The right home improvement products, techniques, and services:
Contractors, home improvement stores, and specialty shops in your area may not yet have a complete familiarity with the ‘green’ opportunities, products, system integration, and overall savings potential. So, you may get some resistance, since people in general are typically more comfortable recommending something that they are already familiar with rather than something new. To help break the inertia, use the information across this website like our Return on Investment Master ROI Table. Also feel free to post a question in our forum on the message board about a particular need for your home relative to your area. Our team has spent multiple years aggregating research from public and private sector performance reports and from manufacturers and homeowners across the country in order to provide you with the perspective you may need to see the initial payback and long term advantages. Environmental enthusiasts and leading institutions like the American Institute of Architects and the National Association of Realtors, see the value and link into our resources to support their members.
The Green Home:
For your overall home improvement, you can save money, improve your family’s health, and save the planet. Find out for free how much it will cost to do different types of home improvement in your home from a qualified and member approved contractor in your area. Get a FREE Quote . Plus, regardless of the size and scope of your home improvement project, save money and keep your home clean with the top rated chemical free and concentrated Green Home Cleaning Products .
Category Checklist:
Make sure to consider the latest Home Improvement products and services. If you are doing the work yourself or planning on working with a home improvement contractor use this checklist below as a guide to review and ask questions about the preferred products, details, and installation techniques related to:
- Energy Saving Improvements: Energy Saving Tips, Energy Saving Whole-House Approach, Energy Savings Calculators, and Home Energy Rating and Audits
- GREEN Home Building: Eco-Friendly and Healthy Houses, Environmentally Friendly Home Materials, GREEN Payback Time and Return on Investment, Healthy House Materials, and LEED Homes
- Home Design and Planning: Choosing the Right Contractors and Subs, Home Budgeting & Cost Averages, Integrating a New Addition with an Old House, Reviewing other House Plans, Working with Architects, Working with Interior Designers, and Working with Project Managers.
- Home Improvement DIY and Tune-ups: DIY Tools, Exterior and Interior Home Remodeling Hazards, Home Repair Tips, and Seasonal Tune-ups.
- Home Improvement Financing: Energy-Efficient Financing, Home Equity Lines of Credit, Home Equity Loans, Home Loans, and Low Rate Construction Loans.
- Home Improvement Tax Credits & Grants: Energy Saving Insurance, Grants for Energy Savings, Home Product Rebates, and Tax Credits for Home Improvement.
- Working with Contractors: Contractor Disputes, Contractor Guarantees and a Home Warranty, Hiring a Contractor and Payment Terms, and Relationships with Contractors.
Tips on Home Improvement Basics: The right choice for products, service providers, and finish materials, is key to the successful execution of any home improvement project and the ongoing use and energy consumption of your home. Now more than ever, you can choose from a diverse range of eco friendly options that save electricity, water, and your money. For each aspect of home design and remodeling you can also strive to make choices that are 1) Functional, 2) Stylish, 3) Cost-Effective, and 4) Environmentally Sustainable. These are the four key guiding principles in the GREENandSAVE strategy. You will find that in certain cases, one or two of the criteria take precedent over others. However, as you review the home improvement options that are right for your home, you may be surprised to learn that reaching all four is more achievable than you thought.
Energy Independence is now top of mind for Americans. We don’t like the idea of sending billions of dollars overseas for oil, and since our homes and buildings account for over 40% of our national energy use, we can start to make an impact literally right at home. Home remodeling is a $300 Billion annual industry, and with each dollar spent you can find ways to save energy and make a healthier eco-friendly home. Collectively, you and your home improvement decisions can start:
- Protecting the environment by burning less fossil fuels and reducing power generating requirements, thus lessening carbon dioxide emissions which contribute to climate change.
- Conserving nonrenewable resources by using innovative new products made in part from recycled materials.
- Saving money and cutting costs.
- Approaching and possibly achieving energy independence from fossil fuels and utilities. Before you get stated or continue with your home improvement, you may want to get a free quote from an Energy Auditor in your area to see how much you can save by taking some cost-effective steps. A few hundred dollars could save your thousands. The planet and your children’s children will also thank you as we make change the old paradigm of home improvement, one household at a time.
Home Improvement Basics:
When it comes to home improvement basics, look for interior home improvements like creating a clean, safe, and healthy home through sustainable ‘green’ furniture, home décor, zero VOC and Interior Paint, plus ENERGY STAR Appliances and Electronics. For energy and utility savings you can focus on insulation and air sealing, windows, doors, lighting and skylights, water saving plumbing opportunities, and high efficiency heating and air conditioning systems. On the outside of your house, look for exterior home improvement opportunities through landscape design and gardening plus solar energy, wind and other power sources. If you are undertaking a major home renovation, an additions, or building a new home, then take the lead to ‘go green’ in as many ways as possible to save money and the environment.
