David Edwards’s house in Santa Clara may have the distinction of being the "Greenest House in California," but he wants to be clear about one thing: "a guy living in a mud hut is greener."

   Thank you for that clarification, David.

   He still has real bragging rights.

   His house near Lawrence Expressway and El Camino Real has been ranked by Build It Green, a Berkeley-based nonprofit, as the top rated green house in the state. It will be featured Sunday, Sept. 28, on the Build It Green Home Tour.

   Edwards, 38, owns Earthbound Homes, a green construction company whose business has increased 200 percent a year since he founded it seven years ago.

   "We’ve taken the greenest of everything we can find and tested it here," said Edwards. "This house has every bell and whistle for green except geothermal."

   To Edwards, green means three things: conserving resources, including water, wood and electricity; caring for the healthiness of the house by using low- or non-toxic materials; and being socially responsible by not exploiting the earth or regions and cultures that provide building materials.

   Case in point, Edwards refused to install a new mahogany door for a client because "mahogany is illegally overharvested."

   To look at it, Edwards’s blue, two-story ranch house he shares with his wife and three children doesn’t necessarily appear to be the epitome of green architecture. But a guided tour by Edwards reveals its true color.

   Start with the wooden front porch: all made from sustainably harvested wood, as certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The beams on the front porch and throughout the house are salvaged. The exterior siding of the house is fiber cement, which is resistant to fungus and rot _ and that means low maintenance and durability, a tenet of green building. All the trim pieces around doors and windows are salvaged redwood from the siding of a demolished Palo Alto house (the errant nail holes are evidence of re-use).

   A central skylight illuminates the stairwell and downstairs living areas to reduce the amount of electricity needed. The roof and second-floor walls are made of structural insulated panels. He added a solar hot water system and a hot water recirculation system.

   On the outside, he irrigates the yard of mostly California native plants by capturing rain water into a 1,400-gallon underground cistern and using "graywater" from excess shower and dishwashing water.

   In 2006, Edwards’s home was named "best new large custom home" by Build It Green. Ever since, he’s been giving building industry professionals, students and clients tours of his house.

   "I’m not your mother and I’m not your priest," Edwards said. "I just want to build the greenest and most energy efficient houses I can.”

   For more information about the Build It Green home tour and green building resources, go to www.builditgreen.org.

Here’s the complete slideshow:

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Architecture, Inside Stories, Inside Story, Julia, Ranch, Remodel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.