Each year, the home tour at the beginning of the NAHB National Green Building Conference showcases what the host city’s green builders have to offer local buyers. For the 2010 event, held May 16-18 in Raleigh, N.C., six builders and remodelers opened up a diverse collection of recent projects. To view all of the homes from the tour as well as complete coverage of conference educational sessions, visit ecohomemagazine.com.

The non-profit Builders of Hope specializes in high-performance rehabs of abandoned or donated houses—either in place or after moving them to new neighborhoods. This home, part of a nine-unit development, was gutted and rebuilt with soy-foam insulation, low-E windows, Energy Star appliances, WaterSense faucets, sealed crawlspaces and attics, formaldehyde-free cabinets, and low-VOC paints. Though priced below market rate, the homes achieved Energy Star, LEED, and North Carolina HealthyBuilt certifications.

Cimarron Homes’ developments feature styling traditional to the Raleigh-Durham area as well as a price point accessible to most local residents (starting at the mid-100s)—yet also include high-performance features and products. This 2,137-square-foot model, one of two shown on the tour, reached ANSI-Silver and includes WaterSense faucets, Energy Star–labeled appliances, Green Label–certified carpet, and low-VOC paint.

Reclaimed bark siding, reclaimed heart pine flooring and beams, and locally sourced yellow pine trim and ceilings lend Chandler Design-Build’s custom home a natural look ideal for its wooded property. The house, which reached ANSI-Gold, features ICFs around the crawlspace and micro-filament fiberglass insulation, motion-sensor bath fans, solar hot water, WaterSense-certified faucets, and Energy Star self-cleaning windows.

Located on a wooded lot 100 yards from a 5,500-acre state park, Eco Building Group’s ANSI-Silver high-end spec house is designed around an outdoor lifestyle, including screened-in porches and an outdoor shower. Product selections include pervious outdoor pavers, spray-foam insulation, low-E windows, WaterSense-certified lav faucets and toilets, tankless water heaters, dimmable LED lights, zero-VOC paints, two 550-gallon rainwater collection tanks, Energy Star–rated appliances, and a garage recycling center.

Much of the character of this 100-year-old remodel remains, largely in part to remodeler BuildSense’s efforts toward resource efficiency and reuse. The NAHB-Silver house includes the original hardwood flooring, siding, trim, and interior doors, and deconstructed portions of the structure were repurposed, recycled, or donated. Mechanicals, plumbing, and electrical were upgraded, and the walls and roof deck were insulated with spray-foam. Other highlights include argon-filled windows, WaterSense-labeled fixtures, zero-VOC paints and sealants, and a mechanical ventilation system.

Tourgoers visited one of M Squared’s two side-by-side green homes that back up to a lake. This home, which earned Gold under the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines in 2008, includes a recycled concrete front walk, native landscaping, an EPA-approved wood-burning fireplace, sustainable cabinetry, porches on three sides, and aging-in-place details.