Home
Eco-Development and Sustainable Renovation
I’ve noticed an interesting trend lately. The renovation of old buildings. Gorgeous old buildings gutted and rebuilt from the inside-out, as green and sustainable new structures.
An exciting (and well-publicized) example of this is the Sanctuary development on Capital Hill in Seattle.
The original church was built in the early 1900s and has been a distinctive landmark of the neighborhood for years. Through the renovation of this historical icon, ecological- minded urban residences are being created.
The preservation of the beautiful building was a cornerstone of the project planning. Architectural details, bricks, wooden pews, flooring and windows were repurposed and used within the new residential development as stairs, detailing, in-fill and patching. New sustainable aspects of the housing itself include dual flush toilets and tankless water heaters. › Continue reading
USGBC’s Green Home Guide Beta
Margarido Home, LEED Platinum Certified.
Many of us are familiar with the LEED rating system from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), which is a third party green building rating system for commercial and residential buildings. The LEED rating system has been adopted by the U.S. government and is used with all new construction and major renovation of federal buildings. LEED certifies buildings on a point based system in the areas of Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Locations & Linkages, Awareness & Education, Innovation in Design, and Regional Priority. Points are then added up to achieve Silver, Gold, or preferably Platinum certification. While mainly regarded as a tool for commercial building, there is also a LEED for Homes section that allows you to certify your home or neighborhood.
Recently, USGBC has launched a Green Home Guide. The site is an awesome resource for those of you looking to remodel or build a home in the near future. The site contains a myriad of resources for the casual and the serious green homemaker alike. The “Know How” section guides you through green building advice and educational articles to help you make better-informed decisions. They cover a diverse range of topics, and the content is growing everyday. With the rapid growth in the green building world, it’s a great resource if you need to get an idea of what’s out there.
› Continue reading
Energy Efficient Windows
Winter: tis the season to be jolly. Christmas and Valentine’s day have already come to pass, but the season hasn’t lost all of it’s festivities for those of us enjoying the Winter Olympics. Some time during the beginning of each month though, in spite of how joyful the season may be, you’re bound to get an envelope in the mail that’ll bring you down from all that cheer. Inside the envelope, you’ll find a letter with a lot of fine print and a very clear number representing how much money will be going to go towards paying off the additional heating expenses that every Winter brings along with, the Winter hangover.
Environmentally sound technology has advanced though to the point where you can stay warm in-doors without paying as much of the annual extra costs of heating utilities and without causing unnecessary harm to the environment. It’s a win-win situation in the form of a window material that won’t even clash with your drapes.
The technology is called Low-emittance coating and is applied to the glass during the manufacturing process but the science behind it is pretty simple. When your home is warmed up, eventually things will cool down (it’s why you have to keep the heater on over extended periods of time) as the heat radiates. The heat leaves in the form of infrared radiation, and these microscopic layers work to prevent that by only allowing specific frequencies through. Best of all though, it can work both ways. So in the Summer the same coating that kept heat in during the winter, can keep heat out (diminishing the need to keep rooms regularly air-conditioned).
› Continue reading
Recycle Your Greywater Into Your Landscaping
Harvesting rainwater is a great way to reuse the free water from the sky, however, unless you have a lot of rain barrels and a lot of rain, the dry season will cut your supply short- or will it? Grey water is another great source to recycle from since it is just being wasted by going down the drain.
Greywater is non-sewage waste water from your sinks, bathtub and laundry drains that is safe for your yard. The benefit to recycling or reusing this water is that it recharges aquifers and waters your plants while nature cleans the water. It is even better if the only thing going down the drain are natural cleaners, detergents and soaps. An individual may produce 15,600 gallons of greywater a year, all of which is wasted by going down the drain when it can be safely used on landscaping. Buckets have been used to collect this water from bathtubs, but can be cumbersome and labor intensive and there are easier ways.
Flotender has a great automated system that acts as a collection, storage and irrigation system all in one. Available for your rain collection devices as well, this system gathers your rainwater or greywater and pumps it out to your landscaping through a drip irrigation system. They have other systems available so you can customize the irrigation system to your needs, but they all use the same principle- collect the recycled water and distribute it to your plants. Hook it up to your rain barrels, tap it into your greywater drains and never have to water your yard again!
