If you’re trying to find ways in which you can reduce your environmental footprint when building a new home, then you should consider green building construction practices. Using green building materials for your home construction is the best place to start.

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Building construction tends to use up a large quantity of natural resources. Around 60 percent of the raw materials, not counting fuel or food, used in the country’s entire economy are used for construction purposes.  By salvaging building materials, you’ll save energy as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to the fact that you’ll be reducing the need to extract raw materials, process them and then have them shipped.

There are many stores that now sell salvaged materials that you can use for your home construction project, including drywall, kitchen countertops, steel, carpeting, plastic lumber, insulation, glass tiles and more. Materials that have been salvaged for future use are required to have a “recycled” label on them so that you know that you are investing in green building materials.

If you are looking for a way to become more environmentally-friendly, then use green building materials for your construction. Contact us at Trilogy Partners for additional home building advice.

Are you planning on remodeling your home soon? If you are, then you should keep the environment in mind as you do so. The following are a few green remodeling tips to implement into your home renovation in order to reduce your environmental footprint as much as possible:

• Replace windows – Upgrade your old windows with more energy efficient models to reduce the amount of air that leaks in and out of your home. In fact, you can use different glass panes for different parts of the home in order to get as much sunlight into your home as possible.
• Upgrade appliances – While upgrading appliances such as your water heater or furnace may seem like unnecessary costs initially – you’ll end up saving on utility bills due to their added efficiency, making the initial costs worthwhile.
• Use green products and materials – Make sure your remodeler uses green products, whether they are recycled materials or new, more energy efficient materials.

Use these green remodeling tips to ensure your home is environmentally-friendly. If you are in need of additional home remodeling advice, be sure to contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

Could your home use a little bit of extra space? If so, why not build an addition to your home? If this seems like the right solution, then make sure that it’s a green home addition by working with us at Trilogy Builds. The following are a few ways in which we will create a green home addition:

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• Green demolition – In order to build an addition we’ll most likely have to tear down a few things. Every addition tends to have some construction waste. We will make sure that the old materials we tear down are either reused or recycled.
• Green windows – When building an addition, we will install double-paned low-energy windows that are more energy efficient and therefore more environmentally-friendly.
• Green plumbing – Most additions require new plumbing. We will insulate your pipes to help reduce the loss of heat. We can also install more water-efficient fixtures, such as low-flush toilets and reduced-flow faucets.
• Green insulation – We will make sure the addition is properly insulated so that you won’t lose warm or cool air and keep outside air from leaking in.

For more information about our green home additions, contact us at Trilogy Builds.

If you are planning on building a home or remodeling extensively, then you should strongly consider green building in order to reduce the negative impact that you have on the environment. The following are a few more reasons why you should build green:

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Typical building projects throughout the country account for 39 percent of all energy use, 12 percent of all water consumption, 38 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, and 68 percent of all electricity consumption. As you see, building projects use a huge amount of resources – green building will greatly reduce the consumption of these resources.

As such, green building will help to improve the quality of our air and water, reduce the stream of waste, conserve and restore our natural resources, and help to protect and enhance our ecosystems and biodiversity. Not to mention the reduced operating costs, better life-cycle performance, and improved occupant productivity that green building will result in as well.

Building or remodeling homes tends to result in a huge waste of resources. To reduce the waste of valuable resources and take advantages of the many benefits, consider green building. For more information, contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

One of the things that you should consider when investing in a green building project is making your new home a zero-energy home. A zero-energy home is a sustainable home that produces as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis. The following are a few tips for building a zero-energy home:

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One of the most important elements of designing a zero-energy home is ensuring that the amount of energy that you need in order to both heat and cool the house is reduced. This is done by making sure the entire home has top-notch insulation to keep air from leaking out or in.

Another element to help reduce energy leaks is choosing the right windows. High-quality, energy-efficient windows will go a long way in making your home more energy efficient. You should also consider the HVAC system you use. Proper sizing software is needed for well-insulated homes so that over-sized equipment isn’t used, which is a waste of energy.

