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With the recent economic downturn, more and more people are opting to renovate their current home instead of purchasing a new house as a way to fit their family’s home needs. With this trend comes a boom in green home features that people can install to make their homes more environmentally friendly. However, you must weigh the costs of the home improvements to the benefits. For this purpose, owner builder principles of home improvement provide a great opportunity to get the best of both worlds.

Over the last couple of years, home improvement has grown a deeper shade of green, which is a terrific trend for the environment and all those who live in it (i.e., everyone). However, many environmentally friendly products still have higher costs associated with them, making it a difficult decision for anyone who wished to fix up their home. Is it worth breaking your piggy bank to help reduce your home’s carbon footprint?

Fortunately, the world of owner builder construction and rehab has provided some relief to such a difficult decision. If you can save some money and still opt for greener products, then you can get the best of both worlds.

The key is understanding the principles and processes involved in being an owner builder. Simply stated, owner builder construction involves any rehab, renovation, or new construction project in which the owner of the home manages the process without hiring a general contractor.

It is important to note that owner builder renovation does not mean that the owner will have to do any of the physical labor. Instead, it’s more of an art of management. You hire your own sub-contractors. You manage the budget, the materials, and the labor. But, you never lift a hammer unless you are truly qualified to do so.

In this way, an owner builder will eliminate the costs of a general contractor. On larger home improvement projects especially, the general contractor will often play the role of manager only. He or she won’t ever do any physical labor. Therefore, the fee that you pay to the general contractor on these projects is money that you could save by being an owner builder and hiring the individual sub-contractors yourself.

If you can successfully oversee the sub-contractors on your home improvement project, then the money that you save can be applied toward the pricier products that are more friendly for the environment. However, the money is not the only facet of owner builder renovation that makes this method desirable when considering green products.

An owner builder has supreme control over the project. There is no general contractor to argue with you about material choices or demand that you use his specific sub-contractors. Therefore, an owner builder will find it much easier to choose the specific sub-contractors and materials that will fit his home and the eco-friendly renovations that he has in mind.

Some of the more common renovations that owner builders have been opting for over the last couple of years include geo-thermal heating and solar powered electricity. And, for those people who are building whole new additions, many people are choosing to frame their walls with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) instead of the standard stick frame lumber.

However, it is important for every owner builder to still take the time to weigh the costs of the materials versus the energy savings and the overall benefits. For example, SIPS will cost more than stick framing, and will provide the greatest energy savings when used to frame an entire home – as opposed to framing just an addition. And, solar power electricity is almost always going to be more expensive than conventional methods. Just like before, you have to calculate the extra costs versus the energy savings over time.

The longer you stay in the home, the more money you will save from reduced energy usage. And, of course, you have to consider the qualitative benefits of environmentally conscientious improvements.

One of the tricky aspects of owner builder construction, however, is the financing. Many lenders will not provide mortgages without a licensed builder overseeing the project. For smaller home improvements, though, there is often more flexibility. Therefore, owner builder principles and techniques provide you with a great opportunity to implement a greener form of home improvement. As an owner builder, your cost savings can offset the more expensive products, and your managerial control of the project will make it easier to choose the specific materials to put in your home.