Although I am not familiar with specific Renton Washington Green home builders, I have been researching the various aspects to this smart building trend.

    There is a list available at the King County web sites of participating Green builders, including developers, painters, carpet companies, etc, and although  I suspect many are not totally on board with the building green concept of ‘save the earth or die’ and are really on the list to attract business,- it’s a good start.

    My wife, Jan, and I hope to incorporate much of this thinking into our next home. Currently we are considering buying a home in the Fairwood community. Mostly because they have sidewalks and my kids can ride their bikes there without being hit by cars as easily – maybe I will learn to golf. Maybe pigs will fly….I mean like golf, I just don’t have the time.

    At any rate, building anything, whether it’s a home or car, without incorporating some environmental common sense is becoming more and more criminal.

    Obviously the intent behind total disregard of this philosophy is ‘Hey-I don’t care about you and your kids and their future’

    Now we have guidelines for new construction and home remodel development that are helpful. Certainly we can’t switch over to Green construction without first having an understanding of what this means.

    Built Green™ is a residential building program of the Master Builders Association developed in partnership with King and SnohomishCounties. The program provides builders, developers and consumers with easy-to-understand rating systems that quantify environmentally preferable building practices for the remodeling or construction of homes, multi-family units, and community developments. Based on the green building scores received, a home is classified as a one-, two-, three-. Four- or five-star Built Green™ project

    Im guessing our current home is about a 1/2 star efficient.

    Built Green™ -certified homes incorporate design strategies and features that offer opportunities to protect the health of families and the environment. This includes:

-  Site and water protection

-  Energy efficiency

-  Health and air quality

-  Materials efficiency

-  Environmentally responsible home ownership

Clever stuff for sure.

    Below are some basic steps we all take as homeowners to begin supporting positive change in our homes and communities. If enough people make changes, others will follow – no one likes to appear to be the local slacker. Except the guy with overgrown bushes and lawns with broken car’s all over. That guy really doesn’t care.

 

How Green Remodeling Can Help Sell Your House

1. 1.  Replace as many light bulbs as you can with CFLs (compact fluorescents). CFLs use a quarter of the electricity as regular bulbs, and lighting accounts for 20% of home energy use.                     
2. Upgrade any old or questionable appliances with new Energy Star-certified models. The EPA's blue and white label indicates models must be 10% to 50% more efficient than standard offerings.
3. Install a programmable thermostat.                               
4. Make sure cracks are tightly caulked and leaks are sealed. Just doing that can drop your annual heating bill by $100, according to Department of Energy figures. Also consider if your insulation might need beefing up.   
5. Putting on a fresh coat of the new and now-widely available low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) paints can go a long way toward attracting buyers.  It gives Realtors something to market," she says.
6. Old carpets can be a real turnoff, and can emit allergens and toxins. Exposing any hardwood floors is a good way to bring out a home's beauty and value, but if you don't have that option consider new, eco-friendly carpeting

 

jch