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Trailer Park Trash Goes Green
I recently had the privilege of watching modular homes be built in a factory and then installed on the job site, and I must say, I came away pretty impressed.…
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Losing Ground
When I first ventured into green building early in the 21st century, I was ahead of most people on the curve. Using materials and methods that were practically unheard of…
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Build Green or Build Wrong
And an Added Benefit is that it's Good for Your Business. Yep, I said it. Green is right. If you don’t build green, you are doing at least some of…
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More Stuff About Buildings and Food
As I was putting some jelly on bread the other day, I got to thinking about how we get our food. Industrial farms use petroleum-based fertilizer, harvest their crops with…
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Green from the Start, Part II
OK, in "Green From the Start, Part I" we talked about what to avoid when designing a green house. Let’s take a more positive approach and consider what we should…
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Green From the Start, Part 1
Each year my business model shifts a little (or a lot), often having nothing to do with any actions that I take. Lately I have been certifying homes under several…
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Laying down the law
Enforcing New Requirements on Your Green Job Site OK, so you have encouraged, set expectations, inspected, maybe even pleaded and begged, but you still aren’t getting what you want. So…
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You only get what you expect when you inspect
Most Often, Self-Policing isn't Enough The best way to make sure that your projects meet the performance level you are seeking is to inspect the work at critical points when…
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Setting Expectations and Coaching your team
Make it Clear that There Are No Dumb Questions. Don’t assume that your staff and trades will immediately understand everything you are asking for when making the changes that green…
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What’s so special about green building?
I left off last time with a caution about understanding the differences in green building and potential side effects of changes that are not clearly communicated to the entire team.…