Hi everyone,
I hope some of the experienced builders/architects/engineers out there can share some career advice. For the past two years, I have been very interested in “eco” construction (energy/resource/cost efficient in general, and strawbale specifically). I find the topic so interesting that I am seriously thinking about a career change (I have been working for more than seven years in the telecom industry as a software designer). There are now more books on my shelves about construction, strawbales, and “healthy” housing than software books 🙂 In addition to all the reading I have done (including a subscription to Fine Homebuilding) I have taken a 3-day strawbale workshop, and am planning to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity this summer to get more experience.
I would like to be able to help fill a need that I see in the world for affordable but very efficient (in terms of energy, resources, and general environmental impact) housing, both for individuals, and for charitable organizations (e.g., shelters, hospices, social housing). Architecture is the most obvious field of study, but I find that most architecture curricula that I have seen worry more about stylistic issues than about environmental impact or cost. Another field of study is building engineering, which does seem to take account of material and energy considerations. Perhaps another possibility is to apprentice, or take short, specific courses. Although I like school, and already have two degrees, I would prefer a one- or two-year grad programme to a four- or five-year undergrad programme.
My admittedly vague and general question is, what do people think about the different options? For those in the industry, what is their day-to-day job like, and what do they see as the best preparation for someone entering their field? I am not sure about the exact job title, but there are both environmental and social aspects to design/construction that I would like to be able to contribute to.
Thanks to everyone in advance,
John
Replies
no offense.. but don't quit your day job... keep satisfying your urge by your freetime activities..
the market for the type of construction you want to do is so limited and so overpopulated with "do-it-yourselfers" that it is probably the most difficult niche to make a living at in all of construction..
but hey, whadda i no ?
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Wow! Mike! That sounded almost, you know, uh, REPUBLICAN!
It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
As a builder who tries to specialize in environmentally conscious construction, I appreciate your enthusiasm. I would say by all means, if you think this is a career you will like, then go for it. I'd also have to disagree, in part, with the last responder; I think that the construction industry needs a lot MORE people with a committed environmental ethic. Whether you pursue architecture, engineering, or contracting largely depends on your abilities, interestes, and financial resources.
I do aggree with the last responder in that if you set out to specialize in a specific type of building, say strawbale, then you may have a hard time staying busy full time. Being willing to take on all kinds of work allows you to keep busy while at the same time trying to impart an environmental ethic to the projects. That said, I think engineering will give you the least influence. Whether architecture or contracting will give you more influence probably depends on where you live and what type of clients you will have. In wealthy areas, more houses are "designed" by architects, and this may be the better approach. The vast majority of houses, however, are not drawn by architects, so in general, being a contractor or builder will give you more opportunity to put environmental consciousness into buildings.
Whatever course you choose, the best advice I can give you is to get yourself a set of nail bags and hand tools (hammer, tape, square, etc.) and go find work as an apprentice carpenter, preferably framing. Even if you don't envision yourself swinging a hammer ultimately, a couple of years spent on jobsites learning intimately how buildings go together is the best experience and education anyone in the building trade/profession can have. Good builders also love having motivated, eager to learn types on their crew.
Good Luck!
jsco-
Like you, I have a fondness for affordable housing and green building. It's definitely a fast-growing niche, and one that gives you a feeling of having done something good to help both people and the environment.
As far as finding a path into the business, I don't think a degree in architecture is that way to go. You'd spend 5 years learning the ins and outs of design (assuming you go full time), and then to really "practice" architecture, you'd need another 5 years of low-paying apprenticeship to get your license.
I'd look into the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program from the US Green Building Council. You can become accredited as a LEED professional (I did it recently), and projects you do can be certified by LEED. Other than that, keep reading, maybe take some construction management courses, and keep getting your hands dirty with the hands-on stuff. And look beyond the straw-bales- as Mike said, that's a VERY limited application, and you'l go broke doing them unless you want to travel all around the country to keep busy.
Bob Kovacs
LEEDTM Accredited Professional (catchy, huh? lol)
Let me give you a chance to put your new knowledge to work here, by playing devil's advocate. Don't take this personally, but pretend I'm a student in a class you are teaching.
How in the world is straw bale construction any more "green" than concrete, wood, or steel?
I've got this impression of straw bale homes for those who are DIY and can't afford a professional consultant. Where then would your market be? I suppose with enough experience, you could write books and do a lecture series...
