Build Green in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Sonoma CountyIn this space I hope to provide you with helpful information on the ins and outs of Sustainable Building and Design.  You can build green in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Sonoma County.  I will answer questions from you regarding how we can keep building yet protect the environment at the same time.  If I receive a question that I can't answer, I will research and find that answer so that we can all learn something about the most responsible way to live in harmony with our natural neighbors.  This is an ongoing process and our responsibility to tirelessly explore.

Primarily, I will provide general information to help you plan your project within the LEED and Green Building guidelines, which are now law for new construction in many of the jurisdictions around the nation.  Here in Sonoma County, CA, many of these guidelines are already required for obtaining building permits, and I believe this is a good thing and long overdue.

In essence, we are going "back to the future."  Many of the Green Build guidelines reflect back to how construction products were obtained, used, and reused before mass transit and mass production ever existed, for example, reclaiming timbers from demolished structures, re-milling them and reusing them in new construction or using building materials that are manufactured locally and are native to neighboring areas rather than having exotic materials shipped in from distant locations.

If we look hard enough, there are plenty of wonderful natural building materials around us that we can use and carefully steward for availability for future generations.  There are several organizations that have formed to begin this work, for example, the Forest Stewardship Council.  On my drawings, I specify that all framing materials must be FSC certified.  The FSC will not clear-cut any forests.  They have a careful oversight program to protect the canopies and floors of their lands so that harvesting new trees is very selective and carefully accomplished.

As with so many of our innovative solutions to problems of the day, we must also be aware of the capitalizing hunger of many manufacturers.  Now it's "camp" for everyone and everything to jump on to the "green machine."  This is an especially difficult juggling act for consumers who are not in the building industry as to what is a truly sustainable product and what is not.  Keeping up to date with manufacturers who meet these very high standards is one of the benefits I receive with my membership in the AIA and CSI.

Even with a difficult economy, this is a good time for growing families to expand their existing living conditions and for new property owners to design that custom home they've dreamt about.  Costs for materials and excellent builders are very reasonable and accessible now, so come by with your home ideas and desires in hand and let's talk.  I provide project excellence from concept to completion.

© Copyright 2009 Dmitri Rusov-Morningstar