High-performance building: An Inside Perspective

Written by Steve Tapio, Quality Control Manager and Building Science Team Leader, New Tradition Homes

Looking back to four years ago at a time when New Tradition Homes was building merely a very high quality “code built” home, we were the proverbial child with its face to the glass, peering into a window of opportunity called high-performance home building. This new way to build looked exciting and was very enticing, but alas, we were looking through the window at all the succulent candy, realizing that our pockets were empty.

Is this where most builders find themselves when initially presented with the opportunity to build “green” or high performance? Oh, but it costs too much! With the market in the condition that it is in, how can I afford to add even more expense to my product and not see a return? Let me respond, how can you afford not to?

True, it was a different market four years ago when New Traditions began the journey that led us to where we are today. Overzealous folks were standing in line to purchase our product, and we became order takers for homes. Due to that market, we were essentially giving away the additional features and did not have to sell the value of the investment.

Today we are faced with discerning buyers that know what they want, and guess what? Energy efficiency and awareness tops the list with the majority of homebuyers. So, where does that leave you, the builder? What do you have to offer to meet this new demand? Remember, code built is “minimum standards” for home construction, and let me be quite frank, in this marketplace, during these economic times and given the environmental issues we are faced with, minimum standards fall woefully short.

Look around you. It’s on every front, you see it in all the media. We feel it each time we fuel up at the station. We cringe when comes time to pay the utility bills. Will this trend reverse itself? Not likely. And the building standards are coming from the national level. The International Code Council (ICC) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) have joined forces to determine green building guidelines. Do you want to remain as a player in the game? To borrow a saying from green building guru Ron Jones, “the train is leaving the station; you had better be on board”.

Looking back to the penniless child, we too felt we were lacking in our ability to meet the challenge. Fortunately, we met with several consultants that showed us we were not as ill-prepared as we first thought. It turned out that several of the requirements for the green built programs we were already doing as a matter of standard practice. With a little more guidance, we suddenly found ourselves gleefully at the candy counter with some coins in our hand.

As we learned about building a “house as a system”, we were able to recognize cost savings in areas we never imagined possible. Then we found incentives offered by local utilities. The added cost of an improved product and process to meet “green”, high-performance standards really ended up being a minor investment.

Now, as you build to the new high performance standards and gain confidence in the product you are producing, you are able to show buyers how their investment costs less to own in comparison to a “code-built” home. Only then will you be able to completely rest at night, knowing you are doing your part for the homebuyer, the economy, and the environment.

We believe in “doing the right thing” and strive to embrace the New Tradition Homes motto: “Building Homes for Life”.

September 5th, 2007