A Home of One's Own.

Green Building Schools Save Money And Headaches

Half built structures at the Yestermorrow Design School in western Vermont seem of another time and place--an era in which farmers raised a neighbor's barn in a single day of camaraderie, as children watched with respectful admiration.

John Ringel, a solar design instructor at the school, scans the local paper for sunrise and sunset times, then adjusts a leveler against a stick to make sure the angle of the sundial is just right. Discussing solar noon, the Earth's wobble during rotation, longitude, and the number of days since the solstice, Ringel begins explaining the intricate art of passive solar calculation. "You have to look at what will shade your house in the winter because shadows are much longer then, and can affect the amount of light reaching your home or solar panels," Ringel says.

Welcome to the world of self-building.

For many Earth-conscious homeowners, it's not a matter of building a new residence so much as improving the one you're already in. Whether you're converting a house to passive solar heating, or adding superinsulated windows, photovoltaic panels or a straw bale bedroom, eco-improvements are becoming welcome additions to many dwellings because they save money in the long run, ease residents off electricity grids and promote sustainable construction. But if self-builders aren't careful, they can make costly design mistakes, use the wrong materials, or obtain incorrect permits. To avoid the pitfalls of environmental do-it-yourself, research is key. That means planning the structure, sketching ideas, reading up on alternative waste treatment, timber framing, or scavenging recycled materials, then taking it a step further by talking with local builders, craftsmen and designers to answer any lingering questions.

Back to School

Look in the Yellow Pages, though, and you may not find a single builder skilled in the art of stone masonry, cob-building (structures made of sand, clay and straw) or solar design. So where to turn? While many new builders don't know a scroll saw from a lathe, building schools, workshops and

organizations ripe with literature are helping green builders tackle everything from composting toilets to wind farms.

Some schools offer eco-home tours; others organize lessons around specific budgets or material constraints, or have students make detailed models. Still others rely strictly on hands-on experience. Each school has a different philosophy and curriculum, so your choices about materials and methods of construction are extremely important. Instructors are professionally trained architects, craftsmen or builders and can explain trombe walls, woodchip-clay infill, wheat-straw panels, and other concepts Bob Vila may have missed.

Yestermorrow, for instance, focuses on craftsmanship combined with vanguard technologies and energy-conserving materials. Classes are offered on its 35-acre facility from late through fall, and range from timber framing, cabinetry and rustic furniture, to straw bale and old house assessment (classes cost from $250 to $1,450 and last two days to two weeks).

"Builders now have an excessive amount of choices, and so much to be knowledgeable about, that it makes it very hard to self-build," says Bill Steen, of The Canelo Project (http://www.deatech.com/canelo), an Arizona-based school offering straw bale and earthen-floor workshops. "You have to think small and simple. People do jump from a book or school directly into building a house--but there's no substitute for the gradual accumulation of skills, like starting with a doghouse."

For rural dwellers, photovoltaic (PV) panels and passive solar design are sensible additions, especially when you consider the cost of laying wire for electricity to remote areas. PV now comes in a variety of forms, from individual panels to roof shingles, and prices are steadily declining. Building school staff may know where to find used PV systems or other salvaged goods, which can save more money--maybe enough to install that recycled wood flooring you've admired. Colorado's Solar Energy International (http:// www.solarenergy.org) proffers workshops on PV installation, solar home design, micro-hydro power, wind power, solar cooking and adobe, as well as online courses.

Maine's Fox Maple School of Traditional Building has classes on thatch, radiant heat systems and timber framing. Fox Maple Press, the publishers of Joiners' Quarterly, has also produced The Alternative Building Sourcebook ($19.95), an extensive listing of publications, alternative craftsmen, eco-material suppliers and building schools across the country.

And for a sampling of everything, EcoBuilding School's Sandra Leibowitz recommends natural building colloquiums: "These are one-week-long, condensed versions of every natural building technique you could fathom," she says. "You learn everything from making trusses out of bamboo, to straw bale, cob and solar architecture." Details on colloquiums and 35 U.S. building schools can be found at Eco-Building's web site (http://www.ecodesign.org/edi/eden).

Now comes the difficult part: tackling the job itself.

CONTACT: Yestermorrow, RR1, Box 975, Warren, VT 05674/[phone]; Fox Maple Press, PO Box 249, Brownfield, ME 04010/[phone].

Tracey C. Rembert is managing editor of E.