Built Green

About Built Green

Built Green is a voluntary program that has both self-certification and third party verification elements. The program requires builders or developers to follow a specific set of criteria to attain status as a “Built Green” home or community. Beyond these standards, builders earn a rating based on a point system.

Building projects are qualified using a checklist organized into six environmentally-friendly action categories. Builders use the checklist prior to construction to determine which features to include in the home. When construction is complete, they then send a signed copy of the checklist to the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBA), certifying that the home contains the identified features.

After reviewing the completed checklist, the MBA will issue a 1- to 5-Star rating for the project. 1-3-Star levels are self-certifying with the builders signature required as confirmation that items on the checklist have been completed. 4- and 5-Star levels require third-party verification.

Features included in the Build Green checklist include:

  • Green Codes
    • Builders are required to meet energy, air quality, water efficiency, and storm water management standards. Built Green recognizes builders that meet these requirements.
  • Site and Water
    • The Built Green program places a high priority on water conservation and quality. The action items include practices to conserve water, protect natural features, prevent erosion, promote and to otherwise improve water quality.
  • Energy Efficient
    • A Built Green home can be designed and constructed to maximize energy savings by reducing heat loss through a combination of design elements and building practices, thereby making the home more economical to operate.
  • Indoor Air Quality
    • Indoor air quality can be improved through a series of practices and features that reduce indoor pollutants such as installing low VOC finishes.
  • Material Selection
    • Builders use designs and material selections that result in conserving limited resources. Using recycled-content products reduces the use of new materials. Using waste minimizing practices contributes to the overall efficiency of the project. Encouraging builders to use locally manufactured products also reduces the energy used getting them to the job site.

 

More Value for Your Home Investment

Built Green homes offer immediate and long term savings for homeowners through careful design, efficient building techniques, and selection of long-lasting and low-maintenance building materials. By building green, your family will enjoy:

  • Higher Quality Construction
    • Today’s architects and builders have access to a wide range of sustainable building materials, equipment, and techniques. Building green means focusing on durability, performance, lowering costs, and reducing environmental impact. Building Green is a good use of your dollars, and the right thing to do.
  • Reduced Maintenance
    • The use of durable interior and exterior products in Built Green homes means you’ll spend less time taking care of your house, and more time enjoying it.
  • Lower Operating Costs
    • More efficient appliances use less water and more energy. Native and drought-tolerant vegetation require less water, pesticides, and fertilizer to maintain. Good planning using Built Green techniques can reduce your operating budget significantly.
  • Best Resale Value
    • If you need to sell your Built Green home, its longer life, reduced operating expenses, and lower maintenance will translate into greater value in the housing market.
  • Security
    • Feel more secure knowing your investment is financially sound while contributing to a healthier, safer tomorrow.

Conscientious builders use various practices that may be invisible to you, but add a lot to your home, including:

  • Significant waste prevention and reduction and savings by recycling construction waste and using reclaimed materials. 
  • Storing materials in secure, protected, and dry places to prevent damage from weather (and losses from vandalism).
  • Using standard dimensions, engineered wood, and stacked floor plans during design, plus creating detail lists and plans for frames during construction to reduce overall volume of lumber used, and to reduce the volume of waste.
  • Installing long lasting products like siding or roofing with 40-50 year life spans.
  • Installing Energy Star® heating/ventilation equipment, appliances, lighting, and roofing materials to reduce energy costs.
  • Installing high performance low-flow fixtures for the kitchen and baths.
  • Installing native and drought tolerant plants in amended soils to reduce irrigation, fertilizer use, weeding, and pest management

4 STAR CERTIFIED BUILT GREEN

Buying a Certified Built Green home has environmental, economic, social, and health benefits. You are not only making less impact on the environment, but also lowering your operating costs, minimizing the use of toxic materials, and enhancing the comfort, health, and the aesthetic qualities of your home.

  • Improved Air Quality and Ventilation
  • Conserving Natural Resources
  • Water Conservation and Quality Protection
  • Low Impact Development
  • 90% Recycling of Construction Waste
  • Low VOC Paint and Formaldehyde-free Millwork
  • Extra Insulation
  • Air-Gap in Between homes virtually eliminates neighbor sound transfer
  • Double-Pane Storm Windows
  • Landscaping includes self-sustaining plant life suited for our climate

 

 

 

    

Copyright 2015. Valentine Homes LLC. 

 

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