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Porchfront’s commitment to environment shows in initial design with homebuyer

Source: Boulder County Business Report

BOULDER - At a time when many busy homeowners want to be as green as possible in their lives, it can be difficult to make the right environmental decisions when looking at so many possibilities for a green home.

Porchfront Homes, a Boulder based semi-custom homebuilder, works with buyers to help them make the right green choices while also considering their new home’s overall comfort.

“Our emphasis is to sit down with a new buyer and work with them to tailor the home to their needs, including layout, energy requirements, etc.,” says Mary Coonce, co-owner of Porchfront Homes. For instance, does the new homeowner take long baths or is he/she a shower person? Porchfront Homes will determine the most energy and water efficient ways to accommodate their needs.

The builders encourage homeowners to make as many green choices as they can comfortably live with. “It’s a collaborative effort. We learn from our new buyers. By the time a new buyer gets to the process of selecting items for their home, they have already been researching on the internet.”

With so much information available Porchfront tries to advise buyers to be “practical green” . With cabinetry, “People say, ‘we love those Italian, cabinets with their green manufacturing,’ but we say, ‘You have to ship them,’” Coonce says. The company works with Mastercraft Cabinets Inc., a cabinet manufacturer based in Aurora, to minimize carbon emissions produced by shipping. Porchfront also works with Atrium Windows & Doors, a manufacturer with a Denver facility.

On all of their current homes, the company installs split HVAC systems, which create practical zoned home areas for heating and cooling. The system has a furnace heating the main floor and basement, an air conditioner for the main floor and basement, and separate units for the top floor. Programmable thermostats are available, as well as home automation systems to control the home’s zones from a personal computer.

The company also has begun to use Icynene insulation in many of its homes, a foam product that minimizes air leakage Coonce estimates that a home with Icynene may save up to 25 percent of its energy bill.

The Coonces redesigned the remaining homes at their Nobo site to accommodate solar power, and also worked on a house utilizing both geothermal and solar. For most homeowners, they recommend Xeriscape landscaping, E-Star appliances (based on a rating system for energy efficiency) and hardiplank siding, another green product.

Currently, the Coonces are working on a project at 18th Street and Yarmouth Avenue in North Boulder, “Nobo,”where they are building 44 single-family homes and a five-unit solar infill project at 18th and Canyon. The “Greenstones at Nobo,” a 23-unit condo development should break ground in the summer of 2008.

The homes on 18th and Yarmouth are priced at about $650,000 to $700,000. Porchfront also works on custom, higher-end homes selling for about $1.5 million.

In addition to home building, Porchfront does some smaller commercial projects. The company is working on a new building project for the Emergency Family Assistance Association at 16th and Yarmouth. It also built Superior Plaza, a building off Highway 36 that now houses Superior Liquors and Old Chicago restaurant.

Coonce emphasizes the couple’s strong commitment to the environment. “We’re not trying to be the latest fad. We try and do things that actually make a difference.”

No. of employees: 6
Top executives: Tim and Mary Coonce, co-owners
Primary service: Home building and small commercial work
Year founded: 2000

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