Page 7 - Green Builder Remodeling Field Report 2021

Unexpected

This Arizona whole-house renovation offers a case study in

overcoming unexpected and hidden costs.

When we partnered with a pair of building science experts to remodel their dream home in Scottsdale, Arizona, we
had no idea how many layers of real-world challenges we would encounter.
Steve Easley and his partner, Susan Raterman, chose the ReVISION House Scottsdale property to become their
“Forever House,” after leaving behind their California life. Set in an older, but highly desirable neighborhood, with
riverfront views and an infinity swimming pool, taken on its face, it offered what many would consider a dream
home, a spacious place in the sun to while away the twilight years of life.
But as the new owners drilled more deeply into the “bones” of their new home, they learned what so many
remodelers know to be the rule rather than the exception: Many homes—even high-end, luxury projects—tend
to get built quickly, without really thinking about the home’s long term durability and performance. Add to that a
short-sightedness about energy efficiency. Remember when fossil fuel seemed cheap and plentiful and not an
existential threat, and cave man contractors roamed the land, snatching up affordable vistas of easy-to-develop
land, with little to slow their momentum? Yeah, hindsight may be 20/20, but it doesn’t reduce the difficulty of
correcting their lack of diligence and forethought.
Project details

“We knew there
PROPERTY LOCATION: MCCORMICK RANCH, SCOTTSDALE, AZ
were issues when we
DATE OF ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION: 1976
had the cooling
ORIGINAL SQUARE FOOTAGE: 3,050 SF
running at maximum,
REMODELED SQUARE FOOTAGE: 43,00 SF
and we still couldn’t
TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION: 2X6 AND 2X4 EXTERIOR WALLS, STICK FRAME make the house
ANNUAL ENERGY COSTS (BEFORE REMODEL): 27,000 KWH PER YEAR comfortable.”

EST. ANNUAL ENERGY COSTS (AFTER REMODEL): 16,000 KWH PER YEAR (PRIOR TO SOLAR) STEVE EASLEY