Eco-friendly home renovations are popular but pricey. Here’s where to start.

According to a nationwide survey of recent and prospective home buyers released in February 2024 by the National Association of Home Builders, many buyers consider green home features to be either essential or desirable. Energy Star-rated windows, for example, were deemed essential or desirable by 83% of respondents, while triple-pane insulating windows (77%), sustainably harvested lumber (56%) and home components made of recycled materials (52%) were also popular with buyers.

One benefit that homeowners doing eco-friendly remodeling won’t find, however, is lower renovation costs. “Cost is often a barrier," said Bob Zuber, a partner of Morgante Wilson Architects in Evanston, Ill. While costs have come down over time, homeowners should still expect to pay a premium for green materials.

Ultimately, however, there is a return on investment, Zuber said, because sustainable materials are often more durable and require less maintenance than their conventional counterparts. For example, exterior cedar trim requires constant maintenance and eventually rots, Zuber said, but there are products, including one manufactured from upcycled rice hulls, that last longer than wood and don’t require painting or staining every few years.

If you’re thinking of incorporating green features into your home remodel, here are some things to consider.

Think reuse, not refuse

Most home renovations begin with a sledgehammer and dumpster as the contractor does demolition work, whether it is ripping out old kitchen cabinets or tearing down walls. But homeowners who want to avoid having their construction debris end up in a landfill have another alternative: deconstruction services, where a specially trained team carefully takes a room down to its studs while preserving cabinets, tile, plumbing fixtures or hardware that can be reused. Those materials are then appraised by a third-party appraiser and donated, with the homeowner receiving a tax deduction.

That is what Jill Schacter did when she recently remodeled the kitchen of her four-bedroom home in Evanston, Ill. Schacter paid $1,000 to have Rebuilding Exchange, a Chicago-based nonprofit that reduces construction waste by keeping materials out of landfills and selling it at retail stores, hand-deconstruct her kitchen as part of a $100,000 remodel.

“If you have an opportunity to do a remodel in a way that’s less wasteful, you should do it," she said. “I feel good about it."

But deconstruction usually costs more than demolition because it is labor-intensive, according to Aina Gutierrez, the executive director of Rebuilding Exchange. She said that the tax deduction helps to equalize the cost difference between demolition and deconstruction and can actually make it cost competitive, depending on the project.

Use reclaimed or repurposed products

“Using reclaimed products is taking something that would otherwise be waste and giving it new life in a different form," said Mikaela Arroyo, vice president of John Burns Research and Consulting in Irvine, Calif.

Consider visiting your local architectural salvage store, where you can find everything from kitchen cabinets, fixtures and tile to structural elements of a building that was demolished. “This is not your grandparents’ salvage any more," said Jason Lear, co-owner of Batt & Lear, a design-build firm in Seattle that specializes in green building. “We are building furniture-grade cabinetry out of reclaimed Douglas fir. You can do elegant high-end work with reclaimed wood."

Elizabeth Gomez, co-owner of Bridge City Contracting in Battle Ground, Wash., said that her clients have been able to save a substantial amount of money and reduce their carbon footprint by shopping at salvage stores. She’s seen kitchen cabinets and appliances that she valued at $150,000 that had an asking price of $30,000 at a local salvage shop. “That’s what someone would pay for cabinets at IKEA now," Gomez said. “And the cabinets were divine."

Arroyo said that when her team attended NAHB’s International Builders’ Show in February, they saw more reclaimed products on display than in past years. Homeowners interested in upcycled building materials can now choose from decorative wall planks handcrafted from reclaimed wood gathered from barns, buildings and fences; carpeting made from recycled bottles that helps to keep plastic waste out of landfills and waterways; tiles made from landfill-bound pottery, wastewater sludge and other forms of waste; and countertops created from post-consumer recycled paper and old cardboard that is pressed into “stone."

Jonathan Burgess, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Fellow and co-leader of the energy and sustainability department at New York City-based Socotec USA, said that many reclaimed products take on a new life that can be quite different than their originally intended purpose. He said that one of his consulting projects involved repurposing salvaged beetle-killed pine from old fencing in the Pacific Northwest and reusing it in the lobby of a high-end oceanfront condo-hotel building in South Beach.

Buy almost nothing

Perhaps the most eco-friendly way to complete a remodel is to buy and replace as little as possible.

“Preserving and rehabilitating existing building materials like kitchen cabinets is a great way to respect their embodied carbon footprint and help reduce landfill inputs," said Burgess. “Hardwood cabinets can often last more than a hundred years, and with some readily available low-VOC primer and paint, you can bring cabinets new life. Bonus points for finding reclaimed door hardware to match your aesthetic for a great low-carbon remodel."

Gomez said she’s convinced potential clients not to replace their cabinets but to keep their existing oak cabinets instead and decorate around them. “In the 1990s, every builder went through an oak phase and installed oak floors, baseboards and cabinets," she said. “The oak was expensive, but it’s durable and has lasted the test of time. If you just make some adjustments to your flooring or wall colors, you can update that oak look. You don’t even have to paint them."

Homeowners can also incorporate products that help their homes perform better to reduce their negative impact on the environment. Arroyo said that plumbing products have moved past low-flow faucets and shower heads to options specifically designed for water conservation, such as a recirculating, high-pressure shower that actually captures water, stops it from going down the drain, sanitizes it and then recirculates it so no water goes to waste. Newer window and door models and improved insulation can also make a house airtight to avoid energy loss.