Whether it's repainting your basement or reconfiguring your living room, each renovation can be ecological. To help you reduce your ecological footprint or improve your energy efficiency, you can hire a certified eco-entrepreneur who uses sustainable materials and recycles construction waste. There is even financial aid to support your green projects.
Reducing your ecological footprint, improving the energy efficiency of your home, using sustainable materials… These are some of the reasons that motivated Julien David, a Montreal real estate broker, to turn to an eco-entrepreneur to carry out major renovations. From his apartment in the Mile-End district, in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, in 2015. “I had a certain desire to respect nature. It was essential for me to find an entrepreneur who also had this ecological vision. ”
He who specializes in the sale of ecological homes has had his kitchen and bathroom completely renovated: load-bearing walls have been knocked down and the floors, especially renovated. "By removing the walls separating a bedroom and the dining room in order to create an open living area, we allowed the light to better enter my apartment, which reduces my heating needs," says Julien David, who estimates have achieved energy savings of $ 50 per month compared to what he paid before the work.
The eco-contractor responsible for the works also used materials that did not contain any volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These chemicals, such as butane, ethanol or benzene, are found in certain materials used to make cupboards or floor coverings, but also in stains and paints. VOCs are spread through the air and can affect health (asthma, eye irritation, and headache). They also participate in the formation of bad ozone, at low altitudes. By selecting materials without VOCs, Julien David not only improves the quality of indoor air but also reduces his footprint on the environment.
To renovate with respect for nature, however, you need to know how to go about it, says Michel Leblanc, owner of Solutions Residential, a company specializing in ecological construction. Protect yourself helps you navigate the world of green renovations.
Find an eco-entrepreneur
To find a contractor for your green work, first consult the directory of Eco habitation, a non-profit organization (NPO) that promotes ecological renovations. This directory brings together around thirty companies spread across several regions of Quebec that have the certification of "Eco entrepreneur", says Emmanuel Cosgrove, director-general of the organization. For more information visit home improvement Columbus Ohio.
To receive this certification, Eco entrepreneurs must undergo training and pass a theoretical exam offered by Cohabitation. They then agree to always apply good ecological practices in the area of renovation and construction waste management. These include choosing only sustainable materials, VOC free, low energy consumption, and, as far as possible, from local sources, describes Michel Leblanc. At the end of the work, ecological contractors also make sure to optimize the recycling of their materials.
Check licenses
Beyond its ecological certification, the Eco entrepreneur you wish to hire must hold a general or specialized contractor's permit under the rules.
"The same usual checks apply whether we are dealing with an eco-entrepreneur or a so-called" regular "entrepreneur,” The RBQ register is an essential resource to consult in this regard. However, information on the ecological certifications of a contractor is not displayed there.
Finally, do not forget to search the website of for the personal name and company name of the entrepreneur you want to contact. "So you can easily know if the chosen professional is a regular in the courts," You can also browse the Office of Consumer Protection (OPC) to see if complaints have been made about it. ”
Once you have found a few potential contractors, make requests for quotes which include the materials used, a price for the entire work or an hourly rate, and the number of hours planned to complete the project. The OPC recommends contacting at least three contractors to compare their offers. Also ask them to send you photos of completed projects, similar to yours.
Sign a green contract
After having made your choice of a contractor to carry out your ecological renovations, the contract stage comes. When negotiating, favor exchanges by email or text messaging in order to keep a written record and avoid disagreements.
When an agreement is reached, the OPC and the RBQ advise to sign a contract in due form.
If you can't find an eco-entrepreneur in your area, should you put a cross on your green renovations? Not at all. "A well-informed customer, who draws up his own estimate, can ask any professional to do ecological work", believes Michel Leblanc.
Green even in materials
If you are dealing with an ordinary contractor, make sure to detail your ecological requests in the contract. There are steps you will surely have to take on your side to be sure that your wishes are respected, including determining the materials you want to use.
Emmanuel Cosgrove suggests going through the renovation stores, noting the brand, model, and even the price of the materials you require the contractor to use for the work and entering them in the contract.
“Official certifications exist to identify ecological materials. Be careful, however, with the false green labels that retailers attach to a host of products, “warns Emmanuel Cosgrove. He takes as an example of a product that is said to be made from recycled materials. If it is not made from 100% recycled materials, it is not really ecological. The Director-General of Eco habitation advises reading the description of the product to ensure its ecological character.
Among other things, look for the Energy Star certification, which guarantees the energy efficiency of household appliances, heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, lighting products and doors and windows, in particular. To save water, turn to Water Sense certified products.
Green guard Gold certification also ensures that the materials used in your home give off little or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde. The latter is a gas found in adhesives, paints, varnishes, floor finishes, and manufactured wood products, for example. Formaldehyde is released from these products over time and is harmful to health - respiratory problems increased allergic sensitivity or higher risk of nasal cavity cancer in cases of significant exposure.
