Visit homes and businesses that feature sustainable building practices that save energy, water, resources, money, and our environment!

Talk with owners and builders – find out what they did, how they did it, and why

Choose from more than 12 sites to visit

    Environmentally friendly construction and retrofit options are available to fit almost any budget or lifestyle. These days, everyone can find ways for their homes and businesses to do more for their pocketbooks as well as the planet.

    The Tour takes place over over two days, with different sites available on each day, to allow participants to visit more sites.

What's On the Tour

Homes and businesses around throughout San Diego County will be open for touring. To preview the sites, click here.

    This year’s Tour has something for everyone. There are commercial sites and residential sites; sites that are still under construction, just completed, and ones that have been “lived in” for a while; new structures that were designed from the ground up, and ones that are remodels. Some of the sites were also on the last tour, so if you missed them you get another chance.

    The structures will feature many different “green” building and landscaping options, including:

• Ecologically sound building materials and technologies (e.g., straw bale and PerformWall construction);
• Energy-efficient building components (e.g., “high-E” insulating windows);
• Water-efficiency features (e.g., gray water systems, native landscaping);
• Alternative energy technologies (e.g., solar electric and solar water heating);
• Healthy building materials (e.g., low-emission paints, nontoxic insulation, filtration systems);
• Recycled and/or reused materials (e.g., renewable bamboo flooring, recycled plastic carpet, composite decking);
• Xeriscaping – landscaping technique using native and drought-tolerant plants to minimize exterior water use.

    Owners, architects, and builders will be available to answer questions about each project throughout the day. Literature about the materials used and the providers of services will also be available.

    The tour will include new sites, plus a selection of those from last year's tour (you can see how last year's new construction turned out!).

GreenBuilt Tour Guide Book

Free GreenBuilt Tour Guides, with descriptions of the tour sites, a glossary of “green” building terms, and a resource guide will be distributed at more than 100 sites throughout San Diego County. The Guide will be distributed starting the first week of September.

    For a list of locations where you can pick up a free guide, check back here after September 1.

    Here are some links to articles in the 2006 Guide that you can read “on-line”:

• Why is there a GreenBuilt Tour?
• Green Building Resource Directory
• A Layman’s Guide to LEED Certification
• Glossary of Green Building Terms

Tour Tickets

The GreenBuilt Tour cost is $12 through September 13, and $15 after September 13 and on the day of the event. Tickets are good for both days, for all tour sites. Ticket holder's children aged 14 and under can tour for free.

• To purchase your tickets on-line from our secure server with a Visa or MasterCard credit card, click here.
   
• To purchase your tickets by mail, send your payment to:
          SanDiego EarthWorks
          PO Box 9827
          San Diego, CA 92169
  Be sure to include you mailing address so we can send you your tickets!
   
• You can also purchase yout tickets at any GreenBuilt Tour site on the day of the tour. We accept cash, Visa and MasterCard, and personal checks (with ID).
  • The addresses and driving directions will be posted on this website beginning September 26. Copy the directions to the first site you want to visit and go there. When you purchase your ticket, we will give you driving directions to all the sites.

 Volunteering

Like all San Diego EarthWorks events, the GreenBuilt Tour is produced by volunteers. We still volunteers to help administer the event. To find out more, click here. Or, send email to: GBT08Volearthdayweb.org.