Architects Doug Glasgow and Yun Lee remain a bit surprised by some benefits of the energy-efficient choices in their home, which was the first renovation in Georgia to receive LEED for Homes Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
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They gutted and renovated the DeKalb County home in 2009 to meet LEED standards, which assures homes are designed and built to be energy-efficient and healthy for homeowners. Choices such as using solar light tubes in some rooms made a big impact in the home, which sits on 1.8 acres.
“They bring light into the middle areas of the home, like a bathroom that doesn’t have any windows,” Glasgow said. “I really like the natural daylight so we don’t always have to have the electrical lights on.”
Snapshot
Residents: Doug Glasgow and Yun Lee and their children, Theresa, 15, and Noah, 13. Glasgow is director of IT advancement for Lord Aeck Sargent, and Lee is a senior lab planner with HDR; both are LEED Accredited Professionals.
Location: Decatur's Winnona Park neighborhood
Size: About 3,000 square feet (including the finished basement), four bedrooms, three baths
Year built/bought: 1950/2007
Architectural style: Ranch-style bungalow
Favorite architectural elements: Open floor plan, Varia recycled resin panels, Pella Architect Series triple-glazed casement windows
Renovations: The couple redesigned the home, which originally was 1,950 square feet, during renovations in 2009. Updates included Energy Star appliances and LED lighting fixtures, Solatubes, Icynene spray foam insulation, and triple-pane low-e argon windows and doors. "It's so well insulated that it's very quiet," Lee said. "We don't hear the lawn mowers, fireworks or anything like that." They installed a solar thermal hot water system (Metlund D'Mand system), dual-flush toilets, low-flow bathroom fixtures and radiant heat flooring by Laticrete. Other updates included new HVAC systems, a programmable thermostat, active radon mitigation system and a 5,000-gallon rainwater collection system. They used urea-formaldehyde-free plywood, adhesives and cherry cabinets, and low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint and sealers. They locally sourced the framing and wallboard materials. The home also received EarthCraft Premium designation and an Energy Star certification.
Contractor: Hammertime Construction (founder Alistair Herriot and project manager Matthew Orchard)
Interior design style: Contemporary modern design focused on sustainability
Favorite interior design elements: They milled two fallen trees (a decades-old red oak and a hickory) and used the wood for the floors in the basement recreation room, screened porch ceiling and laundry room.
Resources: Furniture from Herman Miller, Ikea, Stickley, The Bedder Way Co. Appliances and fixtures by KitchenAid, Thermador, Bosch, Broan and Hansgrohe.
Decor tip: Consider using countertops made of recycled materials. They selected glass and concrete counters from IceStone in the bathrooms and paper countertops from PaperStone in the laundry room.
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