Just Google "Green Building" and thousands of articles appear before your very eyes. Or read an advertisement for a new housing project -- "New Subdivision Totally Green" or "Green Grows Customers." But, what does it really mean to be green?

Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopedia defines green building as the practice of:

• increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water, and materials, and
• reducing building impact on human health and the environment, through
• better site planning and placement,
• design,
• construction,
• operation,
• maintenance, and
• removal

In essence, it means choosing ecologically-friendly processes and materials from start to finish - the complete building life cycle. And just as there are shades of green from light to dark, there are also levels of green building from minimal to extreme.

Often the costs of building green are higher than other processes and materials, but only in the 2-6% range. These costs are often offset over some period of time by lower utility costs. And, there is always, as a recent ad states, a "priceless" quotient knowing that what you are doing is good for the environment and your own home environment.

Here are just a few of the many choices listed in an on-line article, www.buildinggreen.com, that make it easy to be green. Consider using:

• Salvaged materials for your raw materials - bricks, millwork, door and drawer hardware
• Products such as rubber flooring made from recycled automobile tires
• Products with exceptional durability or low maintenance requirements such as fiberglass windows or slate shingles
• Rapidly renewable products like linoleum, cork, natural paints, jute fabrics, and cotton, wool or sisal textiles
• Natural or minimally processed products, i.e., wood products and natural stone
• Porous paving products and special roofing systems result in less stormwater runoff and thus reduce storm water pollution
• Building components that reduce heating and cooling loads and fixtures and equipment that conserve water

We have always used building practices that conserve energy. The way we wrap, tape and flash our windows and doors help your home stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer. We conserve lumber by only ordering as we need it, being very specific as to lengths and materials to reduce waste and overruns. As a general practice, we keep our jobsites exceptionally clean. Less trash results in a lower impact on the surrounding watershed. The list can go on and on.

The rest is up to you. You need to decide what shade of green you want to be. It starts as early as selecting your lot. If you already have a lot, our partnering LEED (green certified) architect, Furman Architects, can incorporate green elements into your plans. Once the plans are complete, we can guide you to select material options that may be higher on the green scale.

So, whatever shade of green you want to be - pale, lime, forest or Carolina - we can help.