77 Comments

1. 
   Trevor_Lambert | Jan 05, 2019 09:17am | #1

   Small Planet has a Canadian warehouse, in Vancouver. The name is Small Planet Supply, not Workshop.

2. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 05, 2019 09:29am | #2

   Trevor,
   Thanks for the corrections. I appreciate it.

3. 
   Andrew_C | Jan 05, 2019 03:57pm | #3

   Martin: I hope this works without being abused. Thank you for attempting it.

4. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 05, 2019 04:32pm | #4

   Right now, we need some GBA readers from Colorado to suggest some companies to include in this list.

1. 
   Robert Opaluch | Jan 05, 2019 08:50pm | #10

   http://cohomebuildingacademy.org/contact/
   You might try contacting them for more information about construction in Colorado.
   I worked with a similar organization in the 1980's.

2. 
   BillDietze | Jan 06, 2019 05:48pm | #25

   Lotus Energy Solutions
   POB 803
   Ophir, CO 81426
   970-708-9674
   [email protected]
   http://lotusenergysolutions.us

   I used Lotus for blower door testing. I'll use them for a final blower door test and FLIR camera work. They also do energy audits, Manual J heat load calculation and HERS rating. Located in SW Colorado near Telluride, Ridgway and Cortez.

3. 
   LawrenceMartin | Jan 09, 2019 09:07pm | #49

   Hi Martin.

   We are an architecture firm (Yamaguchi Martin Architects) in the Denver/Colorado Springs area and we have been offering energy efficient home designs through houseplans.com as well as custom designs. In our own frustration with finding green builders in this area, we decided to build our own "Pretty Good” house this past year. We have first hand knowledge about how difficult it is to find contractors, sub-contractors, or designers with any interest in energy efficient homes. I also now know a lot more about the possible pitfalls of certain technology and material choices we made.

   We would be honored if you would consider adding us to the Green Building Bulletin Board. I wish it had been available to us when we started our construction last year.

   Larry Martin
   Yamaguchi Martin Architects
   1440 Gore Drive, Larkspur, CO 80118
   http://www.yamaguchimartin.com

5. 
   rhl_ | Jan 05, 2019 05:28pm | #5

   I recently toured a house for sale build by a passive house builder, Ed Nugent. https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-nugent-leed-ap-phius-certified-builder-a1534112/

   I was connected to him through Nick Shaw at 475 Building Supply.

   His website is http://nugentcm.com. I am located in westchester, ny.

   He only does whole house retrofits, but he has been able to refer me to contractors he works with for various projects.

6. 
   rockies63 | Jan 05, 2019 06:24pm | #6

   Perhaps a mention of which states are included in each region would help. Also it might be a good idea to mention the predominate climate zone that is in that state or province since so many readers are looking for articles, information or products appropriate for a specific climate.

7. 
   calum_wilde | Jan 05, 2019 06:40pm | #7

   http://www.iko.com sells insulation in Canada.

   Good idea. 👍

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 05, 2019 07:13pm | #8

   Calum,
   Here's my editorial opinion: We're not going to list insulation manufacturers or dealers, window manufacturers or dealers, furnace manufacturers or dealers, or heat pump manufacturers or dealers.

1. 
   calum_wilde | Jan 06, 2019 12:06pm | #17

   What's the difference between a supplier and a dealer?

1. 
   Trevor_Lambert | Jan 06, 2019 12:57pm | #18

   Here's how I interpret the two.

   Supplier is a place you can buy things, and usually a variety of things.
   Dealer represents one particular product or brand (often dealer and manufacturer are one and the same) , and usually you can't buy direct from them; they refer you to a supplier or distributer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as a man on the street or small contractor, I'm pretty sure I can't call up IKO and order from them.

2. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 06, 2019 01:16pm | #19

   Calum,
   I'd like to provide contact information for suppliers of building materials of special interest to green builders, especially hard-to-find items. If I start including contact information for materials used by every residential builder in North America -- materials like insulation or windows -- we'll end up with a useless database that includes every lumberyard on the continent.

