doubly green proiect Dealer supplies

fn MentN CouNry. Ca., Fairfax Il-umber & Hardware is well known as the area's source for a full range of green building products. So when a local nonprofit association decided to renovate a new property, their contractor knew just where to go.

Terry Nordbye, a certified green builder from nearby Inverness, Ca., has been a Fairfax customer for some time. He's also a trustee on the board of The Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM), which was founded in 2001 to create affordable and environmentally friendly housing. Once the project got the green light, he called manager Charlie Cain for an estimate.

"Fairfax is a small yard, but they are very interested in green building and energy efficiency," said Nordbye. "They are doing things that no one else is doing, and they wanted to support the project any way they could."

What made the project special is that the 850-sq. ft., two-bedroom house on the property was renovated using "Passive House" technology. A smaller house on the same property was not viable, so it was torn down and a new 750-sq. ft., one-bedroom home was built to the same hish stan- dards.

For both structures, Fairfax supplied FSC-certified framing and sheathing, Mythic Zero-YOC paints, and special energy-conserving Serious Windows.

"What's so significant about this house is that it's based on green building, but it's also an affordable home," said Rae Levine, who was CLAM's director when the renovation of the larger home was completed last fall. "This shows that energy conservation can be available to anyone."

Practitioners say that Passive House technology-which is based on a nearly airtight shell and a filtered ventilation system-goes beyond "green" to achieve amazing energy savings without a furnace or air conditioner. Typically, they use 20Vo or less ofthe energy used by new homes.

"In a normal house, up to half of all energy loss is due to leakage," said Graham Irwin, a certified Passive House consultant based in Fairfax. Ca. The concept was pioneered in Germany in the 1990s, but has since spread around the worlc.

"We married the two-Passive House and green building-because we wanted the best of both." said

James Bill, Zero Impact Architecture, San Anselmo, Ca., who designed the new structure. "This house exceeds LEED and Build-It Green requirements, and met the super-low energy goal."

Nordbye, a builder for 30 years, admitted that both structures are unlike any projects he's been involved with. "I'm a convert," he said. "These homes are incredibly even-tempered, with minimal fluctuations. We turned Hummers into Priuses."

Back at Fairfax, Charlie Cain is preparing a bid for another Passive House project, in Portola Valley, Ca.

"Wouldn't it be great to live in a home that doesn't need air conditioning or forced-air heating?" he asked. "These homes maintain a comfortable indoor temperature 2417 , all year lons."

Kamiah Mill Back in Action

Blue North Forest Products has acquired and restarted the former Three Rivers Timber sawmill and planer mill in Kamiah,Id.

Michael Burns, who also operates Blue North Fisheries in the Seattle area, paid $2.6 million for the operations in June. A depressed lumber market had forced the mill into receivership l8 months earlier. The sawmill initially restarted with 35 employees, with an additional 25 workers expected to be added as operations ramped up.

Since the summer, the mill has been stockpiling timber from public and private landowners, with plans to produce primarily dimensional lumber.

Three Rivers had purchased the mill from Weyerhaeuser in 1996, and before that it was owned by Potlatch.

Cal Redwood Restarting Chip Export Facility

The California Redwood Co., Arcata, Ca., plans to start up a longshuttered wood chip export facility in Fairhaven, Ca., to sell its sawmill byproduct overseas now that the company's Samoa pulp mill has permanently closed.

"We'll be swimming in chips" when the lumber market improves, said v.p. Carl Schoenhofer. He said that the facility will broaden the company's horizons and give it more control over how its chips are sold to the Asian market.

California Redwood has applied for BuiHiry,ftodu<fscom state permits so it can make necessary repairs at the facility, which can accommodate 700-ft.-long ships that can carry upto 50,000 tons. Schoenhofer said that repairs could be completed in six to nine months.

ldaho's Lloyd Lumber Grows

Lloyd Lumber, Nampa, Id., closed its old, downtown location in early October and will re-open in a larger facility next to its current warehouse later this year or early in the next.

"Right now, our functions are divided into two locations and sometimes it is inconvenient for our customers," said owner and manager Bob Jacobsen. "The new location will have enough room to accommodate a larger and better selection of materials and services than ever before"-including a custom mill shop for producing doors and millwork. and a new kitchen and bath showroom.

Car Thief Caught at Depot

Authorities think they may have cracked a notorious auto theft ring after arresting a 24-year-old man for shoplifting at a Home Depot near Sacramento, Ca.

The suspect, Brandon Holm, was wanted for numerous car thefts in the area. When he was arrested at the home center, he allegedly had l0 shaved car keys in his possession.

Holm was charged with burglary, receiving stolen property, and stealing vehicles. Two 22-year-old accomplices were arrested and charged with burglary and receiving stolen property.

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