Concern and greater public awareness about the environment is becoming more mainstream in the home remodeling and residential construction industry. However, greater concern does not necessarily translate into a better environment. Nor is going green a matter of just buying green products.

BACK TO BASICS
If you're serious about doing a green home remodeling project or constructing a new home, you've got to consider the entire picture. This includes the:

• Need for the Home Remodeling Project,
• Environmental impacts during and after construction,
• Mitigating the environmental impacts of the project,
• Environmental impacts associated with heating and cooling the new space and
• Environmental impacts of materials used in your home when they reach the end of their useful life.

If this sounds like an environmental impact analysis, it is.

To get at these issues, we've put together a series of questions. By answering these truthfully, we think there's a better chance that your project will be as green as possible and be exactly right for your lifestyle.

QUESTIONS
1) Why do we need this project?
Another way of expressing this is "What are we trying to achieve? Most people will start off saying "we want a larger kitchen, a family room, an art studio, a refinished basement, etc. Starting off with solutions, often overshadows the real reason behind the home remodeling project. We suggest that you focus instead on your real needs. Here are some examples:

• We want a place where the entire family can watch movies, chat, play games and talk to each other in a very relaxed and casual atmosphere.
• I want a bathroom where I can relax for hours at the end of a busy week as a road warrior.
• We're older and we can't climb stairs anymore. We entertain quite a bite and have formal dinners.

These questions get what your are trying to accomplish and help to define the scope of your remodeling project. Your answers will determine the amount and kinds of materials that will be used in the project and hence the environmental effects.

2) How much and how often do we use each room in the house?
Be honest here. Most people spend their time in the kitchen or TV room aka family room/recreation room. By identifying rooms that are not used frequently, you may find that your existing space can accommodate your needs by redesigning it instead of adding space.

We know many people in the Washington DC and New York areas who have living rooms that are rarely used, except for formal gatherings. In reality, they think they need to construct new space to create or enlarge an existing kitchen or new family room. Maybe not. Be flexible and remember that a room's title has no relationship to its use unless it's a kitchen or bathroom.

3) How many people will live in the house in the next couple of years?
Knowing who will be living in the house and their ages may also dictate what you should be doing. For example, if it's just the two of you and you're nearing retirement, ask yourself why you want to add the second floor or family room. Rather than spending money on additional space that won't be needed and wasting more resources, you can spend your money on high grade appliances or electronics by upgrading your existing space.

4) How is the flow of the house?
Many homes have terrible flow problems. Tiny foyers, chopped up rooms, kitchens in the wrong place, etc. If you can achieve the right flow and stay within your home's foot print and achieve your goals, then your project may use less materials and be less expensive.

5) What materials in the house can be repurposed? Rather than trashing items in your existing house consider reusing them some where else. In our house, we used our old kitchen cabinets in our garage for storage. Besides saving money on new storage cabinets, we kept the cabinets out of the landfill. If you truly don't need certain items then sell them in a yard sale, give them away to workers on your job or donate them.

The repurposing items from older homes is not hard these days. In fact, if your home is very old, contact an architecture antique company. They will be happy to remove old hardwood floors, doors, door knobs, moldings, lighting fixtures, fireplace mantels, plumbing fixtures, bathtubs and tile at no cost. They resell the materials. A good example of this is the Brass Knob in Washington DC.

6) What impact will I have on my lot?
Consider the foot print of your home remodeling project or new home to the size of your yard. Rain and snow runoff either are absorbed on your lot. The yard filters out air pollutants trapped in the water and may in some cases recharge the ground water table.

Smaller projects will have less impact on the land and water resources. For example, building a 5,000 square foot house on an 8,000 square foot lot means less lawn area to absorb water and filter out pollutants. This means that more rain and snow runoff goes into storm sewers and ultimately water bodies.

7) How much energy will be needed to heat and cool the new space?
If you construct additional space, it's very likely that you will require a separate heating and cooling system for it. That means you'll use more power and natural gas. Electricity and natural gas prices will probably keep increasing.

Of course, using energy efficient lighting and insulation will help. However, the more important question is why heat or cool a space that is used infrequently or just too large for your needs. Definitely consider purchasing ceiling fans to recirculate air during the heating and cooling season.

8) How can you mitigate the environmental impacts?
Going green also includes taking steps to reduce. For example, installing a porous paver on a path or under a gravel driveway will allow rain and snow runoff to be absorbed into the ground instead of flowing down the driveway and into a storm drain.

Installing solar and possibly small wind energy projects should also be considered. Many States are encouraging solar tax credits and grants.

9) How long will things last and where do they end up?
After your home remodeling project is finished, you or more likely the next owner will have to replace certain elements like your roof. Asphalt roofs generally last about 25 years. After that, the roof has to be re-roofed and eventually removed altogether. Ultimately, the asphalt shingles end up in our landfills. Consider installing a metal roof, which is composed of recycled material and will last at least 40 years. Also, that metal roof can be recycled at the end of its useful life.

I've just scratched the surface here. We will be covering metal roofs, rainwater heat recovery systems, solar and wind energy in future articles. We'll also have some articles specifically for condominium owners and multi-family residential home owners.