By Miriam Raftery
The Alpine Sun

     JAMUL — Keith and Danya Jolley haven’t needed to use their air conditioner in their new Jamul home, where interiors stay at a cool 70 degrees even when exterior temperatures top 100 degrees.
     Their home, featured on a recent GreenBuilt Tour, is among a growing number of residences constructed with alternative framing materials.

     Instead of a conventional wood-frame skeleton, the Jolley’s home utilizes PerformWall, building blocks made from recycled Styrofoam packing materials from the electronic industry mixed with concrete.
     Blocks are covered with stucco, creating an exterior appearance similar to conventional construction.
     “Styrofoam acts as a good insulator, like a Thermos bottle,” said Wade Vernon, marketing director of PerformWall. The material costs five to seven percent more than wood frame construction, according to Vernon, but homes build with PerformWall use 40 percent less energy to heat and cool, saving owners money in the long run.
     The material has other advantages over wood, as well. “Termites will not eat it and black mold will not grow on it,” noted Vernon. Blocks measuring 10 feet long by 15 inches high, can be cut with a chainsaw and are flexible enough to be used in curved architectural features, allowing creative designs.
     Most importantly for the Jolleys, PerformWall has a four-hour fire rating — making it superior to wood framed walls, which have a one-hour rating. “After four hours, they stopped the test. No smoke or flames had spread,” Vernon said.
     Fire resistance was the deciding factor for the Jolleys, who sought an architect to design a new home after the Cedar blaze.
     “This area is prone to wildfires,” architect Kevin Pollem of Facture Architecture in San Diego revealed. “They have already been evacuated twice.”
     PerformWall also meets high standards for indoor air quality, making it superior to fiberglass insulation often used in wood-framed homes.
     “The American lung Association chose this material to build their demonstration healthy home in Tucson” said Vernon. PerformWall has also been used to construct seven fire stations in Phoenix and a library in El Paso.
     The Jolley’s home features other “green” and energy-saving features such as a roof with metal radiant barrier sheathing, dual-pane/low-e windows, energy saving and water-saving appliances, and overhanging eaves to provide shade around the entire home. Soapstone counters soak up heat; Madrone floors utilize wood normally discarded when Douglas fir forests are clear-cut. In winter, the homeowners plan to heat their entire residence with a wood burning fireplace.
     Situated at a base of a canyon, the home was designed to maximize breezes and preserve natural features. “We told Kevin he couldn’t cut down oak trees.” Keith Jolley recalled. “He would have to build around them. He said, “Great!”
     The eco-conscious homeowners even recycled their former residence, a manufactured home moved to a neighbor’s lot. The new residence, which measure approximately 2,500 square feet, provides ample space for the young couple and their growing family.
     The Jolley home was one of the 17 buildings featured on the recent GreenBuilt Tour 2007. Sponsored by San Diego Earthworks and presented by the Barona Band of Mission Indians, the tour showcased residences ad commercial properties countywide, including several East County properties.

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