How to Go "Green" and Comply with Building Code

Scott Caufield, the Building Codes Administrator for Clackamas Couny has recently had a new book published. Miranda Homes is honored to have one of our homes featured on the cover and several places throughout the book.

The book is written for anyone wanting to build a green home but many of the principals described in the book can be applied to all types of construction.

From the Preface:

Whether you are considering green construction from the perspective of a home-owner, a builder, a design professional, or a code official, this text will provide valuable information to assist you in that quest.

Scott begins by explaining the code and the role of the code official. It is written to be understood by readers who have little or no experience with building codes. He also describes alternative means and methods (AMM) and how they can be applied to residential construction.

The second section of the book goes into identifying key areas where green decisions can be made in a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the code. The organization of chapters is laid out in much the same way as the International Residential Code (IRC) making it easy to follow.

Miranda Homes appears in the book several times with photographs highlighting our foundation and floor joist system, steel frame construction, spray foam insulation, water distribution manifold and rainwater harvesting system.

For your own copy of Going Green with the International Building Code click -HERE- or go to www.delmarlearning.com and keyword search "Going Green."

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Critiquing E-Certification Programs

by Lisa Pickert

If you’ve been reading any of my blogs, you’ll know that I am a proud promoter of environmental (E) certification programs for residential home building. I promote them because I believe in their usefulness for promoting improvements in the building industry. I also promote them because the building code, upon which building and the public rely, is a political process and as such, is slower to change. On the flip side, I don’t promote these programs because I believe that they are the perfect solution to all that can be considered “green” (healthy, sustainable, low environmental impact) in building.

In this spirit, I offer a new critique of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (L.E.E.D.) program developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The nonprofit organization, Environmental and Human Health Inc (EHHI), challenged the L.E.E.D. system, arguing that it doesn’t do enough to ensure human health, specifically in terms of providing and prioritizing excellent indoor air quality. You can read the report at www.ehhi.org/reports/leed. Naturally, the US Green Building Council was quick to respond with a defense of their programs. For those interested, the response in its entirety can be found at www.buildinggreen.com.

So where do I stand on the debate? I simply applaud the discussion and encourage all of us to read and understand the debate. I believe that risks to human health are everywhere and despite the plethora of regulations out there, ultimately, one’s individual actions and choices play a significant role in determining one’s exposure.

There is plenty of room for improvement in the L.E.E.D. and other green building programs. These programs provide a starting point NOT an ending point. Likewise, at Miranda Homes, we constantly strive to evaluate and improve upon how we build. Our site crew learns from what they do, our engineers stay current with the latest research on building science and our sales staff constantly seek input and feedback from customers and Realtors on what people want in a green home. Together, this knowledge is constantly being incorporated into the next home we build, creating an ever improving product and the confidence to offer a 10 year warranty to our home buyers.

Earth Slabs and Conditioned Crawl Spaces

When you talk about building a house, the crawl space may not be the most discussed feature. Generally, building codes require the bare earth of a crawl space to be covered with a 6 mil thick poly sheeting which acts as a vapor barrier. The goal of the vapor barrier is to keep moisture from moving out of the ground and into the crawl space thus preventing mold, mildew and condensation. Additionally, the under floor of the house must meet insulation values laid out in the residential energy code.

You can enhance the crawl space area by pouring a 3-4" concrete "Earth Slab" under the entire house. The main purpose of the Earth Slab is to allow us to create a conditioned crawl space. It also acts as a radon barrier which, in some locations, can be a significant concern. And of course, it keeps out insects and rodents. Because the slab is not structural the rules for it are not very stringent. They don’t require any reinforcement or great attention to the surface finish. In some locations, a vapor barrier under the concrete is required by code. Regardless of code, it’s a good idea to lay a vapor barrier down before pouring the slab. The plastic sheeting will reduce any wicking of moisture through the concrete.

