Sustainable Luxury: Building a Gold-Certified Custom Home in East Texas
- Jan 1
- 2 min read
How Wright-Way Services Combined Green Building, Smart Design, and High-End Features
At Wright-Way Services (12863 CR 192, Tyler, TX), we don’t just repair and prepare rental properties — we also build exceptional custom homes from the ground up. One of our favorite projects was a beautifully designed home that achieved Gold Certification in a high-performance green building program.
Sustainable Lumber & Responsible Sourcing
We used lumber certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) — the highest standard for responsibly harvested hardwood. This certification ensures the timber was sourced in an environmentally responsible way.
We also earned green points by sourcing tile and other materials from local suppliers whenever possible, keeping the carbon footprint low and supporting East Texas businesses.
High-Performance Fireplace in an Airtight Home
The homeowners wanted a fireplace, but a traditional open fireplace would have destroyed the energy efficiency of this extremely airtight house.
Instead, we installed a sealed-combustion gas fireplace with glassed-in logs. It delivers realistic flames and heat while a blower circulates warm air — all without pulling conditioned air from the room or leaking energy. Perfect for our hot, humid East Texas climate where cooling demands are high 80% of the year.
Architectural Highlights That Wow
Octagon ceiling in the main living area — we took advantage of the tall attic created by the required 10/12 pitch roof. The unique shape delivers outstanding acoustics.
Hidden speakers integrated into the octagon ceiling for immersive, tuned sound quality.
Barrel ceiling in the entryway that creates an impressive first impression.
Multiple graceful archways throughout the home.
Custom entertainment center with speaker mesh that allows remote controls to work through the cabinet doors. All main AV gear (DVD player, etc.) is neatly hidden behind the center cabinet.
Tilt-and-swivel TV mount for perfect viewing from anywhere in the room.
Attention to Detail
FSC-certified lumber used for custom cabinetry.
Thoughtful built-ins and architectural details that maximize every square foot.
Careful planning that turned a “wasted” tall attic space into a dramatic, functional, and acoustically superior living area.
This project proved that building near-zero energy homes in East Texas is not only possible — it’s incredibly rewarding. The Gold Certification (just one step below Emerald) showed us how achievable high-performance, sustainable construction really is.
