Where to Go If You're Building Green

Want to make your home stand out by being more energy-efficient? Looking for green building products, services, or an eco-friendly contractor for a home improvement or new construction project?

Sustainable building materials and services are increasingly in demand for residential and commercial projects. So where do you find a green contractor or planet-sensitive building products in your neck of the woods? Fortunately, a growing number of companies and websites are springing up to fill this need.

Rate It Green is an online community featuring a product and service directory with user-driven ratings. Members evaluate products and services, share their experiences, ask questions, and hold discussions on the site's forum. Architects, engineers, designers, builders, contractors, homeowners, and anyone else with a green building question or story is welcome to join in. Rate It Green also publishes Green Building 101, an industry resource guide, available for a small fee in print or as a download.

Green2Green, "connecting green professionals to green materials," is a resource that allows users to compare green building products side by side on basic characteristics, environmental attributes, and performance. Like Rate it Green, membership is free. The site provides links to myriad green products and services. Manufacturers and dealers can list products on the site so that users can locate and compare.

Other helpful sites, include Sustainable Sources, Build It Green, and GreenHOME. Bottom line: eco-friendly building or retrofitting now will help your bottom line down the road.

--Tom Valtin