1. Expert Member
   Michael Maines | Jan 06, 2019 02:49pm | #21

   Martin, two suppliers of hard-to-find items that I use regularly:
   https://www.tamtech.com/
   http://www.conservationtechnology.com/

2. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 06, 2019 03:11pm | #22

   Michael,
   Conservation Technology is already included. I'm happy to add Tamarack Technologies.

2. 
   Deleted | Jan 09, 2019 09:06pm | #48

   “[Deleted]”

8. 
   maine_tyler | Jan 05, 2019 07:24pm | #9

   Cool to see this being tried!

   It will be interesting to see if this snowballs into something valuable. I can see how these would be tricky waters to navigate.

   I also could see finding the right balance tricky (i.e. gathering a critical mass to make it useful whilst not including every lumberyard and builder on the corner). Seems worth a shot nonetheless!

   While it makes sense not to include dealers of the above mentioned (to strike that balance) what about contractors who perform installs essential to certain techniques (I'm thinking dense pack cellulose here)?

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 06, 2019 05:52am | #16

   Tyler,
   Including insulation contractors who specialize in dense-packed cellulose makes sense.

9. 
   Robert Opaluch | Jan 05, 2019 08:53pm | #11

   I'd suggest Mike Guertin, East Greenwich, RI. Impressive guy who's written quite a bit of educational material and works with construction tech grads, among other things.
   https://www.mikeguertin.com

10. 
    Robert Opaluch | Jan 05, 2019 09:16pm | #12

    I'd suggest Malcolm Taylor, a builder in British Columbia, Canada, who contributes often to Q&A and offers a lot of sensible practical advice.

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 06, 2019 01:18pm | #20

   Robert,
   I sent Malcolm Taylor an email. He is working on developing a web site. He let me know that once his web site is up, he will be glad to be included here.

1. Expert Member
   MALCOLM TAYLOR | Jan 06, 2019 05:02pm | #24

   Martin,

   I can see this potentially becoming a bit of a minefield, with people nominating themselves or others, with you having to act as a gatekeeper of quality or relevance. I think you should feel free to exclude those work or products you are not comfortable vouching for - and that includes myself.

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 07, 2019 05:27am | #28

   Malcolm,
   The jury is still out on whether this experiment is a minefield. But don't worry, Malcolm -- you make the list. Just let me know when your web site is up and running.

2. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 14, 2019 07:07am | #54

   Robert,
   Malcolm Taylor has been added.

11. 
    Robert Opaluch | Jan 05, 2019 09:18pm | #13

    Not sure if Dana Dorsett (MA) wants any consulting work, but he sure contributes a lot of it here on GBA, and is deeply appreciated by many of us. Incredible depth of knowledge and helpful advice.

12. 
    igrigos | Jan 05, 2019 10:15pm | #14

    Sustainable Comfort Inc. and Building Evolution Corporation in central MA are worthy of this list in my opinion

13. 
    _Stephen_ | Jan 06, 2019 03:52am | #15

    Building Knowledge did the engineering work for my NetZero home in Canada. I recommend them as a consultant

    http://www.buildingknowledge.ca

    Wrighthaven homes was the builder. Steve is very excited to build energy efficient homes, and was very willing to work with us through the process.

    My house is one of a handful of houses certified by the Canadian Home Builders Association under their NetZero home program, and they achieved an absolutely admirable 0.6 ACH rating for air tightness, which is great. I recommend Wrighthaven Homes as a builder.

14. 
    MeriMeri | Jan 06, 2019 04:04pm | #23

    I'd be happy to be added to the Midwest consultant list.
    Tepper Architects
    Meri Tepper
    http://www.tepperarchitects.com

15. Expert Member
    MALCOLM TAYLOR | Jan 06, 2019 09:10pm | #26

    I'd like to nominate Viridian Energy, who do solar installations on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Lower mainland.
    https://viridianenergy.ca.

