S+H Construction, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the greater Boston area's premier residential renovation and custom home building companies, is pleased to announce a recently completed residential project in Cambridge received LEED-certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for achievement in green homebuilding and design.
The 6,435 square foot home, built by S+H Construction and designed by AndersonPorterDesign, took approximately six months to design and two years to construct. It incorporates durable construction details, sustainable landscaping, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, recycled materials, and enhanced indoor air quality features including HEPA filters, a heat-recovery ventilation system and Energy Star rated ventilation fans. It also includes the infrastructure to add solar voltaic panels in the future.
The project achieves a 61 HERS (home energy rating system) index score, meaning it is nearly 40% more energy efficient than a home designed to building code requirements. Helping to achieve this level was the use of Icynene foam insulation for the exterior walls and the roof and high efficiency and renewable energy measures such as a ground source heating and cooling system and a rooftop solar hot water heating system.
"The design and construction of an energy retrofit project like this renovation requires careful attention to detail and a well-coordinated team in order to successfully achieve LEED-certification," states Daniel Anderson, of AndersonPorterDesign. "I appreciated the skill and expertise brought to the project by S+H and am pleased that together we were able to meet the program's stringent requirements. This project is significant in being only the 6th gut-rehab project to achieve LEED for Homes certification in Massachusetts."
A multi-award winning firm, S+H Construction collaborates with architects and other design professionals to offer residential renovations, custom building, historic restorations, energy conservation, renewable energy, site work and landscaping solutions. Serving the greater Boston area for over 30 years, S+H provides a dedicated team who share a commitment to customer satisfaction. Their work is consistently seen in both regional and national home and design publications. Additionally the company recently received the 2012 Best of Boston Home Award which is the fifth "Best of" honor for S+H.