Photo by Richard Maack

PHILIP BEERE BOUGHT AN OLD PHOENIX HOME, GUTTED IT AND REBUILT IT USING THE STRICTEST GREEN STANDARDS.  NOW, IT'S POISED TO BE THE THIRD LEED-CERTIFIED REMODEL IN THE COUNTRY.

Philip Beere stands in the middle of a 1960s home after removing all of its guts, including the chemical-laced carpet, paint, wallpaper, insulation, countertops and furniture.

Like an eco-friendly Bob Vila, he excitedly and knowledgably points out what he’s doing to give this Phoenix house near Camelback Road and 32nd Street a new life – a green life. His big goal is to secure LEED certification, making this just the third remodeled home in the country with the prestigious designation.
 
LEED is the new buzzword in architecture and building circles. More than that, it’s the government’s only way of guaranteeing that a home or business is constructed in an environmentally friendly fashion. A lot of builders can say they are green, but the best proof anyone has is certification.

“A lot of people say ‘green’ is overused. It’s vague,” Beere says beneath a freshly sprayed layer of foam insulation. “LEED is quantitative. It’s smarter, better and more energy efficient.”

It works like this: Every energy-saving, health-promoting thing you do during construction earns points, and those points add up to silver, gold or platinum certification. The certification is relatively new, paperwork-intensive and expensive, which could explain why most homebuilders are ignoring it. (Although public buildings like schools and convention centers are hopping on board.) The application fee alone costs thousands of dollars, not to mention the price of organic materials.
 
Beere may be environmentally conscious, but he’s also a businessman. He just graduated from ASU’s accelerated MBA program for real estate professionals, where he learned all about the benefits of environmental construction.
“Every other day it was LEED, LEED,” he says. “When I got out, I assumed everything was built that way.”
He quickly realized that wasn’t the case in the housing industry. So Beere scouted out an old home in the upscale Camelback Corridor and embarked on a real-world business experiment. The project has gained so much attention from media, academics, Realtors and next-door neighbors, that he decided to make this a model home and go into business as a green developer and consultant, flipping houses for the good of the earth and his income. His company is Green Street Development.

Beere offers numerous tips for home-owners who want to embark on a heavy-duty LEED makeover. It isn’t easy, he cautions, but the rewards are great.
 

Photo by Richard Maack Master bathroom gets a separate tub

Getting Started
The first step is to alert the U.S. Green Building Council (and your city) that you’re embarking on a LEED construction project before filling out paperwork and allowing inspectors to drop in. Next, decide which green steps you will take to reach LEED certification and put together a color-coded action plan for your crew. Blue might indicate what the plumbers need to do, yellow might signal the landscapers. Checklists are available at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Website (usgbc.org).
 
Next, call a meeting with all your contractors and hand them copies of the manual. It’s important to get everyone on board, especially since most independent Phoenix contractors have no experience with LEED. That’s OK, Beere says, as long as they have open minds and a willingness to do things a different way than they’re used to.

“I had to overcome the contractors calling me ‘tree-hugger,’” he says with a laugh. “It went from ‘tree-hugger’ to ‘that’s pretty cool.’”

Sledgehammer Time
If you want to sell your LEED home someday, be sure to start with a house that has a desirable location and layout. Beere says you can’t expect homebuyers to fawn over an environmentally friendly home for green’s sake alone. Homebuyers will fall in love with a home for all the usual reasons – numerous bedrooms, modern baths, livable layout, posh address – and LEED is like a cherry on top.
 
Since you are gutting the home, it’s a good time to make big changes to the layout. Beere added a bedroom, bath and spacious walk-in closet, and opened up the living room and kitchen, sacrificing space in the backyard. He rewired rooms so that plasma TVs could sit on every wall. And picking a home within walking distance of banks, bus stops, grocery stores and restaurants earns him points, too.

After you pick up a sledgehammer, recycle as much debris as possible. Beere used original wood to create 2-by-6 beams (also point-worthy) in the garage. And he called Stardust Building Supplies and Habitat for Humanity, which accept used construction materials.
 

Photo by Richard Maack Cylindrical tubes funnel in light without heat

The Heart of It
LEED certification is won or lost on three things: insulation, landscaping and HVAC. “This is the critical part,” Beere says. “Hire good contractors who understand it.”

Beere taped plastic over all the vents so that chemicals and dust wouldn’t get trapped inside. For insulation, he sprayed several inches of foam across the beams. This is more expensive than fiberglass, but it does a much better job of blocking out the elements, and it’s not painful if you happen to touch it.
 
Adding bigger windows keeps the lights off during the day, and making them double paned keeps energy costs down. It’s an easy step considering that all windows sold at Lowe’s and Home Depot now are Energy Star. Beere also added cylindrical tubes in the bathroom and kitchen ceilings. Unlike skylights, they funnel in the light without the heat.

He installed a new A-C unit, electrical wiring and roof. The LEED house also got new plumbing to ensure no leaks. The house includes tank-less water heaters, low water-use fixtures, dual flush toilets and low-flow showerheads. As for the lawn, xeriscaping is the way to go. Beere planted native plants and installed a drip watering system. Try agaves, bougainvilleas, verbenas, yuccas and paloverde.

Even the garage got a nod, with two outlets for electric car chargers. Its framing is separate, so that fuel exhaust doesn’t seep into the house.

Photo by Richard Maack Low water-use foliage awaits planting

Finishing Touches
The last part, and some might argue the fun part, is scouting out natural and safe ways to decorate the home. Natural Territory in Scottsdale is partnering with Beere on his house, helping to supply formaldehyde-free bamboo flooring and wool carpet, nontoxic clay paint and concrete countertops. (Beware of bamboo floors with formaldehyde.)
 
The only thing this eco-home doesn’t have? Solar panels. They would have earned Beere a higher level of certification, but he’ll still end up with a coveted gold rating.

“Something in the budget had to go,” he says. “Solar panels are getting cheaper and more cosmetic, so I’ll use them in the future.”