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Finding High-Performance Home Builders

AileenT | Posted in General Questions on

Hi,

My husband and I are blessed with an opportunity to build a custom house. We have been reading about Passive Solar design/Passive House/Zero Energy Ready program/The Pretty Good House and would really like to build using any of those guidelines (they all have a lot of similarities). We have met with most of the “green builders” here in the Houston area and have yet to find someone who knows and uses real green building principles and practices. One builder even mocked advanced framing saying it compromises the structure because there’s hardly any wood left! (Also per another builder: Would it really be very expensive to put the AC ducts in conditioned space?) Is it just not cost effective yet in this part of Texas? Would a 3rd party consultant knowledgeable in green building science be enough to guide any builder? Should we give up trying to achieve this for now? I’d appreciate your input. Thanks, Aileen

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Replies

  1. GBA Editor
    Martin Holladay | | #1

    Aileen,
    Armando Cobo is a designer in Frisco, Texas, who reads GBA. He may be able to recommend a builder in Houston.

    Here is a link to the "Contact us" page on Armando's web site: Armando Cobo's "Contact Us" page.

  2. JC72 | | #2

    https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=new_homes_partners.showAreaResults&s_code=TX&msa_id=152

    Production builders aside Energystar lists the following custom builder:
    Design Tech Homes (https://www.dth.com/#home)
    281-355-1591

    Be careful when throwing around the term "real green building principles" because it's 99 percent subjective.

  3. GBA Editor
    Martin Holladay | | #3

    Aileen,
    I spoke with Armando on the phone yesterday, and it sounds like you two have already gotten in touch with each other. Good luck with your project.

  4. rhallen645 | | #4

    Aileen - 3 years late, but also live in Houston & did an energy-efficiency
    renovation/new build a few years back. Interested to compare notes!

    Rob

    1. mills9867665789760 | | #5

      Rob -- I'm at the beginning of my project in The Heights. Did you find a HVAC contractor that you liked? Or someone to design the system? Any other resources in Houston you suggest?

      1. rhallen645 | | #6

        Brian - great to see others from Houston on here; lots of opportunity/need for better & more energy-efficient building in our area. Quite a few builders focused inside the loop, however I haven't found an established leader in energy-efficient construction in our challenging climate.

        Glad to chat directly (if GBA allows?) - email me at Robert dot Hallenbeck at gmail dot com

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