The construction business may still be far from rebounding after its economic tumble, but some builders in California are taking advantage of the slow down to retool - in hopes of building more durable and sustainable structures.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that builders are gearing up for the implementation of Calgreen codes, a new building code that takes effect Jan. 1, 2011.
San Diego contractor Russ Earnshaw is embracing a landmark set of environmental codes in California that will raise the cost of new buildings, create more government oversight and increase industry competition once green practices become the norm, the newspaper reports.
“The minimum standard has been raised for the entire state,” Earnshaw told the Union-Tribune. “There is a great long-term benefit because we have to build structures that are longer-lasting and more efficient and just overall better for the environment.”
About 40 percent of the country’s energy is used to run offices, homes, restaurants and other buildings, making green construction a centerpiece of state and national programs to lower emissions of climate-warming gases by reducing reliance on fossil fuels, the newspaper reports.
Developers, environmentalists and regulators debated for more than two years before the California Building Standards Commission adopted the nation’s first comprehensive mandate on eco-friendly construction last month. Builders said the rules are a reasonable compromise that won’t hurt an already crippled industry. Environmentalists said the threshold has been set too low.
Calgreen covers dozens of actions, from managing storm-water runoff and installing low-polluting fireplaces to recycling construction debris and using building materials that release fewer chemicals. The main categories include structural design, energy consumption, water conservation and pollution control.
The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is committed to keeping the concept of creating more durable structures as a centerpiece in the discussions surrounding "green" construction trends. IBHS Director of Code Development Wanda Edwards and Mischa Morgera, IBHS' project engineer and building science specialist, participated in a meeting on the issue last week in Austin, Texas. They were among the drafters of the International Code Council’s International Green Construction Code (IGCC), who gathered to begin finalizing the first-ever integrated green code for traditional and high-performance commercial buildings.
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