Michael Chandler didn't get into green building for the glory. He entered the field before sustainability was even a glimmer in the eye of mainstream marketers. As a kid, he wanted to design sailboats. “And what's the equivalent of a sailboat in a house? It's a solar house,” he says. That simple formulation led to a satisfying and successful career as a designer and builder of energy-efficient, resource-conserving houses. And, lately, Chandler's experienced some glory to boot. In May, the NAHB named him its Builder Advocate of the Year, and the local Green Building Council that he helped found took home Program of the Year honors.
“It's kind of been my year, in a way,” says Chandler, whose recent contributions to the green building field easily justify the accolades he's received. A prolific and thought-provoking blogger at GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, he has taught green building courses in the NAHB Education program and is working with the NAHB Research Center to craft the new National Green Building Standard . Writing, teaching, and volunteering leverages his knowledge and experience. “I build three and sometimes four houses a year,” he explains, “and you can't make that much impact on the world if you only build three houses a year. Taking a room full of code-minimum builders and turning them into Energy Star builders … that's where the low-hanging fruit is.”
In the meantime, he and his wife, designer Beth Williams, managed to grow their company during a severe recession, recouping in added volume what they gave up in tighter margins. “We also gave away in the range of $50,000 in profit-sharing [in 2009],” Chandler adds, “which felt good.”
Chandler and Williams expect eventually to give away much more than that, transferring ownership of the construction business to their employees and running their design and consulting practice as a separate partnership. The scheme is still a work in progress, Chandler cautions. And while he relishes the prospect of broader influence in the construction community, he's in no hurry to close out his building career. “It's been a good living and a lot of fun,” he says. “And I get to work with my wife. How cool is that?”
Chandler Design-Build, Mebane, N.C.
www.chandlerdesignbuild.com
Type of business: Design/build custom builder
Years in business: 23
Employees: 7
2009 volume: $1.8 million
2009 starts: 3
