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Green Certification now Available for Minnesota Homes
9/24/2007
Remodeling projects and new homes in Minnesota can now achieve “green” certification through a new voluntary program called Minnesota GreenStar: Certified Green Homes and Remodeling.
Minnesota GreenStar is a collaborative effort between the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry-Minnesota and the environmental nonprofit Green Institute. The three founding organizations had been pursuing independent green building initiatives and recognized the value and enhanced opportunity by joining their efforts. Initial funding for program development was supported by a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
“Minnesota is known as a forward-thinking state when it comes to the environment and this certification program enables homeowners to choose a product that carries on that tradition - now and into the future,” said Corey Brinkema, Executive Director of the Green Institute. “By certifying their home through Minnesota GreenStar, homeowners can be assured of a more durable and healthy home with lower operating costs and reduced demand on the environment.”
Green home certification will be administered through Minnesota GreenStar, which will provide a mandatory education program for builders and remodelers that outlines certification requirements and proven green building techniques. The program is based on green building standards that take into consideration Minnesota's unique climate concerns, building codes and material, energy and natural resources. Third party raters, such as Minneapolis-based Center for Energy and the Environment and St. Paul-based Neighborhood Energy Connection, will serve to verify through inspection and testing that projects meet the green criteria.
“Our goal is to bring Minnesotans green homes that are affordable and appropriate for our region,” said Joshua Fowler, Executive Vice President of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. “Our program can be tailored to fit the price range of any building or remodeling project and provides long term savings on things like natural gas, electricity, water and home maintenance.”
For more information, visit www.mngreenstar.org.
About Minnesota GreenStar - Certified Green Homes and Remodeling
Minnesota GreenStar - Certified Green Homes and Remodeling comprises a regionally appropriate green building standard that embraces our unique climate concerns, building codes and material, energy, and natural resources. Fundamental to the program is an objective, third-party verification system that assures consumers that the new home or remodeling project performs as promised. The standard will be supported by a mandatory education program for builders and remodelers, as well as general education and promotion to consumers. With the robust standard as the vehicle, it is our aim to bring home buyers and homeowners a verified standard that will allow them the opportunity to choose more efficient, healthy, and environmentally-sensitive design and construction practices for their new or remodeled home.
About the Builders Association of the Twin Cities
The Builders Association of the Twin Cities, presenters of the Parade of Homes EasyStreetSM, Spring PreviewSM, Fall ShowcaseSM, Parade of Homes Remodelers ShowcaseSM, and the Parade of Homes Radio HourSM represents almost 1,900 member firms involved in all phases of the home building and remodeling industries and is dedicated to providing a diverse selection of quality and affordable housing to the Twin Cities area.
About the National Association of the Remodeling Industry - Minnesota
NARI of Minnesota is a Chapter of The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), the only trade association dedicated solely to the remodeling industry. With more than 7,000 member companies nationwide, the Association is “The Voice of the Remodeling Industry”™. For membership and chapter information, or for more on the COTY Awards, visit the NARI MN website at www.narimn.org or contact the headquarters at 612.332.NARI.
About the Green Institute
The Green Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is "sustaining the environment and our communities through practical innovation". The Institute is a pioneer and leader in the Midwest's green building industry and supports a nationally-recognized reclaimed building materials enterprise, the ReUse Center and Deconstruction Services.
Green remodeling is featured in the 2007 Parade of Homes Remodelers ShowcaseSM
Minnesota is leading the way to encourage homeowners to choose more efficient, healthy, and environmentally-sensitive design and construction practices for their home under a new green certification program for remodelers, Minnesota GreenStar Certified Green Homes and Remodeling. During the 2007 Parade of Homes Remodelers ShowcaseSM, homeowners will be able to tour one of homes that has been remodeled under the MN GreenStar Pilot Program, as well as several others that have been remodeled using many of the same techniques and materials.
A MN GreenStar Pilot Remodeling Project:
#16, Castle Building & Remodeling, Inc.
Kitchen and Mud Room
2601 36th Avenue NE, St. Anthony
This family of five (mom, dad and three daughters) love to cook and bake, but their 1970's kitchen was dated and small. They wanted an updated space where their young family could grow and flourish. They wanted a multi-purpose space that would allow the whole family to gather and serve for informal dining. They needed an organization area and a small boot bench/mud area entry, and wanted to include space for a future laundry on the main floor.
