Middletown Contractor's Green Home Lands in Newport

F.M. Properties, a Middletown-based modular home builder, had its first custom modular home for which it will seek a Gold Star rating from the National Association of Home Builders put into place on Wednesday in Newport. If the home achieves this rating, it will be the first in Newport to do so, althougth there is a home at 485 Spring Street that is pursuing U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification, a highly esteemed rating.

The modular home, located on Champlin Place, was built by Westchester Modular Homes in Wingdale, NY, and transported to Newport on flatbed trucks. Westchester Modular Homes is the only east coast manufacturer of Energy Star rated modular homes, according to its website.

Mike Hill, owner of F.M. Properties, says that he has Energy Star come in and check all of his homes for efficiency, but that he has never done one this high-end. He expects the efficiency rating to come in at 90 to 95 percent on this home, whereas his other homes would typically come in at about 80-percent efficiency. Some of the "green" features this home features are lycene foam insulation, Anderson energy-efficient windows and doors, two tank-less water heaters and an optimal heating and cooling system, all of which are energy-star rated. A total of six "boxes" will be used for this 3,000 square foot home, which includes three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, granite countertops, an open floor plan and a two car garage.

Crews worked all day to get the home properly installed onto the previously poured foundation. By 4 p.m., all of the "boxes" had been put into place and were being secured.

Modular homes are often considered to be more environmentally friendly because they create less waste and are built in climate controlled spaces so there tends to be less damage to the structure in the building process and things don't have to be replaced or rebuilt as a result. The building site on Wednesday had two dumpsters, one for wood and one for trash, as well as a small bin for metal waste. All excess materials and waste will be recycled where possible to reduce the environmental impact.

"There has been a shift in the way people approach buying a home these days," Hill said. "Energy efficiency has become one of their top priorities. You wouldn't have necessarily seen that 10 or 15 years ago. The cost for taking these initiatives towards optimal energy efficiency doesn't cost much more, however the return can be dramatic and remarkably rewarding."

Hill is building this home as a spec house. Even though the home comes with a kitchen and bathrooms already installed, there are still a few more months of work to do to finish the exterior and finalize the interior.

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