In our homes, the rat slab is one component of our conditioned crawl space, which in turn is just one component of our energy compliance package. The major concern when designing a crawlspace is to keep the area dry while also minimizing infiltration of outside (unconditioned) air into the house. This requires some type of ventilation and insulation. Typically, the approach is to vent the foundation by placing rectangular vent channels in the foundation as it is poured and insulating the underside of the floor joists for energy efficiency. This approach contributes to the "Stack Effect" (Read more about the stack effect by clicking HERE and HERE)

We take a different approach and stop the stack effect by eliminating the static vent channels and by sealing and insulating the foundation. (using ICF block - which allows us to eliminate the under floor insulation) Then we’re adding a crawlspace ventilation system that pulls in a small amount of conditioned air from the HVAC system. That air conditions the crawl space and is passively exhausted to the outside.

Stopping the stack effect is important because it allows us to control the fresh air that is introduced, and filter it before you breath it. It improves indoor air quality, and according to Mike O'Brien from the Portland Office of Planning and Sustainability, it will add 100 years to the life of a home.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

What is a "Well Built" Home?

By Lisa Pickert

So what does it mean to be a "well-built" home? Most builders claim it, but we have all heard the horror stories. Well, I believe in the quality of Miranda Homes or I wouldn’t be working here. I sought out Miranda Homes because of their core value to focus on building energy efficient homes that minimize their impact on the environment. So when visitors come to our open houses, my enthusiasm probably overwhelms them. Similarly, if you’ve spent time on our website, you know that we spend the majority of our internet space describing how our homes are built and why it's important to concern yourself with that.

I encourage you to seek out verification of our claims. Miranda's technology is based on sound, tested, building science, as well as field experience. One of the best and worst aspects of the residential building industry is that it generally relies on tried and true methods that date back to the early 20th century. In some ways, the argument can be made that this makes sense – to build (pardon the pun) on an existing body of knowledge and practices. The problem with this logic is that the residential building industry is kind of stuck in early 20th century methods and practices.

There are so many ideas, methods and materials coming out of current science on how to build that are a great reference tool. One of my favorite websites for information on the latest and greatest research on how to build homes well can be found at www.buildingscience.com. At this website, you can learn about unvented crawlspaces, unvented attics and other building technology that runs counter to the typical building industry today. Miranda Homes has developed our product on new science and real world testing versus just building the way it’s always been done.


Would you want a computer today that was built the way they were in the 1960s? Heck no, you wouldn’t even have room for it in your house! Instead, you want the latest technology incorporated into your new computer purchase. Similarly, Miranda Homes incorporates the latest scientific understanding of how to build structures that will last, be energy efficient, healthy to live in and save acres of trees along the way.

Less scientific, but nonetheless invaluable, there are more websites popping up every day that draw on contemporary research on home building. One example is the Sierra Club’s green home website, http://www.sierraclubgreenhome.com. There you will find excellent information on such items as the importance of air sealing your house. At Miranda Homes – the spray foam insulation that we use achieves extraordinary results in this area. Another item discussed on this website under the wood section is “Optimum Value Engineering” (OVE). At Miranda, we incorporate these concepts and much more by using steel instead of wood. Finally, on the Sierra Club Green Home website, they talk about the value of an energy audit. At Miranda homes, we achieve that through third-party verification by Earth Advantage. See our post on what it means to be Earth Advantage Certified HERE for more details.

Whether you review the hard-core building science websites or the layperson friendly websites on building well, the main thing is to do your homework and become educated on the subject of a well built home. Then, when you’re ready to build well, we hope that you’ll consider Miranda Homes!

Vertical Integration

What is Vertical Integration and why should you care?
Let's start with what it means.

def. Vertical Integration: A form of business organization in which all stages of production of a good, from the acquisition of raw materials to the retailing of the final product, are controlled by one company.

An example of a vertically integrated company would be a farmer who tills the earth, plants the seed, harvests the crop, delivers it to a farmers market and sells it to the person who will consume it.

In home building it's a company like Miranda Homes. We are engineers, designers, schedulers, purchasers and craftsmen. We have the infrastructure in place that allows us build the entire home. We own all of the equipment, employ all of the people and have direct purchasing power for all of the materials needed to build your home quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.

So, why should you care?

By vertically integrating, Miranda Homes has eliminated the wasted time, chaos and cost of involving 20 or more companies to build a home. Traditionally each subcontractor sends in its own team of people whose main concern is getting their part done so they can get to the next job. If a problem comes up they typically aren't authorized to fix it. Instead they'll need to move on to another job site until the problem can be taken care of. Then they have to be rescheduled to come back. Not only that, each separate company has its own overhead in the form of office staff, tools, equipment and insurance. It's that type of wasted time and duplication of efforts that makes a home take so long to build using traditional methods.

