Featured Home

Featured Home by Greenleaf Construction

This month’s Featured Home by Greenleaf Construction is one of the entries in the Seattle Built Green Design Competition.

Greenleaf Construction built this home on a city infill lot in Seattle. It is certified as a 4-Star Built Green home that has been third-party verified. Green features include comprehensive materials recycling during construction and participation in King County’s Construction Works program. An extra efficient ventilation and air filtration system provides better indoor air quality, along with low-toxic paints. Durable products include long-life siding and roofing, and ceramic tile. Many materials, such as the vintage staircase balustrade and structural beam ceiling, were salvaged. The builder also documented envelope improvements that show a 12 percent improvement in heat loss as compared against the state energy code baseline house. A vegetated (green!) roof helps reduce the impacts of stormwater on the local sewer system. Click here for a virtual tour and more information.

Find out if Greenleaf wins an award at the Built Green Conference, Expo and Homes Tour on March 17-18!

To see other previously featured virtual tours, click here. Virtual tours created by Northwest Property Imaging.

New Members

AAA 1 Roof Care
Quality roof cleaning, repair, maintenance and restoration, as well as decks, patios and driveways

Absher Construction
Construction and construction management, public housing, commercial, educational, assisted living, and medical.

AHBL
Civil and structural engineering, landscape architecture, community planning and land surveying

CertainTeed Corporation
Quality roofing, insulation, siding, windows, decking and foundations and exclusive protection products

GMP Homes
Livable homes that are cherished for generations

Hoover Premier Homes
Craftsmanship. Experience. Commitment.

Northwest Solar Center
Non-profit center dedicated to integrating solar technologies into the Pacific Northwest

R. R. Enterprises, Inc.
Quality workmanship where building green is just good business practice

View our current members.

New Certifications

In the past month, Intracorp certified 72 single-family homes at MountainAire at Talus and 45 multifamily units at CopperRidge at Talus. Congratulations, Intracorp!

During 2004, Built Green certified 1,652 homes. That brings our total since 2000 to 5,109 Built Green certified homes in the Puget Sound area. Click here for a list of our builders.

Events

February 19-27
Spring Home Show!
Join Built Green and 600 other exhibitors at the Seattle Home Show in Qwest Field Event Center across from Safeco Field Feb. 19-27. The Built Green booth is sponsored by Dream Turf. Dream Turf is an artificial "lawn," made partly with recycled tires, that requires no pesticides or fertilizers, and does not need to be mowed or irrigated. One project that installed Dream Turf is estimated to save 18,000 gallons of water annually on a 1,500 sq. ft. area in the Covington Water District. At the Built Green booth, we'll have experts on hand to answer questions, a continuous-loop slide show that explains what Built Green is all about, samples of green products and materials, and literature about green homes and remodels.

Centex Homes Extreme Makeover Home

Thursday, March 3
The MBA General Membership Dinner and Trade Show will be held Thursday, March 3 at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. It promises to be an eye-opening event as Centex Homes Seattle Division President and MBA Second Vice President Doug Barnes reveals the behind-the-scenes secrets of their Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project in Kingston! Centex, a Built Green member, recently gained national attention on the popular television show for building a home for a needy Puget Sound family in one week!

Thursday, March 17
Built Green Conference, Expo and Tour
The Built Green Conference and Expo, Greening the 21st Century, will be held at the Seattle Center Conference Center on March 17. The following day, a green homes tour will begin at the Environmental Home Center and visit four Built Green certified projects with attending builders and designers to provide an-depth of understanding of the green features. To register for either event, contact us via email or call 425.451.7920.

Saturday, May 7
Save the Date
The MBA Auction will be held May 7 at the brand new Lynnwood Convention Center with the theme Building Home Sweet Home. This largest MBA event of the year welcomes donations to benefit the Master Builders Care Foundation and the Master Builders Education Foundation. Volunteers are still needed to serve on committees. For further information please contact James Cadungug; to donate items contact Rylee O’Brien; and to sponsor the event contact Pam Worner or call (425) 460-8238.

Wednesday, May 18
Low Impact Development in Puget Sound: Experiences and practices in residential development
At this one-day accredited seminar, a diverse range of professionals will share their low impact development experiences.  Instead of a theoretical discussion, expect balanced and realistic perspectives on the integration of LID techniques into residential communities.  Key questions remain about this evolving development practice and its value to consumers, the environment, and the bottom line.  Whether you are a developer, consultant, or agency representative you will gain a broader understanding of the merits or challenges of using low impact development techniques to create livable communities. Faculty includes principals from CamWest, Snohomish County, Hillis, Clark, Martin and Peterson law offices, Weber + Thompson Architects, Associated Earth Sciences,  Triad Associates and Washington State University. The seminar will be held on Wednesday, May 18 at the MBA Housing Center from 9:00 am - 4:30 pm. More information will be available here in the March issue of Built Green News. For further information and to register, contact Lorman Education Services, the seminar organizer, at their website. This event is sponsored by the Built Green program.