    They are a co-op who have done work with local First Nations, residential and commercial projects. They also ran free seminars for my small community, and are extremely easy to work with.

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 07, 2019 05:29am | #29

   Malcolm,
   I have no doubt that Veridian Energy is a great company. But I'm not going to start listing PV installation companies -- there are too many of them. Once one PV installation company is listed, I'll have to list hundreds of them.

1. Expert Member
   MALCOLM TAYLOR | Jan 07, 2019 11:22am | #33

   Fair point.

16. 
    David_Foley | Jan 06, 2019 11:13pm | #27

    Maine, architecture: Holland and Foley Architecture LLC, http://www.hollandandfoley.com. We’ee GBA subscribers and were referred here by good friend and colleague Michael Maines. Think that Chris Briley, Kaplan and Thompson, Marc Rosenbaum, and others could vouch for us. Thanks for attempting this!

17. GBA Editor
    Martin Holladay | Jan 07, 2019 05:31am | #30

    David,
    Holland and Foley Architecture was added to this list 24 hours ago. I urge anyone who wants to suggest a company: First, check and see if that company is already on the list.

1. 
   David_Foley | Jan 07, 2019 06:47pm | #35

   Malcolm, I did check and somehow missed that. Thank you!

18. 
    bob_swinburne | Jan 07, 2019 09:09am | #31

    http://www.seon.info/
    is a Brattleboro based organization that has a small local database, has a yearly high performance home tour, has an intro course and is developing a high performance builder program spearheaded by Peter Yost and sponsors a monthly group much like Michael Maine's group in Maine. Might actually be worth a story!

19. 
    Yupster | Jan 07, 2019 11:11am | #32

    Small correction for "Trevor Day & Associates". The correct location is 15 George St. West, Havelock. As opposed to West Havelock. Thanks for including our firm!

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 07, 2019 11:29am | #34

   Yupster,
   Thanks for the correction. And you're welcome.

20. 
    markgimmeshelter | Jan 08, 2019 07:48am | #36

    We would be happy to be added to the list as a midwest builder
    https://gimmeshelteronline.com
    Thanks
    Mark Klein Gimme Shelter Construction Amherst WI

21. 
    hallie17 | Jan 08, 2019 11:54am | #37

    I would be honored to be listed as a consultant in the Midwest Region. Certainly not the expert that many on the list are, but I try to be a leader in northeast Ohio. My website doesn't yet reflect it, but I have designed two double stud wall homes, was architect for a couple of Youthbuild LEED project, and have committed to all my new homes being at least Zero Energy Ready or better standard.

    Hallie Bowie
    New Leaf Home Design, LLC
    http://newleafhomedesign.com/
    1867 Brookshire Road
    Akron, OH 44313
    330-329-6901

    A couple of builders I suggest in our area- the ones who built the double stud wall houses. Cornerstone has also built a project for LEED Platinum certification:

    Cornerstone Construction
    http://cornerstonehomeconstruction.com/
    6586 Pioneer Trail
    Hiram, OH 44234
    (330) 208-5175

    All Seasons Construction
    http://www.allseasonsbuild.com/
    P.O. Box 10
    Wakeman, OH 44889
    440-574-1231

22. 
    charlie_sullivan | Jan 08, 2019 10:12pm | #38

    When I saw the idea of a community bulletin board, I thought it was going to be a place for selling, trading, or giving away tools and supplies for green building. This is much more useful, and I think it's a great idea.

    Would used building material suppliers be something worth listing? There are the used insulation material companies and more general used/surplus building material stores, many run by habitat for humanity and similar non-profits. Perhaps there are too many of the latter to list, but the used insulation dealers are fewer and pointers to them often show up in discussions.

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 09, 2019 05:18am | #39

   Charlie,
   If readers want to suggest companies that sell used insulation, I'll include them on this list.

