Environmental Leader

DaVinci Roofscapes, Eldorado Stone, Benjamin Obdyke Inc., Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, Liberty Cedar and Titan Wood have signed up as building partners to help Green Life Smart Life’s “green” building home project meet LEED-H certification. The Narragansett, Rhode Island-based “green” home is aimed at helping homeowners understand the requirements of LEED-H certification.

Green Life Smart Life, located on a 1-acre lot on the Rhode Island coast, was created to demonstrate how homeowners can make sustainable and eco-friendly choices in home building. The 4,350-sq.-ft. home showcases the latest advances in green building products and techniques, ranging from sustainable hardwood flooring to roofing solutions.

Some of those products – all designed to meet LEED-H requirements – include synthetic and 100-percent recyclable slate roofing tiles rated for the home’s 120-m.p.h. wind zone, stone veneer made from pre- and post-consumer recycled content, and a wall product that provides a continuous space for drainage and drying as well as a thermal break and pressure equalization between the layer of sheathing and the siding to eliminate trapped moisture between the exterior walls of the home.

The homeowners also have selected custom-made Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified antique reclaimed hardwood wide-plank floors, sustainably-sourced wood for the home’s deck and front porch and sustainable white cedar shingles, which also are FSC-certified.

There are signs of eco-friendly building trends in the United States, according to a recent Environmental Protection Agency report. The survey indicates that many communities are trending toward smart-growth development that reuses developed property and buildings to help protect the environment.