LEED Public Awareness

Creating public awareness of the features and benefits of a LEED project is an integral part of the LEED for Homes process. It invites the public to learn more about the residential green building movement and possibly to make positive changes in their homes or workplaces.

In the Awareness & Education category, we will achieve 1 point for Public Awareness by choosing to complete at least 3 out of the 4 options:

• Publish a website that provides detailed information about features and benefits of a LEED home. (You're reading it now!)
• Display LEED for Homes signage. (Check out the sign below)
• Generate a newspaper article for LEED for Homes (Please check back in closer to final)
• Hold a public open house or participate in a green building exhibition or tour (We will see!)

Here is our LEED for Homes signage:

Sustainability in Design

Renderings of the modern, beachside Sumer Residence arrived from Swell Property today:

A walkway of permeable pavers leads to the entrance of the house

Large windows will allow for natural light to pour into the living room

The backyard is laid with permeable pavers and drought-tolerant seagrass

Mid-Construction LEED Review

As you know, one of the most important aspects of LEED is the continual integration and discussion between Project Members throughout the project. Green Rater Bob Scott, LEED Consultant Katie Teare, Construction Supervisor Chris Kresge, and Landscape Architect Kristen Koehrn recently held a LEED Checklist review meeting to make sure we are still on schedule for the credits we are seeking, discussed any changes made to the plans, and decided how to best facilitate landscaping and site-sustainability credits.

A sunny, outdoor office for our roundtable meeting

Chris Kresge, Bob Scott, and Kristen Koehrn

A Jiffy Seal is placed between the concrete foundation and wood framing. This helps prevent pests from infiltrating the wood

The backyard will feature drought tolerant seagrass, permeable granite walkways, and native plantings. 

JumboTex vapor barrier applied before stucco for moisture prevention

The "Phase 2" compliance sticker is something you should look for on all cabinets and other composite-wood products you place in your home. Composite-woods often use formaldehyde-emitting resins to glue together, and the CARB Phase 2 label represents compliance with low-VOC emitting standards in California.

Envelope Sealing with JumboTex Vapor Barrier

The black layer you see is a JumboTex vapor barrier, engineered to protect against any moisture entering the wall system. Excessive moisture can cause serious problems within the building envelope such as mold and rot, and are much easier to deal with preemptively rather than in retrospect.

Today's Topic: Insulation

Insulation is an incredibly important factor in increasing a home's energy efficiency. Quality insulation keeps the heat inside during the winter and keeps it out during the summer, thus minimizing the energy needed for heating and cooling.

At the Sumer Residence, blown-in cellulose is currently being installed in the walls. It is primarily made of recycled materials, consisting of around 85% cardboard and paper, which far exceeds the required 20% recycled material to be listed as an Environmentally Preferable Product under LEED standards. Quality insulation also reduces noise pollution – a necessary feature of a home walking distance from the railroad. The cellulose is blown-in slightly damp into the walls around pipes and electrical lines, so that it surrounds and insulates components much more effectively than batt insulation would. Then it is sheared so the cellulose is flush with the studs, it dries, then drywall is placed over it to create the wall.

Insulation lies flush with studs and seams between windows and walls are caulked for increased insulation

Doug Williams, HERS Rater, inspects insulation installation and discusses with Construction Manager Alan Lafin

Introduction to the Sumer Residence

Welcome to the project blog for the Sumer Residence located on E. Cliff Street in Solana Beach, CA! The goal of this site is to monitor overall construction progress and to highlight the LEED methods taken into consideration when building this project. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rigorous green building certification system hosted through the U.S. Green Building Council. It consists of 18 prerequisites and 134 possible credits to achieve in order to gain various levels of certification, they cover the entire spectrum of the construction process from material sourcing to waste diversion to framing methods to site sustainability. You can read more about the prerequisites and credits in the "What Does LEED Measure?" tab at the top of the blog.

Mr. and Mrs. Sumer chose LEED because they want to build as environmentally-conscious as possible and the LEED rating system helps verify that every aspect of construction takes into account its environmental impact. Building LEED is a process that starts in the design phase with all main subcontractors such as plumbing, HVAC, landscaping, etc, as well as the LEED Team such as the Green Rater and LEED Consultant. These members, along with the homeowner and general contractor, create the Integrated Project Team. Integrated design from the get-go provides a strong foundation for sustainability goals to be met in an efficient, cost-effective, and successful manner.

We are looking forward to sharing the Sumer Residence's journey to LEED Certification with you! Renderings and progress photos are soon to come.