Miranda Homes works differently. We start with our own internal engineering department. All of the planning is done before we start building. Engineering drives our purchasing and scheduling departments as well as our wall panelization shop. One crew of five creates the studs for wall panels out of coils of steel using our roll forming machines. They build the wall panels in the plant and use our own trucks to transport them to the job site. The same crew that built the walls forms and pours the foundation, sets the walls, installs siding, insulates, installs drywall, installs kitchen cabinets, paints, etc. Having all of these skills allows them to solve problems quickly and put processes in place to stop them from happening in the future. It's a model that encourages constant improvement.

We own our own crane, trucks, tools and other equipment and we stock critical building materials so that we can tightly control our schedule. Because we tightly control our schedule we need to have a supply chain and work force that we can rely on. Vertical integration allows us to do that.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Building Green in Clackamas, OR

by Lisa Pickert

Currently, Miranda Homes is building energy efficient, durable, environmentally sensitive homes in Clackamas, Oregon. Why Clackamas some ask? Green homes aren't just for urban areas. We need them in the suburban areas too. So what has attracted our home buyers to Clackamas? Location, location, location. We’re off 132nd and Sunnyside, in a development called Bella Ponte Cino. Check out the view from some of the lots!

In addition, the area boasts a protected greenbelt on one side, a public soccer and basketball park a block away and schools within walking distance. Did I mention the open air market in Clackamas? It features fresh produce and art every Sunday from April through October.

The second thing that has attracted our buyers is the quality and speed of our construction. Miranda Homes builds “green”. Green building means consideration of the environmental impact of how we build as well as the ongoing use of the home. That's important, especially as we see daily reminders of the ever widening environmental impact of the man-made gulf oil spill.

At Miranda, we build with 100% recycled steel instead of wood for the structure. We use insulated concrete forms on our foundations which minimize the labor and waste of temporary forms and we apply spray foam insulation that effectively and efficiently seals the home from unwanted air infiltration. As for speed, once ground is broken, we can complete the house in 45 days! Stay tuned for a blog posting on how Vertical Integration makes this all possible.

So what are you waiting for? Come check us out our most recently finished home at 14009 SE Sierra Dr. Call me for a personal tour at 503-208-4663. If you're looking for a builder we can use your plans or ours to build you what you want wherever you want it.

Environmentally Certified Homes

By Lisa Pickert

Previously I talked about how green building programs differ from code built homes (see Blog May 20). Now I’d like to go deeper into their methods and value.
Every green building program requires extensive third-party verification that a home built to their standards (typically higher than existing building code) indeed meets those standards. Most green building programs have their own employees who go on-site to provide actual testing and an independent rating of various aspects of the home’s actual achieved (vs. modeled) energy efficiency. These include testing for things like unplanned air infiltration, HVAC duct leakage and carbon monoxide leakage. For example, Earth Advantage technicians came to our Riverview model home and used a blower door to test to identify that our home had less than 0.6 air changes per hour vs. the required maximum allowed 7 air changes per hour.

Another method of third party verification is through compliance forms that are required to be signed off by suppliers or installers. This ensures that what is specified for the home during the planning stages actually gets delivered during the construction phase. For example, at Miranda, we use a hardwood flooring called Tigerwood. When this wood is delivered to our site, we look for a stamp on the bundle from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The Forest Steward Council has specific criteria that describe how the forests have to be managed to meet the social, economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual needs of present and future generations

So what does this mean to the buyer of Miranda Homes? It translates to money back in your pocket when you pay smaller utility bills for our homes as opposed to the cost for the same square footage from builders who don't subscribe to these higher standards. Third party verification means you can count on actual health benefits in a Miranda Home because the conditioned air you breathe inside the home will be planned and filtered at all times. See Rob’s blog on May 26.

Best of all, buying a home that is third party certified “green” is proving to provide better resale for our homeowners when they decide to sell. See this recent study in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce entitled, “Green Homes Outselling Rest of Market” for more details. http://www.djc.com/news/en/12015059.html