Building a new home in Frisco, Colorado, and building it green.
If you have been thinking about building a home in Frisco,
you need to know that the town recently has enacted a new “green” building code. The code mandates sustainable building methods, and encourages builders and homeowners to do more than the minimum requirements. It is very similar to the International Energy Conservation Code. The Summit County Building Department, with jurisdiction over all parts of the county not considered to be in the towns themselves, is in the process of changing their code to a very similar one.
Just what are green building methods? I attended a meeting this week that was intended to let us all know just that. Among other things, it means:
- Building a smaller home. If you have more than 3000 square feet of heated space, you are charged points, which must be made up with procedures that give you positive points.
- Using engineered and recycled or reclaimed lumber. They prefer OSB (strand board) to plywood, renewable lumber and engineered floor joists to 2×12s.
- Using natural products made without solvents and/or formaldehyde.
- Recycling the scrap lumber and materials left over in the building process is encouraged.
- More insulation and a tighter house. Caulking and sealing every seam and crack.
- Natural light, with few windowless rooms other than closets.
- A recycling center in the kitchen and also one in the garage. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but there does need to be one in each place.
- Ceiling fans or vents are required in vaulted ceilings where they are 10′ high or higher.
- Appliances that are energy star rated are preferable. Unrated appliances deduct from the points.
- Furnaces, boilers and hot water heaters must be high efficiency.
- Outdoor fireplaces, firepits (but not grills) give you negative points.
- Outdoor water amenities like pools and hot tubs give negative points.
- Outdoor heated surfaces like driveways and garage aprons earn negative points, as does interior air conditioning.
Some of the homeowners associations, one of them, The Reserve at Frisco,
require certain things that will cost you points. This code likes simple houses, and The Reserve does not. If you have negative points and want to earn more positive points, it can be done by reusing the dirt that is excavated from the site, saving and replanting native vegetation, using recycled wood, windows, siding, or any other building materials. Using ceramic tile that contains recycled content will even qualify, as will using many natural materials instead of manufactured. Wool carpet instead of nylon earns points. Of course, passive or active solar design earns lots of points, and using low VOC paint, cork or bamboo flooring, or wood from local sources will also earn points. “Local” is defined as within 100 miles, and we have lots of blue stained wood from the beetle killed pine trees that will qualify to be used for trim or floors. The building department will even offer positive points for recycling the cardboard the appliances come in. Granite countertops, which most people are using today, will get you points. If you can balance out your negative points, and earn enough postive points in addition to end up with +100 points, the building department will refund your planning review fees. They are really trying to encourage builders and home owners to do the right thing. For more details, the Town of Frisco’s website and the High Country Conservation center have plenty of information. In future posts, I will go into more detail, talking about flooring, paint, and other ways to be green; getting more specific. If you don’t want to miss those posts, subscribe to the mountain living blog!