Eco-Friendly Bark Shingles Home Siding
Thinking about re-siding your home? Take a look at this eco alternative. Just like a trees own weather proofing, these bark shingles insulate, protect, and are virtually maintenance free. It is made up of tulip tree bark waste from timber operations that would otherwise get burned, mulched, or left to rot.
Lasting up to 75 years, renewable, sustainably harvested and containing no chemicals, it is quite possibly the greenest siding on the market today. The textured look only adds to its appearance and acoustic properties, blocking out sounds much like another bark, cork.
Winterize your Home for Energy Efficiency
Eco tips for saving money this winter. What works well in the winter, can also save you money on your cooling bills in the summer too!
The Little Stuff:
- Seal up cracks – Common spots for drafts are entryways (the back door and garage doors are notorious for draftiness) window moldings and seals. Caulking windows, sealing cracks and installing weather strips under doors will help seal out drafts accounting for big losses of heat.
*Be sure to add lots of indoor toxin removing plants to keep indoor VOC levels and off-gassing furniture emissions to a minimum. - Insulate your attic – Cold air sinks, and if your attic isn’t insulated, it’s dropping down on you like an invisible fog. Get some insulation up there pronto! When choosing insulation materials, choose something with a high ‘R-value’ and try and stay away from anything with formaldehyde. It shouldn’t be any more expensive, but it will be much better for your health and indoor air quality.
- Insulate your windows – Break out the heavy curtains! Blinds and shades can also do their part in insulating you from the chilly outdoors. When the sun goes down, close your curtains or draw the shade to keep the warm air in and the cold air out. Be sure to open them first thing in the morning to get that rising sun.
- Insulate your water heater - Unless its a newer Energy Star water heater, most water heaters can benefit from an insulation blanket. Try and cover the first 6 feet of the hot pipes as well for an added benefit.
- Adjust the thermostat – I know it’s difficult at first, but each degree set below 68°F (20°C) during colder weather uses 3 to 5 percent less heating energy than each degree set above 68°F. A programmable thermostat can change the temperature automatically for when you are commonly gone or bundled up in bed saving you from heating an empty house.
- Change your air filter – Often overlooked or performed once at the beginning of winter, you should change your furnace filter once a month during heavy usage to keep everything flowing nicely.
The Big Stuff:
- Add a storm door – A benefit of up to 2 percent savings on your annual energy costs can be › Continue reading
Aromatherapy Natural Cleaning Supplies
I’ve reviewed several kinds of natural cleaning supplies including Method and DIY cleaning kits, but this one is a bit unique. Aromatherapy Naturals uses aromatherapy from pure essential oils to give your cleaning a fresh natural scent. Developed by Patti Page and used in her own personal cleaning service since 2006 after tiring of years of using harsh chemicals.
Clean without Phosphates, Ammonia, or even vinegar. Aromatherapy Naturals uses only grain alcohol, organic plant based surfactants (coconut, olive or other oils), water and a few other key natural ingredients. Produced and distributed from a small town in Indiana, it is safe for your whole family including your pets.
Plyboo Bamboo Plywood and Durapalm Palm Tree Sustainable Flooring
I love bamboo. Its beautiful, its durable, and its a great sustainable and renewable resource, so I am pretty excited about Plyboo by Smith and Fong. Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and available for LEED credit by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), these surfaces and flooring are all about sustainability. Made from FSC certified bamboo and palm, these flooring and paneling alternatives have a beautiful and unique modern but warm look.
Smith & Fong’s Plyboo flooring, plywood and veneer are derived from Moso bamboo harvested from a forest that requires no irrigation, fertilizers or pesticides. Each year, only 20 percent of the plantation’s bamboo (or only the five-year growth) is cut, ensuring the forest canopy remains intact and the ecosystem is not disturbed.
Both the Durapalm and Plyboo flooring, veneer and plywood use a urea formaldehyde-free adhesive called PlybooPure™ and pass the California Air Resources Board (CARB)’s formaldehyde regulations for composite panels. It also earned the world’s first non-wood FSC certification for its bamboo resource in China, providing third-party validation of a truly sustainable industry. Additionally, Smith & Fong retain a relationship with the actual bamboo farmers, to ensure the quality and sustainability of the operation.
Tottini – Design For Modern Green Kids
Seattle moms Melissa Maffei and Melissa Van Flandern both have a passion for the simplicity and beauty of modern design which is wholly apparent when you step into their children’s furnishing store Tottini. Brimming with bright colors and interesting shapes, your children will instantly fall in love with everything in the store, and you will appreciate the clean modern design.
