Homebuilding Activities
Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company's five homebuilding subsidiaries are at the forefront of building energy-efficient homes, reducing water use and introducing other green features that consumers now expect in newly built homes. All five builders have been acknowledged for leadership by the federal government’s Energy Star program, industry associations and/or by state or local governments.
Pardee offers its LivingSmart® green-building program to all new homes it builds. LivingSmart — a combination of features that create energy efficiencies, conserve resources, improve air and water quality, and minimize water consumption — has been available to Pardee buyers in selected neighborhoods since 2001. LivingSmart Homes are designed to exceed local building codes and be at least 50 percent more efficient than the Federal Energy Code. LivingSmart home attributes include:
- Resource efficient engineered wood, including iLevel products
- Low VOC insulation, grout, adhesives, and interior paint to contribute to better indoor air quality
- Radiant barrier roof sheathing to reflect heat away from the attic
- Energy-efficient HVAC systems with sealed ducts
- Certified, third-party inspections to verify above code energy efficient design and quality installation practices
- Low-E spectrally selective glass windows, which reduce heat and ultraviolet (UV) rays and provide optimal insulation
- Programmable thermostat with multiple time and temperature settings
- Plush, stain-resistant carpeting made from 100 percent recycled soda bottles
- Convenient recycling center discreetly housed in kitchen cabinet
- High water efficiency showerheads, toilets and WaterSense® labeled faucets, dramatically cutting water usage while maintaining desired water pressure
- High performance insulating stucco system to improve energy efficiency
Pardee Homes qualified for California Green Builder designation in five neighborhoods in Los Angeles and San Diego. California Green Builder homes feature many environmental benefits. The program includes aggressive goals for improvements in energy efficiency, indoor air quality and comfort, on-site waste recycling, and water conservation.
Additionally, Pardee Homes is California’s first production homebuilder that is building an entire new home project certified to the National Green Building Standard™ by the NAHB Research Center, an internationally recognized, independent third party. Every home of Pardee’s new LivingSmart® Homes in Santa Clarita’s Fair Oaks Ranch®, is being built to Gold-level criteria of the NGBS, inspected at least twice by an accredited green verifier, and Green Certified by the Research Center.
Awards and Recognition:
- NAHB Research Center's National Green Building Standard Gold certification, 2011
- National Association of Home Builders' 2010 Green Building Corporate Advocate of the Year
- National Association of Home Builders’ 2009 Green Project of the Year
Quadrant was the first major Washington State production homebuilder certified as an Energy Star® builder. This means that a Quadrant Home will be 15% more energy efficient than a home that has been built to only meet state code. Quadrant also partners with local land trusts who work to preserve wetlands, stream corridors, forest areas and urban open spaces and gives homeowners the opportunity to join a conservancy group at no cost to them. “Friends of Quadrant Homes” is an interactive website launched by Quadrant to help advance healthy, thriving communities.
Quadrant’s Living Sound program offers customers a variety of ways to live more sustainably in their communities and in their homes. Standard features include:
- Erosion control methods to help keep silt and loose soil out of streams
- Neighborhood planning to preserve natural areas and provide parks and recreation
- Landscaping choices suitable for the site, reducing water and fertilizer use needed for plant growth
- Programmable thermostats, low-emissivity windows, and Energy Star® lighting
- High-efficiency water heater that uses less energy to maintain the same level of hot water
- House wrap that envelops the home and improves energy efficiency by protecting it from water intrusion and air infiltration
- Building materials which include recycled content, such as carpets, insulation and drywall
- Advanced framing techniques during construction reduce material waste
Awards and Recognition:
- 2011 Eastside Sustainable Business of the Year by the Bellevue, Wash. Chamber of Commerce
- 2009 Energy Star® Leadership in Housing Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- 2007 Built Green™ Large Builder Award
- 2007 Association of Washington Businesses Environmental Award
Trendmaker was one of the first builders in the Houston area to participate in Energy Star. Trendmaker is also a founding member builder of the Greater Houston Builder’s Association Green Building program.
Green attributes of Trendmaker homes include:
- Use of optimal framing standards and techniques
- A system for bringing filtered, fresh air into the home
- Installation of formaldehyde-free fiberglass insulation
- High efficiency air conditioning and programmable thermostats
- Use of WaterSense® labeled bathroom faucets
Environmental sensitivity and sustainability were fundamental objectives during Trendmaker’s planning for the development of Cross Creek Ranch. Cross Creek Ranch is a mixed-use, 3,200 acre master-planned community near Houston, Texas, that is home to more than 500 families and growing. Trendmaker restored a two-mile long dormant creek into a wide and gentle green space with a meandering stream bed and trails. The creek design diminished the energy of heavy flows with plunge pools at outfall locations which minimize erosion and reduce silt sedimentation. Additionally, over 90 percent of the common area irrigation system is non-potable water collected in detention lakes from street runoff and then distributed throughout the community for irrigation needs.
Awards and Recognition:
- 2009 Energy Star® Leadership in Housing Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Camberley Homes, a division of Winchester Homes, is partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy's Builder’s Challenge Program to show how high-performing, energy efficient design and construction technologies can be built into the DNA of the home. Camberley Homes is building a model home designed to be 30 percent more efficient than required by code using advanced framing technologies, along with an insulation and sealing system which will reduce heat loss and reduce pollutants, allergens and unwanted outside noise from entering the home.
Winchester’s Your Home. Your Way.™ program gives homeowners the opportunity to select green features for their home, including:
- Landscaping using native plants
- Systems to divert rainwater from home
- Dual flush toilets
- Programmable thermostats
- High-efficiency furnace on the lower level
- Low VOC paint
- Building materials with recycled content
Awards and Recognition:
- Winchester’s Show Home of Ideas was the first new home certified by the Design for Life Montgomery program, the NAHB's Model Green Home Building Guidelines Program and Energy Star.
Maracay is an Energy Star® rated builder in all its communities. Maracay implements a variety of building specifications in its new homes to make them more energy efficient and environmentally responsible, including:
- Headers, beams and flooring made by iLevel, which has received a "green" designation from the National Association of Home Builders Research Center
- Blown-in cellulose wall insulation on all exterior wall applications, which provides protection from heat and cold using a renewable material
- Radiant barrier sheathing, which blocks up to 97 percent of the sun’s radiant energy, minimizing heat transfer from the roof and insulated attic into homeowner’s living spaces
- Low water-use plumbing fixtures and “water smart” irrigation timers
- Programmable thermostats in all homes to help manage heating and cooling costs, and low-energy bulbs and motion sensors to reduce lighting costs
Awards and Recognition:
- APS Energy Star® and SRP Powerwise® certifications for its building practices in communities throughout metro Phoenix, Ariz., and TEP Guarantee certification for its building practices in communities throughout Tucson, Ariz.
