A Healthy Remodel on a Tight Budget,
The Case of the Classic Bungalow

When I first saw this bungalow, it was love at first sight. This small one-story house is a beautiful Seattle example of the craftsman style. If architecture is frozen music, then this house has an exquisite minuet of roof-lines.

The clients are a couple that enjoy the charm and detailing of the 1929 construction. They love the small den off of the dining area, with its built-in alcoves, but this nook doesn't compensate for the lack of space in the bedroom. They yearned to live in a master suite instead of one of the two small original bedrooms.

They had a vision of an addition out the back of the house, with a porch that would project out and mirror the footprint of the den. One of the bedrooms would be converted into a master bath and hallway, leaving the remaining bedroom as a guest/office room.

However, the budget was tight and didn't seem to have much give. I gave the clients preliminary estimates of $100/SF for construction (1999), but I worried if we could really build it for that price and keep some healthy and eco-friendly items I felt were important.

The clients found a wonderful contractor, Conner Remodeling, who was recommended by friends. He worked hard to make this project come in at budget. He was also sensitive to some of the issues related to healthy building, especially the idea that it is easier to keep mildew out than get rid of it later. I appreciated his careful reading of my specifications and details, some of which came from A Guide to Planning, Building and Maintaining a Healthier Home, by Dan Morris.

The major features and items that I specified and added to the "standard" plans included:

• Including "Forbidden Practices," as outlined by Morris, at the beginning of the specifications.
• Calling for careful and thorough ground coverage in the crawl space.
• Giving the option for the decking of cedar or recycled plastic lumber.
• Specifying a sub-floor with exterior plywood that has no urea-formaldehyde.
• Asking for no-or-low VOC construction adhesives.
• Including information on low-e windows in regard to preventing the mildew-killing ultra-violet light from reaching the interiors, especially bedrooms.
• Using energy-saving, flicker-free, true-color fluorescent lighting in the closets.
• Sealing off heat ducts/outlets during construction.
• Using good ventilation, especially after the interiors are closed in.
• Detailing the bake-out/air-out procedure for the end of construction.

The contractor felt that these items added minimally to the overall cost of construction and would not lower the contract price significantly by omitting them.

In the end, the client stretched their budget by about 15%, in addition to doing some significant work on their own after the contractor is finished. By working together, all the parties were able to create a great project on a tight budget while keeping eco-healthy practices and products.