Update (Wednesday, Nov. 2, 8:40 p.m.): Since the publication of this story, this home has received a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating of 58.

The HERS system runs on a scale of 0 to 130. The lower the number, the more energy-efficient the home. The average new home has a rating of approximately 100, and an Energy Star home must have a rating of 85 or less.

Original story (Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m.): When Doug Stein set out to develop the small residential plot at 7216 Chestnut St. in the Village of Martin’s Additions, he knew right away that there would be several challenges he would face just in getting the design off the drawing board.

New regulations in the village require that new houses be set back from the street so that they’re in-line with neighboring houses, and that the side walls of a new house be set back from side property lines by increasing amounts at certain intervals, so that there is more space between houses at the back of their lots than at the street. 

But Stein, a Montgomery County native who is president of the development company Wexford Homes LLC, wanted to do more than just adhere to the regulations—he wanted to build a home that would fit in well with the neighborhood.

(Stein has also been instrumental in the village's Operation: "Treat our Troops" drive to collect items for troops serving overseas.)

When it opens to prospective buyers next month at a listing price of $1,985,000, the house at 7216 Chestnut St. will impress potential buyers with its seemingly modest scale—from the street, the house appears to have the same dimensions as its neighbors—and with its true size, which is much larger than it seems. The house has tall ceilings, five good-sized bedrooms, a large kitchen, a fully finished and conditioned basement and space for a home office, as well as many closets. 

Also impressive are the many eco-friendly, green features of the home, which include:

• Downspouts that drain into an underground rain tank system, which collects storm water and allows the water to leech back into the ground.
• A tightly sealed exterior and a fully conditioned interior—from top floor to basement.
• Exterior walls that are six inches thick, as opposed to four inches thick, which allows for more insulating material in the exterior walls.
• Water-saving plumbing fixtures throughout the home.

Because the height limit of new houses in the Village of Martin’s Additions is two feet less than Montgomery County’s height limit, the attic story and roof of the home had to be carefully framed to ensure that the top floor would be habitable. Cheaper, pre-fabricated roof trusses would have made the house too tall and would have cut into the living space of the attic story.

Saving the original house on the site was never really an option, Stein said. The home was in bad shape, with mold issues.

“I didn’t really see a benefit to trying to remodel the [original] home,” Stein said.

Although the community was originally wary of a new house being built on an extremely narrow street—and of the traffic and noise issues that new construction brings—the comments that Stein has received about the new house are positive.

Neighbors are pleased that the house does not stand out—that it’s not a “mega-mansion,” Stein added.

The house is being sold by Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Contact Brad Rozansky at 301-656-7700 or Adam Pollin at 202-258-8993 for more information about the house.