Green building practices are important to all of us. By conserving our natural resources now, we create a future in which generations to come will still be able to enjoy the nature that the world has to offer. By improving the safety of our homes we are able to sleep better at night. Indoor air quality affects the health of the entire family, especially our children. At Wardcraft we understand these things and strive to build you the best home on the market for your family and everyone’s future.

Life safety and air quality…
Our high performance ENERGY STAR qualified homes include high efficiency sealed combustion furnaces standard so that no dangerous fumes or vapors can escape your furnace and endanger your family. To be sure, we install combination smoke AND carbon monoxide detectors standard on every Wardcraft home, to ensure you are alerted of not only a fire, but invisible carbon monoxide fumes as well, also known as the "silent killer."

Other optional air quality features such as a UV light for your HVAC system can eliminate bacterial growth in your ductwork and HEPA filters can catch microscopic particulates and prevent them from circulating in the air you breathe. An optional air exchanger or fresh air intake can also be added to bring fresh air from the outside into your home year ’round. We also offer Low-VOC paint to drastically reduce the levels of volatile organic compounds found in the paint on your walls that can be irritants to the respiratory system. We even eliminate the formaldehyde often found in fiber glass insulation.

Natural resource conservation…
Every Wardcraft home includes many natural resource conservation features standard, including engineered roof trusses, floor trusses, I-joists floors, oriented strand board panels for exterior sheathing, roof sheathing, and floor decking. This reduces the pressure on old growth forests that we want to preserve for future generations.

Optional components are also available, such as building the walls of your home out of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified lumber. FSC lumber goes through a rigorous certification process that assures sustainable harvesting practices and a tracking process that follows the lumber from the forest all the way to the jobsite to ensure the FSC lumber is kept separate from other lumber sources. This is the best way to preserve forests for your children and grandchildren to enjoy.

Wardcraft also incorporates fire resistant, durable, man-made components such as fiber-cement siding reducing wood use and extending the beauty of your home for years past when other materials would have to be re-painted. Our 30 year asphalt shingles can last twice as long as standard shingles that don’t last the length of a typical mortgage. The Johns Manville fiber glass insulation is made of 25% recycled content, as well as being formaldehyde-free protecting the health of your children.

The Wardcraft systems-building method incorporates conservation efforts which drastically reduce both jobsite waste and trips to the landfill. Our systems-building practices also reduce the amount of fuel consumed while building each home by eliminating the drive-time associated with building contractors going to scattered jobsites. By bringing all the construction workers together under one roof and having several homes for them to work on in one place, we increase efficiencies and decrease drive time and fuel consumed per home.

Wardcraft offers homes with the BUILT GREEN certification in the state of Colorado, or BUILD IT GREEN in the state of California. These programs have pioneered green building practices and have set a model for the entire United States. Please visit www.builtgreen.org or www.builditgreen.org for more information.

Helping to Protect the Environment with Your ENERGY STAR Labeled Home
Did you know that your home can be a greater source of pollution than your car? In fact, 16% of all greenhouse gases are generated from the energy used in homes nationwide.

In 2005, Americans with the help of ENERGY STAR saved about $12 billion on their utility bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 23 million vehicles.

Energy used in our homes often comes from the burning of fossil fuels at power plants, which contributes to a host of air pollution problems, including smog, acid rain, and global warming. Simply put, the less energy we use in our homes, the less air pollution we generate.

Just one ENERGY STAR labeled home can keep 4,500 pounds of greenhouse gases out of our air each year.

By choosing an ENERGY STAR labeled home, you are joining millions of consumers who have changed to ENERGY STAR, helping our nation reduce our energy needs and building a cleaner environment for the future.

For more information about ENERGY STAR labeled homes, visit www.energystar.gov.