Mel's House - Houston, Texas

This traditional custom home is a partnership between Houston’s GreenHaus Builders, APA and the Southern Pine Council. The 3,066 square foot home is located in one of Houston’s prominent neighborhoods.

• Traditional custom home, all-wood framing
• Raised wood floor construction
• Front and rear porches
• Two story, 3,066 square feet
• 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths
• First level master bedroom, five piece bath
• Great room, office/library

Mel's House featured on KHOU’s Great Day Houston
The demo home has provided a great vehicle for communicating the advantages of raised floor foundations to residents of the Houston area. KHOU-TV’s morning show – Great Day Houston – is covering various topics about the home’s construction including the environmental advantages of using a foundation built from sustainable materials as well as the protection raised floors offer against flooding and termites.

In a segment that aired on December 19, 2008, APA’s Bob Clark discussed methods of improving energy efficiency in new home construction. Click on the links below to view show segments.

Crawl Space/Moisture Control Take Center Stage
APA held its third open house at the E3 demonstration home in Houston. Held in conjunction with a seminar on moisture control and closed crawl spaces, the half-day event attracted an audience of 40 architects, builders, engineers, energy raters, building scientists and city code officials. Read the full story.

Mel's Open House Turns Into Classroom
Mel’s second open house took place in Houston on October 28, 2008. Held in conjunction with a two-hour APA training seminar nearby, the format proved to be effective as more than 30 designers, builders and code officials gathered for a lunchtime tour of the two-story structure. Read the full story.

Mel's House Unfazed by Hurricane Ike
When construction commenced on Mel’s House, a traditional style demonstration home featuring a raised wood floor, in the heart of Houston Texas, no one thought this house would be put to the test so soon and so often. Though Hurricanes Eduard, Gustav and Ike delivered their best blows, only the construction schedule suffered serious dents. The engineered wood and southern yellow pine products withstood the test. Read the full story.

Mel's House featured on Strong's Home Improvement Hotline
Georgia-Pacific’s Reggie Ray was interviewed by Michael Strong in a seven minute segment broadcast on Strong’s Home Improvement Hotline, Sunday October 12, 2008. Listen to the interview.