Passive House-Letter to the Editor...

A few weeks ago John Dodge of the Olympian wrote a great article introducing the concepts of Passive House. I subsequently noticed a few comments on-line that prompted this ‘letter to the editor’ as a way to clarify a few points about the Passive House Standard. Dear Editor- It was strikingly dramatic for me to read John Dodge’s recent article about the Passive House movement, and even more poignant to consider that The Olympian’s readership is becoming more keenly aware of this amazing approach to energy efficient homes.  I am Tessa Smith, Certified...

Home Energy Efficiency Program...

reprinted from the Olympian Incentives to repair that leaky home Resources: Program examines house’s efficiency JOHN DODGE; Staff writer | • Published June 01, 2010 Olympia – Eli and Molly Levitt were among the first homeowners in Thurston County to sign up for a program to help area residents and businesses use energy wisely. When the couple bought a 1913 home nearly two years ago on Wilson Street in Olympia, they knew it wasn’t the most energy-efficient home around. They insulated the attic and basement, installed compact fluorescent ...

How to Select Green Cabinets...

Choosing what is actually green these days can be head-spinning, how can you always be certain that what you are choosing is the best option for you and the environment? For cabinet selection, here’s one good way to know if your cabinet of choice is sustainable:  The  Environmental Stewardship Program Seal (ESP) is an environmental certification program that specifically targets kitchen and bath cabinets, developed by The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA).  This Seal is what assures you that the manufacturing practices and materials used meet...

Passive House Building Materials...

People often ask about and are surprised to find out that the building materials to build a super-energy efficient Passive House are the same as what may be used in a typical or traditional home. Tessa, our designer, wrote a little editorial on the subject: “Are the materials to build a Passive House the same as a traditional house?” Emphatically yes!  That is the beauty of the approach, it is open to developing technologies, but entirely achievable with common place American building materials.  The simple answer is we just end up using a bit more of those...

Best Whole-House Remodel Award...

The Olympia Master Builders graciously hosted the annual Remodel Excellence Awards (REX) this past week. There were many beautiful projects submitted and it’s always a delight to see the craftsmanship of all the fine builders in Olympia. We were greatly pleased to win the award for the Best Whole House Remodel in the $150,000-500,000 category. The home we submitted was a charming and modest, albeit, funky waterfront home that was due for some serious attention. I wrote up a three part posting on it a few months back if you are interested in the full story. The short...

Architectural Styles...

Want to test your architectural style knowledge? The Oregonian has a down and dirty list of important architectural styles throughout the ages, from native long houses up to Contemporary. The list is comprehensive, but the information is simple, and concise and each style has sweet little illustrations. Each style features: The date range of popularity, the roots or origin of design, style characteristics, building materials commonly used and location in the country where the design is most often found. For those of you who have seen our building, it was loosely...

Passive House Remodel Portland Oregon...

I wrote a few days ago California’s first certified Passive House remodel coming on board in July. As Passive House design picks up momentum, I thought you might enjoy reading about other projects around the nation. Here is an article about a 1997 Portland based home that was remodeled to Passive stands in 2009. Coincidentally, the owner of this home was at our regional Passive House meeting a few weeks ago as a speaker, talking about the process of remodeling his relatively new home to a high performance Passive House. In closing, he was asked what it’s like...

Passive House Remodel California...

I was snooping around this morning to see what’s happening out in the world with Passive House remodels. With housing stock being what it is with a big chunk of the pie dedicated to existing homes and as energy/life costs rise, Passive House remodels will quickly gain a foothold as Americans start to realize the inherent value in energy savings, comfort, and air quality. It’s true, a new Passive House would be easier to build, but, the fact remains that many of us REALLY like our current inefficient,  leaky homes. The only way to super-improve the performance...

Greenest Countertops in Olympia...

Lots of ‘green’ countertops to choose from out there these days. Many of those products are incredibly viable, beautiful, and green. When considering among green options, one consideration should be the proximity of the product to the job site. How far did that product have to travel to get on-site? If you live in the PNW, or more precisely, in South Sound, then Paperstone is the ‘greenest” product around. It’s manufactured right in our back yard, in Hoquiam, WA, about 30 miles outside of Olympia. Paperstone is made from cellulose fiber...

Passive House NW Regional Meeting...

Last Friday, three of us from The Artisans Group attended the first regional meeting of Passive House Northwest. (Randy Foster, Owner, Tessa Smith PH Consultant, and me Zeta Kelly, Marketing Director.) (If you are up on these standards, skip this note in italics: Passive House standards, out of Germany, are the most rigorous energy efficiency building standards in the industry today (not to be confused with a passive solar home). A home built to Passive House standards can be certified once the completed building performance is measured and verified. As a result of ...