Beyond certification, the source of the materials - and the greenhouse gases emitted by long-distance transport - is a significant aspect to take into account during ecological renovations.
"Yes, a bamboo floor is ecological if you live in Thailand. It is much less so when it has to be transported for kilometers to reach Quebec. Sometimes compromises have to be made, like buying a material that is less ecological, but that we will look for only a few kilometers from home, “suggests Nicolas Girard, president of the company Nicolas's projects and eco-entrepreneur certified by Cohabitation. It was his company that carried out the work in Julien David's apartment. He adds that the consumer has everything in hand to make wise choices by reading the official labels and logos of the products.
The 3Rs in the spotlight
The management of renovation waste is also one of the important elements to consider in greening your work. According to the standards of Eco habitation and the Canada Green Building Council, an Eco entrepreneur must divert at least 60% of waste from landfills to recycling or reuse, says Michel Leblanc.
“The traditional method is to put everything in a container and send 100% of the waste to the dump. In ecological renovation, materials are sorted at the source. If we can reuse it, that's good. Otherwise, you separate wood, metal, gypsum, cardboard, and plastic, which can all be recycled, “he explains.
In the case of Julien David's work, the floor covering of a room was reused to be placed at the place where the load-bearing walls fell.
The eco-broker also placed an advertisement on the Internet to give a brick chimney flue found by chance in a kitchen wall by the workers. A person was taken, thus preventing this brick from ending its life in the trash.
If you are not doing business with an eco-entrepreneur, you can entrust the management of the waste to a recycling company specializing in demolition, construction, and renovation waste. Otherwise, you can bring them yourself to a sorting center, an eco-center, or to a recycler.
“There is nothing rocket science in the ecological renovation. It is only a question of doing things well, without completely reinventing the construction profession”, concludes Michel Leblanc.
How much does green cost?
Renovating with an environmental concern can cost a little more than renovating in a standard way, due, among other things, to the ecological process and waste management which require more time for workers. According to Michel Leblanc, the additional cost varies between 5% and 10%. However, a customer can quickly see a return on their investment, in particular thanks to energy savings.
"Paying for triple glazed windows, for example, may seem expensive, but it improves energy efficiency and therefore lowers operational heating costs," he says.
Likewise, paying a little more for sustainable materials means that we are focusing on sustainability. “Yes, we are paying more to replace our old kitchen counter with an ultra-compact surface rather than laminate, but the first will not swell at the slightest water damage. When we embark on green renovations, we must advocate the principle of a global vision, taking into account the savings made in the long term, rather than the unit cost of a product, “adds Nicolas Girard.
In addition, there is financial assistance to help you improve the energy efficiency of your home. The program offers a grant that varies depending on the work you do. For example, you could receive $ 60 per more watertight door or window and up to $ 2,440 to improve the insulating value of exterior walls.
Julien David says that in 2019 when he sold his ecologically renovated apartment, he obtained "a record selling price per square foot in his neighborhood". Although he admits that the number of buyers looking for an ecological house remains marginal, he notes that more and more people are aware of it. “It is not the element that will make you sell or buy a house, but it is a beautiful icing on the sundae. If you do ecological renovations, you do them first for yourself,” he says.
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Home Improvement Loan is the solution in your trouble.Home Improvement Loan is a loan that is granted to debtors to make changes or upgrades of their domestic.
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Make an assessment of the various numerous costs and shortlist the few you find suitable.
What's Home Improvement?Why You Need to Just Conduct Business with a Certified ContractorKinds of ContractorsWhat's Home Improvement?Home improvement is the repair, maintenance, restoration, or improvement of real property that is residential.
To get a permit, a contractor must:Have two years trade experience;provide evidence of financial solvency;make payments into the Home Improvement Guaranty Fund; andpass an examination on home enhancement law and standard business proficiency.Contractors are screened for criminal convictions.Doing business with a certified contractor offers you protection against the Maryland Home Improvement Commission's Guaranty Fund for reductions up to $20,000 per lien which result from inferior workmanship along with additional offenses of the Home Improvement Law.
Kinds of ContractorsContractors little and Big differ in their methods of performance, but usually fall into one of four classes:Chain Stores National, regional, and local chain stores that have their very own home improvement sections.
They have a permanent address, stand by their own warranties, and might be expected to stay in business in years ahead, although their costs might be on the side of this scale.Commercial Places Businesses that specialize in home improvement work and function from a stationary business office at a commercial site.
They provide the materials and the job is done by their workers.
The majority stand by their own warranties, competitive in cost, and are dependable.Home-Based Companies Contractors Working from their houses.