To have a career in something, one need to go where the money is, right? So how can you apply green knowledge to the types of homes where real money is being spent? Or what "green" ideas can you develope and push for the masses, where you only make a dollar or two but make it on a larger percentage of seventeen million homes a year?
There are plenty of freelance designers without architectural training or degrees or licenses, but you really have to know what you are doing to build clientele. That means you need to find a way to build experience. How can you do that? How could I break into being an expert on strawbale construction? Why would I want to? Do mice, insects and mushrooms like straw bales?
That's an image to be overcome, is it not?
There are other high tech items that are "green" that are capital intensive but that have large potential. For instance, fuel cell technology for home energy and heating needs and to supplement the foreign oil we may need to replace or do without. It seems like the software controls for these and other whole house systems fits your background and has potential for immense growth and demand as well as for impact on several issues confronting the world. It also seems to me that the company with a good fuel cell and the devices to control it designed by someone who understands building science has a leg up on the competition.
Excellence is its own reward!
Thanks to everyone for for the advice and for taking the time to reply. There are a lot of good points to think about.
Piffin raised the typical questions that people ask about bales (after they get over the initial shock that it can be done :-) In a nutshell, I like strawbale building because it is one of very few wall-building systems I know of that can take a waste product (straw, which would otherwise likely be burned) and create a relatively cheap, superinsulated, self-supporting wall. Like everything else, how long it lasts depends mostly on how well it was constructed in the first place. Fuel cells (and small-scale decentralized power/heat generation in general) are a brilliant idea, but it is just beginning commercialization. Also, they still need some kind of fuel (whether pure hydrogen, a fossil fuel to be broken down by a reformer, or electricity for breaking down water).
I'm curious why Thumbsmasher thinks that building engineering has the least influence in eco-building. In general, what is the overall role of a building engineer?
LEED certification is also very interesting. I knew that they certified buildings, but I didn't know they also certified builders. Since I live in Montreal, Canada, would anyone know about the applicability of LEED here?
John
John-
LEED doesn't really "certify" builders- they give you an extra point in the rating system for having a LEED Accredited Professional involved in the project. The idea is that this person will steer the project and make sure it takes advantage of all the possible points that can be earned in the rating system.
As far as Canada, I think they have a similar program to USGBC, but the name eludes me at the moment.
Bob
"....straw, which would otherwise likely be burned..."
Straw isn't burned everywhere. Around here, it's used as animal bedding and is in short supply.
Maybe this is a point to consider - Is it really "green"? And if so, who decides if it is or not? Straw is certainly a renewable resource. But so is wood.She's afraid that if she leaves, she'll become the life of the party.
I also hear that there are now panels being made like osb out of straw. ands that there is speculation of insulative panels too.
one of the problems that eco builders run into is dependable supply and liability issues. A good example is a mason I talked to today and his project. The customerts are into "green" building and wanted used brick for the masonry on the job. I have a pile or two of old powder brick and he stopped by to see what I have but it is not suitable for him. I asked why don't you just get it from so and so, he always carries them.
Well, it was not long ago that some lady got this supplier of used brick in a lawsuit because apparently there was a little lead paint on the bricks she bought. So he will not stock them or sell them any more. Not only that, but the word went out and nobody else will either so now a customer who wants them can't get them.
I'm not advocating leaded bricks but you all see the conundrum. Green building is sometimes a rat chasing it's own tail to get a meal.
.
Excellence is its own reward!
Well, the meaning of 'green' can be debated, and it is abused enough so that even coal-burning is called 'green' by some... Also, there are degrees of 'renewability'. Wood from old-growth forests is definitely renewable (in a couple of centuries), but I wouldn't put it in the same category as straw. The fact that there are distribution problems doesn't mean that straw is not quite abundant (when you take the country or continent as a whole).
Do it once, do it well and make sure the work will not exclude likely future possibilities.
The best way to influence the future is personal integrity. Do Not go out and find some One to help. Help yourself by adding capabilities. Learn to plumb, wire, weld, run a backhoe. Then over years let your humility work with the materials nearest to hand. Stick to Local. Establish a set of locally relevant materials and use and reuse them. Understand precisely where it is that you are: personally and geographically.
Each homebuilding creature on this planet knows how to build its home. Cut your way through the cultural overlays that separate so many from a direct relationship with this fact.
Steer clear of status and affiliation with groups and above all -if possible- own the project yourself. In other words, be willing to live in a trailer outside the place you're rebuilding, for years. To allow yourself the freedom and latitude you'll need, find a lower cost area in a non-totalitarian jurisdiction and do not act until you have completed your research and you know where you are going. Be willing to spend weeks or months incubating. Become wise enough that you may justifiably seek your own counsel. Realize that to accomplish what you want may have required you to have lived a different life...
