Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Certified Green Home Building




Certified Green Home Building

Home construction today has changed a great deal from where it was just 10 years ago. Today there is a growing emphasis on the environment and contractors are now being required to become green builders and follow a set of guidelines that help our environment and help to make the planet a bit better for the generations to come. It is easy to say that your contractor is a green contractor but in order to understand what that means you need to truly understand what it means to be a green contractor and the steps needed to be taken to be able to advertise that you are an environmentally friendly home builder.

Everything a contractor does can become a part of their green status not unlike a manufacturer getting an ISO certification for their procedures and manufacturing methods. It starts with the equipment that the contractor uses and goes all throughout their construction process. If the contractor is using gas guzzling vehicles and inefficient air and fuel powered equipment then they are not following that part of being a green contractor. It may be a bit more expensive to keep equipment always running in top condition, and it may be a bit more expensive to invest in hybrid vehicles for the job site, but well kept equipment not only saves the environment but it lasts longer and will return that investment before the equipment is retired. Fuel efficient hybrid vehicles will recoup their investment in saved fuel costs before long and soon a contractor starts to realize that maybe being green means more than just saving the environment.

The construction procedures are part of being a green contractor. Is your contractor building to insure that energy is not lost when the home is being heated? Is the water delivery system to the various parts of the home the most efficient it can be? Is the water heater tankless to reduce the cost of heating water to the home? The idea behind being a green contractor is to use the methods developed to make a home more energy efficient and a more energy efficient home costs less to maintain which is something that can attract potential home buyers.

A green contractor uses recycled materials as much as possible and where building codes will allow. For some construction processes using recycled material is simply not allowed but where it is allowed the green contractor makes sure that they are using materials that help reduce the strain on our environment and helps to keep useful materials out of landfills and public dumps.

If you have any questions about what it means to be a green contractor, how to find a green contractor, or what you can expect from a home built by a green contractor then you can visit one of the internet's foremost authorities on green construction at http://www.realestateresourceaustin.com/green . The information you will find there will answer all of your questions and help you decide on the best green contractor for your next home construction.