Hill Country home builder wins Platinum LEED honor

The U.S. Green Building Council has presented Sierra Homes with the company’s first platinum-LEED designation.

The Platinum LEED status — which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — was presented to the home builder for a custom home it built in Mountain Home, a city nestled in the Texas Hill Country. Sierra Homes is based in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Platinum LEED is the highest environmental standard a residential project can earn. LEED is a rating system that certifies that a “green” home uses less energy, water and natural resources and creates less waste than a conventional home, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

Sierra built the custom home for Rick and Stephanie Ertel for $600,000. The 2,045-square-foot home has been built to have a minimal impact on the environment, says Teresa Fransik, who owns Sierra with her husband David Fransik.

The home receives no outside electricity or water from a utility company and the new homeowners do not have any sewer service. The bathrooms by design have special toilets that do not require water for flushing. The waste is composted. Food is cooked on wood stoves and there is no air conditioning. There is an outdoor kitchen and outdoor showers for the days the heat might be unbearable, Teresa Fransik says.

The home has been fitted with photo voltaic cells that harness the power of the sun for lighting and heating. The home also has a 15,000-gallon rainwater-collection tank that supplies the house with fresh water for drinking and showering. Sierra built the home for the couple on family-owned land just northwest of Kerrville.

Sierra completed the home in November. The Ertels recently occupied the home and have opened it up for tours. In fact, the Hunt Garden Club in Hunt, Texas, will be taking a tour of the home this weekend. The couple will also enter their home in the Texas Star Green Awards competition later this year.

The Fransiks founded Sierra Homes seven years ago after relocating from Dallas. Teresa Fransik is a retired veterinarian. David Fransik has worked in the home-building industry for 20 years.

Sierra Homes is a small, three-person operation. All facets of construction are contracted out. The company only builds custom homes and Sierra works to incorporate some green features into every project.

Even though the company has built about 25 homes in its seven-year history, Teresa Fransik says they have never completed a custom project quite like the Ertels’ home before.

Typically, the Fransiks complete between two or three custom homes a year.