Generally it’s best to avoid undisturbed properties to build new homes, but not all existing developed lots are worth saving. Sometimes the house is in too poor structural condition to remain standing, or the cost to upgrade to current energy efficient standards is not cost effective. So deconstruction is a great way to salvage what you can in a responsible, but also fun way. Here are some tips:

Tips:

• First know that by deconstructing your building you are diverting so much waste from going to the landfill.
• Large or small, most construction projects can benefit from deconstruction. If it’s a small project you can often deconstruct yourself by saving light and electrical fixtures, plumbing fixtures and decorative millwork. Visit the Building Materials Reuse Association for how-to and best practices guides. Anything more complicated should be handled by a professional, especially if there’s a chance that hazardous materials are present.
• Deconstruction takes more planning than a standard demolition — coordinate which items should be included in your new house with your architect; all other items to be donated/bought, recycled or tossed should be coordinated with your contractor or deconstruction expert.
• Deconstruction also takes more time than demolition — depending on the size of the project it can take several weeks whereas demolition might take one week, max. Time also means money, so make sure you have a good understanding of how this will affect your timeline and budget.
• Some items may need a little facelift or upgrading before they’re reinstalled. For example nothing can come close to old, historic windows, but they will need to be brought up to current energy standards. Consider taking these to a refurbishing company who can give them they upgrade they need, while maintaining their historic integrity.
• Not all materials can be reused as they were originally intended. For example structural lumber, while high in quality, might not be acceptable to a structural engineer. However old wood is often quite good looking and can be used as ‘decorative’ beams, columns, etc.
• While hiring a deconstruction company costs money and is more expensive than demolition, you can make money off of it, or at least break even. Through the deconstruction process you will ’sell’ your goods to the deconstruction company who can either sell it back to you, or give you access to their stock of salvaged goods for a trade or sum of money. Anything else is ‘donated’ and written off on your tax returns. So depending on how you choose to deconstruct you can end up profiting from being green.

Items to Consider Reusing

• Flooring
• Windows
• Columns
• Doors
• Gates & Fences
• Decorative Millwork
• Lumber
• Cabinetry
• Countertops & Tile
• Plumbing Fixtures
• Lighting & Electrical Fixtures
• Fireplace Mantles
• Brick & Stone

If you don’t have the opportunity to deconstruct, you can still use salvaged materials in your homes. Check

PlanetReuse: Reclaimed Materials Resource

• Best Salvage Shops: Online and Offline
• Re-Retail Value: The Best Salvage Shops Across The Country
• How to: Find Salvaged Materials
• Top Ten: Sources for Architectural Salvage

Visit these sites for more valuable information:

• Building Materials Reuse Association
• Deconstruction Institute

from: Re-nest

This reflects the growing marketing battle over sustainability going on everywhere. It should have been expected from the industry that brought us the biggest and most luxurious home, the most inexpensive biggest home, the most luxurious small home and the smallest big home and on and on.

The truth of the matter is that this flood of comparisons is growing by the day and ends up making a really good case for not believing anyone. Unfortunately there are many really good genuine sustainable builders who are getting sucked up in this brew of greenwashing and exaggeration.

EnergyStar is an example of a third party agency that has successfully set up programs to police everything from televisions to new homes. A major newspaper reported that the Government Accountability Office (the GAO) set up fake companies that submitted nonexistent products to test approval procedures at the EnergyStar program.  ”The fake companies submitted data indicating that the models consumed 20 percent less energy than even the most efficient ones on the market.” Yet those applications were mostly approved without a challenge or even questions, the report said.

Without a challenge? It gets worse. Many of the approvals were issued by an automated machine with zero human interaction. An official with the Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the program within the Energy Department, insisted that the automated system is only preliminary and that every product is also screened by a human.  However, many of the Energystar workers told different stories. Yup, the government is at it again.

Where does this leave our local consumers? When I was in my teens, I believed that I should trust no one over 18. This worked for me at the time. Conservative caution may be the route to follow with “green building” until there is more accountability in place to protect the public.

Forget the word green all together. Green is not a designation; it is a poor substitute for honestly defining a product by its features (50% lower electric bills, 25% lower water bills etc). You need to spend time doing your homework, talking with educated professionals and proceeding slowly.



Whether it’s a small cottage or a rambling Victorian, renovating old houses is one of the best things homeowners can do for the environment.  If you are going to remodel you’re in a position to have the best of both worlds: a sense of history and a sensibility toward the environment. The principles of sustainable building are easily adapted to period-renovation projects.  This applies whether a structure is sixty years old or several hundred years old.

In the end, the choice to reuse an existing structure instead of demolishing and building new is at the heart of determining a structure’s “sustainable” impact.  Plus you have the satisfaction of knowing that a historic home has been given both the attention and the chance to stand for another century.

Historic preservation is both one of the most inherently “green” professions and one that provides many benefits to towns. While some see efforts at historic preservation merely as exercises in nostalgia and an infringement on property rights, historic preservation can create jobs and strengthen communities.

The following are several sustainable reasons (other than wanting to retain beautiful buildings) for being a supporter of historic preservation.

*            Front and rear porches served dual heat-related purposes for homeowners before the introduction of air conditioning.

In addition, porches provided a sheltered space to sit out of the sun while enjoying the breezes.

*            Windows in older homes were always operable to allow cooling air to enter the home.

*            Screen doors were installed on all exterior doors, again to capture breezes into enter the home.

