[Greenbuilding] Totally turned off by high prices for green products

[Corwyn]

On Dec 17, 2006, at 02:50, Geri Spieler wrote:

>
> Frankly, I don't think I'll be able to sell it. After searching for a 
> decent
> bathroom vanity cabinet, 60" wide and 22" deep, the cheapest I came up 
> with
> was a $2300.00 cabinet---wholesale to us.
>
> Tile for $11 a square foot (and it isn't even pretty), vanity slab 
> tops for
> $3,000.00.
>
> Who can afford this? How are we supposed to support green building 
> when the
> price is so ridiculously high?

I just went into my bathroom and tried total up the costs (all these 
are approximate and from memory).

Pedestal sink: $150
Faucet: $100
Shelving: Free, but it would cost less than $200 new.
Mirror: $5 yard sale find, call it $100 new.
Light fixtures: Unknown, probably $100, currently there are ceramic 
lamp holders as temporary $4
Composting Toilet: $50 (plus 6 hours of my labor, however you want to 
charge that).
Flooring is the same pine as everywhere else in the house with a couple 
more coats of polymerized linseed oil to make to more water tolerant.  
In most other ways it is just like other rooms in my house.  And I am 
not counting plumbing etc.

The trick now becomes convincing your clients that that is what they 
want, and convincing your company that they can make a living putting 
in $700 bathrooms.

I claim that my bathroom is at least as green as your proposed 
showroom, even though not enough effort was spent on my part ensuring 
that I got the greenest products.  So it isn't the 'green' that is 
costing you (your clients) money, but rather the expectations and 
desires for what items come in said bathroom.

Maybe we can get Speireag to come and tell us what a REAL green 
bathroom costs.

Thank You Kindly,

Corwyn

-- 
Corwyn
Kermit didn't know the half of it...
http://www.greenfret.com/
corwyn at greenfret.com