Green from the Ground Up

jchatraw — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:35:08 -0400

While recently shopping for a house, I was shocked at how often developers throw around the word "green" as if it's as simple to do as saying replacing tile over laminate. What I really discovered was that developers were using the word "green" because it's a buzzword in our culture, not because it truly meant anything. It was just another marketing ploy. Double-paned windows are good, but as Yoda would say, "A green house it does not make."

A friend of mine recently finished the most gorgeous green home I've ever seen. He and his builder attempted to create the highest-rated LEED home in the state. While the final inspection has yet to reveal if they reached their goal, I received a crash course in understanding what green building is truly all about.

If you're interested in this topic, David Johnston and Scott Gibson's book Green from the Ground Up is a must read. It's written for builders, but buyers need to read it so they don't get the wool pulled over their eyes by slick developers who do just barely enough to call something green when in reality they're jacking the price up and selling you short. Here's an excerpt from the book explaining what green building really is:

At its most basic, green building is a tripod of three interrelated goals:

Energy efficiency, the cornerstone of any green building project. A well-designed and green-built home consumes as little energy as possible and uses renewable sources of energy whenever possible. Lower energy use not only saves homeowners money but also has broader societal benefits, including fewer disruptions in energy supplies, better air quality, and reduced global climate change.

Conservation of natural resources. Conventional building needlessly consumes large quantities of wood, water, metal, and fossil fuels. There are great varieties of effective building strategies that conserve natural resources and provide other benefits, such as lower costs. Strategies include the use of durable products to reduce waste and specify recycled-content products that reuse natural resources.

Indoor air quality. Poor indoor air quality is often caused by mold and mildew that are the result of leaks or poorly designed and maintained heating and cooling systems. Another common source of indoor air pollution is the off-gassing of chemicals found in many building materials. Some are known carcinogens.

MyGreenCottage - National Green Home Building Company

jchait — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

If you’re looking to build green with total ease, you may want to check out MyGreenCottage a nationwide builder of custom green homes. This company is currently all the rage, and for good reason.

Nice green guy, Ed Begley, Jr. recently became the official spokesperson for MyGreenCottage which can only enhance the appeal of a company who is already going above and beyond when it comes to green homes. It helps me anyhow. It's looking like Living with Ed (HGTV) is not continuing - which has been the great depression of my TV year. It was one of the only shows I liked, so seeing good old Ed elsewhere is kind of nice.

MyGreenCottage notes that their main goal is to, “Create beautiful, safe homes that are healthy for you, your wallet and the planet.” The also build, “Any style, any size, anywhere.”

Perks of this green home building company include:

Consulting, free info about products, fresh home building, and green home renovations.

The company operates in a paperless and virtual environment – a virtually unheard of achievement among companies in general, but an excellent way to cut down on resource losses.

They employ a stunning array of green home options including solar, geothermal, energy star, fresh air systems, wind power, and more.

Offers an on-time, and even better, on budget guarantee.

Builds for around the same costs of a conventional home.

They also build strong and very fire resilient. MyGreenCottage uses a MGC fire retardant building system. You can watch a video where they actually blast a MyGreenCottage wall with a 5000-degree blowtorch. Pretty cool.

Visit the MyGreenCottage website and see news coverage, watch videos, learn more about their eco-products and design systems, and see great galleries of their homes. Some a little big for green, but keep in mind this is client choice. You could choose a smaller square foot home design with them to keep things truly on the green up and up.

Today’s bonus:

Check out this video - MyGreenCottage comes in to do a basic green home facelift on a standing home using zero VOC paints.