LEED for Homes Checklist courtesy CaGBC
The checklist will help you understand the requirements for each LEED category, and help you decide on your targeted level of certification. It will not only be used for the evaluation of your project, but you can use it for tracking your progress. The checklist will allow you to:
Yes, any homeowner or builder is allowed to submit the application and manage the build without being a LEED AP (Accredited Professional), or even having a LEED AP on your design team. You could receive a point towards certification by having an AP on your design team, but it isn't mandatory. Here is a page to get you started -
How to build a LEED Certified Home
What you need to do first is contact a LEED provider in your region, it is with them that you will make your submission and they will perform a preliminary rating to see if how your design would score. This step allows you to see where your design falls on the point scale, and to see if changes are necessary to help you meet your own targeted goal.
Below are some pages that may be of value depending on how familiar you already are with the rating system. We built the first LEED v4 Platinum house in Canada a few years ago (linked below); in there you can find your way to the video guide we created following its construction, that may be of value to you as well. Also check out the following pages, best of luck!
Hi Alyne, We have a number of prefab modular Kit houses that can meet LEED or Passive House performance standards here on this page -
LEED and Passive House ready prefab modular kit houses for Canada and the US
We can't get you one right way in Washington but we are hoping to be able to supply energy efficient prefab houses to the West Coast in US and Canada in the near future. If you fill out the 'request a quote' form that can be found on each different model you can get more info on particular house designs, and we will be able to send you an email when there are some available in your region. How soon are you building?
We really quite like prefab / pre built houses and firmly believe that if you were to fast forward 20 years into the future that all new homes will be made with pre built walls and more even more likelyis that prefabricated kit homes will be built, delivered and installed, faster and cheaper than the houses we currently build. We do have this page that walks you through all the options you just mentioned -
How to choose a wall system for home construction
Our prediction - and you heard it here first :)....the idea of raw materials such as 2x4s and insulation being delivered to a building site to sit in the rain will soon be considered as ridiculous as having car parts delivered to your house and assembling a Toyota or VW in your laneway.
When you talk about prefab wall assemblies, there are a couple of services that could fall under that general umbrella – At the base of that would be SIPS (structural insulated panels) usually made of rigid EPS (expanded polystyrene) panels. There are also companies that will take your building plans and create walls to match that can be delivered and assembled, that can be a great option as it is often cheaper as there is less material waste. And, you’re not leaving your wood frame exposed out in the rain for weeks or months to get saturated and warped.
The next level up from that are companies that offer prefab ‘turn key’ homes to choose from, and the best of those will let you make modifications to meet your specific needs. We like a lot of those options, but our favorite are prefab kit houses for sure, especially those that meet LEED or Passive house performance levels.
As for the one that you mentioned, nothing stands out as being particularly fantastic about it, in fact the diagram on the main page seems a little redundant, what’s with the OSB sheathing as well as ZIP structural sheathing? Cheaper than two layers of sheathing would be swapping one out for an exterior peel and stick WRB membrane.
And yes, there are some pre built homes that are much better in our opinion, that are manufactured in Ontario and Quebec. We can help you choose, so may I ask where you’re building? And what are your top priorities? (meaning – affordable, Eco friendly, LEED or Passive House ready kit homes, etc?) Let us know and we will set you up with something better and closer.
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