As you may have noticed, we avoid using the word green. This is quite intentional. Over the past ten years or so, the Earth conscious movement has gained momentum with everyone from large corporations to small businesses jumping on the bandwagon. They see that the consumer is demanding more ecologically friendly practices and want to tap into this new market.

Unfortunately, this has meant that products that are not earth conscious are being hailed as green. A laundry detergent is not environmentally conscious because its bottle has been redesigned to use less plastic. The producer conveniently neglects to disclose all the non-biodegradable ingredients that are still being sent into our water supply, and yet labels their product as green. Hence, we avoid the term.

Waalnut Construction follows as many practices as possible to minimize our impact on the Earth. We use concrete with fly ash, a waste product from power generation, when it’s available. We divide construction waste into recyclables. When contemplating buying a material or tool, we consider the packaging it comes in. (To learn more about our vision, visit Our dream for the future)

But building an Earth conscious home is not a matter of applying the same, simple equation to each job. It’s difficult to rule out some materials completely because of their manufacturing process. If the benefits are enough to outweigh the drawbacks, we have to make a choice. We are not fanatics, but we are always looking to have the least impact and the most longevity.

Perhaps it makes more sense to present this in a question: Is it better to build an inefficient home that uses all-natural products, or is it better to build a home with some conventional materials, but make it extremely energy efficient home? The answer depends on thousands of variables that must be considered.

When you hire us to build for you, you are hiring us to help you make those little, everyday decisions to achieve the best possible outcome for you, the next generation, and the Earth.