Blythewood home a model of sustainable building

Green gambit: House boasts bamboo floors, solar panels and runoff water collection system

By KRISTY EPPLEY RUPON - krupon@thestate.com

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Mike and Maggie Switzer had planned for years to build their dream home in Blythewood's Cobblestone Park, overlooking the golf course.

They just didn't know it would end up being one of the greenest homes in the Midlands.

Mike Switzer said there wasn't a light-bulb moment that led him to seek close to the highest level of green certification in the country. Instead, it was a gradual self-education.

Mike and Maggie Switzer recently completed an energy efficient home in Blythewood's Cobblestone Park.

- Erik Campos/ecampos@thestate.com

Gallery: Blythewood home goes green in a big way
A look inside

A first-floor master bedroom has a gas fireplace and double doors opening onto a porch overlooking the 16th green. A short hallway with his and her closets leads to a master bath with a tiled shower. A guest bedroom with its own bathroom also is downstairs.

The kitchen has a gas stove, regular oven and microwave/convection oven. Hidden away in the pantry is a dumbwaiter to shuttle food to the upstairs formal dining room. The kitchen opens to the living room and eating area.

A media room has a projector screen for watching movies or Gamecock football and heavy curtains to reduce the amount of light.

Upstairs are two bedrooms with a Jack-and-Jill bathroom, the formal dining room and storage space. The dining room and one bedroom open onto an outdoor entertaining area.

Going for gold

- The leftover lumber from construction was chopped up and spread on the lawn as mulch for the dozens of native and drought-resistant plants that make up the front yard. Solar landscaping lights also were used.

- A pergola was saved from the demolition of an old golf clubhouse in the community. It was split up and used in several different spots outside the home. Also, reclaimed brick was used to make a patio and border.

- The front door opens outward instead of inward. During strong winds, it seals tighter, keeping out the draft.

- A basin underneath the house collects rainwater from the gutters and funnels it to the gardens surrounding the home. Excess water goes into a rain garden that filters the water before releasing it back into the earth.

- The carpet is made from recycled plastic bottles and shipped from nearby Dalton, Ga., cutting down on emissions from trucks used to carry it to South Carolina.

- Kitchen countertops are made from quartz and recycled glass.

- The garage is detached from the home so toxic fumes don't have a chance of getting inside.

For more, check out the Switzer's building blog at switzergreenhome.blogspot.com/

"It just made sense," he said. "Why keep going and doing the old traditional when it's so much better for everybody, including my monthly electric bill."

Finding an architect and a builder, though, was a challenge in a state that had not yet embraced the environmental movement.

The Switzers hired Bob Bourguignon of Sustainable Architecture in Spartanburg two years ago to help design their home. They hired Columbia's Jay Rogers to build his first green home.

Over the past couple of years, though, green building has started to gain momentum in South Carolina, said Claude St. Hilaire, owner of Home Energy Group in Mt. Pleasant, which provides green home certification through the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

The program has among the strictest certification standards in the country and has four different levels of green. The Switzers are seeking gold status, which is the second-highest level.

"It's actually gaining a lot of momentum," St. Hilaire said. "We're still going through a learning process. People envision solar panels and bamboo. It's a lot more than that. It's about making good decisions and searching out products that are environmentally responsible, as well."

The Switzers have the solar panels for heating water and the bamboo floors. But they get green points for a variety of other features, including carpet made from recycled plastic bottles, a door that opens outward so it seals tight during high winds and a runoff water collection system they use for irrigation.

Rogers said the home at $590,000 and 4,000 square feet did not cost more than other custom jobs the same size. The price of some green building materials, such as bamboo flooring, has come down. In other cases, costs were offset. For example, because the house was sealed tighter, the builder was able to use a smaller heating and air unit.

Even the solar water heating system made sense financially. With a $3,500 tax credit, it ended up costing about $1,000 more than a traditional water heater. Rolled into a mortgage, that's about $6 extra per month, estimated St. Hilaire. But the Switzers will save about $40 a month not having to heat the water.

Switzer said he couldn't be more pleased with his new home.

"It turned out exactly like we had pictured it," he said.

He also is happy that the project is starting to have an impact on those around him. He recently held a drop-in for neighbors so they could see the house and learn about all the green features.

One couple already are looking at using recycled rubber mulch - something they told him they never would have considered before.

His best advice for others thinking about building a green home?

"Educate yourself," he said. "It's still just such a new thing. ... That will help the whole process go smoother."