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Building Green in a Black and White World--Chapter 2

The following is an exerpt from the book Building Green in a Black and White World.
Section 1; Chapter 2; Part 3; The Effect of Building Green on the Construction Process

David Ritchey Johnston
January 1, 1900
HousingZone

The Effect of Building Green on the Construction Process

The Beginning of My Green Building Career

My construction company was hired to build a large addition for a family about fifteen years ago. At first they seemed like the perfect client. They had come from New England to Washington, D.C., and were very energy conscious. They wanted a home that would last for at least a hundred years like the old colonial they had moved from.

We discussed opening the view to the south overlooking a valley and wooded forest. Lots of sunlight and views appealed to them as long as it wouldn’t be too hot in the D.C. summer heat. Planning was going like a dream.

Once we had the exterior designed and started to move inside, they dropped a bombshell. They told us their son was allergic to everything: grass, dust, mold, pollen, perfumes, and most building materials! We must have had a look that displayed our horror at the thought of the nightmare ahead because they laughed and said, "Well, perhaps not all building materials."

I was a typical builder. I wanted finishes that would last as long as the shell. I used "Swedish" floor finishes, oil based paint, and solvent-based trim stain. We always installed fiberglass insulation as thick as we could fit it in. Wood paneling was a given in the library. To ensure that everything stayed in place, we screwed and glued the house together.

This was my first exposure to the whole concept of indoor air quality and the health impacts of building materials. I had no idea that so many of the products we used were toxic to someone who is sensitive to their living environment.

We went into an intense research mode. This was fifteen years ago, when there was little information on toxicology of building materials and there were very few products on the market that were geared toward healthy indoor air quality. To find out what the boy would react to, we had him sleep with products near his bed. We found out that particleboard was an irritant and caused him to dive onto his respirator. We were clueless about why it was a problem, but we ruled it out along with the walnut paneling and the MDF trim. We discovered that oil-based paint, latex paint, and wood finishes were also not acceptable. It took us a long time to find a paint company that made "organic" paint that we could use.

One product at a time we were able to find substitutes that he could live with. The project went way over budget due to the specialties we had to incorporate, and our profit margin was reduced because it took so long to find the products. We figured that you pay for your education one way or another and felt like we had learned a lot in the process.

Today there are resources that make the whole process much easier. Manufacturers of almost any product type imaginable have developed green substitutes, many of which cost about the same as conventional products.(See Chapter 3.) The design community has developed good methodologies and sources for designing green buildings.

Green Building Step-by-Step

Green buildings reduce the impact of the built environment on the ecosystem and the health of occupants through careful design, specification, construction, operation, and reuse or deconstruction at the end of a building’s useful life.

Building green calls for new considerations in each step of the design and construction process. The rest of this chapter explores conventional approaches and a sampling of green alternatives that address the environmental issues raised by common construction approaches.

Each of the following sections provides perspectives and offers considerations on how to incorporate green in your design and construction process.

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