Building a Legacy of Energy Efficient Homes
Building remarkable homes requires attention to detail and design. It also takes a certain willingness to try something different.
For Legacy Homes, that meant more than just offering a multitude of countertop and bathroom finishes. It meant looking at new building construction methods that emphasize energy efficiency and overall comfort.
A foundation built on trust
For builders like Legacy Homes, embracing a new building method takes confidence and drive. For Scott Kincaid, CEO and co-owner of Legacy Homes, building that confidence meant being open to new construction processes and meeting with industry experts to learn about new innovations.
“From my first conversation with BASF to actually building Legacy’s first home with Chris Rosemond and his team, it probably took a little over two years,” says Kincaid.
“We had a lot of questions we wanted answered so we took our time getting to know the system and BASF’s approach to home construction. We wanted to confidently trust the product, the process and our build no matter what.”
It was through these conversations that Kincaid and Rosemond determined the best course of action to achieve Legacy Homes’ objective of building a more comfortable and energy efficient home.
“Through our BEYOND.High Performance® approach, we not only looked at what we could offer them but how best they could implement those solutions to fit their process,” says Chris Rosemond, Construction Science Architect at BASF. “We didn’t want to ignore their method of building. We wanted to improve on it and we were able to do so with the HP+ Wall System™.”
With blueprint in hand, Legacy Homes and BASF made their way to the jobsite to work out the finer details.
Supporting more than just the walls
With a plan of action in place, Legacy Homes and BASF began testing the best way to apply the spray foam component, Walltite HP+™ of the HP+ Wall System.
“I’m a firm believer in coming up with the building envelope first and then designing the rest of the house around it,” says Kincaid. “It’s such a critical component to the build because not only does it ensure the energy efficiency of a home it also helps to improve the overall air quality and comfort. It’s something potential home buyers don’t always consider because they don’t see inside the walls.”
“For our builds, we typically panelize our walls and have the panels delivered to the jobsite. We did a couple of tests to determine the best application of Walltite and we found applying it to the panels in the field really allowed us to make a cohesive system for our homes while taking into consideration the level of comfort we wanted to achieve.”
Rosemond emphasizes it’s this kind of versatility that the HP+ Wall System brings to a job site that really empowers builders.
“The thing about the HP+ Wall System is that it’s not meant to be a one-size-fits-all product. It’s a way to build,” explains Rosemond. “We work with builders like Legacy Homes to help them take advantage of the system. Sure, we’ll have our recommendations, but it still comes down to a back and forth conversation where we find a way to make the system work for them.”
Despite the strong focus to ensure the builder is getting what they want, BASF made it clear that they were committed to working with not only Legacy Homes but also their trades partners, too.
“Chris and his team have always been ready to step in and help. Whether we were transitioning from a vendor or training a team to get them where we needed them to be skill wise, Chris would mobilize and stick around to make sure everyone involved felt comfortable with what was happening.” says Kincaid.
Such a cooperative effort to build better, more energy efficient homes is achievable for builders across North America. But much like Legacy Homes’ journey, the first step typically starts with a conversation.
A better build is one conversation away
For whatever reason a builder may want to rethink their building process, whether it be to anticipate the demand for energy efficient homes or to simply offer a better product, it all starts with picking up the phone.
“Really, all it takes is having a focused conversation with someone like Chris,” says Kincaid. “See what the value add might be for you and go from there.”
It may seem like a daunting task to reimagine your process but with help from experts it’s a new method of building that goes the extra mile to ensure builders are giving consumers what they want: better homes.
“The HP+ Wall System and the BEYOND.High Performance approach can be tailored to a builder’s specific construction needs,” explains Rosemond. “Every builder has a unique set of goals, processes and standards that they’re trying to meet. Our job at BASF is to help meet those standards by doing more with less.”
If you are ready to start looking at a better, more energy efficient build, get in touch with our construction team here.
