Eco-Friendly Remodeling (Part 1): Material Selection

Your customers have a lot of questions. They’re interested in “greening” their remodeling project, but they’re not sure exactly what that entails. It’s your job to answer their questions, make suggestions, determine what’s important to them and make sure you deliver.

But with all the different “green” products and methods circulating around, answering these questions is not as easy as it sounds.

That’s because your customers—not to mention your suppliers and manufacturers—may each define green a little differently. For one person, it’s all about saving the earth; for another, it’s about saving money on energy bills by increasing efficiency. So the priority for some is improving air quality and removing toxins from the home by using no-VOC paints; for others, it’s making sure building materials are natural or recyclable, such as bamboo flooring. As the contractor, you’ll have to know which products are green, affordable and effective—as well as which products and methods are right for each customer.

The good news
With the popularity of green products rising, going green is now much easier and more cost effective.

“Some contractors are still shying from green products because of this perception that those products are more costly. But we’re seeing that go away,” says Marilyn Black, founder of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, which certifies materials according to their effect on indoor air quality. Black says the premiums on green product prices have dropped to only 2 percent to 3 percent over traditional equivalents.

The quality has come into line, too. The early formulations for many green products weren’t polished, says Black, which hurt the image of green materials among contractors. But as those products have been improved and refined, and alternatives brought to market, the performance has improved.

“The feedback we’re getting is very positive, and the performance is quite good,” she says. “Contractors shouldn’t be leery of choosing and using green products.”

But which green materials should you use? Sometimes a product that’s green by one definition is, by another, worse than the product it’s replacing. Compact fluorescent light bulbs, for example, are much more energy efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs. But they are also difficult to recycle and contain mercury, posing a potential health risk at home.

Where to look
Certifications from organizations like GREENGUARD, which evaluates products based on lifecycle issues from material extraction to recycling, can help you learn about specific materials and also determine which criteria to use in your own evaluations.

Often the greenness of a material isn’t tied to one specific product, but rather to a class of product. ACQ-treated lumber, for example, is more eco-friendly than CCA-treated lumber. PEX plumbing is much healthier than PVC. And it’s not just the consumers who should have health concerns about those products—contractors are often the people most exposed to a dangerous product. PVC, for instance, is most toxic when it’s cut.  

“These decisions can seem easy to the person who specs the materials, because they just take the product that’s cheapest and performs to standard. But for the person handling the product, cutting it, installing it, it’s pretty difficult to justify some of the materials being used,” says Howie Fendley, senior scientist for William McDonough + Partners Architecture and Community Design—based in the Charlottesville, Virginia

Your customers want you to make their homes greener, and it’s your job to determine what they need and explain how you can help.

Check back next month for "Eco-Friendly Remodeling (Part 2): Materials Installation."