Sustainable Home Building

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Home Building

Building your own home is an often exciting, sometimes exhausting experience. It’s also a perfect chance to have a home that’s designed the way you want it to look. But whether you’re hiring a general contractor or doing most of the work yourself, it takes a lot of forethought and planning. The sites highlighted in this Web guide can help you find inspiration to create the home of your dreams and get much-needed help to ensure you don’t miss one of the many details that accompany this endeavor.

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Steps to Building a Home

Home building may seem like a complicated process—and it is—but we’ve found some ... read more »

The Cost of Building a Home

The cost of building a home depends on a multitude of factors, including what type of home you ... read more »

Choosing a Construction Site and House Style

One of the earliest steps in building a new home is deciding what type of home you want and where ... read more »

Building Codes, Building Permits and Variances

Part of building your new home is making sure you’ve got your bases covered in terms of ... read more »

Architects and Blueprints

If you’ve got ideas about designing your own home and need help translating them into ... read more »

Finding and Hiring a Contractor

Many people may help you build your home, but you’ll likely have one general contractor ... read more »

Do-It-Yourself Home Building

For someone with the necessary knowledge and technical skills, building your own home can be a ... read more »

Sustainable Home Building

Sustainable home building incorporates a lot more than the use of “green” building materials. Because heating and cooling are among the biggest energy drains of any home, energy-efficient design can be as important in making a home more energy efficient as buying green products. Use this section to learn the principles of green living and get familiar with green elements to include in the design and construction of your home.

Dulcinea's Insight

Your direct impact on the environment (including your home and the energy it uses) is called your “ecological footprint.”

Benefit from green incentive programs. Check the Web site of your local utility company as well as your state’s Web site to see the tax credits or rebates available for your green investments. (Your power company’s Web site can also be a good source for tips on saving energy.)

For additional information about green building options and other environmentally sensitive living habits, see our findingDulcinea Green Living Web Guide.

Dulcinea's Picks

To learn about green living …

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains why you should consider green building, the aspects of the environment that can be helped by green building, and specific green elements to incorporate into your home.

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Zerofootprint is a nonprofit organization that hosts events to promote awareness of environmental issues, and partners with cities and communities to launch local initiatives. Access tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint, links to environmental news and information about living a green lifestyle. Also use the site to learn about organic and eco-friendly products, and find out where to buy them.

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PBS lets you scroll across an animated house as you play “Your Carbon Diet.” It’s a cute way to see how much energy you use and how much carbon you release yearly just using common household appliances. Note that you need a Shockwave plug-in installed on your computer to scroll through this simulated home.

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For green design ideas and building materials …

Green Home Building discusses an array of green elements to incorporate into your home. Find information about energy- and water-saving design features, and a section on green building materials like cordwood, straw bale and bamboo. Check the menu options on the left and right sides of the site to find the information.

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BHG.com explains some “earth friendly and resource efficient” building materials for use in a green home. The products here are recyclable, energy efficient and also help maintain the health of your home’s residents.

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