Surrounded by fresh children’s products with sustainable green design, recycled content and modern eco-chic simplicity and materials, Tottini is the place for green kids (and their parents). Art and design take center stage at this children’s furnishings boutique, products and furnishings are well designed with clean modern lines. Most toys and furnishings are made from organic cotton, sustainable wood, bamboo and recycled plastics- but lack nothing in the fun department.
› Continue reading
LiT Lampshades – Promoting Green Home Design
Lampshades are not usually something you think of when designing green, and it is really hard to find environmentally friendly shades. Most shades have a plastic styrene backing which in no way is biodegradable. They are then coated with toxic glue then the fabric. Let’s think what happens when this glue gets hot,….toxic glue….hot light bulb….your baby’s room….hum? None too good for the earth, and on the aesthetic side- most plastic based shades are ugly, thus none too good for your decor.
LiT, a not only local but green designer lampshade company (based in Seattle, Washington), is taking a stand against ugly toxic shades by making their shades earth friendly through careful consideration in the materials used in producing LiTshades. Instead of plastic owner Dawn Bassett uses only paper backing. The backing is laminated using water based, non-toxic adhesive and then the reclaimed, recycled or re-purposed fabrics and papers give the shades their final touch. She also insists on only using natural fiber textiles like silks and cottons.
Dawn makes all her shades by hand, usually sitting quietly or rocking out to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in her shop. Her shades are not mass produced in Vietnam, Indonesia, or China in large crazy factories by little kids for two cents a day.
› Continue reading
Eco Friendly Green Driveways – A Living Permeable Driveway, Porous and Alive
Traditional Porous Green Driveway
flickr photo by ChrisB in SEA
I have always been a fan of permeable driveways (except in my younger skateboarding days). They allow for absorption of runoff, recharging aquifers, and naturally filters the water before it reaches ocean, lake and river outfalls, improving water quality. It reduces the dangers from flooding and the need for huge storm drains and channels. Additionally, it can help with the ‘heat island’ effect where the heat of the sun is stored in all of the concrete and asphalt of urban areas, thereby trapping the heat and altering the micro-climate of the area.
There are several methods out there from just using a permeable porous concrete type mix if you prefer a solid looking surface, to a brick style where water can run through the cracks, a basic gravel, or just go all the way and create a green live driveway of grass, turf or native plants. The really easy (and somewhat common) way to create a green driveway is to plant an area and provide a solid surface (such as bricks or concrete strips) for the tires only. No matter what style suits you, there is a greener driveway option out there. Professionals are out there who can help you plan and execute your eco friendly driveway, or you can just do it yourself (DIY). Lets start with the variations on what is available in the way of environmentally friendly driveways.
Porous pavement is a permeable pavement surface which contains a reservoir underneath. The reservoir holds the surface runoff, allowing it to slowly infiltrate into the subsoil. This allows the water to receive some natural filtration treatment. Porous pavement can mimic traditional asphalt or concrete but is manufactured without the fine, dense materials and incorporates hollow spaces that allow for water infiltration. This is not the greenest option, but is a great alternative to a traditional concrete or asphalt driveway. Because of many homeowner association rules and aesthetic considerations, this may be the best option for you.
A Green Driveway in Action
flickr photo by Scoobyfoo
To make it even better, you can make it a green driveway by adding grass or some type of low growing hearty foliage to help with the absorption of runoff and automobile leaks. There is a great tutorial of a DIY green driveway on frankejames.com where the homeowner actually did all the work themselves, and there are commercially available products from sources such as Invisable Structures. Most living driveways incorporate several layers, starting with a compacted sandy surface to maintain grade, followed by a sandy loam filled support structure (commonly a plastic honeycomb grid) to support the root system and maintain the solid surface to drive on.
Franke James DIY Green Driveway Project
If you own or know of companies with green driveways, please leave a comment below for our readers.
Search
Recent Posts
Most Popular
See the latest in green power,
earth friendly energy.
Find Energy Efficient TVs,
Home Audio and Video
Electronics.
Save energy and time with
Format HTML; it will
indent HTML perfectly!
Planning a green wedding?
Look
up local wedding vendors
at One White Wedding.