Australian chestnut floors

create a rustic backdrop for this

environmentally responsible Pacific
Northwest home.
 Design Options

Green
Getaway
Wood floors add health and beauty to a mountain retreat

By Sue Sveum

J
ust an hour southeast of Seattle, away from the ocean and beyond the mountains, you’ll
find the tiny city of Rosyln, Washington, once known as the set location for the popular
’90s TV hit, “Northern Exposure.” Today, however, Roslyn is getting noticed more for the
future than the past. On the outskirts of town, Suncadia, an environmentally responsible
6,000-acre resort
community, is being devel-
oped. For some, Suncadia
will be the site of their
dream homes. For others, it
will be a home away from
home—a weekend getaway
from the hustle and bustle
of Seattle.
This is not a place for
those hoping to rough it,
though. Rustic, yes. Beauti-
ful, definitely. But you’ll
find high-speed Internet
Northwest Property Imaging

along with high-end materi-

als and expert craftsmanship in these showcase homes.
This mountain-lodge-style home exemplifies those qualities and more. Built by developer
Brenda Nunes, it combines exceptional craftsmanship with environmentally friendly building
practices. The project gave Nunes the opportunity to demonstrate that environmentally friendly
products could provide value in a custom-built home. A key goal of the project was “environ-
mental responsibility with a financial win-win,” she says.

December 2006|January 2007 ■ Hardwood Floors 73

 74
Design Options
Nunes had been interested in environmentally friendly
“green” homes for some time, so when the chance arose to
build a Built Green model home in the Suncadia community,
she embraced the challenge. Now the 3,900-square-foot,
four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home has received a
five-star Built Green certification and served as the site of
summer tours for those interested in green building practices
or the Suncadia resort community. “I knew right away that I
wanted to build here,” Nunes says. “It’s a great opportunity
to educate the outside community about Built Green homes
and give them more visibility.”
Built Green is not just an ideal; it is a structured program
operated by the Master Builders Association of King and Sno-
homish counties in cooperation with both builders and gov-
ernment agencies. Several elements must be met before a
home can be certified as Built Green. These include site
development, including the use of trees removed from the
74 Hardwood Floors ■ December 2006|January 2007
Northwest Property Imaging
All wood flooring used
in the project was
FSC-certified.
site in the home’s construction, as well as standards for
energy efficiency, air quality and construction efficiency. The
projects also must manage construction waste according to
guidelines and utilize recycled products.
Working with builder Grey Lundberg, president of Belle-
vue, Wash.-based CMI Homes, and architect Richard Fisher
of Seattle-based Richard Fisher Architects, Nunes exceeded
the Built Green criteria at the Suncadia home. Achieving cer-
tification has its initial price, but Nunes says the quality
makes up for the cost. “Green products may be slightly more
expensive in the beginning, but they’re still very affordable,
and some of the cost is recouped down the line when you
figure in their durability and maintenance,” Nunes explains.
“There’s definitely long-term quality in these products.”
Not surprisingly, wood floors make up a key component
of the home’s long-term quality. With their nonallergenic
aspect, they suited the home’s indoor air quality goals. Addi-
 Design Options
tionally, all of the flooring is FSC-certified. “That means that
the Forest Stewardship Council has determined the wood
products are grown and harvested in a manner which pro-
tects forests for the long-term,” explains Lisa DiMartino, vice
president for marketing for Seattle-based Environmental
Home Center, which provided flooring for much of the
house.
For the main floor, the builders chose a 7 5⁄8-inch-wide, pre-
finished floating Australian chestnut wood floor. “It met all of
the criteria we had set for the project: it was FSC-certified,
beautiful, durable and sustainable wood from a managed for-
est,” Nunes says. “We picked the flooring based on its green
nature,” Lundberg adds. “But as soon as I saw the product, I
knew I would have picked it for any house. It’s beautiful.”
The species’ rugged look fit the mountain-lodge style and
wooded setting of the house perfectly. “It’s a wormy chestnut
with dark imperfections,” Lundberg says, “but it still fits well
76 Hardwood Floors ■ December 2006|January 2007
Northwest Property Imaging
Teak floors help set apart the
“guy’s getaway” loft area.
in a sophisticated setting.”
The fact that it’s a dimensionally stable product also makes
it a perfect fit for the home’s radiant heat. “The humidity
level is generally low in this part of the state, but the wood
swells in winter,” Fisher explains. “Because the source of
heating is in the floor, you don’t want wood that’s going to
move a lot.”
The heat for the radiant heated floors is generated by the
home’s geo-thermal heating system, which utilizes heat
energy stored in the earth, rather than fossil fuels, to heat and
cool the home.
The floating floors made for a quick, simple installation,
and the only subfloor prep necessary was the installation of
the floating floors’ foam underlayment, says Mark Fritcher,
manager of Cle Elum, Wash., flooring contractor Valley
Floor Co.
He estimates that it took one worker between three and
 Design Options
Northwest Property Imaging
four days to install the flooring on each level.
With the main floor falling into place, Nunes says one of
the biggest challenges of the project was to showcase as
many green products as possible while still coordinating with
the theme and flow of the house. Floors, cabinetry and
beams all needed to blend and complement each other.
With that in mind, Nunes took advantage of an upstairs
loft to bring in another species—teak. The change in species
helps define the area from the rest of the house. “We pic-
tured the area as a guy’s getaway,” she explains. “[The floor
is] very hard and durable, very dense. It’s darker and richer
in color than the chestnut used on the main floor.” The 5⁄8-
inch prefinished teak was chosen for its color, stability, and,
most importantly, the fact that it was plantation-grown in
Central America and is FSC-certified.
In the rest of the upstairs, except for one bathroom, cork
planks were used. While cork floors are well known for their
78 Hardwood Floors ■ December 2006|January 2007
Project Details
Developer: Brenda Nunes, Associated Earth Science
(Kirkland, Wash.)
Builder: Grey Lundberg, CMI Homes (Bellevue, Wash.)
Architect: Richard Fisher, Richard Fisher Architects (Seattle)
Flooring Retailer (Australian chestnut) and Manufacturer
(cork): Environmental Home Center (Seattle)
Flooring Manufacturer (Australian chestnut): EcoTimber
(San Rafael, Calif.)
Flooring Manufacturer (teak): Toucan Teak (Tumwater,
Wash.)
Flooring Contractor: Valley Floor Co. (Cle Elum, Wash.)
The prefinished cork used upstairs completes the
environmental flooring portfolio.
environmental aspect—being harvested from the bark of a
type of oak, which then grows back—this particular product
is especially “green.” It is prefinished with a low-toxic hard-
wax oil, and the core has no added formaldehyde.
Because of the attention paid to using prefinished materi-
als and the home’s other environmentally friendly products,
interestingly, “There is no new-home smell,” Nunes says.
“Once you start working with these products, you don’t
want to go back,” Lundberg says, adding, “This is where it’s
going.”
The final result was an overwhelming success. Except for
perhaps the conspicuous absence of the new-home smell,
the green qualities of the completed home aren’t immedi-
ately obvious. Rather, the high quality of the home and its
materials take center stage. “One of our goals was for visitors
to walk in and say, ‘This is a beautiful house.’ Only then do
they find out it’s built green,” Nunes says. ■