ABC 'Makeover' house is also extremely green

VIRGINIA BEACH

What’s brown on the outside, green on the inside and silver all over?

And, no, this isn’t a joke.

The answer: the Hill-Burdette family’s new Virginia Beach home, built 10 weeks ago by thousands of local volunteers and organized by “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and Chesapeake-based builder Trademark Construction Inc.

The family’s former home, a ranch with about 1,500 square feet, was razed for the build.

In its place is a two-story dwelling that’s almost three times the size of the original house and employs myriad eco-friendly upgrades, according to Trademark owner Duane Cotton.

One of the goals of the popular ABC reality show is to provide a green home upgrade, using as many reclaimed and energy-efficient products and practices as possible, for “Extreme Makeover” recipients.

“They’re not just building a bigger house for someone,” Cotton said.

“Building modular is inherently green.”

The new Gentry Road home of Hill-Burdette – occupied by Beverly Hill, husband Fred Burdette and their six daughters – combines modular, panelized and engineered methodology.

Construction of a typical 2,000-square-foot modular house produces about 1,500 pounds of waste, while a stick-built home of comparable size generates 8,000 pounds, Cotton said.

The family’s energy bills will likely remain about the same despite the size increase to 4,300 square feet, he added, because green building practices dictate such results.

Below ground the home features a footing drain, which collects water that might normally flood the crawl space by trickling down or rising up through the earth, and funnels it to a pump system for elimination.

The issue is common in this area, said Adrian Reddington of JES Construction Inc., the company that installed it.

“The first step to any crawl space conditioning or building is to control the ground moisture,” Reddington said.

The “green” aspect is taking a proactive approach to protecting the building against future damage,” such as rot and mold and related costs caused by excessive moisture,” he said. The crawl space is also sealed and fully conditioned for additional moisture and temperature control.

Inside, which is not viewable by the media until the episode of “Extreme Makeover” airs Sunday night, the use of low-volatile organic compound paints help heighten indoor air quality.

Energy Star-rated appliances, a 4-foot overhang for passive solar control and dimmable LED and fluorescent lighting should help keep electricity costs down.

Low-flow plumbing fixtures, high-efficiency toilets and three tankless water heaters for on-demand heating will help the family conserve water, Cotton said.

“In a typical home, heating and cooling can account for 40 to 60 percent of total energy costs for the year,” said Jeff Morris, president of Atlantic Air Corp. in Virginia Beach, one of the companies that installed heating, ventilation and air cooling systems for the house.

Among the home’s features are high-efficiency Energy Star-rated HVAC systems, fueled by a combination of gas and electricity, as well as first-floor humidification and an energy-recovery ventilation system for conditioned exchanges of fresh and exhausted air.Blown closed-cell and Line-X sprayed insulation prevents migration and loss of conditioned air throughout.

The entire package not only adds up to a “blessing” to owner Beverly Hill, but it also received Eco-First certifications for meeting Energy Star standards and for attaining Silver-level status in its Green Building Program.

The Hill-Burdette family was selected by ABC for the home makeover based on its work with foster children and helping the homeless.

Nora Firestone, nfirestone@verizon.net