Green house - Local builder utilizes eco-friendly designs in new construction
By Jessica Schrader
Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle
August 23, 2006
Woody Gontina is a builder with vision. When this Bloomfield Township resident goes to build a house, he’s not just thinking about the future owners. He also has his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in mind.
Though he doesn’t have any grandkids right now, Gontina is dedicated to building homes that offer energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in order to help create a better world for generations to come.
“I feel strongly that if we start to do things differently now, then things will be better off for my children’s children,” he said. “If we continue to pull resources the way we do now, they’re not going to have a very good world to live in.”
Gontina, who earned his construction management degree from Michigan State University, spent some time after college doing construction in California – a state that he says is much more progressive in encouraging environmentally friendly building methods and materials.
“I realized there really truly is a better way to build houses,” he said.
Now back in his home state, Gontina’s construction business focuses on building luxury homes utilizing these methods. Though it does cost 5 percent to 10 percent more to build homes this way, he said it’s really a small premium compared to the cost savings in energy.
The home Gontina is currently building is located on a one-acre lot in Bloomfield Township. Though it is 3,900 square feet, its estimated heating, cooling and hot water costs per year are less than $1,000 and expected to be more like $600-$700 annually.
“It’s a tremendous amount of cost savings for the life of the structure,” he said. “The premium you pay to own this type of structure is recovered very quickly. And you realize those savings ongoing as you own the structure.”
Tyson Butts, a Realtor with Max Broock Realtors in Birmingham, said energy efficiency is a benefit in which many buyers are interested.
“It seems like it’s the thing more and more that’s happening here in Michigan,” he said of eco-friendly designs. “It’s something that’s starting to happen more so with the new construction.”
Butts, who will serve as agent for the upcoming Romney Road home, said the trend is happening more with small builders than larger companies, mainly due to the added costs.
“If anyone can save a few dollars on utility costs, especially the way the economy is nowadays and the high gas prices, I think people are looking for it more and more.”
Any type of home can be built energy efficient, Gontina said. His business lets buyers choose their home design and he incorporates energy-efficient methods into the floor plan.
With some help, of course. Timothy Risk, an architect from Allen Park, worked hand-in-hand with Gontina on the Romney Road home designs.
“He opened my eyes to a lot of the different methods that are available,” he said.
The French-country mix home has four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, 600 square feet of bonus space above the three-car garage, and a full basement.
But to make it so efficient and environmentally friendly, Gontina utilized a few main principles. First, the home has a geothermal heating and cooling system – essentially a heat-pump system that uses the constant temperature of the earth as its energy source. It also uses special foundation and exterior walls to help with insulation, and a heat recovery ventilator to keep air fresh while recovering already-paid-for heat.
Inside the home, smaller features like occupation sensors help conserve energy by automatically turning off lights that might accidentally be left on all day. Gontina also recycled nearly all of the materials from the lot’s previous home that was razed to build this one. The home should be complete in early November.
“It’s not that much of a challenge to do things this way. I feel we do need to do things differently and make a change,” he said.