Business is Great in Green Home Building and Remodeling

December 2009: Signed design contract for green design/build/remodel, 40-year-old suburban home; $90,000
Profile: Energy auditEnergy audit that also includes inspections and tests to assess moisture flow, combustion safety, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and durability., kitchen remodel, remedial HVAC(Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). Collectively, the mechanical systems that heat, ventilate, and cool a building. and insulation work
Status: Nearing completion as an ANSIAmerican National Standards Institute. National nonprofit membership organization that coordinates development of national consensus standards. Accreditation by ANSI signifies that the procedures used meet the Institute’s essential requirements for openness, balance, consensus, and due process. Bronze remodel; Performance Path

January 2010: Signed construction contract for a LEEDLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED for Homes is the residential green building program from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). While this program is primarily designed for and applicable to new home projects, major gut rehabs can qualify. home (Silver);
$601,000
Profile: 3,100 sq. ft., Energy StarLabeling system sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy for labeling the most energy-efficient products on the market; applies to a wide range of products, from computers and office equipment to refrigerators and air conditioners. everything, wired for electric car and PVPhotovoltaics. Generation of electricity directly from sunlight. A photovoltaic (PV) cell has no moving parts; electrons are energized by sunlight and result in current flow., spray foam and cellulose, standing-seam roof, VOCVolatile organic compound. An organic compound that evaporates readily into the atmosphere; as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, VOCs are organic compounds that volatize and then become involved in photochemical smog production.-free paints, PureBond cabinets, bamboo flooring
Status: Groundbreaking, July 2010

February 2010: Signed construction contract for major residential fire project; $240,000
Profile: Whole house gut, 60-year-old suburban home
Status: Bronze-level ANSI projected after August completion; Performance Path

March 2010: Completed remodeling of the “House That Love Built”; $440,000
Profile: Whole house gut, deep energy retrofit
Status: 1st Gold-level ANSI remodel in Texas; Prescriptive Path

May 2010: Completed design/build remodel of historic 1930s-era home; $120,000
Profile: Energy audit, master suite and laundry addition, kitchen remodel, HVAC, window and insulation replacement
Status: Silver-level ANSI remodel certification pending; Performance Path

June 2010: Signed design agreement for whole house remodel, 40-year-old suburban home; $160,000–$200,000
Profile: Kitchen, two bathroom remodels, master suite addition, insulation and window replacement
Status: Expected start date, August 2010; Bronze-level Performance Path projected

June 2010: Signed professional services agreement for LEED Silver custom home
$550,000
Profile: 2,800 sq. ft., butterfly roof, very contemporary, Austin limestone
Status: Working through budget with goal of signing construction contract in July 2010

Bottom Line: There is green in green! I know you read about it every day, hear it at industry trade shows, see it online and watch it on TV, but you still wonder: When will it reach my hometown? When will I get a piece of that action? Keep the faith. That’s my 6th Commandment. Keep the faith!

Which means, when it arrives at your door, you need to be ready or you won’t hear the knock. You had better already have your green designations from the NAHBNational Association of Home Builders, which awards a Model Green Home Certification. or the USGBCUnited States Green Building Council (USGBC). Organization devoted to promoting and certifying green buildings. USGBC created the LEED rating systems.. You have to understand basic building science in your climate zone. You should be able to recognize the difference between a sales prospect that hugs trees and one whose sole focus is financial payback. You should know that premium green expertise means you mark your costs up, not down.

Since green building and remodeling are here to stay, you could argue there is plenty of time to figure it all out. But I’m here to argue, if you haven’t already signed projects similar in scope within the time-frame I listed above, you had better start rethinking your strategy, because the knocking on your door has already started. Green demand is here, and it’s here now! Keep the faith—these numbers are just around the corner for you, too.