MBA Calendar of Events is posted at the bottom left of the homepage. For more information, contact James Cadungug at (425) 460-8213.

From the Director

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

In the million-copy bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel, author Jared Diamond examined the successes of Western civilizations and how we developed the technologies and immunities that allowed us to dominate much of the world – one of my personal favorite books. His newest tome, Collapse, examines the downfall of some of history's greatest civilizations.

Through historical/cultural narratives, he traces the catastrophes of Polynesia’s Easter Island, the American Anasazi civilizations of the Southwest, the Maya of Central America and the doomed Viking colony on Greenland –juxtaposed with the state of Montana today, along with situations in Rwanda, Haiti, Australia and China. Some societies found solutions and survived. Would it come as a surprise that Diamond finds that many of the reasons for ultimate failure rest with environmental damage, climate change, rapid population growth and unwise political choices – factors that the people on earth usually influence? Whether you believe that there are ominous ecological warning signs or that our wealth in resources far outstrips our potential to destroy it, this book provides a fascinating look at how societies choose their destinies.

Our Built Green program - and other similar programs in the country - is one of those choices that people make to improve the community in which they live. As a voluntary building program, our builders, designers, developers and remodelers make that conscious decision to go beyond our local and state codes to do more than is required by law. It costs each of them more time, more money and more effort to certify the projects they build – new single family homes, custom homes, additions and remodels, apartments, condominiums, townhouses, entire developments and urban infill. Every item selected on the certification checklists goes towards protecting land, native vegetation, water quality and natural resources, using energy wisely, and ensuring healthy indoor environments. They also promote a healthy economy based on environmentally preferred products and services from suppliers and providers who endorse Built Green choices and homes. With a little luck, these choices might keep us on the right path to success as a society!

Robin Rogers, Program Director

Resources

Ever wonder if the environmental claims made on a product are valid?
Or would you like to have a product certified as environmentally preferred? Several organizations provide certification programs that can help. Green Seal sets environmental standards and awards its label to a wide variety of products. For example, Built Green member company Rodda Paint makes a line of low-VOC coatings called Horizon that are certified by Green Seal. Scientific Certification Systems certifies environmental claims on recycled fiber, biodegradation, certified organic ingredients/pesticide residues, water efficiency, emissions, and sustainable forestry. SCS also provides environmental report cards on certain products. Forest Stewardship Council and SmartWood provide certification on wood products that come from forests that are responsibly managed and protected at the same time.

PSE Built Green Idea Home
Interactive website

Built Green Conference

Home built by keynote speaker Steve Loken in Montana using salvaged timbers for trusses

The Built Green Conference and Expo, Greening the 21st Century, will be held at the Seattle Center Conference Center on Thursday, March 17 and will feature a poster session of green projects. The Expo will feature more than forty exhibitors. The following day, Friday, March 18, a tour of Built Green certified projects begins at the Environmental Home Center, with builders and designers on-site to talk about innovative green features, installation, product performance and cost effectiveness.

To register for either event, contact us via email or call (425) 460-8238. To participate in the poster session, contact Patti Southard at Environmental Home Center at (206) 682-7332, ext. 1924. To be an exhibitor at the Expo contact Pam Worner at (425) 460-8217. Presenting conference sponsors include King County Solid Waste, Puget Sound Energy, AHBL, and Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties.

For more information, download a flyer:

• Conference Flyer (pdf 190kb)
• Keynote Speaker (pdf 533kb)
• Call for Posters (pdf 189kb)
  

BG Member News

Architecture Design Awards
Built Green member architecture firm Mithun Architects + Designers + Planners received two prestigious awards recently. The national Cradle to Cradle Design Competition chose Mithun’s Photo Stack entry for First Place. Mithun also received a 2004 Honor Award for Washington Architecture from the AIA Seattle for its Lloyd Crossing Sustainable Urban Design Plan for the Lloyd District in Portland, Oregon.

Idea Home Illustration Wins Award Congratulations go to Yutaka Sasaki, illustrator for the PSE Built Green Idea Home. Yutaka’s cut-away drawing won a Silver Excellence Award at the Society for Technical Communication, Puget Sound Chapter, 30th Annual Technical Publications, Technical Art, Online Communication Competition. The Idea Home was a 2004 demonstration home built by Bennett Homes and designed by Mithun Architects in Issaquah Highlands, a Port Blakely Built Green community.

Win $1,000 Certificate

Win $1,000 Gift Certificate for Your Green Home
Enter a green home into the Organic Style magazine contest and win $1,000 gift certificate! The deadline is March 15 for submissions, and can be either new construction or a remodel to qualify for the “House with Organic Style Award."

