TAMPA, Fla. (September 30, 2021) – Veteran builder Chris Campbell is quietly creating “Florida Green” and high-performance homes, pushing the limit on both, while maintaining a realistic, simple, and efficient vision of the future of green building.
Campbell has been in the construction business for over 30 years and is a state certified residential contractor. He builds high-end, high-performance homes, additions, and renovations. He consults as well, as time permits.
Nestled amongst the trees this single- family home, 1,591 square-foot home on a barrier island in Englewood, was a finalist for the highest scoring Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) home in 2020.
“It makes sense to use top shelf products and to build green, high-performance homes. You may spend a little more, but the home will last much longer and will provide trouble free function, overall efficiency and comfort.” noted Campbell. “Unfortunately, our society has a penchant to try to get more for less which most often does not equate to long term durability, quality, efficiency or financial sense.”
The home had to meet the Campbell’s criteria. Size, performance, floorplan layout and level of finish as well as the Manasota Key Overlay Code, a special code developed just for this barrier island. It also had to mesh into the Old Florida time capsule of a neighborhood.
Key areas included energy efficiency, indoor air quality, resource and water efficiency, disaster mitigation, preserving native landscaping and durability. All are important elements in the FGBC Green Home Standards.
The blower door score was .6 which is the passive house standard for building envelope tightness. The HERS or Home Energy Rating System score was 41. This means the home will use only 41% of the energy as compared to a newly built home constructed to current code standards. The vast majority of products used were common products purchased through normal supply chain at market prices.
“If I had to pick one component or assembly that was most impactful in scoring so high it would be the vented rain screen siding assembly,” explained Campbell. “We used Prosoco’s family of products to get an airtight and waterproof seal (Weather Resistant Barrier or WRB) on the exterior walls and installing the siding over furring strips creating a ventilated cavity to reduce
the heat load on the building and enhance durability. The WRB drove the blower door and thus the HERS score through the floor and the FGBC score to the moon.”
The house sits on an infill lot in a quaint old private subdivision that was developed in the late 50’s where most of the homes were built in the 60’s and 70’s.
“We wanted to make sure the home fit in with the unique character of the environment and neighborhood. Our focus was on the building envelope, especially air tightness which is key in a moist marine environment, as well as durability and energy efficiency,” stated Campbell.
Happily married for 34 years with three grown sons, Campbell, and his wife Patti plan to retire there when the time comes.
In 2008 Campbell got certified as a Green Building Professional through the National association of Home Builders. A member of FGBC, he has always worked to improve his skill set and is an expert in building science as it relates to residential construction in the Florida’s hot and humid Florida climate.
“The difference between an average house and a green high-performance house is not just a few components. It is a whole constellation of details that need to be executed correctly and in the correct order,” advised Campbell. “It is not hard, overly technical nor really expensive. One just has to be motivated, know what is important, assess a homeowner’s priorities, think it through and execute it well.”
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