Visitors can learn how to build and remodel a home suitable for south Louisiana conditions by touring the LSU AgCenter's LaHouse. (Click photo for larger image. Photo by Mark Claesgens)

Another view of LaHouse. (Click photo for larger image. Photo by Mark Claesgens)

It survived the hurricane-force winds of Gustav virtually unscathed, swarming termites in the spring and Louisiana’s long, hot, dry summer. It’s not an underground shelter, but a family-type home designed to showcase innovations in home construction for Louisiana’s sub-tropical climate.

The Louisiana House – Home and Landscape Resource Center, better known as LaHouse, provides a model for the public to learn about technological advances in housing. A project of the LSU AgCenter, LaHouse is located on a 7-acre site near the LSU Golf Course off the Nicholson Drive – Gourrier Ave. – Burbank Ave. intersection. Because of its location, the house has an architectural style that mirrors other LSU campus buildings. The goal of LaHouse is to educate homeowners, home builders and architects in the methods that can be used to make homes more user- and resource-friendly.

View the schedule for visiting LaHouse.

Read the press release that includes holiday hours for visiting LaHouse.

The home is now open on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Both consumers and professionals can see first-hand and learn about many solutions – from ways to protect their homes from hurricanes, floods, mold and termites to the employment of highly energy efficient and healthy building, air conditioning and lighting systems to interiors that combine beauty, comfort and convenience with eco-friendly benefits,” said Claudette Reichel, LSU AgCenter housing specialist.

LaHouse is an outgrowth of a statewide educational outreach program of the LSU AgCenter and its numerous partners, yet is rapidly expanding its reach throughout the Gulf Coast region. Since shortly after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the LaHouse program has been educating homeowners, home builders, designers and others about a range of locally appropriate ways to make homes more storm resistant, energy-efficient and user-friendly.

A unique feature of LaHouse is that it is built and furnished to look and feel like a comfortable and appealing home, but it is actually an exhibit of numerous solutions. It includes cutaways showing many of the special construction components. Exhibits will change periodically to feature many different elements of home construction such as insulation, roofing materials and moisture barriers. On-site staff provides guided tours and answer questions from visitors. As part of the AgCenter’s educational mission, LaHouse includes a high-tech teaching center in what appears to be home's garage for seminars and workshops.

Sustainable Housing

A focal point of the project is examining the issue of sustainability, which means meeting current needs without jeopardizing future generations. Sustainable housing and development must integrate and balance resource efficiency, durability and health with practicality and convenience to become integrated into home construction. To homeowners, sustainability must be affordable, aesthetically appealing and meet their needs and desires. To builders and architects, it means do-able, practical and marketable.

LaHouse exhibits four different high-performance building systems – all fortified for high wind resistance – four alternative foundation systems for flood zones, three different high efficiency heating and air conditioning systems with ventilation and dehumidification for optimal air quality, and a wide variety of products and features that offer special benefits – all in the one house.

Combining all these features was a challenge for the project team, including the architect and contractor of LaHouse. The design firm for the project is Remson-Haley-Herpin Architects and the general contractor is Wooden Creations.

“So much of this information is not readily available to the architectural community,” said Trula Remson, the architect. “Our hot and humid climate presents unique challenges, and it will be extremely useful to have ideas and techniques that are applicable to the high humidity we experience in Louisiana.”

Builder Roy Domangue Jr. said the learning component of LaHouse will benefit builders and contractors who will see how to properly use the newer materials and the most-efficient technology.

“Our goal is to build it correctly and thus teach others the proper methods. We want to prevent needless repairs from improper installation of materials. Typically, the products do not fail. It is the misapplication or installation of the products that fail creating inefficient operation of the home,” Domangue said.

Donations from private individuals such as Paula Manship and private corporations such as Entergy have helped make the project a reality. The Louisiana Home Builders Association, U.S. Borax, Osmose, and Louisiana Pacific made significant financial contributions, and the Roy O. Martin Lumber Company made both a financial commitment and donated a large quantity of materials used in the construction of LaHouse. Another major contributor was Wooden Creations through the donation of its general contracting services.

Environmental Challenges

Elements of LaHouse are specifically designed to meet the environmental challenges to homes along the Gulf Coast. For hurricane protection, metal connectors, structural sheathing with blocking, special nails and spacing, and water barriers were used throughout the house and teaching center, which is in the garage. In addition, storm-safe rooms are exhibited – one commercial and built to FEMA storm shelter standards and a low-cost reinforcement of a walk-in closet for moderate impact resistance.

For protection from Formosan termites, there are three primary strategies implemented in LaHouse – a wire-mesh barrier system, chemically treated wood, and a soil treatment underneath the concrete slab. The barrier system, called Termi-Mesh, is anchored along the perimeter of the foundation and clamped to plumbing pipes. The mesh is durable, and the openings are too small for termites to enter. The system works on the same principle as window screens. A homeowner can expect to pay on average nearly $11,000 in damages caused by Formosan termites.

LaHouse Lagniappe

• Landscaping at LaHouse features plants adapted to drought conditions to conserve water resources.
• The home contains three heating, cooling, ventilation and dehumidification systems for comfort, efficiency and indoor air quality.
• Advanced, energy-efficient appliances, lighting controls and structured wiring are used throughout the home.
• Three elevated foundation systems for flood zones, dry flood-proofing and wet flood-proofing are demonstrated.
• LaHouse partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America program, FEMA, Institute of Business and Home Safety, Building Media Inc. and private industry sponsors to bring nationally prominent building scientists to six south Louisiana cities to conduct best building practice training for nearly 1,000 building professionals in 2006.
• LaHouse has been featured in local and national media, including Coastal Contractor trade journal, Home Energy magazine, Automated Builder magazine, Builder-Architect, the New Orleans TimesPicayune and the Baton Rouge Advocate.

(This AgCenter Lead was updated Nov. 21, 2008, by Linda Benedict.)