“Going Green” Is Just Part of the Plan for Darnestown Builder

John Tabor of Tabor Design Build, Inc. had always planned to add on to his Darnestown home -- and nearly double its size -- when he purchased it in 2005. But he did not plan that his home would be the “guinea pig” for his efforts in building a “green” three-story addition.

Tabor wanted to experiment with some new green technologies under his own roof, and increase his knowledge and experience base, before he recommended these innovations to his customers, he said.

“I want to provide stress-free remodeling,” Tabor said. “My job is to tell my customers the advantages and disadvantages, and then they choose.”

The resulting three-story addition adds 1,747 square-feet of living space to the house (582.5 square-feet-per-floor). Completed this past fall, the renovation is a marvel of function and design.

The whole house was switched over to geo-thermal power during the renovation. “There were three, 450-foot wells dug in the front yard,” recalls Tabor, "so it was quite a disruption."

But the temporary setbacks to the landscape were worth the effort because the house runs so efficiently and economically that Tabor now gets reimbursement checks in the mail, he said.

"The entire addition is super insulated," Tabor wrote in an essay describing the "green" details. 

Two-and-a-half-inch thick, R12 Styrofoam blocks were spaced, positioned parallel to one another, and filled with concrete to create insulated concrete forms on the lower level, giving the wall an R22 rating (the higher the "R" value, the better the insulation resists transfer of heat), according to Tabor's essay on the project.

The top story rates as R30 and the attic rates as R78. "All of these things lessen the homes energy requirements and lower utility costs," Tabor wrote.

Solar panels boost the home’s efficiency.

According to the essay, other energy efficient measures taken throughout the home include:

• A refurbished antique fireplace mantle in the family room on the middle level
• A Heat-N-Glo fireplace with insulated doors and outside air inlet
• Bamboo flooring in the kids' bedrooms on the top level
• A dual flush toilet
• CFL and LED lighting throughout the house

“There are many shades of green,” said Tabor. There are numerous options available to increase the efficiency and economy of any home, starting with insulation and working up, but “when people know the cost of these modifications they shy away,” he added. "They opt instead for the glass tile backsplash in the kitchen, but what they don’t realize is that it will pay for itself in about two years.”

Tabor Design Build’s renovation project is a nominee for the NARI Metro DC Chapter’s Contractor of the Year Award for Green Remodeling Entire House and the Montgomery County Builders Association’s Award for Best Remodeling/Addition. 

Tabor hopes to pass his acquired green renovation expertise on to future customers. With the assistance of high-tech 3D design software Tabor said he is able to “put the pen in the clients’ hand…so they can really see what they are going to get.”