Smarter, more luxurious and energy efficient homes are the trademark of Wilder-Balter Partners, the developer and builder of Glassbury Court and other communities in the Hudson Valley. While many other builders have talked the talk about efficiency and responsible design and building over the years, WBP has walked the walk with a decision made three years ago to design and build nothing but greener, healthier and more efficient homes. And proven it time and again with the independently verified Energy Star ratings and LEED quality certifications that each of their homes attain.

Energy Star was established in 1996 as a joint program of the EPA and the US Department of Energy. And ever since, we’ve all become familiar with Energy Star rating stickers on refrigerators, air conditioners and other products. But for an entire home to qualify for an Energy Star rating, it must meet or exceed several codes and standards for true energy efficiency and savings.

An Energy Star home must be built with higher grade lumber, and contain higher efficiency heating, air conditioning, lighting and appliances. It must also include more efficient insulation, windows and doors, and the additional sealing of all joints and seams. Above all, everything must meet or exceed critical efficiency inspections at various stages of construction, and be approved by an independent third party inspector.

The same holds true for LEED certification. LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, was developed 12 years ago by the US Green Building Council. To qualify for LEED, builders must pass also additional third-party inspections for aspects that include non-erosive site development, green building materials and construction, water-saving plumbing, fixtures and fittings, indoor environmental quality and more.

Wilder-Balter’s strict adherence to green building standards are key to the efficiency, quality and value that a home in Glassbury Court represents. Tony Lisanti, the Director of Energy Sales and Service, and Certified Home Energy Rater at Robison Energy LLC in Westchester, has conducted Energy Star inspections on nearly 300 homes in Westchester, Putnam and Rockland over the last nine years. A list that includes the homes here at Glassbury Court.

“A house has a lot of moving pieces,” Lisanti says. “They don’t move when you’re putting it together, but there’s a lot of materials and a lot of workmanship that goes into a home. And inspectors need to be present at certain check points to make sure that things are being done properly.”

Insulation is a good case in point. As every house is framed, an inspector makes sure that it’s everywhere where it’s supposed to be; in the walls, ceilings, floors and foundation, and that it’s properly installed to meet standards. A lot of builders use rolls or batts of Fiberglas insulation. But if that’s not installed and positioned correctly it can cause lasting damage to the house. And waste an awful lot of money.

Wilder-Balter prefers installing high-efficiency spray foam insulation in their homes, not only because foam avoids the potential problems associated with Fiberglas, but also because it provides better, more reliable resistance to loss of heat and air conditioning. This high-quality insulation is one of the costlier elements of energy efficient construction, Lisanti explains, but also one of the single most essential in keeping energy costs down.

Also during inspections, the physical aspects of the home, such as the boiler, air conditioning, windows, floors, overhangs, attics, etc., are entered into a laptop modeling program and directly compared with a reference home (an exact computer replica modeled to conform completely to international energy codes). The comparative results show whether or not the home meets not only the model’s codes and standards, but Energy Star requirements as well. At the same time, the results also show anticipated reductions in carbon emissions and sulfur dioxide, and the amount of money and energy the house is saving. And if doesn’t meet standards? Lisanti says that recommendations for changes are made and the builder’s plans are adjusted accordingly.

After construction is completed, and everything from ducts to doors, boilers to windows, insulation to vents, and lighting to appliances has been inspected and verified, the home is ready for the moment of truth: the blower door test. With all windows and doors fully closed, a blower door flow meter is put in place to draw the air out of every nook and cranny in the house and measure how leaky, or not, the home is.

Based on the volume of air drawn through the meter, the number of air changes per hour is measured to gauge the actual “tightness” of the house. Five changes per hour is a considered a tight house. Houses here at Glassbury, Lisanti says, change air between three and four times. He also uses an infrared camera to check walls and ceilings for hot or cold spots, and ensure the insulation’s efficiency. But while a tight, well-sealed and insulated home can definitely reduce energy consumption and costs, it also requires regularly timed interior ventilation—also an Energy Star requirement—to provide healthy air flow throughout the house.

Not all builders are as willing as Wilder-Balter to commit to the higher standards that greener, more efficient home design and building requires. Or to the added time and expenditure that higher quality materials, Energy Star compliance and LEED certification entail. But that’s what sets a home at Glassbury Court in Cold Spring apart from other homes, and other plus-55 communities. And why the quality, comfort, efficiency and savings of a Wilder-Balter home are well worth seeing for yourself.

Glassbury Court Video Tour

Click to view a video tour of Glassbury Court.

Glassbury Court Community in Putnam county, Cold Spring, NY

Here at Glassbury, it was infrastructure — and the smart planning and sound engineering that went into it — that Griffon Associates, the construction management subsidiary of Wilder Balter Partners, began putting in place a year before the first home was ever built.

