The following is a check list indicating several concepts used in sutainable building. It is intended to be used as a source for ideas which may be applicable to your building project and at the same time deter the overuse of our resources in your efforts to provide safe, less-toxic, affordable, owner buildable structures which work efficiently for many years in this climate (western Colorado). It is by no means complete in terms of listing all concepts used in sustainable building. If you know of more please contact us to have yours included here. Through community we grow to a better world.

SITE ACQUISITION-

Cost

Solar orientation

View corridors,

vegitation

Drainage

Habitat

Previous dump site

Site history

Encumerances

Water availability

Utility availability/access

Code jurisdfictions and restrictions

Zoning restrictions

Building covenant restrictions

Neighboring pollution sources

Reclaimable "junk" land

SITE PLANNING /LAND USE-

Cluster development

Transferable development rights

Conservation easements

Habitat preservation / creation

Impact mitigation- plantings, stream enhancement

View /ridgeline restrictions

SITE DEVELOPMENT-

Permaculture

Gardening

Green house

Roadways- recycled tie tread base

Gravel substitutes- wood chips

Site drainage- storm drainage, retention and catchment

Water catchment- stock watering, garden/lawn watering

Trees/vegitation- shading, views, oxygenation, food/feed

Testing: water, radon, emf, soil contamination, dumpings

Recycling facilities (bins and collection points)

DESIGN-

Space efficiency- build less house

Passive solar heating-

Passive cooling

Remodeling/restoration/ additions

"Envelope houses"

Charrette Design process: consultants ie. solar engineers, bale specialists

graywater plumbers, structural engineers, PV contractors, etc.

BUILDING SHELLS-

Reclaimed structures- house moving, salvage, remodel, restoration.....old houses, silos, barns, sheds, rail cars

water towers, aircraft, mobile homes, recreational vehicles.

solar additions..."don't throw your old house away"

Earth sheltered- cave houses, terradomes, bermed structures

Adobe- form-block, pressed block, "lick and stick"

Poured adobe- floor systems

Rammed Earth

Tire/earth structures

Light clay( timber frame)

Cob (timber frame)

Stone

Timber frame (with various infills..sandwich panels, etc.)

Straw bale,

Recycled masonry block- FAS wall, chip blocks, hydromex

Steel

Frame- superinsulated

Tent structures

GLAZING-

r-3 to r-11 glass systems

Thermopane

Tripple glazed units

Low E

UV filter coating

Argon filled

INSULATION-

Cellulose/recycled paper

Super-insulation

low dust fiberglass

Retrofit insulation

Radiant barriers

WATER-

Water catchment

wells

runnoff retention

created wetlands

gray water

Sewage (black water ) alternatives: composting toilets, biological

onsite treatment

Flow restricting faucets/ showers

Low volume flush toilets

Filtration

Drip /subsurface irrigation

Ground water barriers

Distillation

Creative uses for chlorinated water (besides drinking it)

POWER-

Photo voltaic

Photo voltaic prewire (for future conversion)

Wind power

Mini-hydro

Fuel cells

Net metering

Electric car charging stations (size elect. serv. for future add on)

HEATING-

Passive solar (computer design possible)

Active solar

Ground source

Russian Stoves

Circulating hot water gas

Massing

COOLING-

Passive cooling

Ground source

Water body source

Evaporative

Shielding systems , awnings, window covers

Retrofit remedial shielding -overheating rooms

massing

(note- a well designed, super insulated house seldom needs

additional cooling)

LIGHTING-

day lighting

Energy efficient lighting (emf considerations)

HOT WATER-

Demand gas water heaters

Thru-flow electric shower heads

Solar hot water

Integrated gas water heater/hot water boilers

APPLIANCES-

Solar ovens

Hi-efficiency appliances (Maytag)

TOXICITY CONCERNS

MCS awareness

Formaldehyde avoidance

CFC's

Pesticides

Preservatives

Radon

Aerosols

Carpeting

Chipboard/plywoods (especially cabinets)

Foam boards

EMF

AIR QUALITY-

filtration

Fresh air/ heat exchangers

humidification

Toxic exhausting

Vented appliances

FINISHES-

Low VOC paints

Vegetable source oils

Sealing systems for toxic materials

Stucco systems

Plaster systems

FLOOR COVERINGS-

Poured adobe

Brick/ masonry

stone

Natural wood

Natural fiber/ non-toxic rugs (removable)

MISCELLANEOUS-

Reused building materials/ fixtures

Computer hookups

FOOD PRODUCTION-

All weather greenhouses

Composting equipment

Storage/root cellars

Livestock facilities.

LIFE STYLES/HOME PRODUCTS-

Bio-compatable cleaning products

Outgasing/ toxic clothing

COMMUNITY IMPACT-

] Group building participation- bale parties/ stucco parties

Education programs during building phase

Workshops on site

School tours

Home tours

Videos/ slide shows of building process

Media coverage

PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE BUILDING

* Prostainability- look for systems that give back more than they consume

* Disposal costs- take into account how, where and at what cost the

the structure will be disposed of after the end of it's life.

*Life cycle costing- in making system and materials choices as well as

building size(space efficiency), compare costs and benifits for

the entire life of the unit, not just its initial cost.

*Retirement Investment- consider life impact for retirement living if you

use renewable on site energy sources, reduced home size

(don't forget property taxes) heating costs/ insulation systems,

etc.....money is hard to invest in something that will return

the savings that a good house will.

*Embodied Energy- consider before you buy where the product came from, how much petroleum it took to transport it, the energy it

took to produce it.

a few things to think about:

* More energy goes into the construction of a house than it will use

in its lifetime.

*500 manmade chemicals are present in our bodies that did not

exist before 1920. (Theo Colburn)

*80,000 new chemicals have been registered in the U.S.

in the last 50 years. Only 1,000 have been tested for their effect

on the human nervous system. Only 100 are regulated for use.

250,000 violations of those regulations are recorded annually.(EPA)

*Germany has not allowed the use of formaldehyde in building

materials for 15 years.

*The total human labor invested in the average American home is

1.7 years.

*Colorado population has grown 297% since 1954. (Colorado

Population Coalition).

*Despite recycling, the rate of forest tree cutting has increased in

recent years. (Yale School of Forestry)

*The average American, in a lifetime, consumes 540 tons of construction

materials. (Population Reference Bureau)

*30% of U.S. citizens contain sufficient pollutants to create BRI-

Building Related Illness. (World Health Organization)

*Over 80% of the average American's life is spent indoors.

*Buildings in America consume 30% of our energy output, 60% of

our electricity and financial resources and 26% of our landfill

volume. (Rocky Mountain Institute)

*Enough straw is burned each year in the U.S. to build 4 million

2,000 sq. ft. strawbale houses.(USDA)

*10% of the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest are still

standing. (ZPG Magazine)

* 70% of Americans rate the U.S. environmental problems as serious.

50% say those problems are now affecting their lives.( Gallup Poll)

* Coloradoans now rate problems with our environment as their #2 concern

(second only to growth)....three priorities higher than crime

(Norwest Bank Public Policy Research Program, l997)

* American environmental consciousesness is now at an all-time high.

Corporate, industrial and governmental response to that is at an all-time low.

(Gary Duncan)