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Bringing Green to the Masses
February 20, 2009
By DAVE REESE
Two Bozeman men are bringing sustainable housing to the mass market.
Corey Williamson and Caleb Beaudin created Build My House Green, a project that brings together builders, contractors and suppliers to build a model home using sustainable products and techniques.
Williamson and Beaudin created their first home in Missoula in spring 2007, and are wrapping up construction on their second home, which is in the Baxter West development in Bozeman.
We hit the ground running and it just flew from there, Williamson said.
The public is allowed to tour the homes during the construction process, which provides an on-the-ground educational process about sustainable building products and techniques, Williamson said. During their seminars, the public can come in and interact with the contractors, to learn the hands-on techniques and see the house come together.
The Missoula home was a tremendous success, he said. We had tons of great feedback. We had thousands of people tour the home, and the response from the community was just amazing.
 <>Photo: Caleb Beaudin, Jenna Dykeman of Kenyon Noble Building, and Corey
Williamson stand in front of a Bozeman home being built by Make My
House Green. The home is 3,000 square feet and includes a 500-square
foot apartment, and was built using sustainable materials. TRAVIS ANDERSEN photo>
The partners on the construction projects use design teams of contractors, electricians, landscapers and interior designers, in order to achieve the best sustainable practices.
The Bozeman home has in-floor radiant heat and is built with sustainably harvested lumber, according to Williamson. The walls are structural insulated panels, which provide strength and warmth in the wall systems.
Build My House Green uses low-toxin finishes, water wise landscaping and sustainably harvested lumber in its projects, Beaudin said. We have our own philosophy about what green is, Beaudin said. For us, there's no one way to do it.
Building sustainable homes reflects the personal ethics of the two men. I've always been conservation minded and aware of sustainability in communities, Williamson said. Once the homes are built, they're sold on the open market.
Williamson and Beaudin hope to take their Build My House Green projects statewide, and continue to do outreach through their projects. It's an educational mission, so we'd like to see several of them in the state next year, Williamson said.
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