When Cadmus Construction in Roswell, Ga., began work on the small community of Weatherford Place, one of the design/build firm’s primary goals was to set a standard for green living.
From the inside details to the outside specifics, Weatherford homes embrace every sustainable ounce of what it means to be green. Each Weatherford home is 100 percent more energy efficient than a standard home. The community is considered “net-zero,” which means the homes can actually produce more electricity and hot water than necessary to function.
And HighGrove Partners got a chance to partner with Cadmus on making the exterior match all the effort that was put into the interior.
Platinum Standards
With its EcoCraft homes “designed and built to nature’s code,” as Cadmus Construction describes, Weatherford Place was named one of the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes Platinum–certified properties from the U.S. Green Building Council. A LEED-certified home minimizes negative impact to its environment while maximizing indoor air quality, energy and water efficiency. Positive and tangible benefits for homeowners include substantially lower utility bills and rebates, as well as the ability to qualify for advantageous financing, lower insurance rates and government incentives, Cadmus Construction explains.
To qualify for LEED for Homes Platinum status, a property must undergo a technically thorough process that involves meeting or exceeding specific scoring criteria in eight key categories that serve to define excellence in green homebuilding. Then, onsite inspections by third-party experts verify that the home’s construction has successfully met all criteria.
Green Features Abound
Weatherford’s super energy efficient homes are designed to bring the cost of net-zero down. The homes start with orientation on the site that allows for passive solar heating in winter, thanks to southward-facing windows and summer shading provided by simple roof overhangs and cantilevered balconies.
The homes were built with green construction materials and finished with zero- or low-VOC paints, low-flow plumbing fixtures, EnergyStar appliances and energy glass that reflects heat back into the room during winter and repels the sun’s heat away from the home in summer.
Being Green, Inside And Out
Weatherford homes occupy wooded lots and provide access to nature trails and bicycle friendly roads. And the homes feature sustainable landscaping, designed by HighGrove.
The landscaping embodies drought-tolerant materials. These include Indian hawthorn, a compact evergreen shrub that has white or pale pink star-shaped flowers, as well as ornamental grasses and native perennials.
Designing for drought tolerance also means watering smart. A rain harvesting container is included underground to collect rainwater for irrigation. HighGrove installed the irrigation systems on the homes to pull from this underground cistern with drip irrigation and microsprays—the most efficient landscape watering products.
HighGrove is proud to have been a part of building a community that combines a family-friendly atmosphere with green living. Want a sustainable approach to your property’s landscaping? Call us at 678-298-0550 or use our simple contact form for a free consultation. And for more helpful landscape tips, don’t forget to subscribe to our blog.
