Archive for September, 2009

When you finally meet a few green remodeling contractors who fit your bill, you need to discuss certain things with them in order to know which one of them you would want to trust your house to. This is a crucial junction, at which you can do a lot to ensure that the remodeling project goes off smoothly, and you get exactly the house you want. Asking the right kind of questions will help you make this possible.

1. Can he provide References: Always check a contractor’s past clients. If possible, check out the homes he has remodeled. This will give you an idea about his style and also directly get to meet with the clients. It is also important that this past project happened in the near past.
2. Is he a member of any trade association: This will ensure that your contractor has a verifiable and authentic background.
3. Why he is in this business: Green building requires a certain type of contractor. He’s got to have some environmentalist streak in him, in order to be a genuine green builder. From his answer you will be able to judge if he seems to be the genuine type.
4. Will he also get permits if required: Almost always remodeling projects require permits from local authorities. If your contractor can offer this, then it’s a huge task taken off your shoulders.
The NARI website also provides a good list of questions that you could ask contractors before selecting one.

Remodeling itself can be done in two different ways: The design-bid-build process, in which case you hire one designer to draw up the plans for the house, and then hire a builder to remodel the house according to those plans or the design-build process, in which one architect or contractor handles the designing and the remodeling together. Ideally, you want to select a contractor who works on the design-build basis. Why? Find that out on our post about design-build.

Other than that, you can use tried an trusted methods, like speaking to people who have remodeled their house before and also checking with local remodeling contractors. An important point to know here is that a remodeling contractor is different from a builder who also does remodeling. You want to ensure that you take the services of a remodeling contractor – since building is a completely different ball game.

You can take the help of associations like NARI (National Association of The Remodeling Industry) or the USGBC (US Green Building Corporation). Their websites will inform you on how to locate a certified remodeling contractor in your area. When you look for green remodeling contractors, you also want to make sure that they understand green building well. You can judge by their suggestions about the project.

Finally, what matters most of all is whether your contractor really thinks green building is important and if he really is into saving the environment. Green building is not so much about skills as it is about ethics. A contractor who looks at green building as just a competitive edge, is not such a good bet.

Things to-do Before You Start Green Remodeling

1. Be informed: Green remodeling is a wonderful idea, but you should not jump into it without first understanding what it is and what it requires. You need to understand how un-green your house is now, what you can change, what you cannot and what are your options. Start by researching websites like http://www.epa.gov; http://www.energy.gov; http://www.energystar.gov; http://www.usgbc.com and other websites that will provide with resources on green building.
2. Do some home-work: You cannot start remodeling without first figuring out what is wrong with your house the way it is. Of course, a good remodeling contractor will help you with this, but it is good if you have some idea of your own. Start by finding out how un-green your house is currently. Carry out an energy-audit to find out how much energy your house consumes currently; calculate how much water you waste everyday and also what kind of harmful materials your house is using currently. The EPA website is a one stop shop for all info needs. Once you have some idea of how much your house accounts for environmental degradation, you can now have an intelligent discussion with your contractor.
3. Don’t forget the finances: Remodeling, green or not requires a decent sum of money. However, when it comes green remodeling, most authorities loosen their purse strings quite a bit. Most cities and counties in the US provide many incentives to homeowners for going green, in terms of tax benefits. Check with your county clerk or city civic authorities. Private organizations also offer loans to homeowners for green remodeling – for example – GE. Most importantly, you need to determine the current value of your home, and what the value of your home might be after it is green built. If the equation doesn’t sound appealing, you might want to think it over.

Remodeling – An Introduction

When it comes to going green, remodeling your home is your best bet. Remodeling is a little more intensive that renovating, which just means changing the look of the house; and a little less intensive than rebuilding, which changes the house altogether. Remodeling essentially changes the way the house works. This could also include changing the way the house looks or at times even changing the build of the house. Largely, however, the focus is on changing (for the better) the functioning of the house. And because the house is changing for the better, green is the only way to go!

Remodeling has efficiency and efficacy as its goal. Thus, the purpose of remodeling could be better utilization of space, better lighting, lowering consumption of electricity or better insulation. While trying to achieve these, remodeling pays careful attention to the prevalent weather conditions, the needs and comfort of the homeowners and the current plan of the house. A full fledged remodeling will change the heating and cooling system, the lighting and electric system, insulation, the plumbing system and if required, will also change the current plan of the house.

Green remodeling incorporates green building practices while introducing all these changes and is one of the best ways to ensure the home is entirely green. For green remodeling make sure your designer/builder is well-versed with green building techniques, preferably someone who has hands on experience with green building.

Many of our customers want to shift to solar energy, but find the investment in a solar electric system too heavy. For such individuals, we often recommend going for solar water heaters to take care of the water heating requirements. This is relatively cheaper and easier to install, so you can save the environment and some cash too.

There is a basic difference between solar electric systems and a solar water heater. The former use the light energy of the sun and the latter, use heat energy. Thus, solar water heaters come sans the PV modules but with a solar collector which traps heat instead of light. There are 5 types of solar heaters available in the market:
1. Batch systems: For a 1-2 person household, low cost, temperate climate (not very cold winters), simple.
2. Thermosyphon systems: Passive solar system with no moving parts, suitable for temperate climate, less efficient and more expensive than active solar systems but very reliable, obtrusive in appearance. Fit for 3-4 person household.
3. Open-loop Direct Systems: Active solar system, the most simple of systems, heats domestic water directly in a storage tank, works well in temperate climates
4. Pressurized Glycol Systems: Closed loop system which heats up a non-freezing fluid and uses this fluid to heat up the water, suitable for regions with freezing temperatures,
5. Closed Loop Drainback system: Requires minimum maintenance, Works on similar principle as above, distilled water used as the heat transfer fluid.

Solar water heaters make a lot of financial sense and will drop your electricity bills or heating bills by almost 50%-80%. Add to this tax rebates and credits that you’re entitled to on purchase of a solar heater and the overall cost is reduced by a huge number.