8/17/2009 4:25:00 PM A green house near green space
By David Schueller
It could've been compared to what biologists call a symbiosis, for nine months at least.
When the city of Minnetonka allowed Hennepin Technical College to build on a residential property the city owns near Purgatory Park, the partnership was hoped to give students green building experience and the city another home that will get a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating of either silver or gold.
It's not the highest rated LEED house in the city - a private home built by the company of the late Peter Lytle received a platinum rating. Although college staff researched that house, it aimed for a lower LEED rating to keep the cost down so that the city can turn around and sell it at market value, said Sandy Kretsch, architectural drafting instructor with the college.
"We wanted to keep this one in a moderate price range," Kretsch said.
The college, with campuses in Eden Prairie and Brooklyn Park, typically builds new houses each year, but this year was its first try at green building. One was built in Minnetonka and one in Brooklyn Park.
"The students who come out of our program should have a better edge in the market because they'll understand green building," Kretsch said.
Construction on the 2,300 square foot, three bedroom house started in August 2008 and finished in May of this year.
The city of Minnetonka originally bought the property for $145,000 back when it had considered, but didn't go forward with, plans to expand Purgatory Park.
Kretsch said the college had a $230,000 construction budget.
The house will be the city's to sell. It plans to have it listed in September, but hasn't decided on a price yet, according to Community Development Director Julie Wischnack.
So in a time when one wouldn't be surprised to find a green label on cartons of motor oil, what makes this tan-painted Minnetonka house so green?
Features could be grouped in general categories:
• Water: rain gardens, rain barrels, permeable pavers, drought resistant plants, and low flow toilets and faucets
• Air: high performance insulation, low volatile organic compound (VOC) countertops and paint, and a ventilation system that moderates the humidity of the house. "Because we built it so tight, we need to make sure that we've ventilated well," Kretsch said.
• Other: an electric boiler for both hot water and hot water in-floor radiant heat, 100 percent recycled carpet, and certified lumber.
The house uses 40 percent less energy than a typical house, Kretsch said, and 70 percent of the construction waste was recycled.
Students did framing, landscaping, cabinetry, drafting and design work on the house. Touchier work on plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems was left to contractors.
"The end product is a very safe, comfortable and affordable home," Kretsch said.
A number of instructors and 45 students from three college departments worked on the house. Kretsch said that Tom Haller, former carpenter instructor during construction, brought up the idea of trying green building practices on the houses the college builds each year.
Because of budget cuts, Haller was among others to be laid off from the college around the time crews were wrapping up work on the house, Kretsch said.
"This year he wanted to do a green one. He's the one who really got this idea up and got it going," she said.
