This weekend, you can tour Built Green® homes in more than 28 locations from West Seattle to the South Sound as part of a special Green Tour sponsored by the South Sound and Seattle Chapters of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild.



“These Green Tours represent an incredible opportunity to continue to drive the Guild’s mission of not only supporting the progressive work of our members, but educating the public about the many ways to improve the relationship between our communities and our built environment,” said Fiona Douglas-Hamilton, Guild President.



The tours are free and open to the general public, and will run all weekend April 16 & 17th, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm daily. They will highlight a variety of green building, remodeling and retrofitting techniques, as well as a host of greener lifestyle options, including:



•    The new Passive House standard, demonstrating the value of super energy-efficient construction

•    How homes and their occupants can approach ‘Net Zero Energy’ use

•    Built Green®, NW Energy Star Homes, and LEED for Homes certified projects.

•    How to incorporate energy and water efficiency, improved into air quality and increased comfort into small and large home remodel projects

•    How to choose, where to purchase, and how to install or use eco-friendly products available today



West Seattle Tour Stops
In West Seattle specifically you can tour the "Kitchen Art House" in the Admiral District built by Ventana Construction.
Ecobuilding.org notes: "In autumn 2009 live-work-play and Ventana Construction completed this fun 3 Star Built Green addition and remodel in the Admiral District of West Seattle. We added a kitchen where the owners now loves to cook and create, plus a studio work space, guest bath and butler pantry. The addition is very energy efficient, and used durable, low-maintenance materials. There is lots of fun color, and the owners created their own mosaic tile backsplash for the kitchen."

You can walk through Envision Homes at 2216 Walnut Avenue s.w. also in Admiral.

The Ecobuilding.org site has this to say about it : "This house was a 100 year old toxic and structural nightmare. Envision Homes transformed into a masterpiece of sustainable living which touches on virtually every aspect of low-impact development, resource and energy efficiency, water and waste reduction, recycling, reclaim and healthy environments. Visit with the designer, builder as well as representatives of sustainable products. Learn about 100's of sustainable living ideas, including solar thermal collectors and efficient panel radiant heating, advanced framing, and super-insulation techniques, reclaimed flooring, doors, hardware, beams, and millwork, super-low-toxic finishes, active-passive ventilation, rainwater harvesting, vegetated roofs, FSC framing and millwork, and so much more. The kids will enjoy the chickens and the giant worm-bin!"

Neighborhood House Highpoint Center is a testament to ecologically sound building techniques. It's located at 6400 Sylvan Way s.w.

Ecobuilding states: "The building includes administrative and counseling offices, a family center, large classrooms, a teen center, youth tutoring, and a Head Start Program. Sustainable design concepts identified fro the project should yield a LEED Gold Certified project. Included in these concepts are: redevelopment of an urban site close to public transportation systems; providing bicycle storage and a shower for alternative transportation users; collecting and filtering rainwater from impervious surfaces through the stormwater system established throughout the high Point Master Plan; preventing solar heat gain while increasing daylight into spaces through the use of external shading devices; conserving electricity by specifying a Ground Source Heat Pump HVAC system; and generating up to one half of the building’s electricity needs with a 4,000 SF photovoltaic array, the largest to date in the State of Washington."

And finally "A Mighty House" at 3108 s.w. Webster St. built by the construction company of the same name is a green built family home. Ecobuilding says: This West Seattle home provides a story of innovative use of materials (salvaged and reused), green and healthy finishes, energy conservation methods, and solutions to survive the ever-changing needs of a young-family.

• LOTS of salvaged and up-cycled materials
• sustainable flooring solutions
• expandable solar array
• healthy building choices
• high efficiency windows
• reduced lawn with
• w/ low+no maintenance ground-cover and plants
• and much, much more!

The event also offers workshops and demonstrations at this location.

During the tour the Sustainable West Seattle Tool Library will be open in its new home at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center at 4400 Delridge Way s.w. as well as PCC Natural Markets on California Ave, as a tour stop offering a healthy snack and beverage option (there's a coupon in the downloadable brochure).

Also open and happy to talk about these ideas are Green Depot @ EcoHaus and Second Use Building Materials both featuring events.



Those involved in making these Green Tours possible include King County Green Tools, Built Green® of King and Snohomish Counties, Thurston County Solid Waste, Envision Homes, Lastingnest, Inc., Mighty House Construction, Second Use Building Materials, Connor Remodeling & Design, Puget Sound Solar, Greenhome Solutions, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, LLC, and PCC Natural Markets.