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Chattanooga: Building designs and materials offer energy savings, reduced waste

By: Jason Reynolds
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Environmentally friendly building practices are taking hold in Chattanooga, some say, with new homes receiving energy-saving designs and builders finding techniques to use less materials and thus cut waste.

“With energy prices going up, ‘green’ building will be the future trend,” said Daryl Spaulding, with Scenic City Builders & Framing.

Scenic City is doing framing work for Adamson Developers LLC, which is building seven houses in the Jefferson Heights Tomorrow neighborhood in the Southside, Mr. Spaulding said.

The houses are priced from about $239,000 to $248,000, said Bobby Joe Adamson, manager of Adamson Developers.

EarthCraft House is a green building program that serves as a blueprint for healthy, comfortable homes that reduce utility bills and protect the environment, according to the EarthCraft Web site. The program helps builders understand how different components of a home work together. Strict guidelines must be met, from using ample insulation to types of windows used to how heating and cooling ducts are installed. The process incorporates features of the Energy Star program.

In May 2007, EPB volunteers built an EarthCraft House for Habitat for Humanity at 43 Scruggs St., said EPB spokeswoman Lacie Newton. EPB recently compared that home’s electric bills with five other similar-sized homes that face the same direction into the sun, she said. The EarthCraft house used 33.1 percent less energy, Ms. Newton said, with an average monthly bill of $59.50.

Staff Photos by Jason M. Reynolds
Some builders say that environmentally friendly construction practices are gaining in popularity. This house under construction in Jefferson Heights is designed to conserve energy.

Per EarthCraft requirements, the home’s crawlspace was insulated, which makes the floors warmer in winter, prevents pipes from freezing and keeps the ducts in a conditioned area, said Greg Epperson, an EPB engineering technician.

Energy Star carries such requirements as caulking entry points for plumbing and wiring, putting an air barrier behind showers and venting bathrooms to the outside, he said.

EarthCraft homes must be certified by an EarthCraft inspector, Mr. Adamson said. There will be little or no excess building materials, thus greatly cutting out waste, he said. Adamson Developers is a member of the local home builders society and is EarthCraft-certified, he said.

Other people in the building industry are taking note of environmentally friendly construction.

In September the Home Builders Association of Southern Tennessee will offer a green building course by the National Association of Home Builders. A seminar on Sept. 17 and 18 costs $275 for NAHB members or $325 for non-members, and participants receive a green building certificate, said Teresa Groves, executive officer for the local association. Participants who also take a business management component on Sept. 19 receive an NAHB green building designation. That course costs $175 for NAHB members or $225 for others, she said.

And, during a codes conference Aug. 14-15 sponsored by the Chattanooga Department of Neighborhood Services and Community Development, there will be a workshop on environmentally friendly development. Ethan Collier, president and CEO of Collier Construction, will highlight the science of advanced framing techniques and methods of construction waste recycling.

The code conference will be at The Chattanoogan hotel.

Mr. Collier’s company this year reused materials from two houses on Harper Street that it had demolished, said his brother and spokesman, Aaron Collier. Ethan Collier will discuss the recycling process at the conference. Participants will learn about the home recycling process as well as how recycled materials can be reused on the project site.

Mr. Collier will also discuss conventional framing and advanced framing, a new method that reduces lumber use and increases insulation use, Aaron Collier said.

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