Article from Santa Cruz Sentinel, May 20, 2007:
Award-winning Aptos remodeler offers healthy choices

Remodeling is big business. Americans spent $228 billion on remodels last year, and this year's numbers are expected to be higher. But what can you do to prevent your remodeling project from generating piles of waste for the local dump?

Talmadge Construction, an Aptos firm specializing in remodels, has some answers. The business is among nearly 40 in Santa Cruz County — architects, builders, designers and consultants — with certification from Build It Green, a nonprofit advocating construction practices that minimize environmental impacts.

Talmadge is proving that green renovation can be attractive. The firm was named 2007 Western Contractor of the Year by the National Association for the Remodeling Industry for a $1 million-plus project that turned a 1960s ranch house in Santa Cruz into a modern French country style home. Green building methods included framing techniques, recycled materials, cellulose insulation, cement-based exterior siding and roofing, and an air filtration system. The home was pre-wired for photovoltaic and solar water heating systems should the owners choose to add them in the future.

I spoke with co-owner Jeff Talmadge about his company's decision to go green.
Q How do you approach doing a "green" renovation project?

A I offer people choices. I have five pages of options to consider. I put a globe symbol next to the ones that are green. They don't always fit in the budget, and they don't always go with what you're doing.

Cork flooring for example is a green choice, but it's not appropriate in the bathroom. Cement siding resists termites and holds paint longer.

Important questions are: Do you like it? Is it appropriate for your climate?
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Title 24 [California's energy efficiency standards for buildings] requires you to conserve energy, but you can always do more. It's like getting a D+ on report card. You pass but you can do better.

Q What's the cost differential?

A The payback is over time.

A green roofing material might be more expensive than a composition roof upfront, but over the life of the product and the maintenance, you get your money back and then some.
Plus, you get to enjoy the benefits.
If you use formaldehyde-free materials for insulation and spend another $3,000 on an air filtration system, it will improve air quality and health. They're making insulation out of recycled blue jeans now.

Q Can a green renovation save money on energy costs? How?

A The houses and remodels we do now are really tight due to advanced insulation, weatherstripping, dual-paned windows. In an old home, air quality is good because there are so many places where air can be changed [poor roof insulation, leaks around doors and windows]. In a remodel, what we try to do is replace the air using an active system that removes particles and impurities. Replacing your heating ventilating and air conditioning system might cost $8,000 and spending another $2,000, you can get a filtration system.

Q What are some of the challenges in green renovations? How do you meet those challenges?

A It's cost and availability. There is lot of information in books and on the Web.

There's a blog I look at, greenbuilding@listserv.repp.org, and I get about 10 e-mails a day on the subject. People post questions and then people write in with their ideas and experiences they have had. Some things used in Canada and the East Coast are not appropriate — shipping these things here takes lots of energy. Why fly apples from New Zealand when we have apples in our backyard?

The challenge is education and sorting through the information. Building green is getting to be so popular there's a lot of "greenwashing," where the product or technique may not be as green as claimed.

Q How did you get into green building?

A When I got out of high school, I was interested in solar power. There was a lot of money to support it in the mid-'70s, then they pulled the money.

Alameda County is really advanced in green building and developed guidelines in 2000 for builders. Then a certification program was offered through the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. It was in Marin County, so I drove up there with two other NARI members. It took six weeks to get certified.

Two years ago, I was one of four San Jose NARI members who met twice a week to write the certification program for the NARI National Green Training Seminar [www.nari.org/gogreen.cfm]. Qualified Remodeler Magazine featured an article by Chris Donatelli on green remodeling in March.

Today, people are throwing away things that are not designed well or don't mesh with today's styles. I try to get people to think about the next 30 or 40 years. Our local landfill has only 15 years left, capacity-wise. A lot of people want to stay in their homes [rather than sell because newly purchased homes are reassessed and taxes go up.]

Q Tell me about the project you for which you were named 2007 Western Contractor of the Year.

A This was a remodel that made extensive use of green building methods. We just about demolished it. We saved one wall. We took it apart a piece at a time, and all the materials were donated to a nonprofit, the ReUse People in Oakland. Very little went to a dump. It cost a little bit more, but the owner got $117,000 in tax credits. ReUse People even resells Hollywood movie sets. The Web site is thereusepeople.org.

Q Is that expensive to drive over there to donate the material?

A On a large deconstruction, they will send trucks to the job site where the materials are sorted and removed. For smaller projects, I store it up until I have enough for a truckload. They give me receipts and I give them to my clients who can then turn them in at tax time.

Q How many of your employees are certified as green building professionals?

A My production manager John Anderson and I are NARI Certified Green Building Professionals. Seven of our staff got certified at the Build It Green class — architect Danielle Grenier, project managers Richard Pearce, Mitch Cartwright, Jeffrey Lindahl, David Stein, and carpenters Dylan Helmer and Kevin Onorato. The class was sold out; about 150 people attended. Our architect got 100 percent on the final exam.

Contact Jondi Gumz at jgumz@santacruzsentinel.com.

Why Build Green?
Build it Green, a California nonprofit dating to 1999, promotes construction of healthy buildings that are efficient in use of energy and other resources.
Green buildings:

• Use recycled content materials in their construction.
• Reduce construction and demolition waste.
• Are landscaped for water and energy efficiency.
• Include renewable energy technologies.

The results:

• Better indoor air quality.
• Reduced environmental impact.
• Higher resale value.
• Easier to maintain and built to last.

For information visit www.BuildItGreen.org
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Talmadge Construction
Owners: Jeff and Adele Talmadge
LOCATION: Aptos
Years in business: 23
2006 volume: $2.4 million
Employees: Field, seven; office, five
Awards: 2007 National Association of the Remodeling Industry Western Regional Contractor of the Year for a Santa Cruz ranch home remodel; awards from local NARI chapter for the Santa Cruz ranch home remodel and Aptos bathroom remodel; selected for Remodeling Magazine's Big 50 Remodelers in the Nation, 2003.
More information: Free seminar on remodeling Tuesday, June 5, from 6-8 pm at Peachwood restaurant at the Inn at Pasatiempo, 555 Hwy 17, Santa Cruz. Covers design concepts, budgeting, zoning and planning regulations, to what to expect during and after the project. Seating is limited, so call 689-9133 or visit www.talmadgeconstruction.com to reserve your space.About Talmadge Construction, Inc.

Talmadge Construction, Inc. is a full-service general contractor specializing in residential design and remodeling. Over the past 20 years, the company has established a creative and dynamic team of designers, craftsmen and support staff, whose number one priority is client satisfaction. Specializing in kitchen and bath remodels, room additions, and whole house remodeling projects, Talmadge Construction has the ability to address complex projects thoroughly and efficiently, providing cost effective and creative solutions to remodeling projects, on time, on budget - every time. The company was selected as one of the Nation’s Top 50 Remodelers in 2003 by Remodeling Magazine, and was awarded First Place in NARI’s Contractor of the Year competition for the U.S. Western Region in 2004. Based in Aptos, Talmadge Construction serves clients throughout Santa Cruz County.