Green Remodeling

by Joel Barkman

As National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) volunteers and staff prepare for the National Green Building Conference & Expo being held next month, the green building industry finds itself at a crossroads.

On the one hand, interest in third-party green certification programs for homes continues to climb, with nearly 2,200 projects certified to the National Green Building Standard as of last week, according to the NAHB Research Center, which administers the verification and certification program. My team and I have certified multiple projects during the past several years and will certify three more this year.

On the other hand, the housing industry is still struggling with appraisal issues, even in our area which is seeing a quicker recovery than harder hit areas of the country. Those issues are further compounded in markets where builders are building green. Many banks and appraisal officers don't know how to accurately valuate green construction or say there aren't enough comparables to reflect a green home's potentially higher value.

The slow economy still has people skittish about home buying and most are not willing to pay a premium for green features unless there is a practical payback period. Adding insulation and more efficient equipment and appliances makes sense because these items have the potential to save money on utility bills.

Many homeowners feel trapped, but I don't necessarily see it that way. In a re-sale market that is tough on homeowners who would like to sell in order to by a new energy efficient home, there is hope in the remodeling and renovation industry

- particularly for older homes that need significant retrofitting to make them more energy-efficient.

NAHB has been training its builder members for the past several years in order to prepare the industry for the push toward more quality built homes. "The biggest difference that we can make towards recycling and energy conservation is by fixing the tremendous stockpile of 'un-green' homes," said one member who's Habitat for Humanity project was the first ever to be certified to the National Green Building Standard.

Like my team, he also is changing out windows, installing new equipment and replacing roofs - first adding a substantial layer of insulation. "Of course, even as we do this, we always make sure the client knows we can build them a new green home when they are ready, too," he said.

The general consensus among NAHB is as the industry comes back, the focus is going to be on remodeling and revitalization and doing infill development - places where the infrastructure already exists, so you don't have that additional capital expense.

It's a winning situation for the homeowner, builder, and the local government as communities are interested in seeing their housing stock improve, but builders need to be educators as well.

"Green building creates value in so many ways," said Doug Calvert, a builder from Gainesville, Ga., and chair of the National Green Building Conference & Expo Working Group. "This year's conference will help housing industry professionals explain that value to home buyers, policy makers, appraisers, financiers and others whose decisions will shape the market."

NAHB statistics suggest that most of the nation's 125 million homes were built before today's high efficiency materials, appliances and construction techniques were routinely incorporated into new homes.

Eventually most of these owners will want to upgrade the materials, systems and appliances in their homes. When they do, they will expect the remodeler they hire to be knowledgeable about insulation and energy conservation, high efficiency windows and doors, high efficiency appliances, reclaimed materials and water saving plumbing fixtures.

Our existing homes do not have to represent a "trap" from which we need to escape. Our communities are worth more to us than that. And we do not necessarily need government funding to be able to afford "upgrades" that my clients have always enjoyed as "standards" - even long before incentive programs were introduced.

With energy costs on the rise and homeowners becoming increasingly aware of the need to conserve resources (in order to conserve money), green remodeling can provide business opportunities for our local building industry ranging from insulation upgrades to whole-house remodeling projects.

So if selling your home is not the answer, then consider "greening" your existing home. Perhaps it's the neighborly thing to do.

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