Collier Construction Receives Sustainability Award
Recent News | April 2011
The Institute for Sustainable Practice presented Collier Construction an award for Sustainable Excellence by Design at the fourth annual Lipscomb Green Business Summit in Nashville.
The Institute for Sustainable Practice's mission is to develop and advance the practice of Sustainability in Tennessee. And the Green Business Leadership Awards recognize businesses, organizations, individuals and institutions demonstrating exceptional leadership of sustainable business practices resulting in significant impact and improvement to the area of focus.
“We are honored to receive this award,” said Ethan Collier, President and CEO. “The challenge is to live up to this award in our daily business operations and continue our efforts to help educate others about the importance of green construction.”
read the full story here.
Collier Is Attending the National Green Building Conference and Expo
Collier Construction will be attending the National Green Building Conference and Expo in Salt Lake City this week. We look forward to expanding our knowledge of green construction and the latest applications of building and design science.
Collier’s adoption of sustainable building practices came, in large part, as a result of attending the NAHB green building conference in 2004. Seven years later, our aim is to remain an innovative and creative company focused on building high performance homes through a whole systems approach.
So here are some of the break-out sessions we plan to attend:
- Affordable Green Construction and Renovation
- Green Building Systems: Plumbing and Mechanical
- Understanding Indoor Air Quality and Ways to Mitigate the “Sleeping Giant””
- Daybreak: Sustainable Development to Sustain a Community
- Construction Waste: Trash or Treasure?
- High Performance Renovations
Collier Wins Small Business of the Year Award
Collier Construction was recently named Small Business of the Year by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. Collier joined Ribbon & Bows, Oh My! and River City Property Management as nominees for the 1-20 employees category.
“It is a tremendous honor for Collier Construction to stand along side all of this year’s nominees,” said Ethan Collier, President and CEO. “And we are sincerely grateful for this recognition.”
Read the full story here.
Be sure to check out the video presentation here.
Featured Project: Moving to Town
Relocating to a town 300 miles away is tough enough. Add to that, building a new home from the ground up, and you can imagine the anxiety Jerry and Kittie Stauffer must have experienced when they decided to move from their home in Memphis and build a new house on Elder Mountain.
Of course, if they did have anxiety, you would have never known it. The amiable couple took on the project with an open mind and a spirit of enthusiasm - despite remaining in Memphis during the construction process.
The Stauffers recently took some time to revisit the process and tell us more about their experience.
challenge
The couple was drawn to their lot on Elder Mountain because of it’s wooded landscape and sloping lot. The sloping lot, however, challenged their initial vision for their home.
“I originally wanted a one story house with a garage underneath, but the lot sloped too much for that design,” explained Mrs. Stauffer.
As they worked through the design with Elemi Architects, they discovered that building a one-story home on the sloped lot was not cost-effective.
design
The solution was a 4,000 square foot, two-story home that harmonizes seamlessly with its surroundings. As a result, Mrs. Stauffer explained, they have become fond of the stonework.
“It is a perfect fit with the setting,” she said. The stonework also helped them accomplish their goal - a classically designed home with modern amenities.
“We’ve lived in several homes and decided to build just what we wanted,” said Mrs. Stauffer.
Their home boasts an open and spacious den with towering ceilings accented by a stone fireplace on one side and a balcony library on the other.
She also explained that the den, with it’s fireplace and AV equipment, is Mr. Stauffer’s favorite room in the house. As for Mrs. Stauffer, the living room with it’s piano and fireplace is the perfect room.
energy
Beyond the design, their home was also built with energy efficiency as a top priority. As Dustin Douglass, the project superintendent, explained, the home integrates a duel fuel HVAC system that switches between electricity and gas for optimal efficiency. For the foundation/basement walls, Collier used Superior Walls, which insulate the basement and create a better environment for the HVAC unit to run.
“We used 1/2” foam sheathing everywhere we could,” Douglass added. Foam sheathing provides an additional layer of insulation between the home’s exterior and its framing. “The attic space is sealed and sprayed with 6 inches of open cell foam and conditioned for a more suitable environment for the unit in the attic,” he said. The home also includes tankless water heaters.
experience
Mrs. Stauffer said, “We found most all of the contractors to be so nice to work with. They made building this house a pleasant experience. At this stage in our lives, never having built a house, we were a little cautious about the experience.”
“I can tell you that building a house from afar was a leap of faith,” added Mr. Stauffer. “But our faith turned out to be well-placed.”
