What Type of Eco-Home Is Best For You?
(Page 4 of 5)
July/August 2008
By Carol Venolia
1. What do you love to see and feel around you? What materials, forms, colors and textures make you feel really good?
2. What is your budget?
3. What skills do you bring to the project, and how much do you want to be involved in construction?
4. How much maintenance are you willing to do?
5. Do you have any health challenges that might influence your choices?
6. Where do you work? Increasing your commute may offset the benefits of building a new eco-home.
7. How much house do you need? Good design can make a space-efficient house live much larger than its physical footprint.
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WHERE ARE YOU?
Context is everything. Get familiar with the area where you want to build.
1. What kind of climate are you in?
2. What materials are available in your region? Instead of transporting materials to your site from long distances, use local materials that reflect the culture.
3. Does the local building code enforcement allow the materials and methods you prefer?
4. Does anyone in your area know how to build with your favorite materials? If not, it’s possible for you or your builder to attend workshops, but the learning curve may be steep.
5. What is your site like? Consider slope; sun and shade; vegetation; wind; rainfall and drainage; noise; views; privacy; and the local culture.
SHOULD YOU REMODEL OR BUILD NEW?
For many years, when people thought “eco-home,” they automatically thought “new custom home.” However, staying right where you are and bringing the home you’ve got into greater harmony with nature may be even more earth-friendly. Consider:
■ You aren’t destroying unbuilt land. The country eco-homestead comes with a hidden price tag: topsoil torn up and compacted; drainage patterns disturbed; plant and animal communities uprooted; materials and energy consumed in construction; new roads, wells and septic systems—and greenhouse gas emissions from the driving required to get to jobs and stores.
■ You’re working with an existing building. It usually takes fewer resources to make your existing home more eco-friendly than it takes to start from scratch. A lot of energy and materials have already been invested in the house you’re in; capitalize on that.
■ You can save money. Chances are, you’ll spend less on a remodeling job than you would on a new custom home. And you can modify your home to save money you currently spend on utilities. Furthermore, you can phase your project and pay cash as you go, avoiding the interest on a home-improvement loan.
■ You’re probably in an established neighborhood. You are already part of a community, perhaps even with schools, recreation, stores and services nearby.
■ You might start a neighborhood revitalization. Investing energy and money into your home improves your neighborhood and may inspire your neighbors to do the same.
■ The infrastructure is already in place. The roads, driveway, water and power are already there. The civic investment in generating and distributing power and treating water and waste has already been made; you don’t need to tear up the landscape or your budget to create them.
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