23. 
    user-7174087 | Jan 09, 2019 09:48am | #40

    Hi ! If you are looking for a great site in French, there's Ecohabitation in Québec, a non-profit organization that facilitates the emergence of healthy, resource-efficient and energy-efficient, sustainable, affordable and accessible homes.

    Ecohabitation
    6001 St-Hubert | Montreal QC | H2S 2L8
    514.985.0004 #605 | 1 855.400.0326
    http://www.ecohabitation.com

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 09, 2019 09:54am | #41

   User 7174087,
   Ecohabitation is a good group. I've attended one of their conferences, and published a report here on GBA ("A Green Building Conference in Montreal").

   However, I've decided that this bulletin board won't include non-profit educational organizations -- in part because broadening the scope of this resource will just increase my work load. I'm going to stick with suppliers, consultants, and builders, at least for the time being.

   Thanks for your suggestion.

24. 
    user-1072251 | Jan 09, 2019 11:02am | #42

    One nomination for window suppliers/dealers: Kris Brill - Pinnacle WIndow Solutions in Maine. They sell Logic Tilt Turn window direct to builders. They're also a dealer for other windows, but the only dealer for Logic.
    And a good dense pack installer who understands building science: Ric Burns, Shakes to Shingles, PO Box 2142, Concord, NH 03302; 603-415-1115
    And please include us as NZR/PH builders: Bob Irving; RH Irving Homebuilders; 543 West Salisbury Rd, Salisbury, NH 03268

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 09, 2019 11:20am | #45

   Bob,
   Thanks for your suggestions. In Comment #19, I explained that I'm not going to include window manufacturers or window distributors. Your other suggestions are good ones.

25. 
    user-1072251 | Jan 09, 2019 11:07am | #43

    Martin - your post on the Monteal conference is a good reminder that they are excellent places to learn and find information, so I believe they should be listed in a Conference section. As we've seen with both the Burlington EVBBBD conference, and NESEA Boston, attendees come from all over to these conferences.

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jan 09, 2019 11:15am | #44

   Bob,
   I started this bulletin board in a few hours, out of a sincere belief that it's better to get the resource up and running than talk about it. But I can't do everything!

   In the future, a list of conferences (and PV installers, window dealers, educational non-profits, and lumberyards) might be useful. But one step at a time -- at least until I get more help at GBA.

26. 
    jimruss75 | Jan 09, 2019 12:33pm | #46

    Where does Western New York fit into your geographic list? We're not mid-Atlantic, we're not New England, we're not Upper Midwest. Anyway, Airtight Services (http://www.airtightservicesinc.com/) is a great company near Rochester offering dense-pack cellulose, energy auditing, and other services. I used them for passive house retrofit consulting.

27. 
    user-1141946 | Jan 09, 2019 05:12pm | #47

    Martin,
    Love your articles and all of the comments from readers! I designed and built my first home for a customer in the Troy, NY area in 1977 using metal skinned SIPs, actually back then no one had coined the term "SIP" yet. I have since constructed double wall, 2x4 and 2x6 walls with exterior ridged foam, post and beam with SIPs, OSB SIP structures and most recently another steel skin SIP home with European windows and doors in Old Fort, NC with a Blower Door test of 1.2 and a HERs rating of 50 and am currently building a log home in Valdese, NC. I use Panasonic ERVs and use European tape for air sealing and a lot of strategically placed caulk!
    The subject of finding and training younger folks interested in the construction trades comes up with every sub contractor and Building Code Inspector I see. We are all concerned that there are not enough of the younger generation available to take over any of the construction trades, especially energy efficient construction when us senior (read older) builders retire (I only build one home at a time now).
    A few experts you may want to add to your list:
    Chris Kavala, [email protected], very knowledgeable SIPs (you probably know him)
    Leroy Sloan, [email protected], does Manual J, D, etc. calculations at a very reasonable cost
    David Goulding, [email protected], blower door testing and HERs rater, although his office is in GA he does travel to other states including NC
    Please include me as a NC Licensed Contractor, very experienced with energy efficient construction. I build one home at a time.
    Richard Melius
    Strongwood Carolina Log Homes, LLC
    [email protected]
    336-993-5970
    Thank you so much for taking on this very worthwhile project

28. 
    PAUL KUENN | Jan 10, 2019 03:03pm | #50

    Great idea!

