Our Commitment to Green Building:

Galbraith Builders is committed to using environmentally sustainable practices and energy-efficient technologies when designing and building homes. From the very inception of our business we strove to produce homes that would stand the test of time. These homes were solidly built with materials and techniques intended to last for generations, like the best homes of days past. Today we have the same criteria for our homes, but we have become aware of the need to do so in a manner that is not harmful to our natural environment, our work crews, and the homeowners.

Effective green building begins with the initial site planning, and carries through to the finishes used in the house. The end result is a house that has been built without harming our environment, is more energy efficient, and is overall a more pleasant, satisfying structure to live in.

We consider the following in our design and building process:

Site planning

• Maximize passive solar exposure.
• Fit the house to the contours of the site.
• Design for a less obtrusive building. Create a pleasant aesthetic appearance.
• Minimize tree cutting and disruption of natural site features.
• Use natural features to advantage.

House Planning

• Use open planning to reduce the size of the house while maintaining a comfortable sense of space.

• Choose materials based on performance and durability, and those that are produced by sustainable environmentally responsible methods.

• Minimize the use of materials that may be harmful or have unpleasant effects on the house occupants.

Material Choices and Mechanical Systems

• Wood products: use engineered wood products that produce stronger, straighter framing while utilizing approximately 95% of each tree used.

• Insulation: Use products that provide for high R-values, low air infiltration rates, and non-toxicity.

• Paints: Offer paints that don’t use volatile organic compounds.

• Plasters: Offer earth clay plasters instead of traditional drywall finishes.

• Moisture barriers: House wrappings and window wrappings to prevent air and water leaks. Roof membranes, crawl space membranes, and other waterproofing membranes and flashings are used to prevent water leaks and mold.

• Water saving devices: Low flush, high performance toilets. Recirculating hot water loop system. High efficiency water heating systems.

• Heating systems: Use radiant in-floor heat, high efficiency boilers. Multi-zoned.

• Offer ground source heat pump systems.

• Windows: Use metal clad, wood frame, insulated low e glass windows.

• Fireplaces: Use high quality units, glass doors, outside air kits.

• Finish woods: Use responsibly harvested domestic woods.

• Lighting: Use new high performance, low wattage lighting.

• Decking: Use synthetic decking produced with recycled plastics and wood fibers.

Recycling efforts

• Any trees cut in the site development are mulched on-site and reused in the landscape.

• We recycle the large amounts of cardboard from packaging of materials.

• All new construction waste is collected in a Phoenix Recycling Dumpster. These dumpsters are hauled to their facility where material waste is recycled if possible.

• If an old house is torn down prior to building the new, many fixtures and materials are donated to Habitat for Humanity or to individuals who re-use these in other structures.

Avoidance

• We avoid the use of old growth lumber, redwood, and exotic hardwoods from other countries.

• We avoid the use of aluminum siding, vinyl siding, vinyl windows, and vinyl trim products.

• We avoid the use of materials that outgas harmful vapors.

Ongoing Education

As members of the US Green Building Council, we continuously search out new energy efficient products and techniques. Our staff attends seminars and classes on an ongoing basis to keep abreast of new products and technologies. Educating our clients as to the availability of these materials and methods is a responsibility we take seriously. It is our belief that the effort spent in this endeavor is a win-win for our clients, our company, and our community.

We have received IGSPA (International Ground Source Heat Pump Association) certification for geothermal ground source heat pump systems. These systems deliver heating and cooling at around 400% efficiency, more than four times the efficiency of the best boiler or furnace systems available.

We have also received NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) certification for the installation of photovoltaic (solar electric) systems.
The use of grid-tied net-metering photovoltaic systems is soon to be an integral part of most of our homes.

Colorado Green Built and Energy Star Ratings

Galbraith Builders builds homes that exceed the standards outlined by Built Green Colorado’s certification program. We also build homes that exceed the more stringent Energy Star certification standards.

During the design phase, each house is analyzed for its compliance with the program criteria. Periodic inspections during construction are followed by a final performance test by a third party inspector to certify that the work lives up to the program standards. Points are tallied up and a grade or rating is given for each house. We have consistently attained high ratings as a result of our efforts.

LEED for HOMES, and LEED for NEW CONSTRUCTION

The US Green building Council initiated the LEED program, which is recognized as the number one Green Building program currently in existence. This program has set the bar very high for the best practices in Green Building. A LEED certification, which requires third-party verification, guarantees that the building will perform to the highest standards. We are presently working towards LEED ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL (LEED AP) credentials, and are in the early stages of planning our first LEED certified home.

More Information

If you would like to learn more about these programs, solar and geothermal technologies, or would like to tour one of our completed Energy Star houses, we would welcome the opportunity to share more information.