LIke many families today, this one makes a lot of their decisions with an eye for green. They asked that energy efficient, earth-friendly, and health-conscious products be used in the remodel. They had previously experienced issues with indoor air quality and one of their girls suffers from asthma so were also very sensitive about the indoor air quality during the project. The exterior shell of the home had been remodeled previously, with energy-efficient windows, additional attic insulation, and new insulated siding. This job also needed to build on these improvements and further increase the energy-efficiency of their home.
Beginning with a great deal of planning, preparation, and creative design, the solution began by opening up a load-bearing wall, removing the front hallway. A steel beam was used in place of the removed load-bearing wall creating space for a raised island, dining table, organization/desk area as well as a small mud room with boot bench, and that future laundry area.
When Castle Building & Remodeling learned that MN GreenStar was seeking projects for a pilot green remodeling program, they knew this would be a perfect match. The firm has long been committed to sustainability and green remodeling, regularly incorporating green into their jobs by salvaging doors and millwork, investing in the best insulation and windows, using a refuse removal service that sorts debris, and encouraging their clients to use green materials and products. They also try to incorporate green into their daily activities by using compact fluorescent bulbs, having company vehicles that burn E85 (ethanol fuel), concentrating their jobs geographically, and recycling everything possible.
Castle Building & Remodeling MN GreenStar Project Includes
• A blower door test to confirm that home is tight and allows less than .35 air exchanges per hour. Also ensured that the house is not too tight and the mechanicals back draft
• Gasketing and weather-stripping of existing doors
• Reclaimed lumber for interior wall framing
• Trim and doors salvaged for reinstallation
• The laundry chute was saved and re-installed in a new location
• A new low-flow toilet
• Formaldehyde-free insulation in the walls
• Recycled paper-content sheetrock on the walls and ceiling
• New Cambria® (low-petroleum) and reclaimed birch butcher-block countertops
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs
• Energy Star appliances
• A high-efficiency, power-vented hot water heater
• Low-flow aerators added to all existing faucets
• Pex water supply lines
• A handmade tile backsplash
• A double wall oven and separate cooktop
• A recycling center for homeowners' use
• Hardwood floors were saved and toothed-in
• Water-based stain, which is less toxic, on the floors
• Low-VOC paint on the walls and ceiling
• Segregated clean-up at the site
• Recycling center for reclaiming materials
Other Green Remodeling Projects to Tour
Visitors to the Parade of Homes Remodelers ShowcaseSM can see five other homes on the tour that have been remodeled using many of the techniques and products that will be part of the MN GreenStar certification program.
#75, Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build, LLC
3900 Russell Avenue N., Minneapolis
Whole House
From land-use and exterior form to building techniques and interior design, this is an elegant example of how to green today's’ homes from one of the founding members of the Green Remodeling Group, the precursor to MN GreenStar. Here, Otogawa-Anschel started with a petite, 723 square foot home on a typical city lot and doubled its size but not its environmental impact. Careful thought went into the design to for passive solar heating and cooling. An Energy Star metal roof, durable stucco exterior, reclaimed and sustainable materials, an air-source heat pump, low VOC finishes, energy-efficient appliances and many, many more green choices make this a green homeowners’ dream.
#56, Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build, LLC
4001 East 49th Street, Minneapolis
Addition and Second Story
Another Otogawa-Anschel project, this 1957 home was a perfect laboratory to see how well an untouched half-century-old home could be greened. The existing footprint was retained while serving the needs of the homeowners for a comfortable owners’ suite, a sheltered entry, a guest bedroom, new bath, laundry and fun new kids’ room with cool art space. Choices made in the design as well as materials and construction techniques were clearly green, creating just the right balance between beauty and sensitivity to the environment.
#41, James Barton Design Build, Inc.
5707 138th Street Court, Apple Valley
Whole House
This whole house remodel was designed to reflect the homeowners’ passion for the environment. A full 85 percent of the removed materials were recycled. The existing wood burning fireplace was replaced with a sealed gas insert, windows were replaced with energy-efficient Marvin Windows, new appliances are all Energy Star rated, even the air conditioning lines were replaced with a non-Freon based system. Local materials, environmentally-friendly wood, low-flow faucets and toilets, as well as insulated garage doors, walls and ceiling continued the green theme. As environmentally-responsible homes become more popular and environmental issues ever more pressing, this remodel is a perfect example of how to make a home both earth-friendly and classically beautiful.