    Can you further divide into Great Lakes Region? We can hardly understand the language SW of Illinois;-) Really, we are another Zone from most of the "Midwest".
    I'd also like to be nominated to consultant, even though I end up doing most of the work. On my 3rd full retrofit after I did the story on my house. https://kuennllc.com/ . Last two homes we achieved full rewards from WI Focus On Energy for the home owners. Reduced air leakage by 95%! I work with John at https://www.home-energy.biz/ and Douglas Meek, Highland Building Consultants; PO Box 12644, Green Bay, WI 54307, 920-621-0717, both energy auditors in NE WI. We all learned together over 10 years ago with Midwest Renewable Energy Association, also a great contact. Thanks!

29. 
    Matt_Bowers | Jan 10, 2019 08:41pm | #51

    Passive House (PHI) Certifier, Passive House Consultant and HERS Rater
    Rochester Passive House Consulting (Matt Bowers)
    PO Box 448 Honeoye Falls, NY 14472
    RochesterPassiveHouse.blogspot.com

30. 
    albertrooks | Jan 11, 2019 08:29pm | #52

    Martin,

    Nice work. I love the idea. I'd like to nominate World Class Supply. https://worldclasssupply.com/store/

    Reid runs a good operation.
    375 Wedgewood Road
    Newark DE 19711
    United States
    Phone & Email
    Phone: 302-737-1441
    [email protected]

31. 
    maine_tyler | Jan 11, 2019 10:21pm | #53

    Not sure if this would justly fall under 'materials suppliers' but there is a collaborative website that lists local wood product producers for Maine. So it would be a list within a list. It locates the various producer/suppliers on the Maine map and separates by category such as: Beams, Millwork, Cedar, Hardwood, Reclaimed wood, etc

    edit: woops, the website is: https://www.localwoodworks.org/

32. 
    hallie17 | Jan 15, 2019 03:29pm | #55

    Another nomination for Midwest Consultants:

    Nate Adams, Energy Smart Home Performance
    http://energysmartohio.com/
    4103 State Route 82
    Mantua, OH 44255
    330-524-6495

33. 
    pakrat1 | Jan 23, 2019 11:31pm | #56

    Would love to see some builder / Architect ref in the Houston TX area

34. 
    david_king | Jan 24, 2019 12:40pm | #57

    475 has a west coast warehouse in Portland now.
    The contact name is Ian Nimmo
    Ian Nimmo, BPI BA
    Account Manager
    475 High Performance Building Supply
    c: 707.953.3165
    [email protected]

35. 
    MaryinLyme | Mar 04, 2019 09:33am | #58

    I'm looking for an energy consultant to help with HVAC and heat pump advice on a new build in the Upper Valley NH/VT. I was trying to find Bruce Harley info but could only find his mailing address. Any suggestions? Thanks, Mary

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Mar 05, 2019 04:55am | #59

   Mary,
   Here is a link to a PowerPoint presentation by Bruce Harley: "Installer Guides for Sizing, Selecting and Installing Air-Source Heat Pumps in Cold Climates."

   The last slide in this presentation has Bruce Harley's contact info:

   Bruce Harley
   Bruce Harley Energy Consulting
   [email protected]
   802-694-1719

1. 
   MaryinLyme | Mar 05, 2019 09:20am | #60

   Thanks so much Martin!

