Building 'green': Locals focus on organic, eco-friendly homes

By CAMDEN EASTERLING, Chronicle Staff Writer

Fresh paint on the walls, new slate tiles and recently installed cabinets offer clues that Jason Schutz's 1950s-era home on North Black Avenue has undergone a lot of renovation.

But this isn't your usual paint, tiles or cabinetry.

They're "green."

Nearly all the materials Schutz used in the renovation are organic and/or sustainably harvested.

The paint is organic. The tiles were finished with a non-toxic sealer. The cabinets are crafted from wheatboard, a building material made by compressing straw and wheat left over from harvests.

"Green building is basically using materials that are non-toxic and low impact," he explained.

The advantages are better health on a personal level and a healthier environment at the global level, he said.

Schutz, a 36-year-old builder, isn't alone in his green approach.

In the past few years, at least two businesses that focus on green living have popped up in Bozeman. And other stores sell some eco-friendly products even if they don't specialize in them.

Company owners and employees say the demand for green products doesn't surpass that of traditional commercial products, but there is consistent interest in such goods.

Through their store, Refuge, Dave Schaub and Steve Bruner sell materials such as a linoleum-like floor covering made from linseed oil and flax seed.

Schaub, 35, opened the business on East Mendenhall Street 15 months ago and Bruner, 35, joined him later.

"I felt like Bozeman was developing in a way that would support a business like this," Schaub said.

The area's growing population accompanies what seems to be an increased interest in buying environmentally friendly and non-toxic products, he said.

Next door to Refuge is Eco-terric, a new company started by Rowena Finegan, 56.

Her company sells what she describes as "green and healthy" home furnishings including organic bedding and furniture made with sustainably harvested wood.

Finegan had a conventional interior design business in Jackson Hole, Wyo., for years, but in Bozeman will focus on selling healthy products. She also offers interior design services as well as consulting with people on how to make their homes healthier.

"The home is one of the most toxic environments," store manager Eliza Eddy, 29, said.

Studies show chemicals commonly used in household goods and building materials often exist in the human body in unsafe levels, so choosing materials free of those compounds means healthier living, she said.

Schaub acknowledges the health effects of such chemicals, or lack thereof, can be harder to measure for average people than for scientists conducting studies.

"I mean I don't have a formaldehyde meter in my home," he said.

But formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, so it makes sense that buying products made without it are healthier than those with it, he said.

The federal U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has tried to ban urea-formaldehyde foam insulation because of concerns about how it affects health. Courts overruled the ban, but the commission continues to warn that formaldehyde is potentially hazardous to health.

Green advocates use the term "off-gassing" when they talk about chemicals used in many household items and building materials.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission in a 1997 report on formaldehdye describes off-gassing as a process in which chemical compounds become gasses at normal room temperatures. Such gasses can be detrimental to health.

Schutz has an easy measure for whether or not a product is one that's health friendly. It's all in the smell, he says.

"If something's giving you a headache and it smells that strong, it can't be good," he said.

Schutz used non-toxic sealers on much of the surfaces in his home, but he also looked for materials that are easily sustainable.

He opted for a bamboo kitchen table rather than a traditional wood because bamboo grows quickly, thus it's easily renewed.

Peggy Olliff, a 45-year-old graphic designer, and her husband chose Marmoleum (the linseed oil and flax seed flooring) for the same reason when they remodeled a bathroom in their Bozeman home.

"We just wanted to do things as sustainably as possible," she said. "We feel like we're running out of resources so we should do things with as little impact as possible."

Some consumers, like the Olliffs, choose green materials as they remodel rather than building a new green house from scratch. Others, such as Schutz, gut existing homes and replace as much as they can with organic, non-toxic materials.

Other buyers, however, don't purchase green products only for their own homes.

Some builders, such as Schutz, and other craftsmen such as painter Jeremy Mistretta, 25, who owns Ascension Painting, use green materials when working for clients.

Mistretta's customers either take his suggestion to use eco-friendly paints or they ask for them either because they're interested in green products or because they are sensitive to the chemicals used in traditional paints.

Several local stores, including Refuge, Belgrade's True Value Hardware and Columbia Paint in Bozeman, sell organic paint.

Schaub said some area building supply companies offer green building supplies, such as formaldehyde-free insulation.

Such materials, though, often are more costly than traditional supplies.

The paint Belgrade's True Value sells for about $26 per gallon compared to $18 for regular paint, said paint department manager Richard Cole.

Some cost comparisons aren't quite as close.

Refuge has insulation made from recycled denim. It costs 30-50 percent more than fiberglass, Schaub said.

"But you're not comparing apples to apples," he pointed out.

The health benefits and the environmental factors mean the products aren't the same, even when it comes to price, he said.

Schutz said the green materials he uses in his own home or for clients typically cost about 5 percent more than traditional supplies.

"People are skeptical," he said, "so all you can do is show them you can do this in a reasonably cost effective way."

Schutz and other people, such as Schaub and Finegan, said they hope to educate customers, clients and anyone who's interested in the green options available.

"There's a certain social responsibility to your community if you really care about it," Schutz said.

Camden Easterling is at ceasterling@dailychronicle.com

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