Bringing “Green” Down To Earth
It’s easy to see how roof-mounted wind turbines and solar panels help reduce a home’s environmental impact…
An elaborate geothermal heating and cooling system, while less visible, makes its “green” case just as eloquently once you’ve had it pointed out to you…
But what about low-impact, environmentally sound building for the rest of us, who aren’t ready or able to make these kinds of investments in order to keep it green?
Here are ten ways we at McBride Housewrights are working to connect our best green intentions with the daily reality of repair, remodeling and restoration in vintage homes, working with real-world budgets:
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Build Efficiently: we design and select materials for projects that will add energy efficiency: windows, doors and insulation are among the more visible examples, and construction details like insulated exterior corner framing are the kind of small components that add up to a more efficient building envelope.
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Build to Last: in the quest for cost savings, it can be tempting to forsake the 100-year view of a building project. We work on older homes that have steadfastly—even gracefully—borne the rigors of time. Our goal is to ensure that our contributions to these homes will prove just as lasting and durable as the original structure.
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No Plastic Bags: We use non-disposable bags to haul garbage, debris, etc. from our work areas, zero “contractor bags” are consumed and sent to the landfill. When purchasing small materials, we bring our own canvas bags along, just like you do when you go to market.
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Limit unnecessary driving: whenever possible, we use one truck per job, and frequently travel to meetings, site visits, etc. by bicycle or CTA.
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Use Biofuel: our primary work truck runs on the highest available blend of biodiesel we can find; our goal is to achieve a 100% Biodiesel fuel for summer use, and at least 30% Biodiesel in winter. Engine idling is limited whenever possible.
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Reduce waste: since the advent of cheaper building materials and faster construction in post-WWII years, the industry has grown used to a shocking amount of waste production. We strive to reduce waste at every stage of construction, and reuse materials whenever possible. Resharpening blades, and repairing even the lowliest broken tools are other ways we try to send less waste to the landfill.
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Choose green materials: we select materials that will have the lowest impact on the environment, while still performing as well or better than the industry standard. Examples can be as romantic as urban forested hardwood lumber from the Chicagoland area, or as prosaic as shims made of compressed sawdust and resins, instead of Red Cedar.
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Recycle: anything we remove from a project—glass, metal, wood, or plastic—is evaluated and sorted for possible recycling. Currently, the harsh truth is that this only allows about a 50% rate of recycling…though the infrastructure for used building material recycling is still in its infancy, we look forward to a time when little or none of the debris and waste produced on a jobsite need be thrown away.
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Use Computers: we are constantly refining our administrative systems to rely less and less on paper, more on computers and handheld electronics; slowly we are encouraging our suppliers and fellow contractors to rely less on the ubiquitous fax machine…
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Ask Why: from design to execution, construction presents a series of problems to solve. We enjoy problem solving—and every time we face one, we ask ourselves, “why is it always done this way”? Very often the answer is, “because it works”, and that’s fine. But when the answer is, “because it’s easier”, or “there’s another way?” we try to delve deeper. Many of our industry’s bad habits are kept in place by an unwillingness to find new solutions.
Please join us in trying to reduce the environmental impact of every project you undertake in your home, no matter how small. We can’t all have a hydrogen fuel cell in the basement—but we can all ask more of ourselves, and our builders, when it comes to keeping it green.
