Highland Springs home displays unique design, construction

From its lighted glass entryway floors to its circular living room and white carpet, Loren and Ann Moore's new home at 3769 E. Eaglescliffe Dr. in Highland Springs features several contemporary and custom-made touches.

The circular living room is flanked by curving staircases, and the "roof" of that room is an ornate circular skylight. The home features 12,000 square feet of living space, which doesn't include the two, four-car garages and the deck areas.

Home builder Scott Kisling, owner of Up-Tyte Construction, was the man in charge of making sure the Moores' home was built just the way they wanted it. He noted the garages have only three bays, but one bay in each garage features a lift for a fourth vehicle.

Kisling said he's worked with subcontractors and materials suppliers from far and near to build the home, which is 85 percent poured-concrete exterior and 15 percent glass, providing a breathtaking view of the golf course.

The glass is equipped with automatic shades set by astronomical clocks so they open and close as needed, Kisling said.

The glass floors used in the home came from a company in New Jersey, but the glass was shaped in Canada, Kisling said. Light fixtures in the home's living, dining and music rooms resemble those found at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, and are made by the same manufacturer.

"The front doors and the sculptures out front all came from Arizona, so we had them all custom-built and shipped in," he added.

Some local companies also were involved in building the home, which was built at an estimated construction cost of $1.5 million, according to the building permit filed with the city of Springfield in June 2000. Kisling said Queen City Roofing did the roof system for the home, and Builders Glass was involved. Heating, air, plumbing and electric work also were handled by local and area companies.

The house utilizes a geothermal heating and cooling system, Kisling said. There are 17 200-foot-deep wells under the home's driveways.

"We pump water from inside the house that goes through each one of those wells," Kisling said. "We pump that water through there, down into the ground, and then, of course it comes back up and goes into the furnace unit, and you either heat or cool that water, depending on what you're doing in the house, by using the ground temperature."

Specifics and amenities

The Moores' home has three bedrooms and two large offices. The Moores use the offices to run their company, Integrated Rollout Solutions. Loren Moore said the company installs telephone and computer systems for large retail chains.

There's also an exercise room, bar, laundry room with two washers and two dryers, and a home theater with a rear-projection television system. Springfield Central Systems is installing the television system, Kisling said.

When watching movies in the home theater room, which has leather recliners and couches, the Moores can enjoy fresh popcorn from their movie-theater-style popcorn machine.

There are three fireplaces in the home, which has four levels. In the master bedroom, which features one of the fireplaces, the bed is built into the wall.

Intense job

Kisling said the Moores' home is probably the most intense job he's ever done. He said he's been in the building business for about 25 years, 17 of those in the Springfield area.

The Moores' home is built primarily of insulated concrete forms (ICFs). Kisling started building with ICFs about seven or eight years ago, he said. Kisling added that a lot of times, people refer to ICFs as being similar to Legos.

"They're basically Styrofoam blocks that are stacked up, then you put your reinforcing steel in and then pour them full of concrete," Kisling said.

When the blocks are empty, Kisling said, they only weigh about five pounds, so they're easily stacked.

He doesn't have any employees, using subcontractors only as needed, he said. As for running his company without other employees, that's just how Kisling wants it.

"About six years ago, I got tired of people not showing up for work, and having to make them redo everything that they spent all day doing because they messed up," Kisling said. "I decided that I could do it myself just as fast, in the long run, and I know what I'm getting."

As for his switch to the ICFs, Kisling said, "We got tired of waiting for the foundation guys, so we were looking for something that we could do ourselves. So we got into doing (ICFs) and by doing that, that's how we got into doing this house."

Kisling said he tries not to work on more than one or two houses at a time, so that he can meet the demands of each job.

Since he began using the ICFs, Kisling said he's used them in basements, but the Moores' home is the first that he's built all the way to the roof with ICFs.

"It's a system that's been around for quite awhile, but people are real hesitant to change especially down here, where they don't worry so much about energy bills " Kisling said.

Benefits of ICFs

Owners of homes built with ICFs will save between 70 percent and 80 percent in heating and cooling costs. And that's not the only financial benefit.

"For storm damage, (they) should save about 20 to 25 percent on homeowners' insurance, because they're basically tornado-proof," Kisling said. "They've got it documented in up to F-3 and F-4 tornadoes without any structural damage."

ICFs also add to the comfort element by filtering out sounds from the outside, and eliminating hot and cold spots in the home, since no drafts are let in.

Home sweet home

The Moores moved into their new home several weeks ago. The home is a dream that's been a long time in the making. The Moores began looking at different plans and ideas for their home several years ago, and ground was broken for its construction in June 2000.

"We educated ourselves extensively. We did seek out different, unusual things not normally found in the common home and we just went from there," Ann Moore said.