Tag: green building

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Eco Tips Green Building Home Decor Home Design Home Improvement

10 Mistakes: You Are Building That Green Home Wrong

green-building-mistakes-ruining-existing-ecosystemsSo you want to build a green home? Do not look at me. I am not going to help build it. I will give you some mistakes to avoid when building a green home of your own, but that is it. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint and be environmentally conscious then make sure you know everything you need to know about eco-friendly building.

It is not as easy as it seems.

Avoiding these mistakes will help your green home building process go faster and easier.

Mistake 1: When you plan out your green home, do not make it big like a palace. Keep in mind your lifestyle. The bigger the house, the more it will cost in electricity, heating, and not to mention the unused space.

Mistake 2: Straying off the beaten path is bad. Why? If you build in a new area away from town, and deep in the countryside, then you will ruin an established ecosystem. Know your lot and location before you break ground.

Mistake 3: Not thinking ahead of time can be damaging. Will you be living in your home 20 years from now? To be honest, I would not even know if I were. Knowing how long you plan on staying in your new green home can help with budget and space issues.

Mistake 4: Not doing research on green building can be bad in the long run. Yes those wooden floors are made from recycled wood but are they great with the moisture environment you live in? Knowing what building materials to use for your new home’s location is priceless. Plus, if you get contractors, they cannot screw you on the price because you know what you are talking about.

Mistake 5: Filling your home up with non-eco-friendly appliances is a no-no. Just think before you sink.

Mistake 6: Missing out on the sun’s energy is so wrong. Take advantage of the sun and use solar paneling. Make sure the roof is facing south; actually, your whole house should be facing south. You save lots of energy.

Mistake 7: Listening to your friend who knows nothing about green building, will not help you. Ask for help from a knowledgeable source.

Mistake 8: Insufficient insolation will empty your pockets in a quick minute. Insulate well and keep the cold out. If you do it right, then you will be living cozy and nice. Plus your electric bill will be very low.

Mistake 9: Going flat on the roof design is bad for a green build. Slant the roof to allow drainage. Make sure it too is insulated well. You can also make the drainage pipe connect to the garden to use the water.

Mistake 10: Forgetting to plant the actual green is often overlooked. Plants are very beneficial to green building. Do not plant random trees, bushes, and flowers. Do some research and plant what will thrive in your environment.

Do not follow these mistakes but learn from them. In no time you will have your own green home.

Categories
Green Building Home Design

Better Than My Own House: Out-Of-This-World Birdhouses

basket-weave-treehouse-design-eco-home
http://goo.gl/FHe81K

Treehouses are becoming more than just slabs of wood nailed together on top of a high tree. Oh yeah, people are getting creative with their treehouses. Some include an actual working elevator lift! if that’s not enough for you, they may also include solar power panels, and running water. That sounds better than my own house!

Treehouses nowadays are being made by using the actual tree. Other treehouses are being deemed works of art. They are so big that they seem to be made by a humongous bird. In reality they are just made by a human like you and I, but one that is extremely creative. If I were a bird I would want to live in one of his special nest houses.

Patrick-Dougherty-tree-sculpting-weaving-design
http://goo.gl/Rl1ICR

The amazing artsy human who created this is known as Patrick Dougherty from North Carolina. His nest houses are so wonderful and unique that he is known as a branch-bender extraordinaire/artist. He basically sculpts growing trees into shapes that form a house, a bird nest, a cocoon, a clay pot, etc. The weaving ideas are endless. He has a background in sculpting and a love for nature so it comes to good use in his field of work. He is a winner of many awards and his living art has traveled through the whole United States, Japan, Brussels, and many more locations worldwide. I find it tough to bend one single tree branch; how he does it, I will always marvel over his strength. We normal folks call it art work, but Patrick calls his amazing sculpted work ‘stickwork’. I say tomato, you say tomatoe. You’re unbelievable, Patrick! Your work should be called “magic”.

With over 200 sculpted pieces of work, Patrick decided to showcase them all for you in his published book, Stickwork. My favorite piece of his is called Just Around the Corner in New Harmony, Indiana. It looks like something out of the Lord of the Rings realm. Each branch is bent to perfection.

Just-Around-Winter-Patrick-Doughert-design
http://www.stickwork.net/featured/

Not everyone can be Patrick, but you can be you. Learn to create your own nest house, treehouse, inside decoration, birdhouse or backyard sculpture. It just takes a little bending of your creativity. I recommend doing some research first on what type of wood works best for the type of project you want to do. There are three types: Dogwood, Live Oak, and Elm. These are used in the craft of pleaching: molding and weaving trees to create structures. You can also just create a tree house of your choice, and weave wood around it. It will take time because trees do not grow real fast. The outcome will be spectacular, though and of course, you should use branches that are already on the floor.

