What does Greening Homes do?
Greening Homes is a full-service, licensed, bonded and insured sustainable renovations and building consulting company. We work on renovation projects as small as a bathroom remodel or as large as full house guts or additions.
How are you different from any other renovations contractor?
Greening Homes was founded on the mandate to minimize the environmental impact of our projects as much as possible. We do this by using a four-pronged approach to sustainability: By careful and educated material selection, through responsible waste management, by minimizing carbon emissions in our transportation to and from our sites, and by simply building energy efficient, beautiful, and durable structures. We are committed to being an impetus for change in what is often a very wasteful, unhealthy, and energy inefficient industry. Our efforts to minimize our environmental impact are recorded for each and every project that we do and compiled into our Sustainable Project Management Report, provided to the homeowner upon completion of our work.
Although we maintain strict environmental protocols and procedures for everything we do, we work within this framework to meet the needs of each particular client. “Light green” or “deep green”, you can be sure that every Greening Homes renovation will operate beyond conventional standards.
Why should I renovate “green” ?
(e.g. in a sustainable, healthy, energy efficient manner)
Why wouldn’t you?
Do you do anything other than renovations work?
Yes! We are committed to providing education about green and alternative building practices. Christopher Phillips, owner of Greening Homes, has taught several workshops for both the public and private sector, including seminars on building materials and health impacts for the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority and the Schools of Architecture at both the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. He has also provided general building consulting services and has worked as a court-approved expert witness on green building and IAQ issues. Greening Homes has also had the pleasure of building public projects such as the rammed earth rainwater harvesting cistern pad for the Hope Community Garden (Parkdale) and the Healthy Home @ Downsview Park (in partnership with CMHC).
Where are you based?
Greening Homes is located in the Junction Triangle, in the west end of Toronto, ON.
How far will you travel for a project?
Greening Homes is primarily an urban renovations company servicing Toronto’s core neighbourhoods. The vast majority of our projects are easily reached by TTC. Our crew frequently uses public transit and has even been known to bicycle to the site in an attempt to minimize our use of big vans or trucks. Generally, travelling long distances by car to go to/from the site each day runs counter to our founding principles, although we have travelled as far afield as Mississauga and Thornhill. Greening Homes is very interested in taking on unique “green” projects located outside the City of Toronto, although we require an allowance to provide reasonable near-site accommodation for the crew.
Do you specialize in any particular area?
Our ideal project might be taking a leaky and energy inefficient structural brick home built in the 1920s, opening it up, fixing its various structural and aesthetic issues, updating all its services, air sealing it, boosting its insulation, remodeling the kitchen and/or bathrooms using sustainably sourced and non-toxic materials, properly finishing the previously wet and mouldy basement, installing new high efficiency appliances, creating custom built-in cabinets from actual 2×4 lumber salvaged from the structural framing of the now open-concept main floor, repairing and refinishing the original hard wood floor using low-VOC stains, finishing the walls in either zero-VOC paint or natural earthen plasters, and installing a solar thermal or P/V system on the roof…among many other possibilities. We look to do one or two of these types of projects every year.
Who is your typical client?
Most, but not all, of our clients hire us either because they specifically want to reduce the environmental impact of their renovations project, because they want a more energy efficient home, or because of health concerns related to typical renovations work. We have worked on several projects for new or soon-to-be parents worried about the health implications of the products used in their renovations work and for clients who have particular needs relating to their chemical sensitivities. Our standard of work is excellent and many of our projects come to us simply by word of mouth and without an initial regard for our environmental standards.
So how much more do your services cost?
We believe in a transparent cost-plus pricing system that is fair to both our customers and our team. Wages are charged at a fixed price for oversight and for building work. Where sub-trades are used, a fixed procurement percentage is charged. Both wage and procurement rates are agreed upon at the beginning of a project and weekly reports are provided to ensure costs are known and monitored.
Although we will never be your cheapest contractor, our work is not usually the most expensive, either. We would describe the cost of our service as in the mid- to mid-high range. We would describe our level of service and daily operations as specialized and high end.
So what’s the next step?
Contact us at our office at (416) 532-6811 or by email at info@greeninghomes.com to set up your initial home consultation. This is a visit to your home by Christopher Phillips, LEED AP and Ben Ware, Construction Manager. There is a $50 + HST charge for this visit. Should you choose to work with Greening Homes, this charge is fully refundable and credited toward your first invoice.
Why do you charge for an initial home consultation?
Our typical home consultation lasts anywhere from 1 to 3 hours and is a meeting with two highly qualified and specialized staff. The $50 charge does not cover our expenses for these visits, which also usually take place on weekends or after normal working hours. We believe that this is a nominal charge for our time and expertise and we prefer to spend our time with potential clients who are serious about our service and respect what we do. As mentioned earlier, this fee is fully credited toward your project should you choose to work with us.
Can I speak with any of your references or previous clients?
Greening Homes keeps a current reference list of recent clients. We would be glad to share this list with any prospective client following our initial home consultation.
I have been told that Greening Homes is often booked for several months in advance. What can I do?
Greening Homes renovation projects can often be booked for up to 10 months in advance. We charge a non-refundable retainer of $1K to retain our services. This amount is credited in full toward your account and subtracted from your first invoice. Plans sometimes do change for our clients and it is not unusual to be presented with the possibility of an earlier start date. Greening Homes has also been looking at expanding our team in recent months, which will enable us to simultaneously operate two or more sites in the not-too-distant future.
Is there anything that you don’t do?
Although we consult with homeowners who are interested in building their own healthy and energy efficient homes, we are not part of the TARION New Home Warranty programme and therefore cannot operate as a GC on new construction projects. Greening Homes is not an in-house installer of spray foam or blown-in cellulose insulation products. We use sub-contractors to provide these services as part of our own projects. Greening Homes also uses licensed sub-trades to provide our electrical, plumbing, and HVAC needs.