First Thermasteel Home Tour

Last week eco-broker Roger Voisinet was gracious enough to give me a personal tour of a cool new environmentally-friendly home in the Charlottesville Woolen Mills area: 102 Chisolm Place. This is the first ThermaSteel home in the city. (Sorry. It's sold, but I believe the lot next door is ready to build another!)

What is ThermaSteel? It's an alternative to traditional SIPS (Structurally Insulated Panels) which uses 2-steel studs every 16" or 24" and polystyrene (not perfect, but given the other options, a good step, especially considering the results in terms of energy efficiency)

One way you can look at energy efficiency in a home is its R value. (The higher the number, the better insulated the home is, which therefore means more energy efficient). A traditional frame has a R-value of 15.

Other features include Sally Fretwell's (www.sallyfretwell.com) calm, cool no-VOC painted walls and nifty, (but pricey) blue Marmoleum: a product made of recycled plastic.

My favorite feature is the beautiful reclaimed wood floor: it's made from a sunken ship!

Great things afoot in Charlottesville.
(I couldn't resist).

BWB