Custom Eco Home Construction: Sustainable Design & Turnkey Build
Design and build a healthy, resilient, custom eco home that reflects your lifestyle while reducing energy use, water demand, and operating costs. Our integrated team guides you from vision through permits and construction, then hands over a turnkey, performance-verified home—start with a free, expert consultation today.
Your Integrated Sustainable Design–Build Team
We are architects, engineers, energy modelers, and builders dedicated to crafting healthy, low-energy homes that reflect your values. By uniting design, permitting, and construction under one collaborative process, we deliver predictable schedules, transparent pricing, measurable performance, and a truly turnkey experience from concept to keys.
Discovery & Sustainable Vision
In one focused conversation, we clarify your goals, sustainability priorities, schedule expectations, and budget constraints, then translate them into a clear brief that aligns passive strategies, healthy materials, and resilient systems with your family’s routines, aesthetic preferences, and long-term operational savings.
Free Consultation Roadmap
During the free consultation, we listen first, then identify your must haves, nice to haves, and constraints, outline preliminary site considerations and permitting steps, and provide a practical next-step plan, including likely timelines, indicative investment ranges, and a documented summary you can review with stakeholders.
Lifestyle & Space Planning
We map daily routines, work-from-home needs, accessibility considerations, storage patterns, and outdoor living preferences to create efficient adjacencies and room sizes, ensuring daylight access, acoustic comfort, privacy, and flexible zones that adapt as your family grows without costly modifications or unnecessary square footage.
Budget Alignment & Feasibility
To keep your project financially grounded, we benchmark preferred assemblies and systems against local costs, present trade-offs with long-term operating savings, and propose phasing or alternates, ensuring your target investment aligns with desired performance, finishes, and schedule before advancing to design commitments.
Site Analysis & Land Stewardship
We analyze climate data, sun paths, prevailing winds, soil conditions, and local ecosystems to position the home for passive gains, minimal disturbance, effective drainage, and habitat support, integrating landscape strategies that reduce irrigation needs and enhance biodiversity while improving your daily outdoor experience.
Climate, Sun & Wind Mapping
Using historical weather files and sun path diagrams, we position glazing for winter gains, shade for summer comfort, and cross-ventilation for shoulder seasons, balancing views and privacy with solar control devices and deciduous planting that modulate light and heat naturally without compromising year-round comfort or beauty.
Soils, Drainage & Foundation Strategy
We coordinate geotechnical insights, infiltration rates, and stormwater requirements to guide foundation type, frost protection, and sub-slab insulation, preventing moisture issues, reducing embodied carbon where feasible, and establishing durable assemblies that perform reliably under local conditions and anticipated climate stressors over decades.
Native Landscaping & Biodiversity
Our planting palette prioritizes native species, pollinator-supporting flowers, and drought-tolerant groundcovers, paired with permeable paths and rain gardens that slow runoff, recharge soils, and minimize maintenance, creating a living system that enriches habitat, reduces irrigation costs, and frames the home with seasonal interest.
Passive House Principles & Energy Modeling
We apply Passive House fundamentals with whole-building energy modeling to optimize orientation, envelope performance, airtightness, and mechanical systems, verifying comfort and efficiency targets before construction, reducing risk, and guiding cost-effective decisions that deliver measurable, dependable performance outcomes in the built home.
Envelope Optimization & Thermal Bridges
We analyze wall, roof, and slab assemblies for R-value, durability, and cost, then resolve junctions to eliminate thermal bridges, using continuous insulation, advanced framing, and verified details that improve comfort, prevent condensation risks, and maintain performance even in extreme temperatures or variable humidity conditions.
Energy Model & Load Calculations
We create a calibrated energy model that predicts heating, cooling, and hot water loads, then size equipment precisely to avoid oversizing, reduce upfront costs, and maintain quiet, steady comfort, while capturing utility savings and supporting incentive applications with transparent, model-based documentation and assumptions.
Airtightness Strategy & Testing Plan
From early detailing through blower door testing, we specify membranes, tapes, and sequencing that make airtightness achievable on site, train trades in critical transitions, and schedule verification tests, ensuring your home meets target metrics and delivers drafts-free comfort, quiet interiors, and lower energy bills.
Low-VOC Finishes & Adhesives
We specify coatings, sealants, and adhesives with independent emissions certifications, select solid wood or low-formaldehyde panels, and detail installation methods that minimize off-gassing, ensuring fresh indoor air from day one and reducing hidden health risks commonly associated with conventional interior finish schedules.
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Sourcing Timber & Recycled Content
Our selections prioritize FSC-certified timber, reclaimed lumber where structurally appropriate, and recycled-content materials that lower embodied carbon without compromising strength or beauty, supported by transparent product data sheets and supplier traceability that align ethical sourcing with performance and aesthetic expectations.
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Ventilation & Filtration Integration
Balanced, continuous ventilation with high-efficiency heat recovery and MERV-rated filtration maintains low CO2, removes pollutants, and manages humidity, working alongside airtightness and smart controls to deliver quiet, comfortable interiors with stable temperatures, healthier air, and reduced energy demands throughout the seasons.