#28, JP & CO.
1227 Berkeley Avenue, St. Paul
Whole House and Addition
This 1930’s Cottage was renovated into a real jewel box that’s full of a number of surprising green features! JP & CO. started by reusing door and windows with in the new plan and for all new windows chose Energy Star qualified Marvin Integrity windows. The existing vinyl siding was also re-used and environmentally-friendly fiber cement siding was added to the new garage. Additionally underground drain fields were installed to reduce run-off and promote natural filtration of rain water. Inside selections include a tank-less, on-demand water heater, water-based low VOC finishes for floors and walls, an air purification system, engineered lumber, and closed-cell Ag-based Spray foam insulation. You’ll definitely want to see this delightful green rendition of a classic architectural jewel.
Dream Remodeled Home #26, Mike Otto Construction
1877 Sargent Ave, St. Paul
Whole House and Addition
Building “green” in this whole house renovation and addition was implemented through various practices such as using low volatile organic chemicals (VOC) paint, recycled aluminum light fixtures, energy efficient in-floor heating and local Minnesota granite counter tops. A beautiful wall of beech cabinet boxes composed in a fashion evocative of a Mondrian painting were constructed of formaldehyde-free wood. One of the two Builders Outreach Foundation Dream Remodeled Homes, visitors will be asked for a $5.00 donation at the door.
Remodelers play major role in creating new certification program
As more and more homeowners and home buyers began asking for greener homes remodelers and builders began incorporating a green philosophy into their businesses. As these forces converged, the need for a better way to bring together resources and options spurred separate initiatives, the first was led by a group of remodelers.
These remodelers and industry professionals formed the Green Remodeling Group in early 2005 to begin investigating the viability of creating a green certification standard for remodeling. With start-up funding from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Green Institute, the group recruited support from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, the University of Minnesota, Xcel Energy, Great River Energy, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) of Minnesota and the Builders Association of the Twin Cities Remodelers council. Soon a comprehensive certification standard began to take shape.
Around the same time, a number of builders and others from the home-building industry began discussing ways to provide both members of the industry and the public with a comprehensive green resource. As the conversations progressed, it became clear that a voluntary, independently verified green certification specifically designed for Minnesota's unique climate and energy codes for both remodeling and new construction was the preferred solution.
Building upon the work already begun by the Green Remodeling Group, the Builders Association of the Twin Cities began searching for a partner with the independent green expertise required to ensure success. The Green Institute immediately rose to the top and brought everything together perfectly. The Green Remodeling Group gave way to Minnesota GreenStar, Certified Green Homes and Remodeling, to create a single, independent organization that will serve both homeowners seeking green remodeling and new home buyers looking for a home constructed with the environment in mind.
The participatants in the original Green Remodeling Group included these agencies, companies and individuals:
Center for Sustainable Building Research at the University of Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Commerce
Mississippi Headwaters Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council
Great River Energy
Xcel Energy
Shaw / Stewart Lumber Company
The Remodeler's Choice
Scherer Brothers Lumber Company
Manomin Hardwood Floors
David Johnston
Carl Seville
David Eisenberg
Kestrel Design Group
Dovetail Partners, LLC
Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build
Vojovich Design-Build
Better Homes & Garbage
Cindy Ojczyk Design
Building Arts Sustainable
Architecture+Construction LLC
New Spaces Design-Build
SALA Architects, Inc.
Remodeling firms which are participating in the MN GreenStar Pilot Program include:
Buck Brothers Construction
Building Arts Sustainable Architecture and Construction LLC
Castle Building and Remodeling, Inc.
Crystal Kitchen Center
EnterSpace Professional Design and Quality Construction
Heritage Builders, Professional Design & Remodeling
Home Tailors, Inc.
House of Dreams, LLC
Lake Country Builders, LTD
Bob Michels Construction, Inc.
Moose Construction Co., Inc.
Morr Construction Services, Inc.
Orfield Design and Construction, Inc.
Mike Otto Construction, Inc.
M|A|Peterson Designbuild, Inc.
Quarve Contracting
Rinnovare, Inc.
RRR Construction Company
White Crane Construction, LLC
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