Let us get to the nitty-gritty of what it means to remodel green. Being green starts long before you consider where you wish to place the tub, and the effects last to the future long after you’re gone. Remodeling can be a wasteful process. The very least we can do is proceed thoughtfully.
These 10 tips will help get you beyond the hype and”greenwashing” encircling environmentally conscious remodeling.
1. Begin with an existing house. Obviously it’s possible to go out of your way to break this rule, but when you remodel, you’re reusing an existing structure. Both building and remodeling are wasteful processes. But by remodeling, you’re generating less waste, using less energy and putting your cash into more labour than materials, which can help support the local economy. A side advantage of not building new: Existing buildings are more likely to be close to established infrastructure, trees and trendy old neighbors with a great deal of stories.
Barker O’Donoghue Master Builders
2. Be mindful of scale. As Sarah Susanka educates us in The Not So Big House along with other books, a space that is ventilated doesn’t have to be enormous to serve your own needs. If you’re able to remodel your current home to do more instead of moving into a bigger home, you conserve energy, reduce waste and often boost happiness.
Buckminster Green LLC
3. Consider the future. Before you pick up a hammer, consider possible future needs, too. The toilet pictured here includes a slick grab bar for safety that doubles as a soap dish. The homeowner did not need a catch bar at the time but knew that she’d need one eventually, as this is her forever home.
The longer we remodel with all ages and possible uses in your mind, the less likely we are to remodel in the future. The less we need to construct, the greener we’ll be — and that is coming out of a builder!
Know more about universal design
Megan Buchanan
4. Manage light and heat. Solar panels won’t necessarily make for a smart financial investment, because of the time it requires them to pay for themselves, but the sun’s direct light and heat are free, with no investment larger than a little forethought.
Bring daylight to your home, and it will lift your spirits for more reasons than the low electric bill. Sunlight brings heat with it, too. Remodel your home to make the most of sunlight when you want it and keep it out once you don’t.
Adding reflective roof coatings, installing tubular skylights and creating thermal mass are only a few ways to work together with sunlight.
Get Your Lighting Appropriate for a Healthy House
Buckminster Green LLC
5. Waste not, want not. Before you think about the elements of your remodel, then consider where you are able to choose the waste generated through the renovation. Construction and demolition account for about a third of all residential and commercial waste, but most could be recycled. In Philadelphia Revolution Recovery types all construction waste and diverts 75 percent from landfills — a number that is growing as new markets and technologies emerge. If you can’t find an application for the construction waste onsite, also you can’t donate it to an organization like Habitat for Humanity, try to find a construction waste management firm in your region which may recycle it. It doesn’t have to cost more or less be more work. I often use commingled Dumpsters from Revolution Recovery, and the company does the rest. It doesn’t add to our prices in any way.
Renewal Design-Build
6. See what you breathe. A lot of focus in green construction materials goes into diminishing off-gassing. You need to use low- or no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, sealers and caulks. Look for products which don’t contain formaldehyde.
Paying attention to moisture levels from the home is equally as important. Baths and kitchens must have great exhaust fans to reduce carcinogens from the atmosphere (mainly from the kitchen) and moisture which may result in mould (necessary in both the kitchen and bathroom ). Use a timer button in the tub or a fan with a humidistat so the fan stays on long enough to do the job.
7 Methods to Improve Bathroom Air Quality for Better Health
Synthesis Design Inc..
7. Take advantage of incentives. Natural gas may cost less nowadays, but energy prices change, and you don’t wish to get stuck using a power hog when rates go up in the future. Utilities along with the government offer incentives, often in the kind of a significant charge, toward the purchase of high-efficiency equipment. In some areas this can form the difference in price between conventional equipment and that using a higher efficiency, which will allow you to begin saving straight away.
Buckminster Green LLC
8. Buy local. If you’re trying to reduce your carbon footprint, shop local companies on your remodel. A green material looks a lot less green when it has to be shipped across the world to your house.
Granite is a fast-growing grass which makes for hard, beautiful floors, but if your bamboo floor was shipped out of China, a greener choice may have been timber floors from your home state.
Don’t underestimate the effect that a personal touch out of a tiny family-owned company can create in your remodel. This in Philadelphia my go-to tile shop isEarthstone Tileworks. The store has a curated selection of stunning tiles, from cheap but interesting stock to handmade stone, and my clients always find something that they enjoy that. Along with the proprietor’s input layout may create an installation glow.
Dyna Contracting
9. Salvage, salvage, salvage. Salvaged materials get a lot of hype nowadays, and costs are going up accordingly. If you think creatively and leave yourself sufficient time for the search, it is possible to get the proper stuff for many aspects of your remodel without even purchasing new. Salvaged pieces don’t have to look a particular way, either. This home has a variety of salvaged materials to get a distinctly modern look.
Tim Cuppett Architects
10. Make it beautiful. There’s no telling what tastes will probably be like in the long run, however in my experience, a distance that is nicely designed and nicely implemented with quality stuff is not as likely to be remodeled — even if it doesn’t match the new owner’s taste. A beautiful space can even change a homeowner’s preference! The greenest thing you can do together with your remodel is produce something which people 100 years from today will cherish.
This doesn’t mean being conservative or stifling your own taste. Something which takes away your breath has the best chance of success, and the objective of a green remodel is to produce something which lasts.
More: Top 10 Home Remodeling Don’ts