Long-time Truitt & White customer Mueller Nicholls is no stranger to the concepts and practices of green building and remodeling, priding itself on a long history of constructing durable and reputable buildings in the Bay Area.

Now Mueller Nicholls is taking it up a notch, currently constructing an entire green-built home in the Oakland Hills.

“It’s our first completely green-built home,” says Chris Vaughan of the Oakland-based builder. “With this project, the client was attracted to green building through their architect, then decided to go through a green builder.”

In addition to being a smaller-than-average home (under 2,000 square feet) that uses fewer materials, the home’s structural engineering allows for resource conservation and exceptional energy efficiency.

Studs are framed over 24” instead of 16” centers reducing the amount of lumber used. The exterior walls are 2x6 instead of 2x4, which allows for a better insulated home. In addition to a deeper wall cavity for added insulation, the owners chose the very green option of cellulose insulation.

The difference is in the details
How does building a green home differ from building a more traditional home? 

“It’s different in the planning and materials selection,” says Jason Soll, project manager at Mueller Nicholls.

The materials and design were chosen “as much as possible within a budget,” he says. “This isn’t significantly more expensive to build than a normal house at all.”

Most local builders agree that many building techniques employed for a green-built home are the same or similar to more traditional building. It’s the front-end of a green building project that can be quite different and often more time-consuming, especially the planning stages.

Builders say they spend more time with the client as well as with suppliers choosing and researching products. They also rely more on their subs and suppliers to provide them with product know-how and installation techniques for products such as tankless water heaters and systems like radiant floor heating.

Materials and knowledge
Truitt & White has been instrumental in helping local builders construct green and Mueller Nicholls is no exception. “It’s a resource-intensive industry and Truitt & White helps us filter a lot of the information while educating us about green building,” Chris says.

“And what we learn from other sources we forward to them as well. We’re in the same place as Truitt & White - the majority of our business isn’t asking for green building. But, it’s the direction the industry continues to go,” adds Chris.

Jason also notes that Truitt & White provides “high-quality service and good materials. They seem to value building strong relationships with builders – that’s something that is important to us,” he says.

Mueller Nicholls has made a commitment to green building locally by having many of their employees certified through local green building courses.

One employee even asked specifically for green building training. “Our crews are into it,” adds Chris.

The next level
Green building continues to gain momentum in the Bay Area and will only get bigger, especially as energy costs and traditional building material costs continue to skyrocket.

“A green building project is like a Toyota Prius,” says Chris. “You have the early adopters who can afford it and are committed to it.” Admittedly, greening a home can still cost a bit more.

“Toyota is subsidizing the car much like we’re subsidizing a green building project. We don’t make as much money on a green building project but we are learning and will continue to get better at integrating it into our building practices and our business” he says.

“The residential building industry is quickly changing. The economics of green building will dictate that everyone has to eventually do it,” adds Chris.