Green Living
Nature & Technology
Panache is committed to creating beautiful environments inside and out. From our energy-efficient engineering to our environmentally conscious construction, we promise that your home will be as sustainable as it is attractive.
Part of the Landscape
A property should not be at odds with its surroundings. It should be part of the landscape, perfectly complementary to the location nature has prepared for your house. Panache builds our custom properties to be products of their environment. Windows are strategically spaced to allow light to stream in during the day so it stays bright, but not too hot in the summer and hardwoods are sourced from sustainably harvested lumber and made with non-toxic adhesives and finishes with natural, recycled materials throughout your property.
Nature and technology go hand in hand as Panache pushes the boundaries with all our projects. Solar panels on your roof can power the iPads in your walls, which in turn control the low-flow showers and modular LED lighting. With appliances supplied by industry leaders such as Wolf, Grohe, and Kohler, all aspects of your property come together in harmony to create a seamless, gorgeous, and green living experience.
What is Green Building?
Green building begins well before construction and takes the entire lifespan of the property into account. Consideration of placement to design, maintenance to renovation and construction to demolition must occur when planning a green space. Panache relishes the opportunity to balance energy-efficient, cost-effective construction materials with our gorgeous and innovative design and engineering to create one-of-a-kind properties that stand the test of time in their economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Below, please feel free to read about just a few of the aspects Panache takes into account when designing and building your custom, green building.
Foundations
A strong foundation is essential to any building project. When it comes to luxury building, only the best will do. Panache stays ahead of the curve, using the latest in sturdy, environmentally conscious construction materials in the creation of our properties, and the foundation is the first step.
Concrete has long been the go-to material for foundation construction, but building the entire foundation out of concrete can cause problems in your properties’ future. Concrete, while cost-effective in the short term, is a poor insulator by itself and often increases heating and air-conditioning costs: a single pane of glass is a better insulator than a full inch of solid concrete. Heat, cold, rain, and other conditions wear down exposed concrete over time.
Material science has come a long way, and new material has proven its worth in construction projects: plastic. Two innovative new answers to concrete’s problems, Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs), make use of a durable and low-cost plastic called polystyrene.
According to the Insulating Concrete Form Association, properties built with these new foundational materials can expect to save hundreds of dollars per year on energy bills, reducing the size of their heating and cooling equipment and lowering their impact on the environment. As a bonus, SIPs don’t fall victim to the same weathering fatigue as concrete. The original foundation will resist degradation caused by wind, rain, snow, heat, earthquakes, or anything else nature can throw at it, keeping your investment safe. The advantages don’t end there. Since the foundation is stronger, less material is required to build the support structure for the rest of the property.
Structures built with SIPs require an average of 35% less lumber during construction, and since the material is malleable, it can be shaped more accurately than concrete.
Fewer materials mean less waste and more design freedom. The safety, style, and savings of green foundation options make them a clear-cut winner for those who want the best for their property.
Electrical
Electricity is the lifeblood of the modern building, and its importance only grows with each new advance in technology. But with increased significance comes more wiring necessary to bring electricity to every part of your property, and finding more elegant solutions to the waste generated can help reduce the overall material cost of your project.
Once again, plastic seems to be the answer. Plastic has been the go-to wiring insulator since World War II, and as new types of plastics have been developed their longevity, cost-effectiveness, and ability to insulate the wires has only increased. With few exceptions, the wiring running through the walls, floors, and ceilings of our properties — and even the wiring hanging between electric and telephone poles — are wrapped with flame-retardant, durable plastic. The safety, longevity, and small environmental footprint of electrical plastic has yet to be questioned in over 60 years of use.
Plumbing
Most currently buried water pipes are made of copper or other metals. While rust-proof metal used to be the best material to use, metal pipes tend to develop leaks around the joints and can corrode after long periods of use. Before a pipe needs to be replaced because of metal’s tendency to degrade, some municipal codes allow for up to a gallon of water leakage.
PVC piping, on the other hand, does not corrode, can be cut and drilled to precisely match the needs of where it will be placed and distributed more efficiently than metal. The water running through the pipes will not be contaminated by contact with the ground because PVC flexes more and lasts longer than metal pipes. It is also non-conductive and an excellent insulator because it lowers the fire risk from electrical hazards, keeps water at the correct temperature, and reduces energy bills.
Low cost, durability, and ease of installation make PVC an excellent, green choice when piping your construction projects.
Flooring
Hardwood floors are one of the top requests when building custom luxury homes and office spaces. As such, many building companies simply opt for a quick-and-dirty approach to flooring that can lead to decreased quality and costly repairs.
The Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability measures laid out by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology inspect several criteria when grading flooring, including the amount of solid waste, natural resource depletion, and indoor air quality.
Using sustainably harvested lumber from reputable farms and careful designing and planning takes care of the first two, but indoor air quality is an often-overlooked aspect of interior design and construction. Some adhesives and finishes used in flooring installation can negatively impact indoor air quality. When laying a hardwood floor, it is essential to use natural and carcinogen-free materials to improve the air you breathe while indoors. Of course, there are more flooring options than hardwood. Bamboo has expanded in recent years as a fantastic alternative to traditional flooring, harvested from a fast-growing and easily collected source. PVC has also crept into the realm of flooring with tiling approaching the beauty of marble and with much better aesthetics and moisture sealing than linoleum. Whatever the material, the chemicals used in green floor construction must be non-hazardous and cost-effective to improve air quality and ensure the floor is beautiful and maintainable throughout its lifetime.
Roofing and Insulation
Long gone are the days of dangerous fiberglass insulation. Spray foam and hard foam inserts are cheaper, safer alternatives to more traditional methods of insulation and stave off bugs and weathering more effectively. Energy- and cost-efficient solution, foam insulation, can be used throughout the property and expands to fill in even the tightest of crawlspaces and create a weatherproof seal that keeps you comfortable during the most severe weather.
Of course, the insulation would serve little purpose without a roof over your head. A roof must be equipped to handle any number of environmental conditions, and a roof enforced by spray foam can stand up to hail and strong winds and resist degradation caused by water damage or exposure to extreme heat.
In fact, in research conducted by Underwriters Laboratories designed to test how these roofs fared against hurricane-force winds, the spray foam roofing outlasted the lab’s equipment — an impressive showing which cemented its standing as the number one choice for building safety.
Spray foam insulation and roofing is an efficient and energy-saving way to make your home or workplace safer and more comfortable.
With its top-class durability and ease of installation, spray foam equals less waste in both the short and long term and provides unmatched quality and environmental protection.