The first axiom of sustainability ought to be "No Redoes," as a major tearout will negate much thoughtful and deliberate choice in materials etc. And above all- do not partake in sprawl, ie. only remodel, no new sites.
Remodel and 'no redoes'. Ain't that the truth.
That's akin to 'do it right the first time'.
"The fact that there are distribution problems doesn't mean that straw is not quite abundant (when you take the country or continent as a whole). "
OK, you lost me a little here. Are you saying that it is OK to build a straw bale home in a place where straw is not abundant? That it is OK to burn the fossil fuels required to transport it there? I'm not a builder, and last I looked in the mirror I wasn't green, but I'd think one of the first rules of green building would be to minimize resource use both during the building and over the lifetime of the structure. It takes a lot of straw to build a house, and you'd have to look at the energy expended to get it there versus energy savings on heating and cooling using another technology to sell me on trucking the stuff in.
In my mind, the greenest example of building I've ever seen was in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. Those folks built their homes and furniture out of local rock. The structures and furniture are still standing 5,000 years later - that's even longer than the pyramids of Egypt. And these were humble homes, not built for dead kings but for living normal folks. No maintenance homes for 5 millenia - talk about doing it right the first time!
I think you misunderstood. Of course you're right... one of the cardinal rules of green building is minimizing embodied energy, and part of that is that you build with what you have close to you. So, if you live in the Orkney Islands and all you have is rock, you build with it. Same if you're in the U.S. Southwest and you have plenty of sand and clay, you build with adobe; you don't build with tons of lumber that has to be transported halfway across the country. You don't have to get extreme, but this is where builders and architects can be creative. The opposite of this principle is shown by the modern trend of putting the same house in all regions and climates. Local wisdom and convention is for the most part a slave to economies of scale and 'canned' assembly. So if your standard house gets really hot in a climate not particularly suited to it, you buy an air conditioner. If it gets cold, you get a huge furnace.
John
John,
"one of the
cardinal rules of green building is minimizing embodied energy, and
part of that is that you build with what you have close to you. "
With all due respect, that is exactly the kind of thinking I am trying to caution you on.
If all you do is try to analyze the embodied energy, you will come up with at least three results; 1) there is no reliable calculus for the figures you are trying to obtain 2) it is perilously easy to land in the "killer tomato" absurdity that the permaculturists are so fond of, and 3) if you do not evaluate the embodied energy in terms of the return over the useful life of the system, you do not have any information that is meaningful or useful.
Top all of that off with a healthy dose of skepticism. Regardles of what anyone thinks about the "embodied energy" of adobe, there is a reason why the old-timers quit building with it.
If you want to explore the intricacies of mass-compensated thermal performance and combine that dimly understood science with the art of good pasive solar design, then I think you're on to something good. But it won't be fast or cheap.
Don't get me wrong. I am not trying to discourage you or anyone else from this endeavor. If I didn't believe in it wholeheartedly, I would not have devoted my career to it.
Just don't be misled, and don't (even accidentally) mislead your clients. If there were an easy answer, we'd be doing it already.
Best of Luck,
DRC
I'd look into this field further before making the leap. For myself, I've tried to make a living building passive solar, superinsulated homes for the past 20 years and failed. The clientele just isn't there and I'm not sure it ever will be, given the tendency of the system at large to keep itself going (fight for cheap oil, lack of commitment to responsible energy sources, lack of principal in general, etc).
You would have to be willing to submit to a vow of voluntary poverty; not that you would have to live that way, but be willing to. This is a religion and there cannot be any reasons to do it other than faith and love.
That said, I've run into a few individuals who are unique, cut a niche, and who you might want to get in touch with. John Swearingen of Skillful Means in northern CA, and Bill and Athena Steen of the Canelo Project in southern AZ are two who come to mind. Both do strawbale, John as a principal general contractor and Bill and Athena give workshops but also advocate broader systems of developing housing and alternative means and materials, and in the process, building community. There are others, but the field is diverse and widespread. Good luck, godspeed -
Don
Having had a similar bent, I'd agree with all others who said something in the direction of "it'll be an uphill climb".
If you want to make money and have a certain impact in the future, here's my suggestion:
Spend the next ten years or so working on every type of building project: remodeling, framing, basic finish, concrete, roofing, etc. During this same ten years, spend most spare moments reading and studying on your own all the things you'd like to see put into practice, including basic sonstruction technique. Work yourself until think you've got a pretty good idea about how the various trades operate and what they do.
