The Truckee Home and Building Show hosts the
2007 Regional Green Building Symposium
By Pam Neff, Truckee Home and Building Show Co-ordinator


For fifteen years the Truckee Home and Building Show has been opening it’s doors on Memorial Day Weekend to homeowners, vacation property owners and building professionals to bring “Everything you need to build or remodel your mountain home together under one roof”. For over a decade the Home Show has been introducing the latest systems and technology related to energy efficiency, renewable resources and environmental sustainability to the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area. As green building concepts have emerged on the construction scene the Home Show has been at the forefront of bringing this information to the public.

The year 2007 is the most exciting expansion to the Truckee Home and Building Show as we partner with the Sierra Green Building Association (SiGBA) to host the Regional Green Building Symposium, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Memorial Day Weekend. This expansive three day event envelopes the Truckee Home and Building Show’s ensemble of over a hundred displays, with educational seminars, presentations, movies, workshops, mixers and keynote speaker: Ric Licata. The commercial and residential green building tours of sites in the neighboring area will allow you to see first hand these ideas implemented right into local homes and structures. The whole program is designed to provide professionals an opportunity to network and exchange information and ideas, as well as offering the public an extensive education in the fields of green building, renewable resources and sustainable living. This is an event not to be missed so mark your calendars! A complete schedule of events is available on the home page of this website (www.truckeehomeshow.com).

The Truckee Home and Building Show is presented in the heart of the High Sierras, with tall pines, mountains and lakes as its backdrop, and conveniently housed mostly under one roof, at the Truckee High School, in the historic Town of Truckee, located just off Interstate 80 and about 15 miles north of Lake Tahoe.

The Town of Truckee is working to become the Greenest Small Town in America by the year 2010. What is “Green”? Green is creating a way of life that sustains our resources and promotes a healthy environment over the long term. Throughout the Home Show you can learn how to build and live with efficiency, economy and ecology in mind in the High Sierras. With an extensive presentation of exhibits from the local area as well as across the country you will get to see not just the latest technology and resources to “green” your building project but how to make it a warm, comfortable, and pleasing environment as well.

Sierra Pacific Power and Truckee Donner PUD present the Truckee Home and Building Show each year and have staff on hand to answer energy questions and teach you how to make your new or existing home more comfortable, energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly.

At the show you can learn how to efficiently run your own home using power you generate yourself from solar, wind and micro-hydro sources. Find out how others in our own community have made themselves self-sufficient power wise. Learn how passive solar requires the correct balance of collection, storage and distribution components to be effective and create a comfortable environment. Check out hot water solar heating systems, one of the simplest and most cost effective solar opportunities. Spend some time looking at each system on display and talk to the professionals about your particular application.

Find out how a geothermal heat pump can provide heating, air conditioning and hot water in your existing or soon to be constructed home.

At the Show you will learn about the fastest growing building system on the market today using foam insulated concrete forms. This system offers strength, superior insulation and sound barrier capacities that you may want to consider. Sample structures will be on display so you can try your hand at building with these easy to use, high efficiency materials. It is just like building with giant Legos.

There are so many ways to build a house and each one offers its own unique character and advantages. Take the age-old and majestic timberframe home for example. Large vertical posts supporting equally hefty horizontal beams are held together by wooden pegs, with all the impressive woodwork exposed to the interior. Timberframe structures have stood the test of time. Or consider the tasteful appeal of a cedar home framed in a traditional method and using the latest energy efficient components. The warmth and character of a log house is always a popular approach for a home in the mountains. Who can resist the beauty of log walls and beams? Straw-bale homes are another for consideration providing affordable insulation value and the design appeal offered by their massively thick walls. Talk with building professionals who can help direct you toward the right building approach to match your dreams. At the Home Show you can meet them all in one place.

Universal Design is another key concept to check out. Find out why it just makes sense to consider planning for disability access in your home design, even if you are not disabled. This simple application in the design stage can save tens of thousands of dollars in remodeling costs or the necessity to move in the case of a disabling event occurring in a family member’s life. The increased market value of the home is an additional benefit. This is building with sustainability in mind, and a very green idea!

Explore wood restoration services to make your old weathered siding like new again. Consider the security offered by fire retardant wood products and fire retardant stains, ideal for our mountain community. Discover the best products to use for sealing and painting your home to deal with the harsh mountain elements while caring for our fragile environment. What you are looking for are products that are low or non-VOC (volatile organic compounds). Some VOC’s are the cancerous compounds that can infiltrate our air and water systems. Learn about other ways to conserve and protect our water supply like well designed, water-efficient landscaping drip systems and low water using plants.