These are just a few elements that will help to create a zero-energy home. For additional information on green building, be sure to contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

The beautiful landscapes that are seen throughout Colorado are well worth taking advantage of, and building a home that blends in with this landscape is easy when you consider building a timber frame home.

A timber frame home is not just a part of current housing trends, a timber home can offer many advantages to those looking to build a sustainable yet attractive home.

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• Timber frame homes give you the opportunity to take in the seasons and views due to their ability to hold plenty of windows. These windows maximize natural lighting, let you take advantage of the views, and make your home feel larger.

• A timber home can be built to fit your space needs perfectly, reducing impact on the environment and on your utility bills.

• Wrapping a timber home in insulated panels can yield great energy efficiency; this tight envelope created around a timber home greatly reduces your heating and cooling costs.

• A timber home blends in well with the surrounding environment, this is especially true in Colorado where our landscape can be filled with rich browns, oranges, and greens.

It is easy to see why timber homes are filling the housing trends landscape once again. Want more information for your future home build project? Contact Trilogy today!

Trilogy Partners possesses both the skill and the experience needed to build you your dream home. However, having a home built is a significant commitment of resources, which is why we recommend green home building practices. Not only is it good for the environment, it’s also good for your wallet.

Consider these financial benefits of living in a green home:

• Green homes are built to be energy-efficient, meaning that they can either be heated or cooled using the least amount of energy possible while still maintaining a comfortable living space. Although the savings may not seem impressive to homeowners in the short run, they can build up to big sums over time.

• Similarly, green homes show the same efficiency when it comes to the usage of water both indoors and outdoors. This results in similar savings when it comes to water bills.

• Green homes are predicted to become more and more popular over time. At the moment, 60 percent of consumers show interest in green home amenities, which has translated to a 9 percent increase in value for homes with some kind of green certification in places like California.

Please contact us to speak about other green home benefits.

More and more people today, including homeowners and corporations, are starting to utilize green technologies when building. Green building is better for the environment, and it betters society as a whole. Now, schools are taking the same approach, educating students about green technologies.

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Education for Sustainability implores students to make smart decisions about preserving a healthy ecosystem. In fact, there’s an actual plan that outlines a strategy for 50 states to utilize green education in their school agenda.

And, online communications and forming working groups are collaborating together to create a funding campaign. This campaign shares best case models and also materials. By the end of 2025, there is a goal for at least 35 states to have a comprehensive green policy. This ensures students are learning about ways to improve and better the environment for future generations to come.

It’s this type of education that is going to make the world a better place. K-12 students will have resources at their disposal to make better decisions that will have a positive impact on the environment.

For more information on green design and green building, contact us today.

Homeowners considering a build-out of their home are wise to consider all of their options. A second story is expensive and time-consuming, but building out also can provide more space, add a particularly functional room, and add significant value to your property. Here are a few of the simplest ways to accomplish this goal:

Enlarge a Room – One of the easiest ways to improve a kitchen, family room or other communal area is to give it a little more room. Relocating a single exterior room is quite affordable and provides significant bang for the buck in terms of money spent versus room created.

Add a Room Over the Garage – While a little more expensive, the area over a garage provides a space where almost anything is possible – a media, craft or game room.

Build an Outbuilding – Adding some extra entertainment space is as easy as adding a pool house, a pergola or a backyard work space. In every case, you will free up space in the main house.

For more information on planning a home or its expansion, please contact us at Trilogy Partners.

If you’re renovating the home, you have a lot of building material options available for use. Consider the following materials to add a beautiful, unique look to your dream home:

• Limestone can make your home’s walls stand out. By texturing the limestone, you will be able to accentuate the shadows, giving your wall a dramatic effect. This texturing will visually soften the hard material, giving your home an elegant, inviting look.

• If you are looking to style up the shelves in your home, you can use a patinated aluminum material that features a spiderweb pattern. This will give your shelves a bold look, making it enjoyable every time you go to grab your socks or clothes. To vary the spider web patterns, the horizontal pieces can be flipped.

• For a truly bold look, you can combine different materials together, such as round glass tiles, terrazzo and wood slats. The contrast can add a lot of intrigue.

For more information on these kinds of building materials, contact us today.