My first Aikido instructor told me that when he got his black belt his teacher told him, "Now you are ready to learn Aikido". If you complete the steps above, you will have reached the carpenter's black belt. Remember, the black belt means "serious student" and does not imply mastery!
As you go through life and accomplish some version of the above, earn a good credit rating, save your money, and go solo into building homes that incorporate all you have learned and all you believe in!
Well built homes last a very long time! Every well built home that gets built with energy efficient technology and makes use of solar power will impact the world in a positive way!
OOpppsss, I was just going to make a short comment and then, all of a sudden, there I was, by myself, standing on that damn soapbox.........
It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
Take Mike Smith, Hasbeen, and Piffin's reply, and add mine as assent to the opinions expressed therein.
I do almost nothing other than what you'd call eco-building, I have devoted most of my professional life (and a fair amount of my personal life as if there were a difference), and I don't have any answers. I just do the best I can.
Don't do it if you think you're going to change the world or even make it a better place. You'll just die tired.
You only do this stuff if you love it, because believe me, there is no other reward. (HA HA get it Mike? I managed to work ICF into the discussion! REWARD! HAR HAR HAR. Oh, never mind.)
And be real careful of straw bale. I've been involved in more than enough, and it isn't always the good deal it appears to be.
Just remember there are no alternative laws of physics, be skeptical of alternative economics, and that there is no substitute for time spent with tools in your hands.
Good Luck,
DRC
"Just remember there are no alternative laws of physics, be skeptical of alternative economics, and that there is no substitute for time spent with tools in your hands."
You mean that there is no equivalent to the car that cost $995 and will go 100 miles to the gallon of tap water with the special carburator, but you can't get it because the big oil companies bought up the pattents.
"... the special carburator, but you can't get it because the big oil companies bought up the pattents. "
Those thngs really work. My second cousin's best friend's neighbor's Uncle Bubba had one, and it worked just like them ads said it would.Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak lit a fire in the bottom of their kayak to keep warm. It sank, proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
Bill,
Yep, that one.
DRC
Well, you can't get any more green than adobe. Better leave Montreal and come to the Southwest where dirt and straw are more into the mainstream.
Green builders here tout their certifications and get top dollar for their product.
ShelleyinNM
Hey John:
In my "day" job, I am an astronomer...I actually build electronics to control our cameras and spectographs on numerous major telescopes. It's a blast.
My "fun" job...I'm building my own house. I love it. It's great. Nothing like standing back and saying, I built that! It's an awesome feeling. Nothing like learning new things, new skills, new techniques.
Have you ever built anything?
Let me say one thing...If I had to build to get a paycheck, I think I'd loose that weight that stays on, despite the basketball at noontime, and I'd fear for the weekly paycheck. And yes, noon hoops? GONE....I'd be working from sunrise to sunset.
I have given some thought to quitting my job and building...maybe keeping my foot in the door to do consulting work...to "carry" me through. BUT, without a doubt, I'd starve. Period.
I guess what I am rambling about...since I think we might have something of a similar background to this point (I'm 33), I'd expect to have MAJOR changes in income, in physical soreness (I don't mind the work....I enjoy the sweat...but do it for 15 years). As I always say, if you see a builder that walks upright without any limps or pains, he's not a real builder. period. Guys, correct me if I'm wrong.
Changes in many things. Green building, eh? And does the market sustain this? Especially something as "different" as strawbale?
By the way, look into Joiner's Quarterly...a publication out of Vermont I think...used to be fairly hardcore timberframing...but I recall it seemed to jump all over strawbale and other green building attempts...might lead you somewhere, especially to some house raisings.
Are people willing to pay the extra cash for "green" construction? I sadly have to agree with the statment that the old school keeps things the way they are. It'll change eventually with our generation...
I'd suggest trying to immerse yourself in building something for yourself if possible...all aspects of it...but keep the day job. It's a blast...it really is. But if I had to do it day in, day out for the next 30 years....I don't know. I like building things...I do that at work. I create my own stuff...I'm my own boss. I can waste my time here learning new things. And I still get paid. Started a business up a few years ago, made enough on a government contract to buy some land and start the building process...but was petrified with the idea of having to sell my reconfigurable computing systems to feed my family.
Jump in as much as you can...but I'd just say not to cut that rope without lots of thought. But if you decide it's in your heart, by all means, make it happen.