Prefab and fabulous

In her new book, Sheri Koones demonstrates “that beautiful houses can be built that will be kinder and gentler to the environment.” Those are the words of the legendary actor and environmentalist Robert Redford in his foreword to Prefabulous + Sustainable (Abrams, April 2010; $32.50)

Koones sets out to dismantle the negative image of prefabricated houses by profiling unique homes that are not only green but also gorgeous, as readers will see in the 200 full-colour photos. They come in all shapes, sizes and styles, and all feature factory-built components cunningly customized to suit the owners’ needs.

Two of them are found right here in Canada: the Eastbourne House in Georgina, Ont.; and the EcoFabulous House in Vancouver. Here is an excerpt about these prefab and fabulous homes:

Eastbourne House
View the photo gallery.

A Higher Standard

Fifthshire’s owners Joe Vella and his brother-in-law and partner, John DeCarlo, took a course in R-2000 and immediately began building their homes to the standards.

Inspired by their new understanding, and by a desire to provide cutting-edge quality to their customers, Fifthshire first demonstrated their commitment to the program by switching from wood-frame to light steel-frame construction. The quality of the lumber they used had been declining and often arrived at the construction site bowed or twisted, which made it difficult to build straight, flat walls.

Also, they were getting more and more service calls because of “nail pops,” the lump you see in drywall when a screw or nail pulls loose from the wood frame. Drywall fastened to a steel frame never has this problem. Fifthshire decided to resolve these problems by building their homes with steel frames.

The steel-framed Eastbourne House was built as a model for a development on Ontario’s Lake Simcoe. Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program has become more widely adopted as an energy-rating system in Canada, Fifthshire Homes continues to build their homes to the higher standards of Canada’s R-2000 system. For their efforts, they produce a more energy-efficient house.

Because of the steel framing, which is made from recycled material, and the other green systems they added to the house (such as spray foam insulation, water-saving fixtures and low-VOC paints), the Eastbourne House was chosen as one of Canada’s ten EnviroHome houses in 2008.

EcoFabulous House
View the photo gallery.

A Design Is Born

First, Mary and Kon wanted the house to be simple. The couple started with two rectangles that joined at the main entry to form a V-shape. In the crook of this 90-degree angle would be a 400-square-foot courtyard deck that would offer multiple access ways to the house and create an indoor/outdoor living environment.

Kon wanted the house to be as energy efficient as possible. As he designed it, the shed roofs bend in at the ends to enclose the energy inside.

A highly efficient hydronic heating system provides radiant and convection heat from thin radiators that are each equipped with its own thermostat (the bathroom radiators also provide the luxury of heated towels). Rooftop solar panels heat the water, but they can be supplemented by the gas-fired hydronic system. The system also heats water for the deck spa.

Other details include a gas fireplace with an electronic ignition in place of a pilot light; typical pilot lights use as much gas when the fireplace is not in use as the fireplace itself uses in a year.

Compact fluorescent lighting and LED lighting was used throughout, further reducing energy use. Lights are controlled by an integrated con¬trol system, which has the capacity to expand for other uses to meet the needs of future residents.

The system can adapt to add cameras to monitor the house via the Web when the resi¬dents are away. It can also shut off power to the television and other entertainment components, which eat up a lot of energy even when not in use. And it can control the indoor environment by responding to the outdoor temperature. The system can manage security and computer equipment. Designed for personalization, this integrated control system can add to the casual and comfortable environment the house was built to create.

Mary and Kon selected everything in the house to be as efficient and environmentally kind as possible. Kitchen appliances, windows and the fireplace are energy efficient. Windows are double-paned, low-E and argon-filled for maximum efficiency. The dishwasher uses a minimal amount of water, and both bathrooms include low-flush toilets.