Step 3 – Green Renovations – Design

Now that you are armed with the home inspectors report and the energy audit you can sit down with the architect and builder to plan the entire project – from the basics, to the energy savings to the green sourced materials and of course all the improvements you wish to incorporate for your dreams.

Designing green involves designing for energy efficiency and includes considerations for insulation, passive solar heating, house shading, colours, flooring and roof materials and landscaping. Green design includes a review of supply source determining what building materials can are environmentally sound (e.g. Forestry Stewardship Council sourced wood (FSC) and cork flooring). Think local here as well, just as we are doing for food sources. Also you may wish to incorporate new and emerging technologies (e.g. green roofs, rain water recovery and cistern storage).

When planning a building, taking care to calculate the materials to be used reduces overall waste. Use common lengths from suppliers to reduce cut off waste – use the 2-4 rule. Lengths of 2 inch increments – 2, 4, 6 etc.

The design and build steps are where Muskoka in the City is most active.

The challenges are there and we look forward to solving them. It is the right thing to do.