The Framework for Our Dream Green Home

We had spent almost two years planning and designing our dream "native eco-home." Now it was time to build, or so we thought.

We still had to find a contractor, and the best ones don't advertise—they don't need to. We interviewed eight, none of whom had done much eco-work. It came down to which one we wanted to spend the next two years with. We chose the guy referred by a landscaper friend.

Now it was time to build, right? Wrong. Financing took longer than expected, since it was a construction loan rather than a mortgage. Then winter came--a bad one. But at the first sign of spring, they started digging. The 3,500-lb. mix concrete foundation was poured. Then the AdvanTech-engineered wood subfloor, which is labeled no-VOC and won't delaminate or swell in moist climates like Pennsylvania's, was laid over it. Whereupon I realized that I had forgotten to talk to the contractor about using certified sustainably harvested wood.

He didn't laugh or fret, but for the next step, framing, he found us a combination of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified "hem-fir" (hemlock and fir) as well as engineered wood products for truss joints and so forth. This was one of many times when I realized that we weren't going to be ecologically perfect. Trees died. Salamanders were displaced.

Next, the contractor rejected our choice of recycled composite oriented strand board (OSB); we went with solid wood plywood sheeting, which uses more trees. To this day, we worry that it will offgas toxic formaldehyde.

Sometimes, though, it's a win-win situation. We originally planned a slate roof, but slate could crack under the weight of solar panels. Our contractor found a 100 percent recycled rubber roofing tile, Ecostar's Majestic Slate, that looks just like slate, can handle nails hammered through it better and is much less expensive. With all the money saved, I was able to upgrade some of our plumbing fixtures.

Overall, pressure from environmentalists has resulted in cleaner, less toxic products. Still, we sometimes have to balance our contractor's experience with what we can spend and our own health needs.

When the frame of the house went up, and we felt the rooms take shape and saw the views from the windows of the woods we plan to protect, it was a magical moment. We can't always do the right thing, but we can try. Meanwhile, it's starting to feel like home.

Next installment: Flooring, walls and the cicadas.

Resources

FSC-certified products, including low-VOC plywoods and particleboard, can be found at www.columbiaforestproducts.com, www.earthsourcewood.com or Lowes and Home Depot.

For tree-free, agricultural-waste particleboard (straw, wheat), go to www.ecoproducts.com.

For OSB, see www.osbguide.com/osbfacts.html.

Medite II and Medex MDF are formaldehyde-free fiberboards (800-676-3339, www.sierrapine.com).

For lists of FSC-certified products, see www.certifiedwood.org.

For reclaimed wood, check your yellow pages under "Salvage," ask at your lumberyard or go to www.recycle.net and click on "wood."

For endangered-wood species, see www.greenpeace.org and www.cites.org.

For Majestic Slate and other Ecostar recycled roofing tiles, see www.premiumroofs.com.

For More Info

www.BuildingGreen.com

Paul Novack, ECO (800-238-5008, environproducts.com)

Maria Rodale is Vice Chairman of Rodale Inc. and founding editor of Organic Style magazine.