By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
A Vestavia Hills home on this year’s Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders Parade of Homes will not only give potential homebuyers a look at the latest in upscale environmentally-friendly building design but will also give them a look at the building standards that are becoming a part of the new way of doing business in a recovering housing market.
The 4-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath turn-of-the-century style home at 973 Viridian Way is part of a development that was the first of its kind in the region when construction began in 2008 but that developer and builder Mike Wedgworth said he thinks more homebuyers are looking for–now that they are looking again.
“I think the standards we’re using in this neighborhood will be part of the new way of doing business in more places as the market continues to recover. People want to know they are saving energy and therefore, saving money,” Wedgworth said.
And the home’s design–and the development it is in– is all about saving energy, saving money and helping to save the environment.
The home’s community, Viridian, is an 11-acre woodland site just off Tyler Road. The development, planned to have 20 homes when it is built out, has a tree-save covenant where one-third of the community is to remain natural woodlands.
“Viridian has been shaped to fit the land–the land hasn’t been graded and scraped away to fit the neighborhood,” Wedgworth said.
A covenant also requires all of the homes in Viridian be certified for energy efficiency.
All of the homes in Viridian, Wedgeworth said, are tested and certified by a third party to be at least 15 percent more energy-efficient than a home built to standard codes.
Some of the key features his company used to lower home utility bills include engineered heating, venting and air conditioning systems with sealed ductwork, Low E windows and insulated doors, and an extensive attic, floor and wall insulation system, Wedgworth said.
“It’s all about tighter construction. That is so important. You take what most people always thought of as being energy-efficient building practices and you take it to the next level,” he said.
That next level of energy efficiency translates into ducts that are vacuum-tested to expose any air leaks and tankless water heaters.
Some of the other design elements in the home are simple yet effective ideas, Wedgworth said.
Upstairs in the master bedroom’s huge walk-in closet, natural light floods the space through windows high in the closet walls.
“It’s such a simple idea–use natural light in places where we really need good lighting, like closets. It’s those kinds of details we had in mind when we built the Viridian homes,” Wedgworth said. “It’s really the smallest things that make the biggest differences in energy efficiency.”
Natural lighting is also a feature in the great room, where light filters in through skylights in the vaulted ceiling and is augmented with energy-efficient LED recessed lighting.
The great room also features a wood burning fireplace and incorporates an open floor plan that includes a kitchen with all the luxury touches.
The kitchen has LED lighting, granite countertops, a huge center island and stainless steel appliances. A formal dining room is off the kitchen in the front of the house.
“More and more people are using the dining room area as a study and using the large eat-in space in the kitchen as their main dining area. There’s a great view there,” Wedgworth said.
The kitchen and great room open to a deck overlooking Hackleberry Creek.
“You can sit out here and watch the water flow over the rocks, and you’ll feel like you’re in a mountain retreat instead of as close as you are to the schools and shopping in town,” Wedgworth said.
The property’s irrigation system is also environmentally-friendly, he said.
“We use a drip irrigation system instead of the traditional spray system. That saves water, and that saves on utility bills,” Wedgworth said.
Wedgworth said the green theme of Viridian extends throughout the entire development. Recycled and repurposed materials were used throughout the community’s design, he said.
A log cabin built in 1812 and moved to the property in 1940 was beyond repair when Wedgworth brought the property off Tyler Road, but he found a use for the historic structure.
Materials like the original logs and beams from the cabin were harvested during its demolition and have been incorporated throughout the community, remade into park benches and decorative beams.
The one-and-a-half story brick home lists for $615,000.
Wedgworth, who has been in the home development and building business since 1979, said he thinks green building will continue to help the housing market recover.
“I think we saw the need for these kinds of homes back in 2008, and the homebuyers now are looking for these options. It has been a good time to retool our whole operation,” he said.
A native of Hale County, Wedgworth grew up on a farm before earning a degree in building science at Auburn University.
“When I enrolled at Auburn, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I knew that it involved building,” he said. “I just love watching the ideas become reality.”
Wedgworth and his wife of 38 years, Alison, live in Vestavia Hills and have two adult children. Their daughter teaches first grade at Vestavia Hills Elementary West, and their son lives in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.
For more information on Viridian, visit www.wedgworth.net.
