As you are likely aware, the term “green” has become very popular within the past few years. I come across the term almost every day, whether it’s in a trade magazine, the newspaper, local news or a home improvement TV show. Let’s consider for a moment what exactly is “green”: is it green to put your empty water bottle in the blue recycle bin? Is it green to drive an electric vehicle? Is it green to capture rain water and store it for irrigation use? The answer to all of the above is “yes”… and much more.

The term “green building” is not mentioned as often as just “green”, which has become a general term for being environmentally friendly in numerous ways. Referencing our favorite know-it-all source, here is the Wikipedia definiiton for “Green Building”:

“Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle.”

So how does this apply to CK Valenti Designs? Soon our website will have a page dedicated to green building, and in the coming months you will see how we will apply green building to our projects. This doesn’ t mean we will get into the business of constructing complete buildings – we simply plan to demonstrate green techniques on our smaller projects that make their final home in residential and commercial buildings. We’ve started our focus on using green products, recycling unused lumber, and decreasing the emissions of VOC’s. As we mature along the green building lifecycle, we’ll continue to let you know.

Stay tuned! – Chris