The Net-zero ready home

Project Team

Architect: Stone’s Throw Design

Sustainable Designer & Builder: Greening Homes Ltd.

Structural Engineer: Revive Engineering Inc.

HVAC Design: Hayward Consulting & Design

Energy & Embodied Carbon Analysis: Homes to Zero

SLIDE WITH MOUSE BELOW

What began as a modest Toronto bungalow was transformed into a highly efficient multigenerational home, designed around long-term resilience, comfort and a significantly reduced environmental footprint.

Working collaboratively with the homeowners and design team, Greening Homes retained and built upon the existing structure, dramatically increasing the home’s usable living space while incorporating a high-performance building envelope, triple-glazed windows, cellulose-based insulation, Shou Sugi Ban cladding, reclaimed and deadstock finishes, and a potable rainwater harvesting system. The completed home achieved an exceptional 0.94 ACH50 airtightness result. 

The project also demonstrates why renovating an existing Toronto home can offer environmental advantages beyond operational energy savings. Post-construction embodied-carbon analysis estimated the project’s material emissions at approximately 13,457 kg CO₂e, compared with 74,306 kg CO₂e for a modelled typical high-performance new build—a difference of more than 60,000 kg CO₂e.

Construction came with distinctly Toronto challenges: a tight urban lot, restricted site access with major street renovation at the same time as our full-gut, and even the unexpected discovery of significant water flowing beneath the existing foundation. Each required the design and construction team to adapt while preserving the project’s performance and sustainability objectives.

Project highlights: Multigenerational renovation · Deep energy retrofit · 0.94 ACH50 · Triple-glazed windows · Cellulose insulation · Shou Sugi Ban cladding · Rainwater harvesting · Material reuse & waste diversion · Low embodied-carbon