Taperman articles

All that ‘green’ talk has had you suitably enthused to build a green home. So how do you go about it? To do that requires certain preparations and answers to certain issues. The primary concern would be the planned location for your green house. Which green resources are indigenously on hand? To build your green house what are the suitable green designs? Who else is interested? Is there a suitable architect available? Can my authorities help me? We will answer each of these questions to get a clear picture on how to build your green house.

The designs required for construction of green homes will depend largely on the geographical location you choose. If it were in the mountains, a different type of approach would be required, say to a house in the plains or the deserts or by the seaside.

The green resources available locally will come next in your checklist for your green home construction. Your choice would have to be sensible, even though plentiful organic resources are available. For example, choosing to cut down those trees which are plentiful instead of the rare long living variety which are much more difficult to replace. Using products made from material recycled from city’s landfill is an option and could be your contribution to national resource conservation.

The sort of green design needed for your house will again be a function of the area where you plan to build the house taking into consideration the general weather. For instance, flat topped cabins are more suitable for mountains and sloping traditional roofs with channels for wet weather. Hot weather favors the use of straw bale and compressed earth blocks in green home constructions.

Involving other people is a positive way to ensure the viability of green home construction. Because a ‘posse’ is always better than a ‘lonesome ranger’ as numbers add to safety. Safety in terms of finances as well as conservation of resources. For instance, common swimming pool, common solar panel grid, common water harvesting projects and common recycling plants can easily be shared by a community wishing to build green homes. A ‘green’ home construction is not a province of the uninitiated. Get yourself a good architect with proven track record who knows all the pros and cons of green home construction. It would be his ken to advise you on the best tax benefits from the government, the best designs to incorporate and the best resources to use for best use of your money. That should be your mantra for constructing a green home.

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