Building 'Green,' A Dream at a Time

California already has communities of zero-energy houses, but Hill's promises to be one of the first such dwellings in the Washington region.

The project didn't start out to be so visionary. "It's taken on a green tint as it's gone along," he said.

Hill has lived in his two-bedroom bungalow since 1981. At first, Hill just wanted a bigger place, to make room for his books. In 1996, he hired an architect to draw plans for a two-story addition, which would have given him a long, narrow library on the second floor and a little more living space on the first floor.

He was planning to retire, and he had helped friends with construction projects, so he figured building the addition himself would be a good use of his time.

He started watching home project shows and subscribed to homebuilding magazines. He researched on the Web. When he found out about the SIPs panels, he was sold. Little by little, what had started as a traditional renovation project became highly innovative.

Hill began attending energy conferences and classes on green building. In October, he decided to "deconstruct" his old home rather than tear it down. A company that specializes in selling recycled building materials carefully bundled old floor boards, stacked doors and other salvageable items and hauled them away to be resold and reused. "The idea is to minimize the amount of junk sent to the landfill," he said.

Nothing about the project has been easy. Or fast. Or cheap. It has taken years to find companies that manufacture the new systems and a bank that would finance the nontraditional construction. City officials have sometimes been at a loss to respond to his needs, or know how to deal with the efficient systems he wants to use.

Just last week, Jannine Pennell, the city's acting director of code enforcement, called together Hill and people from the various departments and agencies who will need to sign off on parts of the unusual project. She said they are all learning as they go.

"Green technology is the wave of the future, but it's coming at us pretty fast, and our building code texts haven't kept up with it," she said. "It's a good system, and what he's doing is admirable. We just have to make sure it's done right, that the people who know what they're doing are installing it and that it's best not just for Mr. Hill, but for everyone around him."

For example, Pennell said city officials need to make sure that the rainwater Hill plans to recycle doesn't get into the potable water supply, or that the gellike coolant in his geothermal heating system can't leach into the ground and potentially contaminate the soil or groundwater.

Hill estimates the green house, which will measure about 3,600 square feet, will have cost him about $550,000. Hill's solar panels will cost $30,000 alone. But that hasn't deterred him.

"This has become my life basically," said Hill, who is single. "I don't have anyone to leave it to, so it'll take what it takes."