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“Don’t try to do it all in one project!” said the moderator in one of my Greenbuild seminars last fall. This is the undercurrent of much of our dialogue in the office, in conversations with Mogavero Notestine (our architects), and with our contractor.

We are currently in the second round of construction cost estimating for our B St project trying to define where we will be able to spend more and where we will be confined to less. We place high standards on ourselves and our projects, so it becomes difficult to know how to navigate the inevitable trade-offs, compromise, concessions, demands required to bring a project from vision to reality.

This phase is really where our triple-bottom line philosophy gets a lot of exercise. In one sense, it would be easier to do these exercises without the profit mandate. However, to fulfill our mission for social change, it is important for us to demonstrate the economic viability of our eco-urban principles. Not to mention the fact that the banks that provide our construction loans like to see projects with a profit…

So I have been going round and round… trying to find out which “sustainable” features we can maximize and which ones we’ll have to wait to incorporate in other projects and each choice has a price tag: do we use vinyl windows, aluminum or fiberglass?; high efficiency air conditioning alone or high efficiency air conditioning with a night ventilation system (ie. higher efficiency) that estimates at $3,000 extra in labor and materials? Then there’s the question of where to put the air conditioning compressors–on the ground in the back yard like everyone else or up on the roof, removing the noise from the yards and making the system more efficient by reducing the distance between the compressor and furnace (but again at an additional cost of $1500 more per unit minimum). Insulation - do we use typical fiberglass batts at $.40/SF, Recycled cellulose at $1.75/SF or Soy foam at $2.45/SF? As you can see, these items have a huge variance in pricing as they do in quality also. In this particular case, we will compromise and use recycled cellulose because energy efficiency is a primary concern to us.

Here’s a quick run-down on some of the “green” features we’ve already decided will be a part of B Street West…

The (Hidden) Mechanics and Construction: durability, energy efficiency and conservation.
Post-tension concrete slab foundations which perform far better than a conventional slab over time. We figure one of the most fundamental characteristics of green building should be endurance; knowing how much energy and resource consumption goes into building a home motivates us to ensure that the house will last a long, long time.

“White roofs” that deflect sunlight and decrease the need for air conditioning. We’ve currently specified a rubber roof which is higher quality than a PVC roof that can get brittle with time.

Tankless water heaters which will use far less energy than a conventional water heater.

Strategically placed Solatube skylights for natural lighting in the core of the houses reducing the need for artificial lighting and the house’s energy load.

Advanced framing techniques with two-foot stud and floor joist spacing which can increase energy efficiency by replacing wood studs with insulation. This also reduces the lumber used in each house.

Likewise, we will be using a hybrid steel and wood floor joist called a “Spacejoist”, comprised of recycled steel and very little wood content, these joists allow the air conditioning ducts to be run through the floors along with piping. This negates the need for soffits (drop ceiling framing) to be framed to house these items, again saving lumber.

All of the items above add value to the houses and reflect our eco-principles; however, they aren’t as visible as some of the “green” finishes, they’re not visible, that some people may not realize is there.

Green Finishes: Healthy Homes, Healthy Planet
A sustainable approach to building not only looks at issues of conservation, and energy-efficiency, it also delves into the issues of toxicity and health: what’s toxic for the earth is toxic for humans, and the air quality in new homes is often surprisingly poor due to toxic off-gassing.

The three areas most responsible for toxicity in a home are paint, millwork (due to formaldehyde), and floor coverings. We already know that we’re going to use no VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paint on the interiors. Couple this with the non-formaldehyde/urea binders we’ll be doing for the millwork and cabinets and the interior air quality is further improved.

Floor coverings are a big consideration we’re currently deliberating. They represent one of the largest line items in the interior budget and can be one of the primary sources of off-gassing. Should we use cork, bamboo, concrete, recycled carpet, sustainable hardwoods, marmoleum, natural tile, or vinyl and standard carpet? This question is really rhetorical in nature but the decision can influence the cost as much as $10 per square foot.

Additionally, we’re exploring other finish options for the kitchen and bath areas, each with their own “green” contribution and subsequent price tag.

OK. I’ll stop here before I start to sound too much like a cost-benefit analysis geek. I guess I am just trying to show what we are grappling with in trying to balance affordability with the most well-built, sustainable, energy efficient, low carbon product we can produce. Each decision impacts other decisions: when you spend more on HVAC, you–by necessity–must spend less on cabinets or raise the sales price.

And, while the decisions can certainly get dizzying, its also what most excites me about what we’re doing. And, with each project, we’ll get better and better at doing it.

Micah