Historic Buildings – Window Walk Over-The-Rhine

Green for good.

These two historic homes were renovated to create affordable, energy efficient homes for families in need using Deceuninck’s energy-efficient window systems.

• Who: Tri-State Wholesale Building Supplies and Deceuninck North America
• What: Two historic home renovations
• Why: To revitalize historic homes and create safe, sustainable housing for families in need
• When: June 2011

Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is believed to be the largest, most intact urban historic district in the United States. However, many of the once beautiful historic homes that line the streets of this neighborhood have fallen into disrepair. Families in this working class neighborhood often find that repairs and energy-efficient updates are too costly.

Noticing the need to help revitalize these once beautiful homes and create safe, sustainable housing for families in need, The Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity decided to work to transform two vacant and historic houses into affordable, energy-efficient homes for low-income families. To complete this project, Habitat for Humanity sought out funding, donations and hard-working volunteers.

The Results

In June 2011, Tri-State Wholesale Building Supplies, Inc. partnered with Deceuninck North America to take part in the project, which was officially named, “The G2OTR (Greening and Growing Over-the-Rhine) Project: LEEDing the Way in Historic Renovation and New Construction.” The companies demonstrated their commitment to sustainability and their role as responsible manufacturers by supplying energy-efficient vinyl window systems that had been specified for the project so that it could achieve LEED certification.

Beyond producing the energy-efficient window systems, representatives from both companies conducted a window walk on June 23, 2011 from Tri-State’s manufacturing facility (located in Cincinnati) to the site of the homes. They hand-delivered the windows, thereby replacing traditional shipping and reducing the project’s overall carbon footprint.

By incorporating innovative green building features and techniques, each home received LEED certification. The sustainable renovations received recognition from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), which named the effort its Legacy Project for the 2011 “Greening the Heartland” Conference, held on June 22 through 24 in Cincinnati. The conference attracted more than 1,000 building owners, designers, builders, manufacturers, and public employees from across the Midwest.