Completing a Green Home Renovation

Dual flush toilets, a great water saver!

If you’re thinking of renovating your home, or perhaps finishing the basement, you may have considered the idea of integrating green elements into the renovation, like double-paned windows, additional insulation, solar water heating, sustainable flooring, etc. You might not be that familiar with green home renovations, but a little reading and research will make you an expert in no time.

A great starting point in green home renovations is the Green Home Renovation Guide from the US Green Building Council. The guide begins with information on the big picture goals of green home renovations, making sure you don’t overlook the more important and less romantic details when planning your project. The guide then divides your home into each room and lays out the project scope, general design, construction strategies and more. By the time you’re done reading the Green Home Renovation Guide, you will be well-versed in green plumbing, lighting, HVAC, furniture selection, etc.

Now that you’re educated on green home renovations, the next step is finding the right resources. For parts of the project you plan on doing yourself, consider visiting local stores that emphasize green building products. Amicus Green Building Center in Kensington, Maryland is home to green products, resources and expert advice for green renovations. It’s like the green Home Depot. A store like Greater Goods on U street in DC has lots of lighting, plumbing, waste and recycling supplies with helpful staff who really understand their products. We have more green building supply stores in the ‘Businesses’ section of our site.

You’ve read about green renovations, you’ve seen the various products available for your renovation, now it’s time to find a contractor who can work with you to bring it all together. Green Built Home Renovations have done green home renovations in Chevy Chase, Prince Georges County, NE DC and more. You can reach them at 301-277-9660. Helicon Works is a green home consulting group based out of DC. In addition to traditional LEED contracting, the group also incorporates very progressive design ideas like straw-bale insulation, corn stoves, bio-fueled hot water heating and more. They can be reached at 202-332-7949.  Finally, the Klockner company does green construction and renovation in the DC-metropolitan area. Their work focuses on using renewable resources, improving the indoor environment and reducing water/energy waste. There are many examples and photos of their work on their website, they can be reached at 301-270-3033.

Photo Credit: CC-licensed by Flickr user JunkByJo