As Mike Scribona, Chief Operating Officer of Griffon, explains it, the picturesque basin in which Glassbury Court is located is a part of the New York Watershed. As such, any systems within this area must be built to withstand the effects of a hundred year storm. And the infrastructure here was designed and built for that contingency, and then some.

“Storm water here,” Scribona says, “has always followed the area’s natural contours and pitch to drain into the Clove Creek that runs behind the community. As a result, flooding, contrary to what some people think when they first visit here, has never been a problem.”

But by combining technology and gravity to help nature work even more to Glassbury’s advantage, the pipe and drain systems here were placed and pitched from 4 to 10 feet below ground to guide water in the same direction as the basin’s natural drainage paths, with some strategically placed “stops” along the way to utilize storm water runoff in some very inventive ways.

Here’s how it works:

Central stormwater pond

The storm water that accumulates from the roads, drains, gutters, lawns and other points throughout Glassbury Court is quickly captured and carried thro

ugh a coordinated network of drains and drainage systems into the central storm water pond. The pond, which was once an excavation site for a rock quarry, serves as a centerpiece of the community as a landscaped water feature. Beneath the stone bridge that crosses the pond at one end is a culvert. And when water in the pond reaches a certain level, the excess flows naturally over the culvert and eventually down into Clove Creek. As you might imagine, the water flow to the central pond during the recent storms was fast and furious. “The water going into the pond was running like crazy,” says Scribona. But as a well-planned water-control device, the storm water pond worked perfectly. And all the excess ran in a controlled, systematic way into the creek where it was channeled safely away from Glassbury Court.

There are other equally imaginative water-control devices located around Glassbury as well. A series of aesthetically pleasing, highly functional rain gardens are strategically placed in residents’ yards and in common areas. These gardens are easily identified as small decorative planting areas of trees, shrubs and flowers.

Active Adult Living 55+ Plus Community NY

Fed by rainwater and snowmelt from the gutters and leaders on homes and other buildings, water is directed into these gardens where it then collects to nourish the plantings. When water reaches a certain level there, it can enter a system of grass swales and pipes that carry it into the big pond. “In all,” says Scribona, “it’s a great way to gather storm water runoff and actually put it to good use.”

Another aspect of this forward-looking infrastructure is the underground utilities that helped prevent the damage and outages that plagued other areas. Many communities — especially older ones — still rely on what is essentially a 19th-century power-delivery system: miles of horizontal wires strung between miles of vertical poles. With the underground utilities at Glassbury Court, power is completely shielded from disruptions caused by tree falls, wind damage and other events.

Just how long will this system of drainage pipes, water control and utilities last? Because it’s protected from the elements and constructed with materials that will not corrode, Mike Scribona believes that Glassbury’s infrastructure is certainly designed and constructed to endure the fury of a hundred year storm. Just as assuredly, these systems will still be in place and working every bit as efficiently a hundred years from now. And probably a whole lot longer.

To all our Friends and Visitors,

The folks here at Glassbury Court at Cold Spring want to reach out and wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.  May you all be blessed with a full belly and a happy heart as you celebrate this very American traditional day of thanks.

Just think, next year you could be celebrating the holidays in your new home at Glassbury Court at Cold Spring.  Come see our models and tour the clubhouse while you are here.

Sincerely,

In case you haven’t noticed lately, Glassbury Court Cold Spring has a new Facebook page with lots of interesting links, comments and even more information about our wonderful homes and growing community.

To stay in tune with special events, additional announcements and news, please go to http://www.facebook.com/Glassburycourtcoldspring. If you’re a Facebook user please “like” us there and recommend us to your Facebook friends too!

Kacey of WHUD Radio and friends at Glassbury Court

Click here to view more photos from the 2011 Fall Festival at Glassbury Court.

• Walk through our gorgeous new decorated ranch model.
• Refreshments served noon till 2PM
• Enter for free raffle drawings
• Meet Kacey from WHUD radio from 12 – 2 PM

We have had so many calls from prospective buyers wanting to know how Glassbury Court in Cold Spring fared with all the rain. Well I am happy to say that our community did very well!

As a result of the expert engineering that was done on this property our systems performed beautifully. A few homeowners living in Glassbury Court stopped in to the sales office to say “kudos to the builder” and “the builder did a fine job with this site”.

The power did not go out and there was no negative effect from rain water, does it get much better than that?

Driving around the community we realize how it is all coming together so beautifully. The grass is a deep green, the flowers in the beds at each home are lively, the trees are beginning to fill out and the homes and clubhouse are lovely. With the mountains as a backdrop the whole community is simply picturesque.

With fall approaching, the trees will begin to turn and the mountains will be ablaze with color. If you are thinking about visiting Glassbury Court at Cold Spring now is the time!