Three tips on how to begin.

      1. Plan out the tree house. Make a sketch. Doodle away! Get creative and don’t be afraid.
      2. See if it is safe to build on your specific tree. Get a tree expert to come out and check if you’re planning something on a large scale.
      3. Measure twice, cut once. Do not waste wood. Recycle as much as possible.

The great thing about building a treehouse for your kids is that the measurements can be adjusted. Want an adult treehouse? Make the measurements bigger. Want a birdhouse? then make the measurements smaller, like real small. Nope, smaller than that. Smaller. There you go.

Nest houses, sculptures, huts, giant bird houses, and unthinkable tree houses are all possible. Get inspiration from Patrick Dougherty. Get inspiration from the Ewok village in Star Wars. Be creative and weave something good.

Categories
Green Building Home Design

Welcome To My Pallet House

pallet-house-eco-design-green-building
http://goo.gl/F5oiEo

Welcome To My Pallet House

As a child I always wanted a tree house, but ever since I saw Fern Gully, the movie, I did not want to hurt the rainforest. As an adult, I can now build my own tree house using reusable pallets. Thanks to two students from the University of Vienna who designed the Paletten Haus, I am able to make my childhood dream come true.

Want to make your own too? Go to a Home Depot and you’re bound to find wooden pallets being used to rest heavy objects or merchandise on top of them. But you will more than likely find a bunch of them next to an industrial trash bin outside of your local warehouse or supermarket. A lot of these stores receive these pallets during shipping of a large crate full of items. So they’ll actually be more than willing to simply give them to you for free if you ask for them. I actually got 4 different stores to hand them over to me for free, and none of them refused. This means that you’ll be able to build a house, an extra room, a shed, or even a cabin out of this stuff without having to spend so much on material.

You can go online and find blueprints on how to build one of these eco-friendly shelters just like that. It’s so easy in fact, that you can probably build a simple small shelter using about a hundred of these pallets. With the right power tools, nails and of course, help from your friends and family, you’ll have a 250 square foot home in a week or two. The stacking of these wooden pallets is fairly easy when making up the house. Just make sure that you make it so that the roof is slanted. This way, debris, snow, and water will slide down rather than getting stuck on top of your home.

So why go for these wooden pallets to make a modular style home as opposed to buying conventional material like plywood? Well for one thing, they are a whole lot cheaper than other types of wood, metal or other materials. You can even build a chicken coop, or tiny play house for less than $25 dollars. Click here to see a cool video on how to build a chicken coop.

Another great advantage is the fact that these bad boys are strong and durable. After all, they have to be if they’re able to hold heavy loads of items at hardware, department store and supermarkets. You certainly wouldn’t expect a company to use something flimsy to hold up merchandise that can tip over and crush a customer. With that same logic, you wouldn’t want to build a house that could be blown away by the wind or that your 2 year old daughter could bring down by leaning on it. With some common sense, you can stack up and nail these wooden pallets so that they create a bulky and sturdy house.

Now if there’s one thing you can say about wooden pallets is that they are easy to find. You don’t have to risk going to the hardware store and finding out that there isn’t enough material because there are as many wooden pallets out there as there are ants running around the planet. In the extremely rare event that a hardware store does not have any, you can scavenge the back of malls and shopping centers until you find enough pallets.

Learn about building one on your own here: DIY Pallet House. Sometimes you may find a pallet that has been damaged or one of the planks has come loose. Don’t worry. They are easy to fix. It’s just a matter of hammering a couple of nails and the pallet will be as good as new. Creating a home out of shipping pallets is not only an affordable way to build but it saves a lot of time, manpower, and is eco-friendly.

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Green Building Recycling Uncategorized

How To Make S’Mores And Memories With Your Old Washer And Dryer

Is it time to replace your old, beat-up washer and dryer? Don’t drag them to the curb just yet. All it takes is a little creativity and elbow grease to transform them into something entirely different from their intended use. In fact, that old, beat-up washing machine and the dryer that no longer gets hot will soon become the focus of your next backyard get together. With these easy instructions, you can transform the washer to a fire pit and the dryer to a beverage cooler.

From Washing Clothes to Making S’mores

Have you have dreamed of sitting around a backyard fire pit, roasting marshmallows, eating S’mores and making family memories? Good news, the metal drum of your old washing machine can make that dream come true. Follow these four simple steps and you can start making memories this weekend.

  • Remove the metal drum from the washing machine.
  • Remove any rubber or plastic pieces attached to the drum.
  • Using a wire brush and warm soapy water, scrub off all the soap scum and rust.
  • Paint the drum with a high heat-resistant spray paint, such as Rustoleum.

