Green Rehab and Green Drinks

by Joel Barkman

A rehabilitated 55-year-old home that has been given a new, green lease on life by Builders of Hope - a non-profit developer in Raleigh, N.C. - is the first stop on this year's annual Green Home and Technology Tour being held during the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) National Green Building Conference.

Builders of Hope takes donated or abandoned homes and either renovates them in place or moves them to a new neighborhood to be rehabilitated and rebuilt, reusing salvaged materials from the original home where possible and adding new features to make them energy- and water-efficient and improve their indoor environmental quality.

The nonprofit's model "is unique," said Darryl Colwell, vice president of construction services for Builders of Hope. "We take a donated home, reuse the structure and put it back to work."

In addition, Builders of Hope uses the site development and construction process as a job-training program for unemployed workers and at-risk youths, partnering with rescue missions, ex-offender re-entry programs and other social service providers. Not just putting homes back to work, but people and communities as well.

Much like a project that my team and I are poised to start in Fairfax Station, the tour home was stripped down to the studs before getting new plumbing, soy-foam insulation, low-E windows, fiber-cement siding, Energy Star-rated appliances, low-VOC paints, formaldehyde-free cabinetry and other features that make it efficient, durable and sustainable.

As a member of NAHB and a sponsor of the NAHB Green Building Program I am proud to be putting homes back to work in our own area. During the past several years my team and I have worked on many green rehabilitation projects as well as numerous and award winning green new homes.

Our most recent green rehab project will include a floor plan that is updated to reflect today's lifestyles. The kitchen is now open to the family room, and a bedroom with a full bath is being added to the first floor so that the homeowners can age-in-place. The home will also feature properly sized roof overhangs and new large porches for outdoor socializing and to help with passive-solar heating and cooling.

Hardwoods in the original house are being repaired or reused instead of being discarded. Where they couldn't be reused, we are using new hardwoods certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world's forests.

One of the goals of the NAHB Green Building Program is to recycle and to reuse. If rehabilitating the home eliminates the need for some of its interior doors or other items, they can be donated to Habitat for Humanity's ReStore or given away to be used elsewhere. Old aluminum window frames and drywall are recycled rather than sent to the landfill.

Green building is a natural fit for my clients because a durable, more efficient home, if operated and maintained properly, has significantly lower utility bills than old, drafty homes. Practical green solutions for new and existing homes can be affordable to purchase, but also affordable to live in.

The rehabilitated home will include amenities that can help improve indoor environmental quality such as ceiling fans; and paints, stains, varnishes and caulks that are free of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and potentially dangerous fumes; floor tile and solid natural stone countertops that mitigate exposure to chemical off-gassing and allergens; and every home should have a heavy duty filter installed into your home's duct system. I use as a standard media filters that are up to 100 times more efficient than a typical one-inch filter

Many of my clients are buying green homes and products for the first time. We talk about the more efficient light bulbs and why they will save money in the long term, and we talk about how they can use all the products in their home. Homeowner education is the final and perhaps most important component of the National Green Building Program - a crucial piece that is absent from other more commercially driven green building programs.

There are many different approaches to green building - in site design and development, in sourcing materials and in methods for energy and water efficiency. Throw in a client's geography and budget and everything can change. The NAHB Green Building Program takes a whole-house approach and emphasizes what you need to do from start to finish - whether you're remodeling a home or building from the ground up.

If green is puzzling to you, let NAHB help make the pieces fit - just "Ask a Builder."

And to continue the discussion on green join me and clients Jeff and Laura Louden as they welcome you to their farm on Big Cobbler Mountain in Delaplane. A "New Farm with an Old History," their home, farm and vineyard called Cobbler Mountain Cellars is a work in progress. Hear the story about a farm saved for the next generation as the Warrenton Chapter of Green Drinks convenes this Thursday from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

My team Designer and Certified Green Professional, Anthony Palladino and I will be discussing the many green features of the Louden home that was completed last summer.

For information and directions visit www.greendrinks.org/VA/Warrenton and as always e-mail your questions or comments to joel@goldenrulebuilders.com or write to "Ask a Builder" at P.O. box 294, Catlett, VA 20119.

Barkman is past president of the Fauquier Chapter of The Northern Virginia Building Industry Association.

Read Joel's column weekly in the