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BUILDING GREEN - Step 1. Assess Your Needs.

First of all, think about how you and the other members of your household need and want to live, and how that might change over the next several years. When you’ve analyzed this as well as you can, then think about what kind of site and what kind of house will best meet these needs and wants.

Here are some comments from people who are making building decisions:

Theresa: “My husband just retired and wants to build out by the lake where he can fish and garden. I won’t be retiring for a couple years though, and I hate the thought of that long commute. Also, my mother lives with us and doesn’t drive any more. Where we live now, she can walk to the community center and the shops she enjoys, and I know she really values her independence. If we wait a while to build, I think we can figure out a way to satisfy everyone’s needs.”
Morrie: “Our house is in need of some major repairs and feels pretty cramped. It seemed like some remodeling and extending the living room would solve our problems. We called in a designer, who gave us a ballpark figure. Then she asked if we had considered a different furniture arrangement. We tried it, and realized we didn’t really need the addition, just the repairs. We sent the designer a gift certificate for a gourmet dinner, and figure we saved about $39,900.”
Luke: “I want a new house so I can have exactly the house I want. My current house is never comfortable, even though the utility bills are sky-high. Some rooms are always drafty in winter, and others are always like an oven in summer. It seems kind of moldy, too, and I have the feeling it’s contributing to my allergy problems. I know a house can be better than this.”

As you try to set your building goals, you may be surprised to find that you have conflicting wants and needs. That’s inevitable, but all the more reason to spend a lot of time on this step. When you have a good start answering questions like the ones above, you’ll be able to make good choices about site and space needs. Making decisions about matters like style or material (will the house be steel frame, ICF, concrete, insulated panels, etc.?) can come later. If you were planning to build your dream house now, what would the top goals be for your household? What purposes, needs, and desires do you want it to satisfy in your life that your home can contribute to? Examples might be: a desire to keep building and operating costs very low; a desire for minimal maintenance; a desire to avoid lots of driving; a desire for a healthy home, or even a desire for greater independence (to produce your own electricity, have your own water supply, etc.).

Resources

A Primer on Sustainable Building
Dianna Lopez & William D. Browning
www.rmi.org/
Brief, comprehensive and readable
introduction to green building

The Not So Big House
A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live
Sara Susanka, Kira Obolensky
The Tauntan Press

Natural Home Magazine
www.naturalhomemag.com