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Front Porch/Entryway
Green home remodeling can save you money, make your home healthier, add beauty and comfort, increase your home’s value, and help protect the environment.
- Before you start planning your remodel, evaluate whether it’s time to move to a new house. If you decide to buy a new home, look for Built Green, ENERGY STAR and LEED for Homes designations in the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
- If you decide to remodel your home, consider certifying the project with Built Green’s Remodel Certification. The remodel checklist will not only provide you with an inventory of helpful eco-friendly strategies to use in your project, the certification will also give you the ability to list your home as an environmentally certified home should you ever decide to sell it.
- Recent studies based on real sales data have shown that on average, environmentally certified homes carry between 4.8% and 28% more sale value than their non-certified counterparts, and tend to sell faster.
- Plan early to make your home remodel “green” so you can take advantage of opportunities that might be missed with a more conventional approach.
- Choose a designer or contractor with green building experience, such as through member lists of local green building organizations.
- Expand your definition of cost. Higher initial cost may actually result in a better deal in the long run. For example, efficient plumbing fixtures result in lower monthly utility bills and durable materials require less frequent replacement. Similarly, health costs resulting from poor indoor air quality are not reflected in the price of less expensive, off-gassing materials.
- Get ideas from green building programs, such as Built Green’s checklists for new home construction, multifamily buildings, neighborhood developments, and remodeling projects.
- Determine the scope of your project before you start and make it a priority to stick to your plan.
- Re-use existing walls, cabinetry, plumbing and electrical layouts when possible to save money.
- Hire a contractor who will reduce waste through salvage and reuse, and maximize recycling.
- Make sure your contractor will contain hazards generated during remodeling, such as lead paint, and properly handle construction materials such as adhesives and finishes.
- Ensure subcontractors are also involved in plans for waste reduction, recycling, and reuse, as well as for a healthy jobsite, in that they use low-toxic building materials, avoid smoking inside, and prevent moisture accumulation.
Energy saving tip!
The first step toward increasing your home’s energy efficiency and comfort is to conduct a whole house energy audit. Tour your home with the Do-it-Yourself Home Energy Audit Guide to determine which upgrades will save you the most energy and money over time.
Entryway
- A large amount of indoor air pollutants are likely tracked in on the bottom of shoes.
- Provide shoe racks and washable doormats in your entryway
- Avoid pollutants by leaving shoes at the door and wearing slippers or "indoor shoes" in the home
- Save energy by properly sealing your home against air leaks under sill plates, around windows, doors, framing members, and electric, plumbing and mechanical penetrations.
Siding
- Wood siding certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the favorite choice of the EcoCool Remodel Tool for its durability, recyclability and biodegradability.
- Use recycled wood when available like cedar, redwood, douglas fir and cypress
- Cedar siding is known for its grain and its rot resistance and is an indigenous species to the Pacific Northwest. Cedar takes a stain well and reveals a rich character. It is commonly used in shakes and shingles because it is dimensionally stable, resists swelling, and has less cupping and splitting
- Fiber cement board is a composite material made of sand, cement and wood fibers. It does not have the ability today to be recycled but does contain high percentages of recycled content depending on brand. It is favorable as a low-maintenance product and holds up well in the Pacific Northwest climate and with the salty air of coastal areas. It can be painted prior to installation reducing the efforts that painting large walls require.
- Aluminum siding can have a high recycled-content and is recyclable. Although aluminum has a high embodied energy initially, it drops considerably when recycled.
- Engineered wood is viable for long-term use and is a low maintenance product that can be found with recycled content. It is generally treated to give it better protection against the elements and bugs.
- Stucco is a cement mixture applied to wooden walls or masonry. When used for siding, it lends itself well to breathable wall systems.
- Avoid vinyl siding. Vinyl raises concerns for environmental and human health, especially during manufacture and disposal, and does not biodegrade.
Additional resources
Green building certification
- Built Green Checklists
Outline the requirements for different levels of Built Green certification
- LEED for Homes
Offers remodeling guidelines, pricing information, and checklists for this USGBC rating system
General green building material suppliers and consumer Info
- Better Business Bureau
A resource that helps people choose the most trustworthy businesses to take on any home remodeling project
- Building Green's Top 10 Green Building Products for 2007
Provides information on some of the top–rated green building products from the past year
- Ecohaus
A local green building product retailer that sells and offers detailed specifications on many green building products
- Forest Stewardship Council
An assembly of several forest stakeholders that certify and set standards for sustainably–harvested wood
- King County Solid Waste Division's GreenTools program
Offers technical and financial assistance and other resources for both residential and commercial green building stakeholders in King County
- Northwest EcoBuilding Guild
Offers expert information on sustainable building practices from builders, green building product manufactures, suppliers, and more
- Second Use Building Materials
A local company that picks up unwanted building material from homes and businesses, and sells it to the public at greatly reduced prices
- The REstore
A local company that takes in deconstruction waste material from your remodeling and construction projects, and sells that material to the public at greatly reduced prices
Energy
Siding
Other
Note: links to external sites include educational resources and businesses that are partners of existing or former King County Solid Waste Division environmental programs. If your business offers environmentally friendly home remodeling products or services, and you would like to be listed as a resource in the Eco-Cool Remodel Tool, please contact the EcoConsumer program online.
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