Choosing Your Collaborators

When you’re remodeling or starting a new project, you’ll begin by researching the people you contemplate working with. Whether they’re architects, designers or builders, make a point of asking for an initial interview that will include looking at some of their projects. I’m always amazed by how accurate our instincts can be. Most of us know within a few moments of meeting someone whether we’re comfortable with them. While there are a number of criteria you want to examine, simply liking the person you plan to collaborate with is significant. You’re going to experience some pitfalls, nasty surprises and down moments in the process of building. They will be a lot easier to overcome when you trust and respect your collaborators.

Ask the obvious questions about what attracted them to their chosen field and how many projects they’ve completed that are relevant to yours. Find out what gets them really excited about their job. See if they’ll tell you what they find most difficult or stressful. How many other projects will they be working on simultaneously with yours? Do they have the time and/or manpower to handle them all efficiently? What green practices, systems or products are they most enthused about? When I first interviewed general contractors for my house, my architect said, “Ask them what’s their favorite power tool?” Evidently there are clues to be gleaned, but I’m still not sure what they are.

Ask to see projects that are similar to yours and talk to the owners. Were they happy with the person? Did the job finish on time and on budget? If not, why not? What did they find most challenging about working with this individual? What was most rewarding? Would they do it again?

If you’re planning a green project that will require third-party certification, you need to involve the certifier early on. Every site is different. Every project presents unique challenges and opportunities. Review the checklists or other criteria the certifier will be using with the people you’ve chosen to work with to make preliminary decisions about what makes sense for your job and your budget.

Budget – there’s a loaded word. It will be larger than you hope. Try to find a balance between being dogmatically inflexible and a good-natured pushover.

BuiltGreen Programs

BuiltGreen is a program sponsored by local builder associations that promotes environmentally-friendly projects that are cost-effective to own and operate. It's intended to educate contractors and property owners on green building options that will result in homes crafted to exceed local building codes.

Projects are rated on a 1-5 star standard, with 5-star being the most rigorous. One to 3-star ratings can be self-certified, following the BuiltGreen checklists. Ratings of 4 to 5-star must be verified by qualified third-party consultants.

Colorado has been in the forefront of the BuiltGreen initiative, but many other states and regions now have their own programs. Take a look at the Web site, http://www.builtgreen.org/ for additional information on participating builder associations in your area and to review checklists that will get you to the rating you desire.

Our local association, the Skagit-Island County Builders Association (SICBA) is currently developing its criteria for 4 and 5-star ratings. They are using King County's standards as a starting point, but modifying them for our more rural setting. We'll talk more about that as my building project proceeds.

You, too, can build green

Hi. My name is Linda Beeman. I'm a 60-something native of the Pacific Northwest committed to doing what I can to preserve our environment. Welcome to my building green blog, which I hope will inspire people planning their own construction projects. Often we want to build in an environmentally responsible way, but just don't know where to start. Perhaps this chronicle of my garage/studio apartment project -- we hope it's going to be the first 5-star BuiltGreen project in Island and Skagit counties in Washington State -- will offer you the encouragement you need to begin one of your own. Maybe you're just remodeling. If so, you can pick and choose from the elements we used to try to achieve that rating.

Let me tell you a bit about myself and then explain the Skagit Island County Builders' Association (SICBA) BuiltGreen program.

My commitment to green building was reinforced by my move to Whidbey Island -- a 50-mile long amoeba squiggle in Puget Sound -- in 2002. For the first time in my life I owned acreage. With it came the realization that I was personally responsible for the animals and plant life on my land. Since the beauty and quiet of the forest drew me here, those were the elements I most wanted to preserve. I built small, using energy-efficient systems, appliances and recycled materials wherever possible.

Three years of coordinating an alternative house tour on our island kept me abreast of new developments in green building. Like health food, green houses used to be preachy, clunky structures that saved on energy and resources, but that few wanted to call home. They were the unadorned tofu and sturdy Birkenstocks of the 1970s and 80s. Advances in technology and new thinking about design changed all that. Now green building sings of its connections to the earth, safeguards our health and increases resale value. It's the perfect way to do well by doing good.

Our island has the potential to become a showcase for environmentally-sensitive building. As a realtor and a certified EcoBroker, I'm excited about encouraging my clients to go green.

Enough about me. In the next post I'll tell you a little about SICBA's BuiltGreen program. Succeeding posts will take you step-by-step through the process I'm experiencing -- the choices and trade-offs that I make -- to construct a project that's both visually exciting and environmentally innovative.