*            Most doors typically had covered overhangs when not already sheltered by a porch, protecting from rain as well as
sheltering the house from the sun.

These methods are still effective since they take advantage of the inherent good design found in our historic homes.

Central to the discussion of older and historic buildings is the subject of weatherization Since most historic homes need needed some restoration, care must be taken protect the integrity of the historic building while updating aspects of the structure that will provide a comfortable and healthy living space for occupants.

Increasing your home’s energy efficiency does not have to break the bank. There have been a variety of federal- and state-level options available to the owners of older and historic homes and buildings who are looking for financial incentives to undertake larger weatherization and/or rehabilitation projects. Unfortunately in early February, President Obama released his FY 2011 budget request to eliminate funding for Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America, and cut funding for National Heritage Areas by 50%.  Assistance continues to be part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program. Every state is now administering over $5 billion in stimulus funds for this program, which was created in 1976 in response to the nation’s first energy emergency.

Many Delaware cities and towns have guidelines in place for renovating older homes located their historic district and Lewes and Milton are two good examples. To address these requirements, homeowners can employ the expertise of local artisans, builders, historians and designers who have extensive experience with remodeling, restoring and adding onto historic properties.

It takes a unique person to appreciate life in an old house since it means entering into a partnership with both the house and the community. It does, however, offer a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy an irreplaceable piece of history, a home that has long been part of the fabric of a town.

A few good resources

www.preservationnation.org

www.thisoldhouse.com

www.hgtvpro.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — For the first time in almost 15 years, the size of new homes built in the United States is shrinking.

New homes are now 7% smaller — or the size of one average-sized room. To be precise, the median square footage of newly built homes fell to 2,065 square feet in the first three months of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

This caps off 2008, when home size fell every quarter, marking first year of declines since 1994. That could indicate that the romance between Americans and morbidly obese McMansions has finally cooled.

“A new ethic is arising right now that will become commonplace — as commonplace as is recycling today, when just a few decades ago it was rarely, if ever, done,” said Sarah Susanka, author of the book, “The Not So Big House.”

“As more and more people build or remodel homes that satisfy in quality rather than quantity, there will be a huge shift in what we perceive as desirable.”

She believes the current shrinking trend mimics one of 100 years ago, when simple bungalows supplanted elaborate Victorian homes as the design choice for many Americans.

But, it could also just be the recession.

“Home size gains flatten out or decline during recessions, and we’re in the midst of the most serious housing recession in decades,” said Kermit Baker, the chief economist for the American Institute of Architects.

It’s also hard to know whether the trend is a the result of a change in attitudes or a change in buyers, according to Kira McCarron, the chief marketing officer for Toll Brothers, an upscale homebuilder.

The recession could have led to a temporary turndown in the number of young families buying homes, for example. But when they return to the market, they may drive up McMansion sale again. Meanwhile, older buyers are dominating sales.

“The active adult product is taking a bigger share of the market right now,” said McCarron, leading to more small homes and dragging the average new home-size data down.

She added that some cities, such as Seattle, have instituted “smart growth” plans that encourage development in core areas, leaving large patches of green, undeveloped territory further out.

Since it effectively limits development to a few, already densely populated parts of town, available land in those areas becomes more expensive, sending up the average per-square-foot of new homes. That, of course, discourages McMansion development.

Influencing factors

There are many practical reasons currently at work that favor smaller homes, according to Steve Melman, director for economic services for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Affordability: That drives everything, Melman said. People tend to buy as much home as they can comfortably afford and, with the economy in turmoil, they simply don’t feel at ease spending today.

Energy costs: When the price of oil rose to more than $147 a barrel in July 2008, it drove up all the costs of homeownership. Heating and cooling costs soared, but so did electricity costs. And bigger houses have more lights and appliances. Energy costs also contributed to price increases on building materials, making bigger homes that much more expensive to construct.

Aging boomers: Demographics may have contributed to the smaller home trend. More and more aging baby boomers have become empty nesters. Some of them are downsizing, according to Melman.

Tight credit for big mortgages: Jumbo loans needed to pay for these types of houses have been harder to get and more expensive. That would discourage building in this category.

No real sacrifice

But small-home buyers don’t have to sacrifice if the house is well designed, said Susanka. “If you use a room less than six times a year, you don’t need it,” she explained. “Or make it do double duty.”

A rarely used formal dining room, for example, could double as a library. A den could be where the kids do their homework. And do you really need a separate living room, family room and home theater?

“Houses are likely to become better tailored to the way we actually live,” she said. “As more and more people build or remodel homes that satisfy in quality rather than quantity, there will be a huge shift in what we perceive as desirable. Just as the bungalows of a century ago supplanted the Victorian painted lady, ‘Not So Big’ houses are likely to become the sought after alternative to

By Les Christie, CNNmoney.com staff writer
First Published: August 11, 2009: 12:18 PM ET

Lance earned a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware and is a Certified Green Professional through the NAHB Green Building Program. While at the University he worked for Astro Power, now GE Solar. He attributes that experience to developing his passion for building green homes and introducing renewable energy systems with a goal of achieving net zero energy consumption. His early professional work showed him the benefits of renewable energy and conservation. The two pictures are of a Zero Energy home currently under construction in Wolfe Pointe. It will be the first home to be built in Lewes to LEED standards.

The picture of an upcoming, now under construction, In Wolfe Pointe.