Portfolio Highlights
Two unique Collier projects are drawing toward completion, and we wanted to highlight their progress in their final stages.
Williams Street Rehab
In November last year, we began profiling an extraordinary project involving the rehab of a 1920s downtown grocery store. The Williams St. building has been transformed into a 2,400 sq. ft. contemporary dwelling with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and an office. An interior brick wall has been left exposed while the facade has been revamped - storefront windows now adorn the first floor and a large deck has been added to the back of the building.
View the updated photography here.
And be sure to check back to see the finished product soon.
The Crash Pad
In our December newsletter, we announced that we had broken ground on The Crash Pad, a sustainable urban hostel located on the Southside. Weathering design changes, a collapse of the relic, and well, really bad weather, the Crash Pad has come together beautifully and efficiently.
The walls came up fast. Watch the video slide show here.
To view more of our projects, visit our portfolio.
A Scenic City Spring To Do List
It’s a new season, and it’s time to plug away at the ole’ Spring To Do List. So we thought you’d appreciate some green recommendations with some local flavor thrown in. After all, this time of year in Chattanooga is a great time to be mindful of the environment. See our recommendations and click on the links for more.
And if you think we’ve left off something import - because we most likely did - please add them to our page over on Facebook.
SPRING CLEANING
Clean House:
How to clean green from the good folks at Good Magazine.
Getting Rid of Stuff?
Donate for Social Good at the ReStore or the Northside Neighborhood House Thrift Store.
Prevent Pernicious Pests:
Change Your Air Filter!
Open Windows:
More house keeping coolness:
THE OUTDOORS
Embrace Your Inner Tree Hugger:
TreeHugger’s Green Gardening Tips.
Clean up Chattanooga:
30 ways in 30 days by CleanChatt.
FOOD & FUN
Row Down the River:
Paddler’s Perch & Canoe Rentals.
Grill Local
Try your favorite grilling meats from Sequatchie Cove Farms or Link 41.
Localize Your Tastebuds
Learn more about CSA's from Tastebuds of Chattanooga.
You Say Tomato
We say Crabtree.
INSPIRATION
To satisfy your taste for neat architecture, sustainable design and green building, we’re sharing with you just a little of what inspires us the most.
This time around, we’d like to recognize the inspiring mix of community activism, sustainability and great design that stirs up the creative problem-solving in us all.
Enter Samuel “Sambo” Mockbee.
Cofounder of Auburn University’s Rural Studio program, Mockbee “dedicated his life, as a teacher and as an architect, to creating architecture that not only elevated the living standards of the rural poor but also provided ‘shelter for the soul.’”
Learn more about Mockbee and the Rural Studio, and enjoy some eye-popping photography in the process. And be sure to check out the documentary, Citizen Architect - a film on the Mockbee and the Rural Studio.
In Case You Missed It:
Catch up with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga, the ReStore and the Design Workshop Series.
The ReStore's Spring Donation Drive
The ReStore’s 4th Annual Spring Donation Drive is almost over, but there are still a few more days left to get involved, and whoever donates the most, will win a $500 Lowe’s Gift Card.
The ReStore is A division of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga. The store accepts donations of new and gently used items from individuals and businesses in the community, and sells those items to the public at a reduced cost, usually 50-70 percent of the original retail value. All proceeds go toward building Habitat homes with the local Habitat affiliate.
While the new LEED certified ReStore is under construction, Habitat for Humanity is operating out of a temporary location at 3126 Alton Park Boulevard just past Howard High School and is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
You can find out what to donate by visiting the Habitat for Humanity website or by clicking on the following link: Donations.
Design Workshop Series
This Spring, the ReStore launched a free Design Workshop Series. The popular series included a Vintage Living Room/Kitchen workshop, a how-to workshop on Redesigning Recycled Treasures and a Interior Design 101 class.
Because of the great response to the series, organizers have decided to offer another design workshop series in the fall, and we thought you’d like to know. So keep your eyes out for when it comes again because there is no better way to prep for a new season than to ReFresh your design know-how at the ReStore Design Workshop Series.
Keep up with news from Habitat for Humanity and the progress at the ReStore here: transformchattanooga.org.
Being Social
What can we say, we like to share. That is, on social media where we share photos of projects, link to interesting articles and promote good ideas. So we’d love to share with you too. Here’s how:
Like us on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.
Keep up on LinkedIn.
Contact us on Flickr.
Join us on GoWalla.
We hope to see you there!
