Green Home Improvements?

shazamyman

With all the terror of global warming and more and more people getting on board with green this green that...have any of you considered marketing 100% (if thats possible) green approach to home improvements?

Im considering it, from solar panels...to green lumber...to whatever, getting the whole package together and marketing as an option to mean old traditional home improvements, materials, products, and modern living that is harmful to the envorment.

comments experience and insight please

Thanks for reading

threaderman

I considered it as a Niche' for the company but the dues are $5,000 a year to advertise green or use the green logo.In another more affluent area I would probably pursue the certification ,but in OkCity I don't see people here even worried about licensing.First step first.

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Joe ---International Code Council Member

Your plumbing & gas specialist proudly serving Oklahoma City OK, Moore, Warr-acres, Norman, Midwest City, Edmond, Bethany, Forest Park

CatAlii

Here in CA we've been offering low-flow plumbing fixtures, dimmers/fluorescent lighting, solar panels and recycled material tile, etc. for quite a while but more recently we've decided to pursue eco-friendly building as much as we possibly can. There are definitely some areas near us that are going for it full-force. The immediate area that we're in is lagging a bit behind the more progressive neighborhoods like Santa Monica but we hope to be part of making it the "norm" for the building industry.

We decided to focus our advertising on eco-friendly building. This is the first time we've ever advertised (in 20 years!) so it is twice as exciting for us - a first in advertising period and one of the first in our area to use the green angle. Since the building industry is one of the largest contributors to landfills and waste we feel that it is the responsible way to do business. Even if homeowners are hesitant to spend the extra $ on recycled glass countertops or greywater systems we still plan to do our part by using lumber from managed forests, recycling as much of our waste as we can, using less or non-toxic products, etc. We're hoping our customers will at least meet us halfway by considering a few alternatives like low or no-VOC paints, bamboo materials and so on. As more and more people make those types of choices the costs will start to come down.

We don't have any experience with 100% green projects yet but we're spending as much time as we can to educate ourselves. Just like with the low-flow plumbing fixtures I'm sure there will be some grumbling from consumers at first but eventually green building will just be building.

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Cathy

Michalak Construction / MCC on Facebook / MCC on Twitter / MCC on Google+

CatAlii

What organization is charging $5000/year for advertise "green"? How about advertising specific services that don't require using someone else's logo? You can advertise that you recycle your construction waste or that you offer reclaimed building materials. Or dual-flush toilets...or whatever products fit into your business.

We joined the USGBC because they developed the LEED standards which are the only national "green" standards that are documented and require independent verification. We're going to take the opportunity to learn about the LEED statndards and become accredited as a means of becoming more educated. We may or may not strive to build LEED homes but we think what we learn in the process can only help us incorporate good building practices into our business. Plus, as an engineer with a science background, I tend to like specifications, requirements and standards that are documented and able to be verified rather than vague claims about what building green really means.

We're also looking into our state program (Build It Green) but again, that is no where near $5000. If we have any extra resources or time we might check out the green educational and certification programs developed by NAHB, NARI or NKBA but for now for going to focus on learning about the standards and guidelines that have accountable requirements. And learning how we can incorporate more and more eco-friendly practices into our daily lives and our business - you don't need to pay anyone for the right to do that.

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Cathy

Michalak Construction / MCC on Facebook / MCC on Twitter / MCC on Google+

threaderman

The organization I'm referring to is Green plumbers.They have certification in 5 different categories of green plumbing.Once certified ,you cannot legally use the name or term green in ANY of your advertising with-out that 5,000 annual membership.If I could find another way to get certified as a Green Plumbing Contractor ,I certainly would.Any info. would be appreciated.

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Joe ---International Code Council Member

Your plumbing & gas specialist proudly serving Oklahoma City OK, Moore, Warr-acres, Norman, Midwest City, Edmond, Bethany, Forest Park

CatAlii

Wow - that's unbelievable. I can understand an organization only allowing you to use their name and/or logo if you have paid the membership dues but to restrict the use of the term green just doesn't seem feasible. How can they do that?

How about joining the USGBC and/or getting LEED certified? Have you looked for other green plumbing certifications? In building and remodeling there are quite a few different certifications - maybe there is something else available for plumbers? If I come across anything I'll certainly let you know.

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Cathy

Michalak Construction / MCC on Facebook / MCC on Twitter / MCC on Google+

threaderman

Thank-you.I am limited in resources in OK City compared with other areas I have worked in.Very few certifications,shows,lectures or anything else for Plumbers continuing education.I should dig a little deeper on the internet because I agree with you,they can't be the only fish in water.

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Joe ---International Code Council Member

Your plumbing & gas specialist proudly serving Oklahoma City OK, Moore, Warr-acres, Norman, Midwest City, Edmond, Bethany, Forest Park

MALCO.New.York

USGBC and LEED are a bunch of crap. They are the same entity. A Private Corporation.


http://www.usgbc.org/

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orson

Cathy,

While I would in no way discourage anyone from checking out LEED certification, if you are doing mostly remodeling you may want to invest your time in the new Regreen program that the USGBC just released to the public about 2 weeks ago.

www.regreenprogram.org

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shazamyman

thank you all very much for the info and insight thus far, it seems i am only hitting the tip of the ice berg( no pun intended )

The obvious start , which you all have pointed out, is educating my self further on the "green" approach....finding suppliers that have recycled wood /material, glass counter tops sounds like an awesome idea.

Not to sure how much people in my immediate area(Franklin county Pa.) are really interested in this, I am sure this is a venture that will demand much of my time just to prepare for.

if anyone has another suggestions, insight or experience it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

MattCoops

Kind of off topic, but don't you think ceramic tile is a "green building" material?
I say it is. Tile is natural; it's made from clay. And actually, tile has solar benefits.
My girlfriend is fighting me on this and saying it is "not recycled".
She said something about countertops made from shredded dollar bills.

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

shazamyman

yeah but arnt large diesel sucking machines used to dig the clay out of the ground, couldn't they be recycled and resold?

CatAlii

Definitely! I think Regreen is the most applicable to the remodeling industry. It's pretty tough to come up with standards and inspection requirements for green remodeling - it's a lot easy to institute requirements for ground-up building. Our state-wide program BuildItGreen (www.builditgreen.org) has remodeling requirements and checklists. Other than those two and the NARI green certification program most "green" programs are geared towards new building.

For anyone in So. California there is an Alternative Building Expo at the Santa Monica Convention Center this weekend (www.altbuildexpo.com). They have a couple seminars about the various ratings systems (LEED, GreenPoint Rated, Green Globes), various certification programs and other "green" building topics.

For anyone who is interested - LEED is the USGBC's rating system, GreenPoint Rated is BuildItGreen's rating system and Green Globes in the Green Building Initiative's rating system.

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Cathy

Michalak Construction / MCC on Facebook / MCC on Twitter / MCC on Google+

MattCoops

Clicking around the NARI site I found a decent article on tile as a green building product.

Plus, a lot of the "benefits" I explain about on our website add to the qualities of a "green" material.
And look who's number 2 in Google SERP for: benefits of tile

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more