Construction Kicks-off for the First LEED Lexington Habitat for Humanity Home

Volunteers from Gray Construction and members of the US Green Build Council of Lexington braved the heat this past weekend and began construction on Lexington Habitat for Humanity’s first LEED certified home (sponsored by Gray). Gray has been sponsoring and helping to build homes for Habitat for Humanity since 1990. In fact, this will be Gray’s 8th Habitat project.

For the 2011 project, Gray will emphasize energy efficiency and sustainability by targeting this project for LEED® certification. It will be the first LEED for Homes registered project for Habitat in the city of Lexington. The home is being built in partnership with Hugues Itoula Kifoumba and Carine Tsibi Mayina and their four children.

Lexington Habitat approached Gray Construction about sponsoring the home due to Gray’s commitment to Green building and the expertise of their LEED accredited team members. Gray has consistently been ranked in the Top 100 Green Contractor’s in the U.S. by Engineering News Record and as the 5th largest contractor in the U.S. for green manufacturing. They have successfully constructed (or are in the process of constructing) over 11.2 million square feet of LEED certified projects for Caterpillar, CVS Pharmacy, Kentucky Eagle, Inc., Siemens and Whirlpool, just to name a few.

Examples of LEED Features for the home include:

• Drought-tolerant Plants will be used to limit the need for watering.
• A “white” concrete driveway will be installed to reduce the heat island effect associated with asphalt.
• High-efficiency water fixtures will be used in the home to reduce the demand on local water sources.
• Panelized construction of framed walls to reduce waste and speed construction.
• The home will meet the EPA’s Energy Star for Homes energy efficiency criteria.
• An efficient, compact, hot water distribution system is going to be installed.
• Low VOC interior finishes will be installed to improve occupant comfort.
• Gray will be recycling construction waste in an effort to divert 25% of the recyclable waste from landfills.
• The home will meet the criteria of the EPA’s Indoor Air Plus program.

We’d like to thank the following sponsors for their contributions to our efforts: Apel Steel Corporation, Cooper Steel, East Kentucky Drywall, Fire Protection Systems, Freeland Harris Consulting Engineers, Green Mechanical, Harrod Concrete, Isaacs Interiors, Kwik-set Fasteners, Lyndon Steel, Metzger McGuire, M&L Electrical, RJ Mechanical, South State Contractors, Stites & Harbison and Wade Architectural.

Please continue visit Gray’s website for LEED construction progress on the home.