Building and Remodeling

Our homes provide the ideal venue for practicing sustainability on a personal scale. With perhaps the exception of our workplaces, we probably spend more time in and around our homes than we do in any other environment.

The Living Green Expo is about making good choices for building our living spaces and making them comfortable and healthy. That includes the materials we use, the technologies we select to heat, cool, and ventilate, and decisions about where we live relative to where we work, go to school, and play.

The challenges of building and remodeling

Our homes provide the ideal venue for practicing sustainability on a personal scale. With perhaps the exception of our workplaces, we probably spend more time in and around our homes than we do in any other environment. The decisions we make regarding the location of our homes and the materials we use to “outfit” them (both externally and internally), can have long-range effects on everything from our psychological and physical health and well-being to global warming, resource consumption and water quality.

Incorporating green building principles and practices into personal decisions can help to protect our resources and the environment for generations to come. It can also save us money in the form of reduced utility bills, fewer medical costs and less frequent product replacement demands.

Ten Things You Can Do to Reduce the Environmental Impacts of Building & Remodeling

1. Build less. Consider renovating an existing house in place of building a new one. Where feasible, downsize space and make it more open and flexible.
2. Build with less. Utilize building techniques and products that generate less waste and/or use fewer natural resources in their manufacture and application. Examples include advanced framing techniques, structural insulated panels and engineered or reclaimed lumber, which reduce tree use.
3. Hire knowledgeable professionals. Seek out designers and builders/remodelers who are aware of and committed to environmentally friendly, sustainable building approaches.
4. Use an integrated design approach. Green design is about much more than simply adding a few green materials. Our houses are systems with interrelated parts. Changing one aspect—such as air tightness—can have an effect on another, such as indoor air quality.
      Integrated design also considers such things as location (Is the home close to public transportation and community services? Is it designed for maximum solar gain in the winter months?) and long-term maintenance (such as ease of upkeep and cleaning of particular products).
5. Create a healthy indoor environment. Avoid toxic materials like conventional glues, solvents, and paints that have high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Consider minimizing the use of wall-to-wall carpeting, which can absorb dust and pollutants. Purchase formaldehyde-free insulation and pressed wood products. Maximize ventilation through mechanical means (like air-toair heat exchangers) and manual means (appropriately placed windows). Use light tubes and windows to provide ample daylighting. Natural light reduces the need for electricity while increasing thermal comfort and psychological well-being.
6. Protect the site. Before, during, and after construction, use care to avoid disturbing environmentally sensitive areas. After construction, incorporate raingardens to absorb stormwater precipitation. Reduce impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt to lessen runoff. Consider using water catchment systems like rain barrels to collect water for use in gardens or landscaping.
7. Maximize water efficiency. Replace inefficient fixtures and appliances with water-efficient ones. Plant native vegetation to reduce irrigation demands.
8. Request and purchase “green” products. Increasing numbers of retailers are carrying more environmentally sustainable products. Consumer demand influences supply. Let your local retailers know of your desire to purchase healthy, environmentally-friendly products, such as sustainably harvested wood, products with recycled and/or salvaged content, low/no-toxic materials, and items made from renewable sources such as bamboo, wheat straw and other natural materials.
9. Purchase durable, local products. Purchasing products that are manufactured locally or regionally helps to support local economies while reducing energy consumption related to long-distance transport. Product durability helps to reduce the waste, pollution, and resource consumption involved in producing new products and disposing of antiquated or deteriorating ones.
10. Encourage public officials to support green building. Ask community or city officials to support policies and programs that promote green building, such as expedited and/or reduced permit fees, zoning changes, and/or awards or certification programs for “green” builders.

Building and Remodeling Learning Resources

• Visit the MPCA Green Building team's web site. Homeowners will find many useful resources in the section on Residential Building. Contact MPCA's Green Building team for more detailed information, advice and resources on these and other green building topics: 651-296-6300 or 800-657-3864 toll free.
• See the NextStep web site Buildings page for an entry point to many green building resources.