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Green Building Guide

Green Building Guide

It seems as though each month, another magazine is touting its green issue. At Fine Homebuilding, we like to think that we’ve been publishing information on green building way before anyone had coined the term. In fact, the magazine’s first issue in 1981 had an article about a solar house. 

But green building is about more than special magazine issues or celebrities who drive hybrid cars. It’s about smart building practices using correct products in the right way to improve a house’s performance so as to benefit its inhabitants and tread lightly on the planet. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

In our essential collection to green building, you’ll find hard-hitting information that covers materials, processes, and design. And take heed of this statement that’s making rounds in the home-building community: “In the next 10 years, if you aren’t building green, you won’t be building at all.”

Essentials

Zero Energy, Infinite Appeal
Winner of a national green-building award, this low-maintenance house should produce as much energy as it uses
Zero Energy, Infinite Appeal The Future of Framing Is Here
The Future of Framing Is Here
Smarter strategies can save money, speed construction, improve energy efficiency, and cut down on job-site waste
Green Building Resources
Learn more about sustainable building from the listings below
What Does Green Really Mean?

Going Green

What Does Green Really Mean?
Rising energy costs, climate change, and a new social conscience are complicating the way we build

Green Building Resources
Learn more about sustainable building from the listings below

Does Fiberglass Still Make Sense?Online Membership Required
Maybe, but other types of insulation offer installation advantages that make them more reliable

Get the Right Replacement Windows
They're a big investment with a big potential payoff. Here's what you need to know about types, warranties, comfort, and installation.

Making Sense of Housewraps
These plastic-based barriers help to keep wind and water at bay, but only if you choose the right product and install it correctly

Houses Need to Breathe … Right?
Tight houses are energy efficient, but good ventilation is essential to make them healthful and comfortable

Window Installation Done Right

Green How-To

Window Installation Done Right
Doing everything to ensure a leakproof job? If you don’t include the housewrap, use a sill pan, and flash the flanges, the work is far from watertight.

The Future of Framing Is Here
Smarter strategies can save money, speed construction, improve energy efficiency, and cut down on job-site waste

Fixing a Cold, Drafty House
Forget about weatherstripping doors and windows. Sealing and insulating the attic are the keys to lower heating bills and a more comfortable house.

A Fast Foundation for an AdditionOnline Membership Required
Thanks to interlocking foam forms, you can form, pour, and insulate any small foundation in a single day

An Energy-Smart Foundation in Two DaysOnline Membership Required
A compacted gravel footing is the only prep work required, and you don't have to wait for the weather

So Easy Even a Carpenter Can Do It
Installing precast concrete foundation wall panels set on gravel footings

The Greenest House in America?

Green Design

The Greenest House in America? Online Membership Required
Although it's healthful, low maintenance, and easy on the environment, this Texas home is also lots of fun to live in

Zero Energy, Infinite Appeal
Winner of a national green-building award, this low-maintenance house should produce as much energy as it uses

Energy Efficient From the Ground Up
One builder's plan yields Vermont's most energy-efficient house

A House for the End of Cheap OilOnline Membership Required
Healthful, light-filled, and energy-efficient, this home reaches back to its California past and toward a sustainable future