Green Remodeling
Green Homes for Green Earth
WHAT IS A GREEN HOME REMODELING?
It’s an approach to home improvement with the goal of not only making your home look better, but making it work better–for both you and the environment. Want a healthier home? Lower utility bills? Reduced maintenance? A cleaner planet? With careful planning, you can create a home that combines beauty, efficiency, comfort, and convenience with health and conservation.
GREEN & SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
A green remodel helps move our region toward sustainability. Sustainability is providing for our own needs, and for those of future generations. It means thinking about the impacts of our actions now, and years from now. A sustainable community has a thriving local economy, healthy environment, and good quality of life for all. Green remodeling supports this by buying from local businesses, and using goods and services that are non-polluting and respectful of our natural resources. A green remodel can strengthen community ties through an inclusive design process that involves neighbors and others potentially affected by design decisions. Design features such as front porches can encourage social interaction. Greener neighborhoods have food, shopping, and public transit in walking distance, affordable housing, plus plenty of trees and parks. Consider sharing tools, hosting neighborhood tree plantings, and beautifying traffic circles to enhance community in your neighborhood.
It’s an approach to home improvement with the goal of not only making your home look better, but making it work better–for both you and the environment. Want a healthier home? Lower utility bills? Reduced maintenance? A cleaner planet? With careful planning, you can create a home that combines beauty, efficiency, comfort, and convenience with health and conservation.
GREEN & SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
A green remodel helps move our region toward sustainability. Sustainability is providing for our own needs, and for those of future generations. It means thinking about the impacts of our actions now, and years from now. A sustainable community has a thriving local economy, healthy environment, and good quality of life for all. Green remodeling supports this by buying from local businesses, and using goods and services that are non-polluting and respectful of our natural resources. A green remodel can strengthen community ties through an inclusive design process that involves neighbors and others potentially affected by design decisions. Design features such as front porches can encourage social interaction. Greener neighborhoods have food, shopping, and public transit in walking distance, affordable housing, plus plenty of trees and parks. Consider sharing tools, hosting neighborhood tree plantings, and beautifying traffic circles to enhance community in your neighborhood.
Remodeling
If you’re thinking about a remodel, you’re not alone. Americans spent $173 billion on remodeling in 2002. Given this level of investment, it makes sense to do things right, the first time. Your remodeling goals may include making better use of living space, adding storage, replacing worn-out features, or simply personalizing your home. A remodel involves a dizzying array of choices. Help is here!
The Green Home Remodel series covers common topics:
■ Kitchen
■ Bath & Laundry
■ Paints & Finishes
■ Landscape Materials
■ Roofing and more!
The Green Home Remodel series covers common topics:
■ Kitchen
■ Bath & Laundry
■ Paints & Finishes
■ Landscape Materials
■ Roofing and more!
What does a green remodel looks like?
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Green homes don’t have to look any different from typical homes. This e remodel (shown at right) features a variety of elements you might expect to see in a green remodel:
1. sustainable harvest wood trim, 2. recycled wallboard and insulation, 3. proper ventilation, 4. low toxic finish, 5. water efficient faucet, 6. ample natural light, 7. recycled plastic decking (outdoors), 8. healthy paint, and 9. energy- and water-efficient appliances. |
Project Tips
Do Your Homework
Research helps you ask the right questions of retailers, your designer and/or contractor—and avoid costly mistakes if you are doing the work yourself. Next decide where you’ll need help. Find professionals with experience designing and constructing green.
Expand Your Definition of Cost
Initial price gives only a peephole view of the true cost of a product or design over the lifetime of your home. A low purchase price may mean a good deal, or it may signify a lack of quality or durability. Or it may mean that some environmental, health, or social costs are not included in the price. A higher purchase price can mean a better deal in the long run: you can actually reduce the cost of living in your home by choosing resource-efficient fixtures (lowering monthly utility bills) and durable materials (requiring less frequent replacement).
Lenders are beginning to recognize the value of ongoing savings to the homeowner. The savings from a more efficient home can cover and even exceed the incremental addition to your mortgage payment, meaning the improvements pay for themselves, and then some.
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 Future is in our hands!
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