals at windows, doors, and other penetrations was carefully done by the owner/builder to ensure moisture will not enter the home.

Materials Efficiency

The home's structure itself reduces the use of lumber and heavy materials with the SIP panels. In addition, recycled content metal roofing creates very long-lasting protection. The exterior is a mix of Swisspearl panels that were recovered from a commercial job site, composite timbers, and natural cedar siding for an appealing Northwest contemporary look. Swisspearl siding panels participate in the EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) system.

Interior finishes demonstrate a high level of commitment to non-toxic and environmentally friendly products. The builder took a lot of care to research and specify products. FSC-certified bamboo flooring or tile covers the floors. Interior caulks, adhesives, and finishes were checked for compliance with Built Green's VOC standards. All interior painted trim is MDF Spero from Metrie, which is recycled sawdust with no added urea formaldehyde.

The owner/builder personally controlled recycling of jobsite waste, to the extent that even concrete chips from stripping forms were put in separate recycle bins. Hand demolition of the previous house on the site included recycling metal, cabinets, trim, appliances, fixtures, and structural parts.

karl-pauly's-5-star-issaquah-home