Business Advisor

There is no greater peril to a green builder/remodeler (or any builder/remodeler, for that matter) than a client who insists on having you do something outside your comfort zone. Clients ask us to do some crazy and some not-so-crazy things for any number of reasons, but trust me: As often as not, these requests are trains at the end of the tunnel, not light!

In her book Loyalty is Love, internationally acclaimed speaker and business trainer Beverly Koehn explains that home builders are in the retail business and should ensure that every single contact with home buyers, from the very first interaction, is memorable.

With consumers being increasingly active on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, home builders should pay attention to the first contact and “user experience” that potential home buyers will have with their company. In this era, that first contact is usually online.

My advice to those involved with residential construction: if you are not sincere in your efforts to be a green builder/remodeler/supplier/architect, don't try to be something you're not. Quit fooling around, get out of the way, and do something you believe in. Otherwise, it will not be long before you are uncovered for what you are.

Everyone wants to go green

If you think I look silly in the adjacent photo, I am here to warn you that thermographic imagery will make us all look silly if we do not take stock of the power it holds in the hands of homeowners. In the next two to three years, it will change the way we all look—and the way our houses are built—more than ANY other technology to hit our industry since power tools.

Fast-forward another 10, 20, 50 years to the state of green building, and the average builder will be using as many green building design techniques, construction methodologies, products, and materials as the most cutting edge green builders are using today. In short, a massive shift is under way whereby today’s standard construction techniques are fast becoming obsolete. And I mean fast!

The importance of recreation is probably one of the larger parts of my father’s legacy, which he has passed on to us kids over the years. He has always put great value on recreation. He believes that recreation should be thought of as “re-creation.” If you do not practice “re-creation,” he warns, then you will only achieve “wreck-reation.”

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

So, did you hear the story about two rabbits from Arlo Guthrie? I didn’t think so. Well, in 1976 at the Temple Music Festival in Ambler, Pa., Arlo Guthrie was interviewed by Peter Stone Brown. Peter was asking Arlo how it felt to be touring with Pete Seeger, singing and protesting the issues of their day. He was kind of asking Arlo if anybody was listening to him and Pete. And Arlo responded by saying his thoughts and ideas weren’t new; that they had, in fact, been thought by people before him. He explained, “This is a history of good guys at work,” and he was glad to be part of it.

As you know I recently returned from speaking to over 400 sales professionals at two different companies. The first company is a multi-state regional retailer of building products. The second company is a national green products manufacturer/installer. Both groups sold directly to builders/remodelers and both groups wanted to learn more about green building for themselves and also what resources they could share with their builders who wanted to become greener.

I recently returned from speaking to over 400 sales people at two different sales conventions for two very different, yet very well-known companies. The first company is a multi-state regional retailer of building products. The second is a national green products manufacturer/installer. In both cases I was there to give my perspective on the green marketplace from a custom builder-custom remodeler’s point of view. It was my goal to show them just how different today’s green builder looks from the typical builder of the last generation.