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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-- Design Process

David Ritchey Johnston
January 1, 1900
HousingZone

-------Design Process--------

The greatest green changes for the lowest cost are made early, during the design process. By incorporating all the relevant design professionals into the process and making green substitutions during the design phase, you can save money in some areas and apply it to other features. Rotating the plan to the south in the example I just cited is an example of saving operating costs.

Thinking through the whole system during the design process can reduce first costs. For example, in northern climates, shallow frost-protected foundations can save money from the start. Even in deep frost zones with footers typically at 48", shallow foundations at 20" depth save on excavation, forming, and concrete costs. This can save as much as two to three thousand dollars. Designs that include finished basements can use permanent rigid foam forms to accomplish two things: savings on interior finish costs and better insulated basements.

You can save money in framing as well. By using optimum value engineering (OVE) framing, material costs can be reduced by as much as 15 percent while providing a better insulated home. When you design green, from both construction costs and sales potential, you can fuel the marketing fires. And when you can prove lower utility bills through quality construction, you win both ways. (See Chapter 4 for more details.)

----Trade Contractors and the Construction Process-----

The design process is when the greatest impacts for the lowest cost can be made.

Trade contractors can make or break a project, but it can be difficult to find framing crews that are willing to change the way they build. The industry, however, is changing all the time, and finding progressive trade contractors or training existing ones on how to build with new materials in new ways produces long-term benefits.

They say the devil is in the details, and this is ever so true with construction. For example, poor framing compromises homeowners’ comfort and energy efficiency by creating opportunities for drafts. The plain truth is that all the best plans for a green home are dependent on your trade contractors being part of the program. (See Chapter 4.)

Missing a Detail

All the best plans for a green home are entirely dependent on the subs being a part of the program.

I was working on a house for a chemically sensitive client. The architect was committed to creating a home that was as free as possible of solvent-based products because the client was particularly sensitive to petrochemical odors.

Before the project began, I conducted a training session for the builder’s staff, trade contractors, and field personnel. It was the first time all the groups had been in the same room. They enjoyed meeting each other and discussing other jobs they had worked on. We found out later that this meeting facilitated communication between them. The training also made them feel that this job was important and that they had a significant role to play. The quality of their work improved because of the added attention they gave to the project. They also put their best workers on the job so they could learn some of the new processes. These trade contractors got a marketing niche that resulted in new business for them.

House The down side was that the project took longer than projected, and the client started putting pressure on the builder to finish. In an effort to speed up the process, the superintendent brought in a new trim crew that was willing to work over the weekend. None of us knew he was doing this. We found out on Monday morning that a new crew had been working all weekend. To our chagrin, however, they had used conventional construction adhesive for all the trim. The house reeked of chemicals. Occupancy was pushed back by almost two months waiting for the chemical smell to evaporate.

The moral of the story is that even though we tried to communicate effectively with all the trade contractors, one change affected the end result of the whole project.

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