Building Green with Turtle Creek Builders
4/18/09: Green has become a bit of a loaded term nowadays; green energy, green collar jobs, green investing, and the green party (among other things) have hefted a lot of meaning onto one little word. Ward Smyth, who heads Turtle Creek Builders of Warren, VT, is doing his best to clear up some of the confusion about designing and constructing environmentally friendly housing.
“Green to me involves all aspects of the house,” Smyth said. It takes into account energy efficiency, natural resource use, and generally choosing materials with less impact. “I think that people became very misinformed about green being expensive. It doesn't have to be.” As Smyth explained, every house Turtle Creek builds is Energy Star certified, and the company doesn't charge any more for a certified house than a regular house. It's up to the client to decide if and how much they want to invest in improving their energy efficiency, and even the highest standard (gold) won't mean projects have to get pricey. “I don't think gold would cost you more than 10-12% more than a normal house.”
Builders are faced with a lot of confusion when it comes to efficiency standards, as well. Energy Star, LEED, and several other rating systems can often make it difficult for builders to decide how to build to who's specifications, and which system offers the most benefits. This is why Smyth got together with about 10 other builders to form the Green Home Alliance (www.greenhomealliance.com) in an effort to go through and compare the different standards. “What we really found out is that they're actually very similar,” said Smyth. The GHA recently published their report to help other builders and the general public navigate the maze of new standards for themselves, and Smyth is optimistic about its possibilities. “We've got a great response from it- It's gonna really improve a huge amount of building across the country.”
Closer to home in Waitsfield, he and the rest of the “turtles” at Turtle Creek are continuing a long tradition of environmentally responsible building. “I've been building energy efficient homes since the 1970s, [and] Carter,” Smyth told me. He's a busy man; Smyth serves on various boards for the association of Home Builders and Remodelers of Vermont, and recently became one of the first certified green professionals in his profession. However, he and his small crew of veteran builders prefer to take things one project at a time.
Still, he has some worries: “My big concern is if we know how to do something, why don't we just do it?” Smyth thinks that there's a lot that could be done for energy efficiency with the technology that we have available today. “And,” he added, “it's not about the money, it's about the motivation.”
“Green is a spectrum, it's not a goal.”
Turtle Creek Builders ltd based in Waitsfield, VT. To learn more, visit their website at www.turtlecreekbuilders.com