Northwest Construction

Look for a special Built Green section in the February issue of Northwest Construction Magazine from McGraw Hill publishing. The sixteen-page insert focuses on Built Green-certified multifamily residential projects in Seattle and on the Eastside. For advertising in NW Construction, contact James McGuire at (206) 378-4711 or via email.

Rampathon

Ramp constructed by volunteers during 2004 Rampathon

MBA Aids Disabled Homeowners with Rampathon presented by GMAC Mortgage
The MBA ramps up for another Rampathon to build free access ramps for disabled low-income homeowners in King and Snohomish counties. This year, GMAC Mortgage stepped up to sponsor the event that will be held May 14 at eligible homes all around both counties. Applicants must be low-income homeowners, with a home that meets criteria to build an ADA ramp. To request an application or to volunteer, contact the Master Builders Care Foundation at (425) 460-8238 or via email.

Courses

See the MBA University Winter Education Catalog for a Full List of MBAU Courses. Email or call (425) 460-8238 for information or to register.

Thursday, February 3
Tapping the Green in Built Green Homes offers real estate clock hours for the professionals who want to learn about green homes and reach the eighty percent of home buyers who say they want green homes. It will be held at the MBA on Feb. 3 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Wednesday, March 2
Implementing Built Green Strategies I is a nuts-and-bolts course that walks you through the “top green building picks” of the experts. It will be held at the MBA on March 2 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Wednesday, March 23
Introduction to Built Green provides an overview of the entire program on Wednesday, March 23 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the MBA. The course is free and open to anyone. This course (or equivalent) is required for certifying a Built Green project.

Wednesday, April 6
Implementing Built Green Strategies II provides up-front design strategies that can help achieve green points while keeping costs down. It will be held at the MBA on April 6 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Thursday, April 21
Built Green Sales Boot Camp provides intensive practice at pitching green features, and teaches you how to identify buyer types. Real estate clock hours are offered for this class that will be held at the MBA on April 21 from 8 a.m. to noon.

See the MBA University Fall Education Catalog for a full list of courses. Contact (425) 460-8238 or via email for information or to register.

King County

King County Embraces Deconstruction
Contractors are finding that salvage and deconstruction techniques can effectively cut costs, resulting in a lower bid or higher profit margin. The most cost effective part of doing salvage and deconstruction is often the avoided costs of CDL (construction, demolition and land clearing) waste disposal and transportation costs. Disposing of roof and wall materials as CDL debris while salvaging floor joists and beams is one example of a valid and cost effective deconstruction technique -- deconstruction doesn ’t necessarily mean taking a building apart by hand one piece at a time.

King County has been a leader in construction waste recycling for years – now it’s embracing deconstruction. Some examples:

• At the old Fisher Flour Mill site on Harbor Island, two empty warehouses were in disrepair and needed to be torn down. King County put their removal out to bid as a deconstruction project, requiring a salvage and recycling rate of 75%.
• The North Recovery Facility is a disused convalescence center originally built for World War II veterans. Rather than allow the buildings to further deteriorate, King County and the State of Washington (current owners of the property) plan to have the buildings taken down.  Windows, cabinets and a gymnasium floor have already been salvaged.
• Most recently, the County has considered deconstruction of an office building built in 1996 that now stands on the site of a future pump station at the Brightwater Treatment Plant. Some promising deconstruction/salvage opportunities include roughly 80 cubic yards of drain rock on the roof. Initial estimates show that disposal of this rock would cost ~$8600, while the market value of the rock is estimated at ~$2700.

A King County construction recycling specialist is conducting a course on Construction Waste and Jobsite Recycling on Thursday, Feb. 10 from 9-12 am. Contact Kinley Deller at (206) 296-4434 or kinley.deller@metrokc.gov for details.

Snohomish County

The website is up and running for the Sustainable Development Task Force of Snohomish County.

Snohomish PUD

Cool Rebates
Commercial customers of Snohomish County PUD (including schools, hospitals and restaurants) can get up to a $200 rebate when they buy an energy-efficient commercial refrigerator or freezer. Today's super-efficient refrigerators and freezers use a lot less energy, which saves customers money for as long as they own the equipment. These efficient models often don't cost any more than other models, and now the Snohomish County PUD is offering rebates to make them even more affordable! Qualifying models can be found by visiting the PUD's website or by calling PUD Energy Services at (425) 783-1711.

Further Reading

The Insider's Guide to Marketing Green Buildings
Author Jerry Yudelson mined surveys, plus data from the U.S. Green Building Council on the growth of its LEED ® Rating System, to illustrate the selling points for green buildings, primarily commercial ones. More info...

Contact Built Green

Master Builders Association
335 - 116th Avenue SE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Directions
Phone (425) 460-8238
Fax (425) 646-5985
builtgreen@mbaks.com

MBA Calendar of Events

If you have news items for this newsletter, please send us an email.