SYNRGYdesign

As new construction seems to be slowing down due to the economy, remodeling has slowed also but not as much.  Most people are looking to remodeling as an option since selling a house now a days isn’t the best thing to do if you can still afford to stay in your home.  As people look to remodeling, some questions of being able to “go green” come to mind.  Many people may think that remodeling limits how and where you can implement “green” ideas.  But as an architect, I think remodeling is a great way to implement “green” ideas that weren’t originally done when the house was designed.  Now not many “tract” homes lend itself to being able to do some things that would have been great if they were done when the house was built.  One problem many people encounter is the fact that there house doesn’t have insulation in the walls.  If you have an older home, you probably have a house that doesn’t have insulation in the walls.  Now unless you plan on tearing out the dry wall in all your rooms, you don’t have much choice but to leave it alone.  Many people have added insulation to their attic space which helps.  One could add rigid insulation to the outside and re-stucco the house, thereby adding insulation and thickness to the house.  But this would require you changing your windows at the same time as well.  Now if you are only planning to do a “small” remodel - maybe not add any square footage to your house but just want to update it, here’s a few things you might want to look into.

1. Flooring - bamboo flooring has gotten really big the last few year.  It is renewable because of it’s fast growth and it’s very hardy.  We used it in our old house and loved it.  Another alternative to look into is cork flooring.  One thing I really like is being able to re-use other things for a new purpose.  Many people are now looking into re-using old railroad ties that are being converted into hardwood flooring. I think anything that will keep a material out of the landfill and given a new life is worth it.

2. Appliances - many people want to change out their appliances because they’ve gotten old.  The good thing about that is that many of the new appliances are more energy efficient.  If you spend a little time you will discover that even just meeting the new energy efficient codes is not enough.  Some manufacturers go even a step further.  You can get rebates for some of your appliances.  Southern California Edison will even pay you $50 to get your old working refrigerator out of your house.  

3. Landscaping - zero landscaping has gotten some notice lately especially here in Southern California.  I think the more appropriate term should be native landscaping.  Southern California is a desert by nature.  The landscaping of the housing around here should be that of a desert.  It would save on watering costs, electricity, and on man power.  Imagine how much time you could save if you didn’t have to mow the lawn every other weekend?  Planting native plants to your area will not only help the local environment, but it will also bring back some of the natural beauty of the landscape that has been lost from imported planting.

These are just a few things to start looking into when you start thinking about remodeling.  Of course there are many other things you can do even in a “small” remodeling job that will help you “go green”.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS