But Wood and his clients Pete and Kay Rush also incorporated a wide range of “green” techniques and materials as they worked together through the three-step process of planning, designing, and building. They focused on those strategies that would provide the most energy-saving bang for the buck, reuse salvageable materials, and produce a durable, long-lasting structure.

“Green remodeling isn't about one big thing,” Wood says, but about making green choices whenever possible as builder and client work through the hundreds of small decisions required by any remodel or new construction.

Paint.“We’re in the middle of painting today, and smell,” Wood challenged. “You can’t smell anything, because we’re using zero-VOC paint. With this paint you can paint when people are in the building without any air quality concerns.”

Reuse/Recycling.In addition to thinking green with what he added, Wood looked for ways to reuse or recycle what he removed from the original house. Unusable wood went to the chipper to become mulch; the Homasote fiberboard ceiling was reused as an extra layer of attic insulation. He negotiated with the trash hauler to provide a three-yard recycling bin along with the familiar dumpster for unrecyclable material. “The past method of sending large volumes of materials to the landfill always seemed very wasteful to me,” he says.

Recycled Content. Aside from sending old materials to be recycled, he also incorporated many materials with recycled content, including concrete with 25% fly-ash, decking made from recycled plastic water bottles and sawdust, and formaldehyde-free insulation made from 35% recycled glass.

Cool Roof. To keep the house cool in sunny Ojai, Wood installed a “cool roof” of highly reflective Elk Cool Color Series shingles, the first reflective, colored asphalt shingle that meets the initial performance levels of the ENERGY STAR program. In the past, asphalt shingles meeting these reflectivity requirements were available only in white. The Elk shingles cost 40 cents more per square foot than conventional shingles, adding a total of $1,000 to the roof cost, but will help to keep the house much cooler. By helping eliminate the need for air conditioning, the more expensive shingles will pay for themselves over time.

“I want to eliminate the need for the air conditioner to be turned on at all,” Wood says. “If we can reduce demand during the hot days we may not need to construct any more centralized power plants.”

Windows. For windows, which can raise or lower a building’s energy efficiency by 20%, Wood installed double-glazed units from Anderson. “I chose Anderson’s not only because they have all the high-performance features, they have excellent environmentally sound manufacturing processes as well.”

Durability. He used heavy-duty seamless flashing around the windows to protect the walls even if the windows eventually fail, and low-maintenance cement-board siding impervious to termites, rot, and fire.

His clients were not only willing to go along with Wood’s environmentally mindful ideas, they became active partners in the greening of the house.

“The public is educating themselves” as new earth-friendly materials and techniques are developed, he said. “My client was sending me articles as he learned more.”

Reggie Wood is a second-generation Ventura County building contractor who has been designing and building for 23 years. In the past few years he has focused on “construction practices that are durable, energy efficient, and environmentally sustainable. I have other projects that have many green features, but this is one where I was able to include the most.”

“My training and education comes from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program,” he says. “Although the LEED for Homes program is still in the pilot phase, the way I have remodeled this home, it would certainly qualify for LEED certification."

Reggie summarizes his perspective on green building on his website, where he says, “Fortunately, today we can plan projects with materials and systems that are far less destructive to the environment without adding undue extra costs. Many of the environmentally responsible methods I recommend actually result in substantial savings and greater comfort.”