Posts Tagged ‘Remodelers’

When you approach an eco-friendly contractor to build you an eco-friendly home one of the things he Is going to suggest (and carry out too) is the switch to solar electricity. Depending on your requirement, resources and the location, there are quite a few options you have when it comes to using solar electricity: You could install solar panels to generate total or partial capacity or you could buy it directly from your provider.

Your contractor will suggest that installing solar panels will be the most effective way to turn your home green. A better contractor, however, will suggest ways to make the best of the ambient sunlight you have for lighting purposes, so that you’re now powering other electrical appliances with solar electricity, and not so much the lights. This can be done by the Passivhaus standard which will entail constructing the home in such a manner that most of your rooms are lit up with natural sunlight, while ensuring that it doesn’t heat up the house unnecessarily.

The other things you want to discuss are appliances that save electricity: EPA certified one, CFLs, and the latest – LED lamps. Also, it is very important to ensure that you and the contractor carry out an energy audit of your existing house first in order to compare the savings your new house will generate.

Remodeling – Demolition

An eco-friendly home first begins by taking it all apart – the demolition we mean. Ideally, environment friendly construction should begin here. Here are things you can do to ensure that you have a green demolition too:

1. Start by reviewing all the times in your house, to see what can be recycled. Recycling is one of the simplest ways by which you can minimize waste, minimize cost and maximum your home’s green quotient. Start with the furniture – can you use the wood to create other things? Can you donate it? Can u refurbish it to reuse it? When you think of bringing in the new, think of what you’re going to do with the old.
2. Ensure you have a demolition crew that doesn’t tear the place down. Many items that are quite salvageable get damaged in the process of demolition. For example, you could use the bricks for the walls to pave your garden or backyard or for some other construction in the house, provided the crew knows how to bring them out intact.
3. When you finally do end up with things that you cannot put to any use, before discarding them, look for people who can put them to good use. For example, you might not know what to do with all your old plumbing pipes, or there may be items that get damaged and thus are not of any use – like glass or tiles. Contact companies that manufacture recycled construction material. They will be more than happy to get their hands on raw material or at least refer you to someone who would be.

Many times we come across home owners who plan the remodeling extensively and are very scrupulous about what changes they want and what kind of a contractor they’re looking for. However, the important part that most overlook is the actual ‘remodeling’ process. Remodeling can become quite inconvenient, because you’re still living in the house, while it is being torn down and built up simultaneously. A lot of families, especially the large ones, feel like they’ve been hit by a hurricane and eventually get very tired and irritated with the entire process. Here’s what you can do to make things easier:

1. With your contractor, chalk out areas of the house that the family can use and ones that will be worked on, phase by phase. Explain these areas to the family.
2. Keep essential items that your family will need in these areas, and move all other items, including furniture out – in your basement or garage.
3. A few days, or weeks before the remodeling begins, ask friends and relatives if you could use their basement or garage to store all the furniture that you will need to move out. Arrange for packers and movers or some neighborhood help.
4. Make sure the contractor explains to his workers which areas are off limits. Also make sure that the workers know if you want them not to smoke, drink, blare music or swear when they’re working in your house.
5. Try and get someone to watch toddlers full-time, if you cannot. If you have a dog, leash train them, so that they won’t disturb the workers and harm themselves.

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.