I,ie Jïortlanb ©bseruer
March 25, 2009
Page A7
H ousing
Habitat for Humanity Builds Green
New homes
meet highest
standards
M aking a sustainable home
d o e s n ’t j u s t m e a n g o in g
g r e e n — it m e a n s c re a tin g
hom es with lasting value that
co n trib u te to the prod u ctiv e
grow th and positive health o f
the com m unities in w hich we
live.
P o rtlan d ’s H abitat for H u
m anity has a com m itm ent to
g reen b u ild in g and contihu-
ously looks for w ays to make
hom es affordable to buy and
affordable to live in.
In 2007, a unique opportunity
arose when the C ascadia R e
g ion B uilding C o uncil c h a l
lenged participants to design a
L E E D (Leadership in Energy
an d E n v iro n m e n ta l D esig n )
green rated duplex at 604 N.E.
W ebster, a property ow ned by
Habitat for Humanity.
The rating system provides a
framework for sustainable green
building and development prac
tices. LEED certification demon
strates that a building is envi
ro n m en tally resp o n sib le and
healthy place to live.
T he w inners o f the contest
w ere D avid Posada and Scott
Mooney. After meeting with the
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortean » O bserver
Juan Gonzalez (from left), Carrie Davis and Thea Zander work on a Habitat for Humanity home at 602 N.E. Webster St., the non-profit group's first
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) home in Oregon.
co sts w o rth w h ile— it is e sti
m ated that these hpm es will be
40 percent more energy efficient
than a norm al home.
The two Habitat homes at 604
N E W ebster, a four-bedroom
and a tw o -b ed ro o m , are e x
pected to earn either a gold or
platinum rating from LEED for
Homes. A ccording to the U.S.
G reen Building Council, there
are only 14 housing projects in
the entire state o f Oregon with
a gold or platinum rating— and
none o f those fall under the cat
egory o f “affordable housing.”
It is H abitat's hope that the
houses on NE W ebster can b e
come a model of how socially
and environm entally resp o n
sible decision-m aking can ulti
mately provide more progres
sive and energy-efficient homes
for families in need.
Q w est
right speed,
right price,
right here
The Alemayoh family will move into a Habitat for Humanity home with the highest rating
for green sustainability building practices.
designers, H abitat decided to
make their design a reality, with
som e adjustm ents to make the
h o m e m o re c o n d u c iv e to
H ab itat’s program o f sim ple,
d e c e n t, a ffo rd a b le h o u sin g .
W alsh C o n stru ctio n Co. and
Bank o f America sponsored the
project and Walsh provided the
project m anagem ent.
M ost Habitat hom es are al
ready Energy Star efficient, but
this dem onstration project was
an opportunity to utilize many
n o n -trad itio n al products and
system s that H abitat wished to
leam about. A large am ount o f
the m aterials and labor for this
p roject w ere donated, w hich
kept the hom es affordable for
hardworking families o f limited
means.
The families will purchase the
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Janette Clark becomes a homeowner thanks to 500 hours
o f sweat equity with Habitat for Humanity.
hom es at cost and pay a zero
p e r c e n t in te r e s t m o rtg a g e ,
W hile building green is m ore
expensive, the long-term ben-
efits o f low er-energy cost help
m ake these additional up front
Preventing Home Fires
O regon State Fire M arshal
Randy Simpson reminds Orego
nians any tim e is a good time to
have chim neys, fireplaces and
w o o d s to v e s in s p e c te d an d
cleaned to avoid fires.
"K eeping your family warm
should never result in tragedy,"
says Simpson.
If you use portable room heat
ers m ake sure to give them
space and keep them away from
com bustible materials.
O regonians can keep them
selves safe by having c h im
n e y s, f lu e s , f ire p la c e s an d
w o o d s to v e s in s p e c te d an d
cleaned each year by a quali
fied chim ney sweep. Ask them
to check for creosote deposits,
soot build-up and physical dam
age.
A lw a y s u se a f ire p la c e
screen. M ake sure the screen is
made o f sturdy metal or heat-
te m p e r e d g la s s to p re v e n t
sp a rk s fro m e s c a p in g . You
should also keep a clutter-free
environm ent.
Store kindling, fire logs and
wood at least three feet from any
h ea t so u rc e and d isp o s e o f
ashes in a metal container and
place the container outdoors at
least three feet from anything
flammable.
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