4.0 Project NewsABC Home 4.0Zero Net Energy Home

High-Performance, Net-Zero American Home Building: Framing for the FUTURE

Construction of The ABC Green Home 4.0 progresses thanks to the team’s innovative solutions 

By Nick Slevin

Hello readers, happy holidays. As we finish up the year I want to take this opportunity to share our progress on The ABC Green Home 4.0 Project LUXE build demonstration home in Crestline, California. Crestline is one mountain resort town south of Lake Arrowhead, in the San Bernadino mountains in Southern California. 

The home is at 6,492 of altitude, which makes it more challenging for the home’s energy systems to operate efficiently, while still achieving Net-Zero energy. This environment enjoys varying weather which can create large fluctuations in temperature from 30 degrees to 65 degrees in the same day. This makes the house work harder to be energy efficient.

Daniel Hines of LP Corp (left) and Nick Slevin, Project Developer of The ABC Green Home 4.0 (right), work together on the home’s construction.

We always start with an advanced framing system. This is a lesson from passive house design, an early German home building technology that pre-dates solar and which relies on natural ventilation lines, natural lighting and other elements of good design to compliment solid engineering principles. We use two by six studs spaced at twenty-four inches on center to create a larger stud bay for more Rockwool insulation material. We use 1″ Rockwool ComfortBoard insulation panels outside Typar weatherization membrane, which is attached to LP FlameBlock OSB. We attach our siding to the rigid foam. From outside Royal Building Products siding panels to the interior paint the home’s exterior walls are 9 inches thick. The air does not pass through the walls. The house sips energy. You don’t have to spend so much to heat it or cool it.

LP Corp provided LP TechShield and LP FlameBlock OSB for the ABC Green Home 4.0

We have a Panasonic hem ventilation system to maintain indoor air quality. The roof deck is insulated underneath with Rockwool insulation. We use LP TechShield OSB on the roof deck. The roofing materials are Eagle’s light weight concrete cool roof tile. Treated with a material that burns carbon and eats smog. Our floors are three quarter inch Huber Engineered wood, which has an extra lip so it slips into place perfectly aligned to the next sheet, framers love it. Zip Advantech glue works much better than most to make sure the floor stays secure. Maze nails of various sizes provide secure fastening as we progress through rough framing. This home has a conditioned attic and a full basement. Five bedrooms include an ADA adaptable and self contained multi-gen suite. There are three full and two half baths, a designer kitchen, and a wine cellar. A roof mounted solar array faces south east and provides power for the EV charging station and a battery backup system. The traditional two-car garage does not open directly into the house, in order to preserve indoor air quality. The garage has work stations and natural light, with room for two cars. The home is 3,092 square feet and sits on an 8,500 square foot flat lot.

Nick Slevin is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Builder.Media and the Project Manager of ABC Green Home 4.0. He may be reached at nslevin@penpubinc.com