Who would have ever expected to find a newly built green community in Georgia? Georgia ranks the highest in the world for being the most wasteful when it comes to building. Georgia builders indiscriminately produce up to 69 pounds of building waste per square foot of construction. If you have ever been on a home building site in Georgia you would see the ridiculous amount of construction waste that is piled high in dumpsters and then dumped into our landfills.
This wasteful trend is being overturned by award winning architect Simone du Boise, a graduate of Georgia Tech, and general contractor for Cadmus Construction. Simone who believes that “the building codes are not enough” built a completely green and beautifully designed subdivision of affordable solar heated homes an exciting way.
Nestled in the heart of Roswell’s historic district and located on Crossville Creek, Weatherford Place, is small neighborhood of 8 custom built highly energy efficient homes which puts Roswell on the map as the first LEED Platinum Certified subdivision in the state of Georgia. The LEED certification is a highly prized award for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” Platinum certification is the highest level of this award. These net-zero homes produce as much energy as they use, over a certain period of time, resulting in net zero consumption. Utilizing such high standards that exceed building codes for the benefit of the homeowner is a new concept in the building industry. These Ecocraft TM Homes are built to nature’s code.
The sign on the entry gate to the Weatherford enclave states, “Cadmus Construction is committed to safety, environmental stewardship and conservation.” If you are looking for a builder that is interested in the good of all, this company walks their talk. From the names of the models: Rosemary, Bayberry and Hawthorne health for all is their main concern.
Not only is this community green, but its founders respect the spiritual essence of the earth. Before the first stone was turned a Ground Blessing ceremony was performed, with shaman Peter Van Rijan. The entire property was Blessed and saged. Respect for the land is evident in everything about this community. “It is all important” said du Boise. Instead of blasting the building site, which would have been faster, du Boise and Donahue requested that all the rocks excavated from the site be re-used in the landscaping. No foreign boulders were brought in. Everything was done to protect debris and silt from running into the Crossville Creek. “If it is good for the stream it is good for the land. That is how we decide how we move forward” said du Boise.
To further protect the stream, they purchased all the property from the center of the Crossville Creek stream-bed toward their neighbors. The water quality actually improved during the building process due to their efforts for conservation. The successes of their tireless efforts for this stream are evident in the wildlife that is found on the site; fish nests in the stream, a Blue Heron that eats the fish, a Red Tailed Hawk and countless Blue Birds live here.
Denise Donahue, Director of Design Development for Cadmus Construction is not your typical builder or developer. She tells a touching story about her father lovingly saving string from bundles of shop cloths when helping his son out after he retired. Upon his death those pieces of string were made into bookmarks and each attendee at his funeral received one in remembrance of Denise’s father.
Waste and excess are not part of Denise and Simone’s vocabularies. Both have tremendous respect and reverence for Mother Earth and our natural resources. Everything has been carefully recycled and reused from the boards on the old Weatherford barn that existed on the property that the subdivision was named after, became the shutters made from the barn wood. The scraps were chipped into shavings were used as mulch on the property. Even scraps from the gyp board used for dry wall was ground up and added to the earth. Gypsum contains calcium and helps to build the soil. In an effort to reduce construction waste, there were no dumpsters on site and the waste was reduced to less than ½ pound per square foot. Only a dedicated crew could effect such a positive change on such a previously wasteful profession.
“We are trying to neutralize the carbon footprint,” says Denise Donahue. “Every time you heat or use water, start your car, or turn on your heat, you are adding to the carbon footprint.” Even shipping, although we don’t think about it that way adds to the carbon footprint. Anytime you can use resources close to home you are doing the earth and your fellow man a service.
While many green builders are touting the merits of Bamboo, which is sustainable due to its rapid growth. It comes from the Far East. So transportation over to the U.S. adds to the carbon footprint. Bamboo is not the most durable of flooring materials due to the soft nature of the wood. The solid Hickory flooring used in the model home was milled less than 500 miles from the home site and milled to forestry stewardship standards. This mill employs three generations. The sauna is lined with cypress, which grows within 500 miles of the home site. You get points for that for your Leeds qualification
Care was taken with the finishing of these homes to create healthy living spaces. The carpet is all cradle to cradle recycled, including the underlayment. The carpet manufacturer, Shaw industries will come and pick this carpet up when it comes time to replace it. Cork was chosen for the kitchen flooring because it is a renewable resource and is easy on the back and feet. The wood stains on cabinetry and flooring were chosen for their low VOC off-gassing. Even the showers are a treat for the homeowners! Taking a shower in these homes gives you a reflexology treatment with river rock underfoot in the showers
“We have created homes where everything possible is being re-used or recycled.” Each home has its own 1,800-gallon holding tank underground where rainwater from the rooftop and the covered oversized gutters is stored. The water is filtered and the stored rainwater is used for drip irrigation or other outdoor use. There is sufficient water in the cisterns to water everything and keep all plant life looking lush during the worst drought ever. A total of 10 cisterns will be in the community when it is complete. The impervious concrete street acts as a rain run-off, which traps the water and flows into the two cisterns at the bottom of the hill.
Each of the homes has an integrated solar system that blends in with the roof. Zoe E-Shield glass was used in the home that cuts out 73 – 74% of the UV solar heat gain, without diminishing solar light. Sola tubes in the second story of the houses generate light in closets where there are no windows. A careful ratio of windows to square footage was used to create a totally energy efficient home.
The electric bill for their first house from October 2007 to October 2008 was less than $150 for the entire year. The solar power generated from the houses in Weatherford Place goes immediately into the grid and is not stored. Georgia Power buys the power from Weatherford Place, at a premium rate, and then sends them a credit. The homes are totally electrically powered, so they buy it back at a reduced rate. The home generates more then it uses all of the time. The second house was built with the power from the first house. That is included in the $150 figure.
The model home qualifies for a tax credit of $36,500 because of the energy technology in it. The credit can be taken immediately or over a five-year span. Each home is a little different in its design, but the model home is the smallest home in the subdivision. It is listed at $750,00 with approximately 4,000 square feet of heated and cooled finished space. The model is equipped with a sauna, a safe room, a totally finished basement with wet bar, built in Murphy bed in the study, a Bosch washer and dryer and dishwasher. The upgrades in the model home include: a sauna, dumb waiter, Bosch washer and dryer, central vac system. The model home was appraised at over $1,000,000, but is listed at $750,000. Given the tax credit you will pay $715,000 for this home with all the upgrades.
Every home in Weatherford Place comes with a tornado proof safe room or garage with red steel “I” beams, resistant to earth movement to a Class “C” standard. Given that we just had two earth quakes in Georgia on April 5th of this year, this is something we all may want in the future.
The women involved in the building of this community believe that we need to keep moving into our cities where the infrastructure is already in place, instead of further out. These homes are for the Town and Country trend setter, looking for a home built with reverence for the earth, body, mind and soul, proving you don’t have to spend more to live well.
If you have more questions about easy and going green please feel free to contact Jennifer Resuta at 770-664-4400 or forheavenscapes@yahoo.com. She is always happy to answer your questions and if she doesn't have the answer, she will find it for you!