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Our Core Services
Choose the level of engagement that fits your goals, timeline, and investment. Every service connects design intent to field execution, ensuring healthy materials, airtight envelopes, efficient systems, and transparent documentation that simplify decisions, minimize risk, and produce consistently excellent outcomes.
Sustainable Concept Design Package
We translate your goals into scalable concept plans, elevations, and an energy-informed massing study, paired with preliminary cost ranges and a phasing strategy. Deliverables include a room-by-room brief, key assemblies, and a planning roadmap that positions your project for faster approvals and smoother construction.
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Passive House Architectural + Engineering Set
Comprehensive permit-ready drawings and coordinated structural and MEP engineering that integrate airtightness, thermal bridge-free details, and balanced ventilation, supported by an energy model, product specifications, and QA checklists that contractors can price accurately and build reliably without compromising performance targets.
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Turnkey Build Management & Site Supervision
Dedicated project management, trade coordination, daily quality control, procurement oversight, and commissioning leadership from mobilization to move-in. Includes schedule and cost tracking, envelope inspections, and performance testing to ensure your home meets design intent while protecting budget, safety, and finish quality throughout.
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Water, Waste & Resilience Systems
We design rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse, high-efficiency fixtures, and right-sized wastewater solutions, integrating backup power, surge protection, and storm preparedness measures that keep essentials running, protect finishes, and reduce resource use during everyday operation and unexpected grid or weather disruptions.
Rainwater Harvesting & Greywater
We evaluate roof collection potential, storage sizing, filtration, and distribution, pairing captured rainwater with drip irrigation and routing greywater to subsurface dispersal where permitted, reducing potable demand while protecting landscape health and offering resilience during drought or municipal service interruptions.
Wastewater Strategy & Compliance
Working with local authorities, we assess septic or municipal connections, pre-treatment requirements, and setback rules, then coordinate engineered designs that protect groundwater, maintain serviceability, and fit budget and site constraints without compromising long-term reliability or future upgrade pathways as needs evolve.
Backup Power & Home Resilience
We review backup priorities, critical loads, and outage frequency, then propose battery storage or generators integrated with solar, surge suppression, and transfer switching, delivering seamless continuity for refrigeration, internet, and heating while minimizing noise, fuel consumption, and maintenance burden for the homeowner.
Solar, Batteries & Smart Controls
We align photovoltaic arrays, inverters, and battery storage with modeled loads, roof geometry, and shading, then integrate smart controls and submetering that visualize performance, optimize comfort, and help you manage energy, water, and air quality from a unified, easy-to-use home interface.
Architecture, Engineering & Permitting
We coordinate architecture, structural and MEP engineering, and code reviews, preparing complete permit sets with clear details and specifications, reducing revisions, clarifying expectations, and accelerating approvals while safeguarding constructability and budget through coordinated, buildable documentation everyone can trust.
- Integrated Design Workshops Architects, engineers, energy modelers, and you collaborate in structured sessions to resolve priorities, finalize massing, select assemblies, and define systems early, preventing downstream conflicts, supporting accurate pricing, and preserving the sustainability goals embedded in your brief through later construction decisions.
- Permit Package & Submittals We assemble code-compliant drawings, specifications, energy reports, and product data sheets, then manage submittals with the authority having jurisdiction, responding to comments promptly and coordinating required revisions so the permit process proceeds efficiently and predictably toward an approved start date.
- Code Compliance & Reviews Our team interprets local, state, and energy codes, identifies applicable exceptions and compliance paths, and conducts internal peer reviews that catch conflicts early, minimizing field changes and ensuring inspectors can verify safety and performance without delays or costly rework during construction.
Preconstruction & Procurement
Before breaking ground, we finalize specifications, vendor scopes, long-lead procurement, and risk management, aligning bids with the drawings and sustainability intent, preventing surprises, improving schedule certainty, and protecting quality through clear agreements and measurable performance expectations for every trade partner.
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We prepare trade-specific scopes with quantified takeoffs, alternates, and clarifications, enabling apples-to-apples bids and transparent selection criteria, then negotiate responsible value engineering that protects design intent, performance targets, and long-term durability while keeping the overall budget on track.
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We evaluate manufacturers for product certifications, warranties, support responsiveness, and lead times, locking orders to secure critical path items, and scheduling deliveries to avoid moisture exposure or site congestion, preserving quality and preventing schedule slips that cause cascading cost impacts.
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We coordinate insurance certificates, site logistics, safety plans, and environmental controls, ensuring protection for workers and neighbors, minimizing dust, noise, and runoff, and documenting responsibilities so every participant understands protocols, emergency procedures, and quality expectations before mobilization begins.
Construction Management & Quality Control
On site, we lead with rigorous scheduling, trade coordination, and daily quality checks, focusing on envelope integrity, moisture management, and sequencing that protects installed work, delivering predictable progress with transparent reporting, cost control, and respectful communication throughout the build.
Commissioning, Testing & Certifications
We commission mechanical systems, test airtightness, balance ventilation, and document performance metrics, supporting certifications like Passive House, LEED, or ENERGY STAR where desired, then train you to operate your home confidently and maintain high performance for years to come.
