Green Houses - Jamul Home is Green and Fire-Safe
Printer-friendly versionEco-friendly EAST COUNTY homes
By Miriam Raftery
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After twice having to evacuate during wildfires, Keith and Danya Jolley decided to build a new, fire-safe and energy efficient “green” home on their Jamul property. The home was featured on last year’s GreenBuilt Homes Tour.
One year later, the Jolleys remain thrilled with their new home. “The house turned out better than we imagined, and the savings have been a big boost,” Danya Jolley told East County Magazine. “Our new house is roughly twice the size of our old house that was on the same lot, same location, and so far our electric bills are about $70 a month cheaper.” She added, “We have not had to use our air conditioner at all this year.” Indoor temperatures have not exceeded 77 degrees, despite outdoor temperatures in the mid-90s .
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During the Harris Fire, the Jolleys had to evacuate their new home, grateful for the peace of mind that it was constructed with fire-safe materials, though fortunately the blaze didn’t reach their property. At a time when neighbors are losing insurance coverage because the area is in a high fire risk zone, the Jolleys insurance rates remain the same – on a house that’s double the size of their former residence.
That’s because the Jolleys chose fire-safe materials including Perform Wall, an alternative framing material made from 86% recycled materials, including Styrofoam from the electronic industry, mixed with concrete. Blocks are covered with stucco, creating an exterior appearance similar to conventional construction.
Perform Wall has a four-hour fire rating, making is superior to wood-framed walls, which have a one-hour rating. “After four hours, they stopped the test. No smoke or flames had spread,” said Wade Vernon of PW Sales and Consulting, marketing director for Perform Wall (www.performwall.com, or view video at www.performwall.com/video.sstg).
Perform Wall is also resistant to mold and fungus. Termites will not eat it, Vernon added. It also meets high standards for indoor air quality, since it does not outgas toxins or release dangerous fibers. The American Lung Association utilized the material in a demonstration healthy home in Arizona.
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The material also allows flexibility in form, enabling the Jolleys’ architect, Kevin Pollem of Faktura Architecture in San Diego, to create many aesthetically-pleasing curves and angles. Blocks can even be cut with a chainsaw, as Vernon demonstrates.
The home features other “green” and energy-saving features, such as a roof with metal radiant barrier sheathing, dual-pane, low-e windows, energy-saving and water-saving appliances, a tankless water heater, and energy efficient lighting.
Overhanging eaves provide shade around the entire home. Decking was made with Perform Wall and CertainTeed Boardwalk composite decking, which has a zero flame index rating.
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Madrone wood floors utilize wood normally discarded when Douglas fir forests are clearcut, providing beauty and sustainability.
The architect also designed the home to maximize breezes and preserve natural features, building around oak trees on the lot situated at the base of a canyon.
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“Pat Lawrence and his crew were amazing in getting the design features built beautifully,” Jolley said of the home’s builder. “We were also interested in using “green” products for our house, and eliminating waste wherever possible. “Pat Lawrence, our builder, carted off all the remaining block and odd leftover pieces to be ground down and reformed into new blocks.”
Besides saving money on waste-hauling, recycling leftover building materials “gave us peace of mind that we weren’t contributing to filling up the landfill,” Jolley added.
The eco-conscious homeowners even recycled their former residence, a manufactured home moved to a neighbor’s lot. Their new eco-friendly home, which measures 2,600 square feet, has ample room for the Jolley’s growing family.
To view more “green” houses, check out the 2008 GreenBuilt Homes Tour October 4th and 5th. For information on the tour, visit www.earthdayweb.org.
Green Homes features residences in East County that address any of the following areas: sustainability, energy efficiency, renewable energy resources, use of natural, recycled, or nontoxic materials, water-saving features, and environmental protection. If you know of a home you would like to see featured, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
Our thanks to our “Green Home” sponsors:
Talk about a relief and
Talk about a relief and having less stress having a home that is fire safe. In greece my aunt always asks don't we worry about our home being built with wood and i tell her it's the most common building material for homes while in greece everything is made with cement bricks first then skim coat of concrete. I'd love to be able to build a home like that here but masonry work is so expensive. We had a Dallas insulation company give us an estimate for redoing the outside of our house and may get the walls done.
Other Alternative with better service
If you were smart you would have shopped around for either Rastra.com "THE ORIGINAL COMPANY" who you should really do some background checking into Perform Wall and there is also Cempo.com there products are all the same all they did was change the dimensions of there products and changed there names.
Rastra and Cempo are both "Made in the U.S.A. verse Perform Wall which made in Mexico and taking away American Job as well as being shipped by inferior Mexican drivers and trucks.
So do your homework before you by Perform Wall
Wade Vernon
Cost for a Perform Wall home is typically 8% to 10% more that a stick framed home depending on layout. Lower energy and insurance cost will help pay for the initial increase in construction cost.
Wade Vernon
wadev99@yahoo.com
fire friendly
Thanks for this fascinating story. The savings sound good; the lack of termites, etc. equally appealing. I wonder how the building costs compared to traditional building costs? Definitely a great way to go, though...