Live Local - Green Remodel
As many of you know, Chavi and I remodeled our 1960’s custom built rambler last year. The experience was fun, creative, slightly stressful and dirty. We enjoyed learning about the diversity of materials out there that are not only beautiful but environmentally sound. Below are some helpful hints and resources that we discovered during our own remodeling journey. Hopefully they will make your journey more fun and less stressful
Create your vision: Get out of the beige box and be creative. Give your house some soul and save the earth at the same time. A vision will help you through the material selection and help you communicate with everyone in the process.
Materials: I absolutely love how creative the built green home market has become. There are a multitude of wonderful non-traditional products out there to choose from. The Eco Haus is a great place to start. Below is a quick list of the materials we investigated during our remodel.
- Cabinets: We choose ours from Canyon Creek. They are not 100% green but they were affordable, locally built, certified by the EPA for healthy air practices and beautiful. Plus, Marella, their rep will come out and work with you on designing your kitchen.
- Tile: We found a great product at both Eco Haus & Norberry Tile in the Seattle Design Center. It’s called Fireclay. It is a traditional clay material that is mixed with recycled materials like glass and other products. We also like the tiles at Bedrock Industries and Georgetown Tile Works.
- Countertops: We fell in love with a stunning brown Squawk Mountain Stone only available through Eco Haus. It looks and feels like concrete countertops but it is lightweight and versatile.
- Flooring: For our needs we decided to go with regular oak floors. You can sometimes find old oak floor board suitable for re-use at places like Restore or Second Use.
- Fixtures: There are many water-saving bath fixtures & toilets out there. My main advice is to shop at places that give contractor discounts like Keller Plumbing Supply or Soreano’s Plumbing.
Price it out: Our biggest mistake was setting the budget before we knew the cost of materials like tile or countertops. Be as prepared as possible and price out everything before chatting with a contractor.
Pick the Best Contractor You Can Get Your Hands On: I know this is not an easy task. Good contractors are hard to find for a reason. BUT nothing makes or breaks your remodel experience like a contractor. Here is our list of ways to ensure you pick the right contractor for you. We LOVED our contractors. The only problem is that they are booked well in advance. Just go my Community Resources page and to get Will & Stan’s info. Also, drop me a line if you have a great contractor referral. We would love to add them to the list.
- Book Early: Plan on booking someone months before you are ready to go. We booked ours in January and they started in May.
- Get Referrals: Get as many personal referrals as possible and ask those folks questions about their remodels. Make sure they really loved their contractor. You will be surprised how many folks referred people to me that I later found out weren’t really all that happy with their work.
- Interview Your Referrals: Interview at least 2-3 contractors. You want to understand how they work, what their cleanup at the end of day expectations are and how they compare to yours. You will live with these contractors for several months. Make sure it is someone you can communicate with and understands your expectations.
- Bid the Project: Compare bids between several contractors. Make sure the bid spells out exactly what is included in the cost. Ask as many questions as possible. Are they contracting out some of the work or do it all themselves, are they including their friend who offers “kitchen design” work in their bid, are they including tax, do have a “contractor mark-up” on materials even after they take the discount. A good contractor will know your budget, understand your budget, and get to know your materials
We LOVED our contractors. The only problem is that they are booked well in advance. Just go my Community Resources page and to get Will & Stan’s info. Also, drop me a line if you have a great contractor referral. We would love to add them to the list.
Get Permits if You Need Them: Anytime you are doing major structural work to a house like adding a bathroom, redoing the roof line, expanding the footprint, building up, converting a garage, etc. it is a good idea to get an architect involved, have plans drawn and get it permitted by the city. Many a good idea was shut down mid way by the city because the owner decided to circumvent rules and add a dormer or a deck without a permit. This means a huge fine, lost time and maybe even losing your contractor to another job if he/she is on a tight timeline.
Links for Green Materials:
Eco Haus
Canyon Creek Cabinets
Green Tech Cabinetry
Fireclay Tile
Norberry Tile
Georgetown Tile Works
Bedrock Industries - Glass Tile
The Re Store - Cool things from old buildings
Second Use - Move cool things from old buildings
Energy Star
General Environmental Resources Sites
Built Green News
Tree Hugger
Green Seal |