The fire pit can be used as a portable unit or installed in a decorative stone surround. To make the fire pit portable, simply bolt three metal casters to the bottom of the tub. For a more decorative, permanently placed pit:

  • Clear an area in the yard that measures about 3 feet by 3 feet.
  • Place the tub in the center of the cleared space and place decorative stone about 2-inches deep around the tub.
  • To contain the stones, sink bricks in the ground to create a perimeter around the fire pit area.

 From Dryer to Beverage Cooler

The only thing more perfect than a backyard fire pit is sipping on a cold beverage while you’re roasting marshmallows. The basket of the dryer is the ideal size for a beverage cooler and the holes allow the water from the ice to drain. Simply remove the basket from the dryer, clean with warm soapy water, fill with ice and your favorite beverage.

What to do With Leftover Parts-
Once you have removed the tub from the washer and the dryer, separate the remaining parts. Take the metal housing from both appliances to a metal recycling plant where you can sell it for scrap metal. Appliance repair shops often need difficult to find parts for older machines, which means you could sell your extra parts to them. Check with your county about how to correctly dispose of any left over wiring and other unusable parts from your old appliances.

Want to turn your fire pit into a grill? Visit your local appliance repair shop to search for inexpensive metal grates from old ovens or refrigerators. Clean the grate and place it over the fire pit and you instantly have a unique, one-of-a-kind grill.

~Rene W.

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Articles Eco Tips Recycling

A Re-Purposeful Life

New isn’t necessarily better. In fact, repurposing items can create a unique environment filled with pieces that can’t be found in chain stores and can keep articles out of landfills. You can take this a step further when you reclaim materials from a deconstruction site. If you’re building or deconstructing a home or business, consider buying or selling materials to use again.

PlanetReuse connects buyers and sellers to materials for repurposing from deconstruction projects. You can build a home or business with reprocessed items from top to bottom. The PlanetReuse Marketplace features links to roofing materials, ceiling fans, wooden beams, lighting, molding, siding, windows, carpet tiles, and pine flooring. There are kitchen cabinets, bathroom sinks and various types of tables waiting to be recycled. For treasure hunters, stained glass windows, vintage clawfoot bathtubs, and antique sconces are yours for the salvaging. Moreover, if you’re interested in redoing your driveway or garden, you can use reclaimed landscaping rock, edging pavers, bricks, cobblestone or granite to create your own work of landscaping art. It’s all available at PlanetReuse, so check out its Marketplace section to see what’s available online.

Habitat for Humanity ReStores are nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers throughout North America. Its website features a drop-down menu with filters by zip code and state to find Restores in the U.S. and offers an alternate filter for Canadian Provinces. Not only can you buy new and gently used furniture, appliances, home goods, and building materials, you can buy items far below retail prices. As an added attraction, proceeds go to build homes in communities in need of aid.

The Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) specializes in finding deconstruction or reuse businesses in your area with its business directory of listings and an interactive map. BMRA works to advance the recovery, reuse, and recycling of building materials by reducing resource consumption and landfill waste.

When it comes to interior decorating, you can adorn your home or business with vintage items from antique stores, yard sales or check out Freecycle.org; it’s an organization dedicated solely to recycling free items. Another option is to conduct online searches for reuse centers and resellers in your area. Lastly, if you see a deconstruction project in your area, contact a project representative or community liaison to see what may be available.

To reprocess an old saying, they don’t make things like they used to, so why not reclaim it? With recycling options at your fingertips, you can make your life a re-purposeful one.

~Maureen F. 

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Featured Furnishings Home Improvement

Ceiling Fans Can Help Reduce Your Energy Costs

Everyone who lives in a climate that gets over 80° is interested in reducing energy costs.  Installing a ceiling fan is one way that you can save some money and stay cool in the summer.

Why a ceiling fan

An important tidbit of information to remember is that ceiling fans don’t lower the temperature in the room, they just provide a breeze that can help make you feel up to 5° cooler. However the movement of the air inside the house in the summer may be enough to lower the thermostat a couple degrees, thus saving you a few dollars on your electric bills. Ceiling fans cool you off which will help reduce the temptation to keep lowering the thermostat. It is important to remember to make sure the blades are rotating counter-clockwise for a “cooling” effect.

Where to put a ceiling fan

If you are remodeling your home or having a new home built, don’t forget to order the wiring for a ceiling fan in every room (where you could possibly want one), even if they don’t get installed right away. It is much cheaper to have the rooms wired in the remodel/building stage than after the fact.  It’s a good idea to put a ceiling fan in every room where your family spends a lot of time (kitchen, family room, living room, the den, and of course the bedrooms).

What ceiling fans won’t do

Ceiling fans won’t keep your home cool if you leave them on when you aren’t home.  They don’t cool the air, they just provide you with a breeze that cools you off.  If you leave your fan on in the room when you aren’t there you aren’t saving energy – you’re wasting it!

