 Issue
Date: April
2007,
Big ideas part of the
plan for 'green' home
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Sharon Stangenes
The house hunter
June 15, 2007
At the end of a winding
road outside the quiet
Kane County town of St.
Charles, a stone mini-mansion
is taking shape on a wooded
lot.
At
11,000 square feet, not
including the basement,
this is a house where features
come in multiples. There
are six bedrooms, six bathrooms,
six garage bays, six fireplaces
... you get the idea. This
is not part of the "small
is beautiful" camp.
Still,
builder Robert Lord claims
that when completed,
this house will be one
of the "greenest" homes
in the Chicago area.
"Our goal was to
craft an extremely spacious,
intricately detailed dream
home that would exceed
everyone's expectations
in terms of luxury and
comfort as well as energy
savings," says Lord,
a young, hard-driving,
fast-talking builder of
custom homes.
"As
a result, we incorporated
a variety of new, innovative
'green' and renewable
products and ultra-energy
efficient systems --
the combination of which,
I believe, is uniquely
resourceful and inventive."
But isn't the essence
of going green making less
of a footprint on the Earth?
"There are two different
attitudes on that," Lord
says. "There are sheds
with zero operation and
maintenance costs and then
there is the idea that
no matter what the size
of the project, it should
be as green as possible.
"This is the size
of house that these lots
and covenants were designed
for. This is what was set
for this home size," he
said of the 1.7- acre lot
on which he is building.
Lord's solution for those
who want or need a big
house but not the green
guilt is to use a variety
of energy-reducing products
and systems, some new,
some not.
The combination has won
him the Pacesetter designation by one industry publication.
Many of the home products
being used are best seen
during construction, before
the drywall is up and final
finishes such as granite
countertops and marble
flooring are installed.
Among the products included
in this project is closed-cell
foam insulation -- a kind
of polyurethane material
which Lord says seals every
crack and crevice of a
home to prevent heated
or cooled air from escaping.
There also is a geothermal
heating and cooling system,
a whole-building approach
to wall sheathing, low-E
highly efficient windows,
and a hybrid septic system
that employs an aerobic
digester.
As the home is completed,
Lord plans to install Energy
Star-certified appliances
and lighting and green
flooring materials. The
home will then be tested
for Energy Star-certification.
The foam insulation has
been used in commercial
applications, says Lord,
but he believes he is the
first in Illinois to use
it for a residence. It
is a not a new technology,
he stresses, because he
first saw a demonstration
of it for homes almost
15 years ago.
The material, by Dow Chemical,
is more expensive than
some other insulation because
of its thick and extensive
coverage, which seals up
cracks and small gaps where
the heat and air conditioning
could escape and dust and
pollen can get in, Lord
says. But he suggests the
added cost could be recouped
within three to five years
through greater energy
savings.
The added foam layer inside
the wall reduces noise
and sound penetration and
adds some strength to the
walls, he notes.
Lord's choice of geothermal
heating and cooling is
an option that is popping
up with some frequency
in new-home projects around
the Chicago area, including
a Cyrus Homes development
of townhouses in Evanston.
For those not familiar
with geothermal, a series
of geothermal heat pumps
capitalizes on the ground's
constant temperature, about
55 degrees Fahrenheit,
by using water or an environmentally
friendly antifreeze liquid
that is circulated with
a closed-loop pipe buried
in the ground. The conditioned
air is distributed through
the house by blowers and
traditional ductwork.
The house is the first
in Illinois to use a reflective
wrap for the walls and
a breathable membrane on
the roof.
Behind the house, under
a green hillock with two
white pipes sticking out
the top, is a hybrid septic
system. By using an aerobic
digester in conjunction
with a raised sand filter,
Lord says he was able to
reduce the size of the
septic field by half and
save a number of trees
on the property. The aerobic
digester cuts the time
for waste to decompose.
The upfront cost of some
of the energy-saving features
is significant, though
they are only a fraction
of the home's asking price.
For example, the geothermal
system in this large home
is a $50,000 item and involved
drilling several wells.
It is a cost which Lord
insists will be recouped
in less than seven years
by slashing energy costs
as much as $7,000 annually.
That's because geothermal
heat is more than three
times as efficient as a
traditional fossil fuel
furnace.
This
house is a "more
is more" home. There
has been little stinting
in features and ambition,
but it does raise the question
-- which future buyers
will face more often --
about whether there is
such a thing as too much
of a good thing even in "green" construction.
Do all the products and
features Lord includes
make the residence ever
more energy-efficient or
is there a point of overlapping
savings and diminishing
returns? I don't have the
answer, but as green building
becomes more common, buyers
on more limited budgets
will have to decide.
Lord has certainly hedged
his bets, or increased
his selling chances, by
including a number of luxury
features that seem to have
little in common with conservation.
For one thing, the U-shaped
residence wraps around
a courtyard with a 40-by-16-foot
swimming pool and veranda.
The front of the home
looks like a French chateau
and the main entrance is
flanked by two large turrets
-- one with space for the
dining room and the other
a home office on the first
floor.
The front door opens to
a foyer opposite a wall
of windows overlooking
the pool and a hall which
leads left or right to
the major rooms of the
home, many looking onto
and opening to the pool
area.
To the left of the foyer
at the end of the hall
on the first floor is the
master bedroom, with a
huge private bath planned
for a 6-foot waterfall,
whirlpool and raised rain-forest
shower.
To the right from the
foyer is the large kitchen,
with the usual granite
countertops, upscale appliances
and, in an unusual addition,
a wood-burning fireplace
with a decorative pot swing.
Adjacent to the kitchen
is a 380-square-foot sunroom
and a two-story family
room.
The second floor features
three bedrooms, each with
a bath and a loft space
for play or storage accessible
by a ship's ladder, and
a gallery room, as well
as two porches that overlook
the pool.
A porte-cochere at the
side of the house provides
a protected side entrance
for family or guests to
enter or exit cars. The
drive leads into a car
courtyard with a four-bay
garage at the back and
a separate two-bay garage
to the right of the home.
That garage is connected
to the home by a second-floor
bridge over the drive-through.
Atop the four-bay garage
at the back of the courtyard
is a second-floor private
space suitable for a sizable
studio or a private apartment
such as nanny suite. It
overlooks trees and the
back yard down to a 15-acre
lake just beyond a neighbor's
yard -- to my mind the
greenest and most refreshing
view in the house.
- - -
'Green' home forges new
niche
Price: $3.9 million
FACTS AND FIGURES
*Six bedrooms, six baths,
multiple garage spaces.
*Floor area: Approximately
11,000 square feet.
*Builder: Robert Lord
Builders Inc., St. Charles.
*Web site: www.robertlord
builders.com
*Green amenities: Underground
geothermal heating and
cooling system. Hybrid
septic system. Energy Star-certified
appliances and lighting
fixtures. Green flooring
materials.
*Community: A custom home
on a 1.7-acre wooded home
site.
*Address: 6N558 Kim Lane,
St. Charles
*Phone: (630) 584-9009
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sstangenes@tribune
Copyright (c) 2007, Chicago
Tribune
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