Your Green Dream Home: First Things To Consider

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If there are any surviving indigenous building practices in your area, then that's the first place to start find out what the old-timers are doing. Don't forget that in many ways there are more similarities than differences between green and conventional buildings. Therefore, local experience — even if it is staunchly conventional — often is quite valuable. Plastering is a good example. The ways in which different plaster mixes will perform in your area can be determined only through experience. I'd rather discuss a mix with a local building veteran than have an experienced green builder from another climate choose my mix. The best approach is to listen to both experts and then make your own decision.

Can You Build It?

The success of your house will be measured in the details. We could build two houses side by side that look identical. One could be drafty, moldy and experience structural damage in just a few years. The other could be warm and cozy, withstanding the elements for many years without damage. The difference would be in the details. Is the flashing correctly installed around the roof, chimney, doors, windows and at the base of the walls? Where does rainwater go after it hits the roof? Is there a foundation drain? Was the passive solar thermal mass inside the house isolated from the earth and the outside air? Should it have been for your climate? The answers to these and other questions can't be easily determined after your house has been built. They require planning and careful attention to detail during construction.

Detailing is a potential downside to choosing some green building techniques because these approaches are not yet part of the construction vernacular. Where do you turn for advice when you have technical difficulties attaching wood roof framing to a monolithic cob wall; or when you are confused about flashing details for a cordwood building? Books only give general information. Text that seems clear in print can be incredibly incomplete when you are trying to carry out the operation described. Inexperience and trailblazing don't go well together. If you don't know what you are doing, then choose building alternatives that have a history in your area and lean on those experienced with them when you need help or advice.

Having said all of that, I think you can build or be very involved in building your own house. The less experience you have, the more preparation you'll have to do. The ideal approach would be to get involved in a project similar to your own with an experienced person in your area. If you plan to build with wood and straw, then look for work (whether paid or volunteer) using those materials.

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