Do it Yourself Eco Friendly Home Improvement Projects

The green building movement has finally grown up. No longer relegated to Mother Earth News, NPR, hippies, and people living in geodesic domes, many ‘mainstream’ builders now make green practices standard. Many people think that they can’t go green if they aren’t building a new home, however there are many DIY projects you can do that will directly affect the environment and your bottom line. From a solely selfish perspective, you’re not only helping the environment, you’ll also be helping your wallet. Green building practices may still cost a bit more up front, but the savings will more than make up for it.

The first thing to think about when doing home improvements is where you will get your materials. Building a shed? Why not check out construction companies in your area to see if they have reclaimed materials at a reduced price? There are many stores that specialize in used building materials now. Local Habitat For Humanity offices often have Habitat ReStores that sell used materials and use the profit to provide affordable housing for families. If your town dump allows access, you can often collect the basic materials needed for small building projects like fences, arbors and playhouses. Is your neighbor remodeling? Ask if those old cabinets they’re ripping out are available. They make great storage space in a basement or garage.

One of the easiest ways to make your home look good without investing a lot of time or money is painting. Look for low or no VOC paints. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds. VOCs can cause many physical problems such as eye and skin irritation to more serious reactions especially in those persons who are sensitive to chemicals. Low or no VOC pains apply exactly like normal paints and are non polluting. If you spill them, they clean up with soap and water. Like low/no VOC pains, newer carpets also are becoming green. Low/no VOC carpeting can be a great way to perk up a room without adding the harmful chemicals that traditional carpet releases. This is a bigger job than painting, but is generally within the scope of a DIY project.

Changing your lighting is a great way to reduce emissions and your electric bill. The easiest switch is to go from incandescent to compact fluorescent. However, if you want to go farther, switching to LEDs is more efficient, lasts longer and uses less energy. Better home lighting stores as well as the internet are great resources for these fixtures. LEDs are still on the expensive side, but are coming down in price. Many newer LEDs are made to fit existing fixtures so it’s as simple as screwing in a bulb.

Replacing appliances with Energy Star appliances will save money. My personal experience was replacing the old ‘avocado green’ circa 1970 fridge with an Energy Star refrigerator. It made a significant dent in the electric bill. Other ideas include setting up recycling bins and a trash compactor for items that can’t be recycled. Garbage disposals are good, but composting is better. It’s very easy to set up a compost pile that takes little maintenance and will supply your garden with ‘black gold’ for many years.

Traditional water heaters store heated water, if you use this water fairly frequently in a sink or appliance that is close to the heater that’s not so bad. If you have a sink that’s far away from the water heater and seldom used you waste a tremendous amount of hot water whenever it is used, that is where an instant hot water heater comes in. Rather than running the tap until the hot water makes it there, an instant hot water heater heats the water at the sink/shower/washer when you turn on the tap and continuously heats it until you turn it off. There is no stored hot water that needs to be heated and reheated until it’s used. Tankless or instant water heaters take very little work to install. They connect at the sink and in the case of electric ones they just plug in. You may have to have a gas line ran by a contractor or your gas company for a gas operated one.

If you have an attic and it’s not ventilated an attic fan or even a whole house fan can save a lot of money. An attic traps hot air in the summer. It can be as simple as placing a large fan in one end or gable window and opening up the opposite window, creating cross ventilation and exhausting the hot air. More involved projects include adding roof fans or even ridge vents. I’ve personally done this type of project and while it is quite involved it is possible for someone who has basic carpentry skills to do it themselves.

These are just a few of the many DIY projects that will green your home, save you money and help the environment. Some require skills that not everyone posses, some anyone can do. Even if you aren’t the do it yourself type, you may be able to find a friend or a contractor that can do it for a reasonable cost. As always, laws in different states and municipalities vary as to what you can do and what requires permits. Please check your local building codes office for further information.