Willie Weir: Home Improvements

Willie Weir with dog on front stoop

When Willie Weir and Kat Marriner moved into their home on Beacon Hill, the front yard was bare dirt except for two tree stumps. Since then, they’ve put a lot of work into “The Turquoise Palace,” from repainting to adding rain barrels to water their garden.

“We did most of our own work on the house….We did hire a couple of contractors for small jobs, but I was disappointed with their work,” Willie recalls. Not so with Artisan Electric, one of the community-selected solar installers for the Central/Southeast campaign, Willie says. “They were the model contractor. They were efficient, courteous, and obviously passionate about their work, and it shows with the finished product.”

The Solarize model of large numbers of local purchases means that the contractors can also offer discounts on the systems. That neighborhood advantage meant that Willie and Kat weren’t the only ones: four of their neighbors took advantage of the Solarize discount as well.

Willie Weir solar panels on house
“What was really helpful was having the information go out in a neighborhood campaign,” Willie says. Attending one of our free educational workshops helped explain not just that solar can work in Seattle, but the whole process from financing to grid interconnection to the variety of federal and state incentives that bring down the cost of going solar. Those incentives are helping Willie and Kat afford their latest sustainable home improvement, and can do the same for other Solarizers all across Washington.Willie Weir sitting outside of house