Incentives, Financing & ROI
We map applicable federal, state, and utility incentives, evaluate green mortgages and appraisals, and model operating savings, clarifying total cost of ownership so you can balance upfront investments with long-term value, resilience, and comfort while maximizing available financial benefits.
Tax Credits & Utility Rebates
Our team identifies incentives for high-performance envelopes, heat pumps, solar, and batteries, prepares supporting documentation, and coordinates submissions, helping reduce upfront costs while aligning product selections with qualification requirements and long-term reliability, not just short-term rebates or marketing claims.
Operating Cost Savings Model
We model baseline versus proposed energy use, maintenance, and replacement cycles, then present cash flow and payback scenarios, clarifying how efficient systems and durable materials reduce monthly costs and risk while improving indoor comfort, air quality, and home value over time.
Green Mortgage & Appraisal Support
We provide energy models, specifications, and comparable case studies that support lenders and appraisers in recognizing performance value, helping improve financing terms and valuation for high-efficiency homes while ensuring documentation is easy to understand and verify across stakeholders.
Portfolio & Case Studies
Explore built projects demonstrating diverse aesthetics, budgets, and site conditions, each delivering proven comfort, low energy bills, healthy materials, and resilient systems, with transparent metrics and homeowner feedback that show how sustainable design translates into daily satisfaction and long-term value.
Net-Zero Family Retreat
A compact, south-facing layout, advanced insulation, triple-pane windows, and heat pump systems, paired with a rooftop solar array and battery storage, enabled year-round comfort and near-zero utility costs, while durable, low-maintenance finishes supported an active family lifestyle with minimal upkeep demands.
Modern Timber Passive House
This striking timber-clad home achieved exceptional airtightness, quiet interiors, and even temperatures across seasons, using balanced ventilation, continuous insulation, and carefully detailed junctions, proving performance can coexist with warm, minimalist design and generous glazing that frames forest views.
Urban Infill High-Performance Home
On a tight city lot, we optimized privacy, daylight, and ventilation with light wells, sunshades, and acoustically damped assemblies, achieving strong energy savings and healthy indoor air despite urban constraints, while meeting zoning and historic review requirements without compromising contemporary comfort.
Handover, Warranty & Maintenance
We deliver a clean, fully commissioned home with digital manuals, maintenance schedules, and training sessions, then provide responsive warranty support and seasonal tune-ups that protect performance, extend equipment life, and keep your home operating quietly, efficiently, and beautifully year after year.
Owner Training & Documentation
At handover, we review system operation, filter changes, app controls, and emergency procedures, provide labeled shutoffs, and supply a digital binder with warranties, drawings, and schedules, ensuring confident ownership and easy communication for future service or upgrades when desired.
Warranty Support & Response
Our warranty program covers workmanship and supported products, with clear response timelines and escalation paths, ensuring concerns are addressed quickly, root causes are resolved, and the home continues meeting performance expectations without disruption to your household routines or comfort.
Seasonal Tune-Ups & Monitoring
Optional seasonal visits verify ventilation balance, inspect seals and flashing, review control settings, and analyze utility trends, catching small issues early while fine-tuning comfort and efficiency so the home continues to perform as modeled under changing occupancy or climate conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens during the free consultation?
We listen to your goals, timeline, budget, and lifestyle, then outline a tailored roadmap covering site considerations, energy targets, permitting steps, and likely investment ranges. We also answer questions about materials, financing incentives, and schedules, providing a concise written summary to guide your next decisions.
How much does a custom eco home typically cost?
Costs vary by size, complexity, finishes, and performance targets. We benchmark early concepts against local market data, explain trade-offs with long-term savings, and propose phasing or alternates. Our transparent preconstruction process protects the budget by aligning specifications, labor availability, and lead times before breaking ground.
How do you ensure energy efficiency and comfort year-round?
We combine energy modeling, optimized envelope details, and right-sized mechanical systems with verified airtightness and balanced ventilation. Commissioning and testing confirm performance, while smart controls manage temperature, humidity, and filtration. This integrated approach delivers quiet interiors, steady comfort, and consistently low utility costs across seasons.
Can my home achieve certifications like Passive House or ENERGY STAR?
Yes. We design to the requirements from the start, document assemblies and systems, and coordinate third-party verification. Our team manages submittals, testing, and quality control so certification enhances value and ensures measurable performance, without becoming a paperwork burden or compromising your design vision.
How long does a turnkey build usually take?
Timelines depend on permits, site access, complexity, and product lead times. After schematic design, typical projects run several months for documentation and approvals, then a construction window based on scope. Our pull-based scheduling and early procurement reduce risks, creating reliable move-in dates and fewer surprises.
What makes your design–build approach different?
Designers, engineers, and builders collaborate from day one, preventing conflicts, improving pricing accuracy, and protecting sustainability goals during construction. Continuous quality checks, envelope-first supervision, and commissioning verify results, while transparent reporting keeps you informed and confident at every milestone from concept to keys.