If the construction trend is going green it is slow building momentum in the Columbus area.
From suppliers to those who put hammer to nail, few consumers are asking for environmentally friendly products and few “green” structures are going up area builders say.
Going Green comes under a broad definition. It can mean anything made from materials that are kinder to the environment, to recycling products to eliminating waste.
Craig Foreman, co-owner Foreman Supply & Construction, said there are a lot of ways to go green, which the construction industry has been doing.
“Going green is so big. I think we’re just starting to scratch the surface on what it means,” he said.
Efficiency and recycling is something that is part of the “green” theme, but also was around before the latest trend.
For instance, the City of Columbus adopted more than a year ago the Residential Energy Form, requiring builders to calculate the energy efficiency of construction projects. Foreman said the form, takes into account the “U” rating of windows and doors and “R” rating of insulation.
He said those factors, plus square footage of the structure are taken into account and the overall energy efficiency must surpass the national average in order for the building to pass code specifications.
But the trend is slow to take a strong root in the area.
Mike Woerth, of Woerth Construction Inc., said customers so far are shying away from using a lot of materials that are deemed better for the environment because of cost.
“The cost issue is not good. They’re more expensive ” some are, some aren’t. A lot of people do not have the resources for it.” he said.
That notion is backed up by Dan Deckert, of Deckert Construction, who said customers are not ready to take on the added expense.
“Homeowners look at the bottom dollar,” he said.
Deckert said customers stress cost over quality, but he does have a customer who has talked to him about building a “green” home.
“I’ve talked to people who want to go as much green as possible,” Deckert said.
Curtis Loosvelt, manager Mead Lumber, said locally supplies match demand, which means there are products available but not an overwhelming lumber yards.
“We are getting more and more products ... like treated wood and siding, but we haven’t seen (much interest) yet,” he said.
It may be that the movement to more products that are easier on the environment is slow reaching the Midwest.
“We have 12 different locations, and in the bigger markets there is more of a calling for ‘green’ products,” Loosvelt said.
Foreman said one of his four suppliers carries “green” products, but some are not satisfied with the quality of the newer materials.
He said customers are not beating a path to his door asking for ‘Green’ materials.
“As far as customers calling, we have not had a lot of calls for it,” Foreman said. “The industry and trade magazines we get, nationwide there’s a lot of articles about it, but it’s probably
bigger in the bigger cities that it is in the Midwest.”
Loosvelt said the perception that all “green” products are more expensive may be the reason consumers are slow to get in step with the march to environmentally kinder products.
“Higher cost (of ‘green’ products) is generally the perception, but not all the time,” Loosvelt said.
One of the “green” products available is the Overhead Door Corp.’s EcoBuilt garage doors.
According to information provided by Overhead Door in Columbus, the garage door panels use 100 percent recycled wood fiber.
There are two product lines, the Verde Collection (verde is green in Spanish) and the Traditional Panel Collection, that are environmentally friendly.
The face and back surfaces are formed from resin impregnated recycled newsprint, and can be painted or stained and do not have to be primed.
Steve Dolezal, owner of Joe & Al’s Your Family Grocery, said they were ahead of the “green” curve. About 13 years ago he installed a heat reclaim system that helps heat the store.
The same system that is used to cool the store’s refrigerated cases is used to heat the store.
“We have saved a lot of natural gas,” Dolezal. “We use gas to heat the store, and we are able to turn up the heat a little when it gets cold because it doesn’t cost any more.”
The store also has started collecting plastic bags for recycling.
For homeowners wishing to save a few dollars while protecting the environment, new more efficient heating and air conditioning units are available.
Steve Simmons, co-owner of Total Comfort Inc., said the trend is toward air conditioning and heating units that use freon that is less harmful to the environment.
“It’s called Montreal Protocol, and it’s phasing out anything that is harmful to the environment,” he said.
Montreal Protocol is an international agreement that controls the consumption and production of substances that hurt the ozone layer.
For furnace systems, Simmons said consumers should look for those that are more efficient. Even a 2 percent increase in efficiency can save money.
“Going from a 93 percent efficient furnace to 95 percent can save 9 billion BTUs of gas; there would be 1 billion pounds of CO2 not released into the environment,” he said.
Simmons said those savings are the equivalent of removing 91,830 cars from roads or planting 144,000 new trees.
Total Comfort also has hybrid heating systems that uses electricity and gas to operate, saving consumers money.
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