The building site where we are constructing the "Replete Residence" has excellent solar access and treelines correctly located to provide windbreak in winter and shading in summer. We are saving all the trees possible, however we employed a local forester to look at our site and judge the condition and hardiness of the trees. Our largest tree nearby died recently of an elm disease and several other trees which we were wanting to keep showed signs of infection. According to the forester, once an elm tree gets a disease, typically from a certain beetle, then all nearby elm trees are at risk. The best course of action is to remove the diseased tree(s) from the site, or at least remove the bark and burn it. Since the two remaining elms showed signs of distress, called 'flagging', the best action is to remove these trees and not plant new elms until a few years have passed. We intend to plant ornamental or fruit trees as replacements to the missing elms.

A significant component to building green is to save embodied energy, which refers to energy which has already been expended. For example, if you can use an existing foundation to build a new home, you are saving the energy (and materials) needed to construct a new foundation. There are many variations to this theme. One way we are saving embodied energy is to minimize the travel needed by subcontractors to our site. This is accomplished by using the closest company or contractor to you who is competent and/or has the components you need. We are installing a septic system as required by the county, so we are purchasing materials from a dealer less than a mile away and the installing contractor is local. Also, we are installing a grey water system.

If your community is progressive, then there may be recycling centers nearby for construction waste. Although the Kansas City area is not geared to handle construction waste streams as yet, we still are sorting our waste by category and trying to salvage what we can. Some communities have disposal or recycling sites for wood products, concrete, glass, metal and more. We are working with local organizations to establish these sites in the KC area.

As construction progresses, we intend to post our green efforts on this page. Some of the topics we expect to cover are: