Builder Takes Foreclosed Home to LEED Platinum
Finding diamonds in the rough has been the strategy for many a house-flipper, and there are plenty of people doing that with the number of foreclosed homes available on the market. However, a new spin on this is taking a foreclosed home that needs a gut rehab and turning it into a LEED-certified home, and could be a model solution for dealing with the glut of foreclosures on the market.
Brandon Weiss from Weiss Building and Development has taken the plunge and done this with a home in Elgin, IL turning this run-down home into a quality remodel that is an target to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
What makes this LEED home special is the care and quality that went into addressing the homes energy efficiency, while retaining the quality and character of a vintage home. High-performance replacement windows (U=.20) with similar details to the originals were installed to maintain the historic 1920′s look. The interior features original exposed wood trim and hardwood floors refinished with a non-toxic sealant.
The home was covered with foam board with special attention paid to sealing the joints to prevent air infiltration, and spray foam was used in the former attic space to create a comfortable environment for the new master suite. These measures helped take the home from a previous HERS 170 down to a HERS score of 65, meaning the home is 45% more efficient than a new home built to current energy codes. That is a truly remarkable achievement.
View photo gallery of the completed home
The 3-bedroom, 2-bath home’s other green features include a compact design and footprint, recycled content coutnertops, low-emitting paints and finishes, sustainable flooring, bathroom exhaust fans with occupancy sensors, a rain garden to encourage on-site rainwater infiltration, and even a “caprese” food garden in the back yard that will earn an innovative credit in LEED.
Elgin’s first LEED home is currently completed and listed for sale at $199,000. One comparable home in the area that has been rehabbed without attention to healthy home and energy efficient critieria are selling for $188,000 for the same square footage and number of beds and baths. The home is being listed featuring the Green MLS features available to Chicagoland real estate professionals, and is expected to achieve LEED Platinum certification this June.
Join AES on June 2 to tour this home.
Story Tags: elgin, foreclosure, LEED Platinum, spray foam
August 16th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
[...] You can read all about a foreclosed home that turned into a LEED platinum Home at: http://www.leedforhomesillinois.org/single-family/builder-takes-foreclosed-home-to-leed-platinum-905 [...]