Tulsan Builds Ultimate Green Home

By Joshua Brakhage, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- A once-abandoned home has had an extreme makeover in midtown Tulsa. The home, located near 21st and Harvard, is totally green – from its red roof to the mulch in its flower beds.

The countertops, windows, and appliances in this once-abandoned midtown home are also environmentally friendly.

Homeowner Chad Burden went back to school to get a graduate degree in Environmental Science. His master's project has become his masterpiece.

"Labor of love, labor of love," Burden said of his renovated home.

The unusual metal roof is solar-reflective. The kitchen's outfitted with sustainable bamboo cabinets, and the concrete counters are flecked with recycled glass.

He's got heavy-duty insulated windows, LED lights and a high-efficiency air conditioner. Even the mulch in his flower beds is green -made of ground up old beer bottles.

"I didn't even recycle until 2008," homeowner Chad Burden said. "So, you know you put your toe in, and then you got your ankle in, and you're knee-deep in it, and the next thing you know, it slowly becomes an affliction."

"It's about the greenest you can make a home," said Amanda Forman of Sustainable Green Country.

Amanda Forman is impressed. She represents a group that promotes green living in Green Country -offering simple solutions.

"Insulation is probably where you'll get the most bang for your buck," she said. "So starting with insulating in your roof or your walls."

For Chad, all the work is paying off. In the heat of summer, his electric bill is just $44 a month. The same sized house next door: $157.

That's savings Chad couldn't pass up.

"We originally intended to retro-fit it and sell it, but as we got more and more invested, you know, we thought, you know let's just move in to it," said Chad Burden, owner of the home.

Now the eyesore next door is home, green home.

Not only will Chad's house earn certification by the three most-recognized green building codes, he earned an "A" on the project as well.

The make-over impressed his professor so much, Chad was asked to come back and teach a class on "green" remodeling at OSU.