Let me set the record straight…I co-own a Construction Company that Builds using Green Sustainable Materials and Practices…and I’m a Conservative Republican!  How’s that working for ya? – I’m sure you are saying to yourself.  Actually, quite well!!  I have the unique opportunity to teach clients and potential customers that there are many shades of green.  In the building community, every company is jumping on the bandwagon to be green.  I say…Buyer Beware!  But please, let me share my philosophy.

Yes, I drive a gas guzzling Jeep! You know what? I need one.  I have a husband, baby, two teenage stepchildren and two not so small dogs. Try squeezing all them and the luggage, dog food and baby strollers, and beach toys into a Prius for a ten hour trip to the Carolinas. Driving a Jeep doesn’t make me not care about the environment; I just choose to do my part in other ways. 

It is the same with construction.  Forty years ago, it was considered a luxury to have central air installed in a new home.  Nowadays, we wouldn’t consider building a new house, even at the lowest price ranges, without central air.  It is generally thought that a programmable thermostat on a new HVAC system is still less expensive and more economical than running large noisy and unsightly window or thru-wall air conditioners.  You see, in the last forty years, the marketplace evolved and it now demands that the building standards and materials make sense for the homeowner.

I would like to see GREEN CONSTRUCTION evolve the same way.  Through market driven demand and what makes sense for the end-user.  Albeit, I like it to take less than forty years, but I don’t want to see all green products and methods mandated by the local and federal governments into use.  Here’s the problem:  There are not enough qualified contractors YET! And, some products are still too expensive to make a return-on-investment for the business or home owner!

At Build it Green, Inc., we try to give the customer choices.  We concentrate on the Air Quality, Water Conservation, Thermal Comfort and Affordability, the Building Envelope and Energy Star Compliant Appliances.  In my opinion, that’s the BONES!  There are many green features that we install that I may suggest a client wait to include.  Their money is better spent in the BONES of the structure and those things usually can’t be retrofitted later without significant expenditures and interruptions.

Things like solar power are a great investment and the evolving new technology is now putting solar into the reach of the average consumer.  Tax incentives help home and business owners even more. But I try to correct people’s misconceptions about it; usually that includes – that an average system on a residence does NOT power your whole house nor will the Electric Company send you a check every month (at least, not in Pennsylvania)!  A properly sized and installed solar system will reduce your utility bills significantly and overall can be rolled into your mortgage or HELOC at a reasonable price! But here’s the kicker! Those incentives are slowly dwindling – the government’s thought is:  as Solar gets more popular, we’ll make the rebates disappear.  I’m not too sure on this one!!!! It’s the rebates that are getting the average homeowner and business owner to make the inquiries.  Won’t that stop if the price of material and installation gets too expensive again?

Yeah.. I know, if I’m a conservative why do I want the government to hand out rebates?  Well last time I checked, the government doesn’t reallocate funds once they are spoken for.  Here’s the opportunity to create the GREEN JOBS they keep talking about.  They should spend a little bit more money hiring people that actually handle the rebates and incentives so that as a business owner, I can be in front of customers and not handling a slew of paperwork.

So yeah, I’m a Republican…I’m a Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity Listener!  I don’t believe the sky is falling when it comes to the “so called” Global Warming Debate.  It is possible to be a Conservative and still care about the Earth – just not be sold on the Al Gore hype. 

 I drive a Jeep and my company has trucks and vans on the road not electric cars!  But, I have a 2 ½ year old precious beautiful little girl.  I do want to leave the earth a better place for her.  So, I do: use reusable tote bags when I go shopping, I do recycle in my house and at work, I do try to conserve water – like water the plants and yard with the baby pool water – LOL, I don’t litter, I try to combine my errands and use less gas.  I recommend to my clients: that they choose efficient equipment in the homes, choose Energy Star appliances and water-saving fixtures, install drip irrigation and rain water collection systems for their lawns and we build with equal attention to reducing what ends up in a landfill and how we build better for the customer, not bigger.

The construction market is changing because the customer wants these things for their families, not because the government is mandating them to make these choices.  Market-driven demand is making Greener choices more affordable and therefore more available to the masses.    The only thing government should regulate is the guy who owns a circular saw and screwdriver who says he’s a “Real Contractor” but doesn’t have the appropriate training or certifications or licenses or insurance. 

I’ll part with a proverb that was sent to me from a colleague – I liked it so much I think I might add the words to our trucks:  a Native American tribal proverb states this:

 ”Treat the Earth Well, it was not Given to You by your Parents, it was Loaned to You by your Children”

The author, Donna Yohe, co-owns Build it Green, Inc. , a fully licensed and insured Sustainable Contractor and Builder who serves the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley Marketplace.  It is a Family-owned and American-owned local company that also is certified for Solar Installations and New Construction and Substantial Renovations from Energy Star certified to LEED certified buildings and homes.  They can be reached 215-33GREEN or www.BuilditGreen.us   or www.BIGSolarPower.com

View of Waterfall at Darby Creek from Build it Green's Corporate Office at Rockbourne Corporate Center

