About our Green Home
Goals for the Project and List of Favorite Contractors
In 2006 we decided to sell our large house on the West Side of Olympia because our kids were grown and large old houses are expensive to maintain. We also knew that if we were ever going to farm, it was time to make that a reality.
Goals for the new house included:
- Building a house 1,500 square feet or smaller
- Using the least environmentally harmful materials over the lifecycle of the products
- Making it energy efficient and easy to maintain
- Ensuring good indoor air quality
- Adding some unique features
- Locating close to town and near a bus-stop for commute trip reduction
- Having enough land for a large garden and raising livestock
While we tried to use FSC wood and non-toxic stains etc., we found that building green means building small and close to public transit. For those interested in building small, please note that good designers for smaller houses are hard to find.
List of Favorite Contractors
We were able to find some outstanding craftsmen and women in the process of building our house. All names listed below are people we can recommend.
Barrett Burr - Polar Bear Construction- outstanding general contractor
Gretchen Van Dusen - Van Dusen Design - designer
Randy Jackson - R & J Trends - septic system design and installation
Jamie Hamza - Cedar Sound Construction- carpentry (now in AZ)
Ron Schinke - Town and Country Roofing
Mudslingers - concrete work
Ron Springer - Springer Plumbing
Levi Todd - GreenCraft - finish carpentry and concrete countertops
Fritz Kraft Design - iron work and deck rail design
Karl Kraft - stone wall construction and creative problem solver
Ion Ecobuilding - natural clay plaster walls
Town and Country Post Frame Buildings - barn
Kirk Haffner - South Sound Solar
Shawn Swanson - US Electric
Kellie Schincke - Working Girls Urban Bee Co.
Steve Hemness - A 1 Rentals - For tools and machinery
Ben MacLay - Cogent Construction
| 
