RESIDENTIAL
FARMHOUSE GETS GREEN UPDATE Sustainability doesn’t have to mean sacrifice.
That’s a key point that Gina and Rodman Schley want others to take away from their home. Their remodeled old farmhouse in the Denver, Colorado, suburbs is beautiful, functional and sustainable. Viega products play a part in the sustainability. The home incorporates radiant heating and cooling, Viega Flushing Technology products, as well as PureFlow products, including the ManaBloc and PEX tubing. The Schleys star in the PBS TV show Urban Conversion. During its first two seasons, the show focused on the family’s foray into sustainability with things like growing gardens, beekeeping and learning about green energy. The challenge was to see how sustainability and green living concepts could be implemented into their lives. Eventually, the family, which includes two daughters, decided to move to a farm to embrace these concepts, while staying close to the city where Rodman runs a company and the family had an established life with friends, school and community. They ultimately purchased an old farmhouse in Arvada, Colorado, on three acres, and began a large-scale remodel. “So many people think that being sustainable means that you have to sacrifice. We don’t feel like we did at all,” Rodman said. “We live in a beautiful home with many cool, modern technologies, and when it’s all done our house will be LEED Platinum certified.”
“We want to show people sustainable options in action on a renovation project,” Gina added. “Often times, people think these technologies are only for new construction.” Moving to the farm also meant that Gina could pursue her dream of owning a cut flower farm. While she plans to grow flowers like lavender and dahlias, which do well in arid conditions, the couple knows that sustainability in their home ties into the farm. Being so energy efficient inside affords the ability to grow the fields of flowers while still maintaining a sustainable farm. As the Schleys began planning for their remodel, they partnered with multiple entities. The Arvada Economic Development Association is an underwriter, and other companies, including Viega, provided products. Radiant heating and cooling for the home was very attractive for the family, and Viega’s varied options proved to be just what they needed. Throughout the 4,000-square-foot home, there are three different types of radiant installation. In the upper level of the house, radiant was installed with Climate Trak under the subfloor to preserve existing hardwood flooring, while the main floor uses Climate Panel. The old garage that was converted into living space uses embedded tubing in the concrete slab. Greg DeSantis, Director of Automatic Company, LLC, performed the radiant installation at the Schley home and said it was the first time he’d combined all three types of installation methods in one project.
– Continued on page 8
6 | Viega Voice | July 2019