Build it Green, Inc. to take part in the Annual Darby Creek Cleanup- April 24th

For those of us that live near Darby Creek, we may never give it a second thought. But this Saturday, April 24th, 2010 we have the opportunity to really appreciate it by participating in the Annual Darby Creek Cleanup! Build it Green, Inc. is proud to take part in this annual community event by sending volunteers to help cleanup the banks and waterways at the doorstep of our Corporate Office. The “Rockbourne Section” of Darby Creek is a beautiful stretch of creek that includes a waterfall that is enjoyed from one of four large outdoor decks at Rockbourne Business Center. The staff at Build it Green is able to enjoy their lunch or breaks from the top floor deck of the remodeled 200 year-old textile mill that makes up the corporate center. Many bring their laptops outside while enjoying the view and the tranquil sound of the waterfall. The “Rockbourne Section” of Darby Creek continues past a brand new Dog Park and renovated multi-recreational area which includes a playground, fishing area, and a separate fenced-in dog park, complete with a covered pavilion, benches, water and, of course, dog-litter bags.

Build it Green, Inc. is a premier GREEN BUILDER serving the Delaware Valley whose core mission is providing affordable GREEN Building Solutions to the Residential and Commercial Client. Its leading directive is one of Responsibility – to their client, to their employees, and to the Earth. While buildings account for almost 40% of CO2 emissions, Build it Green hopes to lead the way in reducing that amount by using advanced building technologies and cost effective product choices. We are now certified to deliver SOLAR PV SYSTEMS to our clients at a Realistic Price and provide the evaluation, design, installation, monitoring, maintenance and Tax Incentive & Rebate Assistance. We are excited to self-perform this work and add Solar Installation to our vast array of services.

For More information on GREEN BUILDING call Build it Green at 215-33GREEN
Or visit BuilditGreen.us or BIGsolarpower.com

To sign up for The Darby Creek Cleanup at Rockbourne Falls,
call Kelly at 610-368-8744 or visit http://www.dcva.org/upcoming.html

Travis runs an automotive company called Exile Customs which is based in Lancaster, PA. His business on several items unique to the automotive industry but, also does custom fabrication with steel. His knowledge in welding and building all sorts of contraptions gives him the necessary skills for the project. He started off with 20′ long peices of 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ by 1/8″ thick steel angles to build the frames. He filled in the side with 2″ x 2″ 10 gauge welded wire mesh, creating a cage that will prodive ampal security for the residents storage items.  The mesh was needed due to the fact that the sprinklers would need to be able to stop any sort of fire that erupted.

As we are nearing the completion of the estimated 160 hour job, panels are being labeled and marked for shipping. Check back soon for details of the upcoming installation and photos of the finished product.

Our latest commercial renovation was a restroom upgrade for St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Clifton Heights, PA.  Their goal was to breath new life into two lower level restrooms, change the vanity and flooring in the Pastor’s bathroom and enlarge their cleaning supply closet.  During the bid process I asked if they had considered “GOING GREEN.”  Their response was “It’s so small of a project, what could be green other than the low flow toilets?”, which they had heard don’t work very well.  Besides they are on a tight budget as they had only received about 90% of the funds compared to existing quotes.  We then gave them a quote with in their budget AND included the following green features:

Low Flow Kohler Toilets with a flush rating of 8 of 10 (by Home Depot)

Sherwin Williams NO VOC Harmony Paint

Solid PVC wainscoting and baseboard – for a long low maintenance life

Custom toilet partitions made of plastic laminate & FSC certified marine grade particle board

Ceramic Tile flooring with 40% recycled content

LOW VOC adhesives

Reused existing sinks by replacing old leaking faucets

PLUS we recycled their old metal toilet partitions!!!

See the results in the above pictures.   Tell us what you think and/or tell us about new materials we can include on the next go around as St. Mark’s starts collecting to renovate the upstairs restrooms and finally add an ADA compliant stall.

See our full website at WWW.BUILDITGREEN.US

Call us at #215-33-GREEN     or     email us at info@builditgreen.us

Throwing Christmas in the Trash

It’s been a good Christmas with family and friends all the while we kept the envirnoment is mind.  We skipped all the disposable plates and utensils,  made sure to recycle present wrappings and even started to switch the Christmas lighting to L.E.D. bulbs by getting rid of our biggest power offenders.  You know those big multi-color outside lights that are 5 watts piece.  5 watts is enough to run TWO STRINGS of L.E.D. bulbs.  But enought with that, it’s time to pack up the decorations for another year and put the tree out to the curb.

Just drop your tree off for recycling between Saturday, January 9 and Saturday, January 16 from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm at the Streets Department Sanitation Convenience Centers located at 3033 South 63rd Street, Domino Lane & Umbria Street, and State Road & Ashburner Street. The Sanitation Convenience Centers are open Monday through Saturday.

Please make sure your tree is free of all decorations, ornaments, plastic bags or wrappings. (Sorry, commercial entities are not permitted to recycle their trees at the Sanitation Convenience Centers.)

If you absolutely can’t recycle your tree, than put it out on your regular trash day and it will be picked up. But please do your best to recycle. It’s worth the extra effort!

If you require additional information regarding the Christmas Tree Recycling Program, please contact the Customer Affairs Unit at (215) 686-5560 or dial 311.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL RECYCLING / TRASH PICKUP & HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!