1. 
   charlie_sullivan | Jul 18, 2019 06:04pm | #64

   Hello Mary, I'm not sure if you will see this, but in case you do, and you are still installing a Zehnder system, I am nearby and have a collection of leftover tubing and parts from my that I would happily donate to a good home or even a pretty good home.

36. 
    TimTuckerCom | Mar 25, 2019 01:05pm | #61

    Would be interested in finding someone in the SE Michigan area... hope to see this grow.

37. 
    pbout | Apr 17, 2019 10:52am | #62

    I have about 700 square feet of 1.5” R6 Rockwool Comfortboard 80, leftover from my house remodel project. I’ve posted it on my local Craigslist (Santa Cruz, CA), but thought I'd post it here as well, as this is where I learned much of what I applied in my project. When I was sourcing materials, I could only buy Comfortboard by the pallet, so I would have been happy to find a partial pallet when I was buying materials last year.
    Full ad here, which includes a picture of the installation on my house: https://post.craigslist.org/manage/6865101192

    FWIW, I'm a professional mechanical engineer and I drove the spec on my remodel project as the owner/builder, with a goal of building a 'very good house'. We aren't done yet, but I did a blower door test at sheetrock hanging and results were 0.61 ACH@50 and 0.45 CFM@50/sq ft. I'll test again when we move in to get a final number.

    
38. 
    Homeowner_Chitown | Apr 29, 2019 01:11pm | #63

    Would be nice to know of a builder in the Chicago area -

39. 
    unremarkab1e | Nov 17, 2020 12:25pm | #65

    Bump for annual updated list if the editors have come across any new additions.

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Nov 17, 2020 04:03pm | #66

   Mark,
   As far as I know, only a few contractors have contacted GBA with a request to be added to the list. If any contractors think they deserve to be on this list, I hope they post a comment on this blog.

40. 
    Hawnes | Feb 07, 2021 11:52am | #67

    Any builders in Vancouver, BC, Canada?

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Feb 07, 2021 01:28pm | #68

   HW,
   Contact Malcolm.

   Malcolm Taylor Design and Construction
   Southern Vancouver Island, BC
   [email protected]

1. 
   Hawnes | Feb 07, 2021 02:34pm | #69

   Great thanks!

41. 
    RBecca | Nov 23, 2021 04:43pm | #70

    Any GC's in the Twin Cities area? Particularly renovation focused folks.

1. 
   BirchwoodBill | Nov 23, 2021 08:13pm | #71

   Applewood Remodelers out of white Bear lake.
   We did two remodels with them first floor and second floor.
   https://www.applewoodremodelers.com/birchwood-renovation

42. 
    Joe_in_Colorado | Oct 25, 2022 06:21pm | #72

    Martin, the website link for Lightly Treading Inc. in Colorado appears to be defunct. The last post on their Facebook page from 2019 says they were merging with PCD Engineering, which seems to have been swallowed up in 2021 by an even larger commercial engineering firm.

43. 
    MartinHolladay | Oct 25, 2022 08:22pm | #73

    Joe,
    Thanks very much. I have removed Lightly Treading Inc. from the bulletin board. I appreciate your note.

44. 
    jf_architect | Oct 26, 2022 09:08am | #74

    Would love to be included here for the New England consultants section!

    Joe Fisher Architect
    47 Cary Rd.
    Plymouth, MA 02360
    http://www.jfarchitect.com

45. 
    Ric_Soares_of_Holistic_Homes_Architecture | Dec 28, 2023 10:15am | #75

    Hello Martin,
    I would like to add my NJ firm to the board but my email to you bounced back.
    I sent it to: martin .. greenbuildingadvisor ... com

1. 
   MartinHolladay | Dec 28, 2023 10:54am | #76

   Ric,
   I'm retired, so my old Taunton email doesn't work. I sent you an email a few minutes ago.

46. 
    SLHKing | Dec 02, 2024 12:09am | #77

    Please visit Simple Life Homes for professional passive house builders and prefab kits. Visit: https://simplelifehomes.ca/