Thinking about remodeling your home? Want to green up your house? If building or remodeling is in your near future, plan a Memorial Day visit to Truckee High School’s 17th Annual Truckee Home and Building Show. The event, to be held May 23 and 24, will display over 120 exhibits enticing shoppers to meet with construction professionals and suppliers, find the latest home technology, and see how green building is making a difference in the Truckee/Tahoe area.
The majority of the show’s exhibitions will feature green building techniques and renewable energy services for anyone looking to lower energy bills and decrease his or her carbon footprint. Throughout the weekend, lectures from professionals will feature a green building overview including the latest in green jobs. Home show coordinator Pam Neff announced, ‘This is the first year we are doing a lecture on green jobs and how to make a living in the industry.’
In previous years, when building was booming and businesses were often overbooked, builders and contractors did not have as much time to spend with customers as they would have liked. Currently, with a downturned economy, builders have more time to educate their clients at each stage of construction, and can offer better prices.
And don’t think the home show is strictly for homeowners. For renters who think greening up a house is expensive but want to cut energy costs, many of the businesses at the show will offer free green products. Neff stated, ‘Bring in your power bill and Sierra Pacific Power will show you how to cut costs with innovative ideas and by giving away energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs).’ Truckee Donner Public Utility District is also giving away low-flow showerheads in the spirit of greening up the community.
A highlight of the Truckee Home and Building Show and a favorite event of past attendees is the Green Home Tour, put on by the Sierra Green Building Association (SIGBA). Guests will visit three local green homes, and get the chance to talk to homeowners and see green building put into practice. Admission is $6, and many local publications have two-for-one coupons. All proceeds benefit the Truckee Unified School District.
-For info, contact Pam Neff, info@truckeehomeshow.com, 530-587-3477 or visit truckeehomeshow.com.
The Regional Green Building Symposium
The Symposium is being held the same weekend as the Truckee Home & Building Show. Organized by the Sierra Green Building Association (SIGBA), the symposium is an opportunity for all those affiliated with the green building industry to meet, collaborate and educate the public on the latest information related to sustainable building and living in the Northern California and Western Nevada area. Symposium speakers include J.D. Hoss, owner of J.D. Hoss Custom Carpets and Floors, who will discuss natural and recycled carpets; Scott Terrell, conservation specialist with the Truckee Donner Public Utility District, who will talk about green jobs and careers; and Tamara Perlman of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, who will present ‘Retaining Energy Credits in the Green Real Estate Market.’
Also at the symposium will be a remodeling clinic presented by the Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe (CATT). Some of the speakers scheduled to talk include Julie Fitzgerald of Sierra Mountain Mortgage, who will discuss financing a remodel; Architect Frank Ross, who will talk about ideas and plans for remodeling; and Peter Greenberger of PACWEST Construction & Development. Greenberger will touch on what to expect when your remodel starts.
All speakers and events take place at (or leave from) the Truckee High School, and are all included with the price of admission to the Truckee Home & Building Show.
Building the Super Home
Experienced local green builder and licensed contractor Matthew Stein, says his biggest personal and professional achievement was writing his book, ‘When Technology Fails,’ a manual for self-reliance, sustainability, and surviving long-term emergencies (See ‘Surviving the Long Emergency with Local Author Matthew Stein’ in Moonshine Ink, Feb. 13, 2009). Stein will be at the Truckee Home and Building Show to share his knowledge about green building, energy efficient homes, and his book, which continues to top Amazon’s book sales since it first appeared on the website in 2008.
On Sunday, Stein will talk about how to build a super efficient fire- and earthquake- resistant home, dubbed the ‘Super Home. ‘I would love to build one of these houses in the Tahoe area,’ says Stein, adding that a new green building can conserve up to 95 percent of traditional energy use.
Stein will also talk about how to go beyond defensible space by improving the fire resistance of an existing home. ‘I will go over the lessons learned from the few homes that survived severe firestorms in the 1993 Laguna Beach fire,’ he says. Stein says there are a number of systems that are fire resistant – including those for roof design, ventilation, and insulation – and that it’s important to make those fire-resistant, too.
Stein, owner of Stein Design and Construction, has designed hurricane-resistant, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly homes for years, and urges people to know the difference between green building and green washing. ‘To evaluate whether a given building material or system is truly green, one must look at the whole life cycle of the material and/or system,’ he adds. ‘For example, since wood is a renewable resource, it is green if it is sustainably harvested, but it’s not green if its unsustainable harvest contributes to deforestation.’
In today’s market, green washing has become a problem. Since most people don’t have the time, energy, and technical training to properly know the difference, Stein explains that there are organizations, such as Greenspec, whose sole duty is to evaluate products, materials, and systems in an unbiased manner to help people make better choices when remodeling or building a green home. While this is just one of the many concerns that arise while building or remodeling a home, Stein adds it is an important one.
To find out more about Matthew Stein’s book ‘When Technology Fails,’ visit whentechfails.com; to learn more about his green building and energy efficient homes visit stein-design.com.
