New Lafayette builder goes green

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Lafayette's Green Goose Homes has only been around for about five weeks, but owner Grant Giese said he's already about to break ground on his first green home.

A green home doesn't always mean solar panels and funky designs, Giese said.

"It's not altogether different from any other kind of home," he said. "It doesn't necessarily need to look different. It just needs to perform differently and be built with a different mindset."

And that doesn't mean higher costs either.

"You can do really subtle little things," Giese said. "Like I said, with recycling construction waste and using local products and things of that nature to make a home green without really breaking the bank."

Green Goose Homes will focus on building only homes that are considered green, Giese said.

"I pulled permits for my first home last week and we'll be starting construction next week," he said.

And you don't have to take his word for it, he said. Each of his homes will be certified by the National Association of Homebuilders and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Giese's customers work with him to decide exactly how green they want to go. He said it can simply be a matter of a few tweaks in the utility systems and some recycled materials. Or customers can go even further, adding concrete walls, metal roofs and more. That can get more expensive, but he said initial costs can eventually be made back.

"Energy bills will be lower, utility bills, water bills," he said. "Tax rebates are a potential thing to offset some of the upfront costs."

Whatever they choose, Giese said his business is a sign of things to come.

"The entire industry will be moving this way, either voluntarily or involuntarily within the next couple of years," he said. "I wanted to get ahead of the game."