Minimizing erosion is another component to keep water clean and clear in our lakes and streams. This is also a key feature of the BMP’s (best management practices) for managing a sustainable building site. Components of a sustainable site include protecting and retaining as many of the natural features on the site and integrating them into the project like trees, wildflowers, boulders, streambeds and considering how the project will affect wildlife habitat. Care taken with the site can reap great rewards later as you enjoy the natural surroundings and wildlife on the property. “Sustainable Sites” is the first of the five LEED green building categories that measure the success of any green building project. Learn about them all during the Regional Green Building Symposium events and as you visit exhibits at the Home Show.

Asphalt options are something to take a look at while you are at the 2007 Show. Imperious concrete is the way to create a solid surface that still allows water to seep through, replenishing the aquifer and minimizing runoff erosion. Paver systems that offer a pleasing lattice design filled in with grass, moss or other vegetation also allows water to seep through while providing a beautiful surface for driveways, walkways or patios. Some new asphalt products on display offer colored and stamped asphalt that looks like decorative brickwork.

See the highest tech insulation materials for use by owners and builders. All insulation is not the same and you’ll want to check out the alternatives yourself. Compare sound reduction, air infiltration and insulation R-value qualities. Get information and prices on lumber, siding, roofing, windows, doors and steel buildings – all at the Truckee Home and Building Show. Consider siding alternatives like those made from a cement base offering durability and low maintenance.

Investigate adding magnetic storm windows, which fit inside your existing windows as an alternative to replacing your inefficient single pane windows. Price out both alternatives while you are at the show. Try the attractive and practical rollaway screens for doors and windows. Easy to use when you need them and out of sight when you don’t.

Getting a comfortable atmosphere to your interior takes some shopping. Meet with interior designers at the show who can help you pull the finishing details together to create the home atmosphere that you are really after. Shop for cabinets, doors, and interior hardware along with tile, stone and masonry services. Look at carpet and vinyl samples. Check out hardwood flooring samples made from recycled hardwoods retrieved from around the world. Some of the best wood available is old hardwood retrieved from barns and homes being torn down, wood removed during remodeling projects or old railroad ties. Aged wood is stable because it has completely finished the drying and shrinking process making it a great choice for cabinets, doors, flooring, siding and furnishings. Scavenged logs with intricate twists, turns and colors, found in heavily wooded forests, make interesting furniture pieces for mountain homes. See one-of-a-kind handcrafted furniture displayed at the Show each year.

There are many ways to get extra sleeping areas out of rooms you use for another purpose. See furniture and other accessories available in lodge pole pine and other rustic materials that are so popular in our area. Choose from a great selection of framed art.

Want to enjoy the beauty and warmth of a fire but not have to deal with the clean up that a wood fire requires. At the Home Show see how natural looking a gas fire can be and ask about the impact using gas can have on our winter air quality. Check out some of the best prices on the most efficient gas burning stoves and fireplaces. Still in love with a real wood fire? New technology in wood stoves has reduced the particulate matter released into the air down by about 1/20th of what it was 20 years ago keeping our mountain so much cleaner. Some of the best, state-of-the-art wood burning stoves will be on display.

Check out the convenience and efficiency of low voltage ice melt systems for roof eaves and snow melt systems for walkways, driveways and patios on display at the show along with low voltage in-floor heating. Price built-in central vacuum systems available for new home construction as well as in existing structures. Learn about the practical utility home security systems can add to the second homeowners life when you can adjust features like lights and heating using a telephone from another location.

Shop and compare the various models and features of bear-proof garbage enclosures. Get organized with full closet and storage systems for your home or business. Control the sun exposure with automated retractable awnings. Step into a full home theater display to give you ideas on a system for your own home. Find all this and more at the Truckee Home and Building Show.

Now adding an infra-red sauna to your home is a practical option. See them on display at the Home Show. From waterfalls and spas to patio furniture and ski chair swings you’ll find everything you need to make your home a vacation spot. Remember that a green home can also be a comfortable home with a little knowledge and planning.

If you are getting ready to build or remodel a home, take advantage of this opportunity to meet with building experts in all stages of new construction, remodeling and interior décor. Learn about greening your project by getting involved in the extensive educational and networking opportunities offered through the Annual Regional Green Building Symposium. If you are a professional in the industry find out how you can become a part of the event. The Truckee Home and Building Show exhibits are open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. The Regional Green Building Symposium Schedule Starts Friday and runs through Sunday, Memorial Day Weekend (Last weekend in May).

Those who attend take advantage of the whole package for just a $5 donation to the local schools being accepted at the door (another green idea, supporting healthier schools and a better community). Find it all at the Truckee High School, 11725 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, California. For more information you can call 530-587-3477.