Remodeling - February 2009 - (Page 40)

Going Green Green Advantage www.greenadvantage.org PROCEDURE Green Advantage is an environmental certification for building-related practitioners — primarily contractors, subcontractors, and tradespeople. There are three types of certification: commercial, residential, and commercial/residential. Most people sitting for the exam prepare by participating in training that is authorized by Green Advantage. An exam is scheduled after most training sessions. REQUIREMENTS None EXAM Applicants participating in authorized training can take the exam open-book and can retake the exam as many times as necessary to achieve a grade of 75% or greater, but they must pay the fee each time. Those who feel that they have sufficient knowledge can sit for the exam without authorized training, but they must take it closed-book. COST The training course fee varies based on the authorized training facility, ranging from $325 to $800. The exam fee is $125 if taking the exam at a scheduled session as part of authorized Green Advantage training. Students unable to attend the scheduled testing session following the training can arrange to take the test at a participating community college or testing site for an additional $25. Exams must be taken within 90 days of ng completing training. The fee for taking the 175. exam without authorized training is $175. MARKETING/ADDED BENEFIT rchThe Green Advantage Web site has a searchable database of certified individuals. ain It is possible for your project to attain ant a LEED Innovation Credit if a significant percentage of the project’s building crew is Green Advantage–certified. CONTINUING EDUCATION Because the green-building field is rapidly developing and changing, candidates must pass a re-certification exam every three years to remain Green Advantage–certified. The cost is $125. INDIVIDUALS CERTIFIED Several thousand National Green Certiﬁcations and Programs NAHB NATIONAL GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM www.nahbgreen.org This program will provide guidelines and certification for new construction, as well as multifamily and remodeling projects. “The NAHB and ICC [International Code Council] took on the challenge of creating a residential green-building standard with the requirements of the American National Standards Institute [ANSI] in mind, with hopes to create a standard not just in name, but an official standard that will be the de facto definition of green buildings,” says Kevin Morrow, NAHB’s program manager for green building standards. The NAHB/ICC standard is awaiting approval from ANSI. It includes energy, water, and resource efficiency, and environmentally sensitive lot development. The standard contains a list of mandatory as well as optional items from which contractors and remodelers can choose in order to reach a certain number of points. They can then use an online scoring tool to add up the green features in a total of seven categories. If the contractor decides to certify the house, he can arrange for inspection by someone from an approved list of proved green verifiers, who will then send the information to the NAHB. The remodeling requirements quirements of the certification will be based on when the home was cons structed and what type of work is being done. There will be a l series of steps for remodelers to delers follow for these projects. Certification cost for a single-family home is $200 for NAHB members, and $500 for nonmembers. LEED FOR HOMES www.usgbc.org/LEED/homes The U.S. Green Building Council’s well-known LEED program — favored by architects for com- mercial buildings — also has a residential component. LEED for Homes uses one standard for both new houses and remodels, so remodeling projects must be significant gut renovations to meet its standards. “You need to go down to studs,” says Nat Kredich, vice Nate president, residential market development, USGBC. “If you don’t, we don’t have a picture of how the whole home works.” Kredich says that it might be difficult for remodelers to earn points in some of the credit categories, such as credit for building in a high-density area or near mass transit because “with 40 Remodeling February 2009 remodelingmag.com http://www.greenadvantage.org http://www.nahbgreen.org http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/homes http://www.remodelingmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Remodeling - February 2009

Remodeling - February 2009 Contents First Word Market Watch Linda Case Mark Richardson Shawn McCadden Ways + Means Bottom Line Sales + Marketing Field Notes By Design Tech@ Work Good Form Close Up Second Look Going Green Clinic Specbook Upscale Remodeling Start Right People, Process, Profits Interview: Sara Ryan Duffy, President of SRD International New + Notable Products Final Touch Green Speak Green Spec In Focus First Look Benchmark

Remodeling - February 2009

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