10 easy ways to green your home

The house you fix up will probably be much greener than anything you build in its place, no matter how cutting edge the new design or how much recycled material you use.

Sure, some old houses just can't be saved. But even a building with serious problems can give you plenty to work with.

You might, for example, be able to salvage the first floor and build around it. With a total teardown, all the stuff that went into building the old house, including the fossil fuels the original construction crew had to burn, goes to waste. (Construction material is one of the largest contributors to landfills.)

And, of course, you'll consume a lot of energy and materials putting up a new structure. If you choose to remodel, consider expanding up rather than out. That's an easy way to control your home's carbon footprint.

NEXT: Yes, size matters