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Since April, 2001, Green Home LLC has been dedicated to bringing you quality home improvement construction and craftsmanship. Begun by Brian Higgins, as Union Renovators, we have worked in literally hundreds of houses in the Maryland Suburbs of Washington, DC. Projects ranging from renovation of Island Jim's bar, to rebuilding the first floor and walls of a 19th century house devastated by termites, to refurbishing a basement stairwell, no project is too challenging, or too small. Now organized as Green Home LLC, we are also the premier, flagship company specializing in greenbuild decks, additions, renovations. We are also dealers and installers for the Solar Sheat 1500 series solar thermal panels. Greenbuilding is a relatively new way of building, or renovating a house, using ecological ideas and just plain common sense, to accomplish three main goals for the homeowner: 1) energy efficiency; 2) improved environmental quality, especially indoor air quality, and 3) to heal and protect the earth. Of course, the primary goal of any project is to create and renew the living space of the home. A greenbuild project, such as an addition or whole house renovation, must needs begin at the design stage, with a LEED certified architect/engineer/designer. LEED is a program of the US Green Building Council, and stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
Energy efficiency is accomplished through the design and use of Energy Star appliances and lights, use of daylighting, appropriate insulation, sealing the building envelope against infiltration of unconditioned air, cool roof design, among many other possibilities. Improved environmental quality is accomplished through the design and use of formaldyhyde free building materials, low VOC paints, sealants, adhesives, proper attention to ventilation and fresh air, moisture control and sealing the building envelope, to name a few. To heal and protect the earth is accomplished through the design and use of FSC certified lumber products, recycled/ reused/recovered building materials ( such as "recycled" drywall, where the gypsum was collected from power plant smokestacks, thereby removing sulfur from the plants' exhaust stream, and reducing acid rain! ), recycling construction waste on the jobsite, promoting the use of solar technologies, and designing the project in accords with the buildings' immediate surroundings, to help " reconcile humanity with nature". This is building for the 21st century, one house at a time.
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