News and Events

At Biltmore Farms, as builder of communities and homes, one of our five guiding principles focuses on quality of life and the environment.

This focus extends from the communities we develop and build, to the individual choices we make during the course of our day, and results in a continual striving to improve all we do. To assist us in our progress to ever greater environmental sustainability and stewardship, we have chosen to enlist the support of the Western North Carolina Green Building Council (www.wncgbc.org) and the HealthyBuilt® Homes Program. This statewide voluntary green building program considers and examines all aspects of the construction process from site issues, the building envelope, heating and cooling systems, to appliances, lighting, finishes and indoor air quality. In short, the whole house, from before the start to after the finish is evaluated and certified. If the performance of home meets the extensive criteria it will be recognized as a HealthyBuilt Home. It is our goal to construct all of the homes built in Fox Run Preserve as HealthyBuilt and Energy Star®, helping you enjoy your new home and community even a little more...

In order for this program to become reality, we need your support and assistance. The evaluation considers the whole construction process and many of the items that work towards your home's certification will be invisible to you. Several items, however, will be directly influenced by your choices during the selections process (such as paint and flooring selections). At this point, you will have the opportunity to raise the bar and consider additional features (like open-cell foam insulation, air filtration systems, energy recovery ventilators, tankless hot water systems and solar hot water to mention a few) to raise the level of certification for your home. The bullet points below provide an overview of the items intended for your home.

• Site- Upon clearing the lots, logs suitable for sale are sold for paper and wood products. Most remaining wood material is chipped on site and used in berms in conjunction with sediment control fencing to prevent silt from leaving the site. This detail has proven very effective and greatly reduces use of the landfill. The trees to be saved are protected with fencing at their drip line. If this is not possible due to a tight site, we do our best to limit heavy traffic over the root zone of the tree and place protection closer to the trunk. After the foundation is backfilled, all disturbed areas are seeded to anchor the soil and limit sediment run-off from the site. Additionally, the plantings in each landscape package contain a strong percentage of drought tolerant species that are indigenous to our region to reduce water and fertilizer needs after the plantings are established.

• Building Envelope-
o A closed crawl space is a standard detail in each home. This construction technique seals the crawlspace from the ground and outside air which fluctuates greatly in temperature and humidity. Instead, the crawlspace more closely tracks the tempered air in the home. Additionally, the HVAC equipment and ductwork will be located in "tempered" space increasing both performance and longevity. The materials used and thermal boundaries defined vary to suit unique plan and lot conditions.
o Each home will be constructed using "Advanced Framing Practices" that optimize stud layout and usage to dictate stacked framing, open corners and partitions to allow more insulation and less wood (a 2x4 has an R-value of about 3.5 in the wall, while blown cellulose is around R-13).
o Air-sealing and insulation are unchanged from our standard production detailing. We have determined that blown cellulose is the most thermally efficient and cost effective insulation technique. We do increase the depth of the blown cellulose in the attic space to hit an R-38 value (as opposed to R-30). As part of the HealthyBuilt process, the building envelope tightness will be tested for the total number of air-changes per hour.

• HVAC Systems-
o We will utilize a computer software program that calculates volumes, insulation, glazing area and predicts thermal performance, allowing us to more accurately size the HVAC system.
o The ductwork and equipment installed is tested to insure a system with minimal duct leakage that performs to the levels anticipated by the computer model mentioned above.
o The ductwork and equipment is installed in "tempered" space or the R-value of the insulation on the ductwork is increased. Additionally, fresh air is added to the HVAC system to hedge against a house that is too tight. The air-sealing measures will reduce the amount of air the house leaks, necessitating the introduction of fresh air from the outside to insure healthy indoor air quality.
o All wet bath areas receive a fan/ light combination that is set with a time delay switch for the fan. This is a standard detail for all of our homes that insures moisture created in the bath area is evacuated from the house as the low sone fan continues to run for 15-20 minutes after the light is turned off. We feel this contribution to indoor air quality is well worth the additional cost.

• Finish Options-
o Each homebuyer has a range of low VOC (volatile organic compounds) finish options available to choose from (from recycled pop bottle carpets, recycled content hardwood floors to low VOC paint options). Recycled content carpet padding is standard.
o Compact florescent Energy Star lighting options are available for the homebuyer to select from.
o Low flow plumbing fixtures are available in an increasing range of finishes to promote water efficiency without sacrificing style.

• Customer Education- As part of the Biltmore Farms Homes closing package the homeowner is provided, we include information on all of the features of the house. The HealthyBuilt addition to this package includes a variety of information on topics ranging from the care and maintenance of the landscape to household toxic material recycling options in the area.

Thank you for your interest in the HealthyBuilt Home program. If you would like additional information, do not hesitate to visit our website at www.biltmorefarmshomes.com or contact a community consultant.

Biltmore Farms Homes reserves the right to change any part of our included features or options anytime at the discretion of the builder, availability of material, plan changes, etc.