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Featured Green Building Home Design Home Improvement

Is Your Water Heater Draining Your Wallet?

Many people are surprised to learn that heating domestic water is the third largest energy expense consumed in households. Therefore using a more eco-friendly water heater will help your family to not only save on energy consumption, which in the long run is great for the environment, but also will help you save your family money.

Rheem Tankless Water Heater, Model# RTE-27, $740.55

Traditional tank water heaters continuously heat the water they hold, 24 hours every day, whether you need hot water or not. This is a complete waste of energy and money. However, tankless water heaters provide a much more efficient option by heating water only as it is needed. The water is heated quickly and delivered at a steady rate for as long as it is needed, and the heater shuts off automatically when the supply is closed.

Tankless water heaters are also extremely compact when compared to tank heaters, as they can be wall-mounted whereas tanks can require up to 16 square feet of floor space. A variety of different sizes and types of tankless water heaters are currently available on the market.  It is essential to find one that will be able

to withstand your home’s demands, depending on the size of your home and family. “Whole House” types are available, or you can install two or more separate units to handle different appliances if necessary. Don’t forget to look for the Energy Star efficiency logo when shopping for the perfect tankless water heater for you and your family.

The initial investment for a tankless water heater might be a little bit more expensive than traditional water heaters, however it will save you plenty of money in the long run. Tankless water heaters can cost anywhere from $600 to $1,150 which seems a little steep when compared with $300 to $480 for the regular storage-tank types. Although the cost may seem a little high, we think that it is a great investment that will help reduce your carbon footprint and save you money in the long run!

Sources: Consumerreports.com, (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/heating-cooling-and-air/water-heaters/tankless-water-heaters/overview/tankless-water-heaters-ov.htm)

Categories
Green Building Home Design

4 Sustainable Home Building Materials

Thinking about remodeling your home? The best way to remodel your home is by using green building materials. It is a great way to help save the environment and get the most out of your home.  Since it is sometimes difficult to define if a particular material is green there are some general guidelines to consider.

  • Typically, the best material for any job is the one that performs the best with respect to the green criteria of you and your home. Factors might include: the product’s longevity, how well the material or product works with the rest of your home, whether it contributes to reducing energy or water consumption, or if it helps to improve air quality.
  • If two materials perform the same and have roughly equal expected lifetimes, natural materials are normally preferable to man-made ones.
  • Local materials are generally preferred to ones that must be shipped long distances, but you should weigh each material case by case.

Here is some information about the types of green materials you can choose for your home!

  • Framing — Wood. Two types of wood are gaining traction among green builders — engineered lumber and wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Engineered wood is very common on both green and conventional home because it uses wood scraps and smaller trees to produce framing that’s stronger than traditional logs. Engineered wood also allows the builder to use less wood and use wood scraps that would otherwise go to waste.
  • Insulation — Fiberglass. Builders generally don’t consider fiberglass insulation a green material because it typically contains a toxic binding agent and is very energy-intensive to make. However, “superinsulating” a structure beyond building-code requirements is a fundamental principle of green building. Many green builders take advantage of the low cost and ease of installation to “superinsulate” and save money that they can use for other green features.
  • Roofing – Steel. Steel roofing (both panels and shingles) is an increasingly popular green choice because of its high recycled content and longevity.
  • Interior Finishing — Natural clay plaster.  Natural clay plasters are a great green alternative to the more common gypsum-based plasters.

Sources: isopropertyresources.com, (http://www.isopropertyresources.com/Feature-Story/Articles/Green-Building-Materials.html), greensource.com, (http://greensource.construction.com/products/2013/1303-product.asp)

Categories
Green Building Home Design

6 Surprising Benefits of a Green Roof

A green roof or a living roof is the roof of a building that is covered with vegetation (such as grass and flowers) which is planted over a waterproofing membrane. A green roof has many different and intricate layers that all combine to create a living roof. When a rooftop has a garden with potted plants, it not considered a real green rooftop.

Why are roofs going “green?” Believe it or not green roofs significantly help reduce a buildings heating and cooling costs as well as helps with the urban heat island effect. The urban heat island effect is when a metropolitan area is warmer than its rural counterparts due to human activity.  Also green roofs are taking an otherwise unused space and making them environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing. See our list below for some benefits of a living roof and how you can get one for your building!

Some Benefits:

  • With green roofs, water is stored by the membrane and then taken up by the plants from where it is returned to the atmosphere through evaporation.
  • Through the daily dew and evaporation cycle, plants on vertical and horizontal surfaces are able to cool cities during hot summer months and reduce the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect.
  • The plants on green roofs can capture airborne pollutants.
  • Community gardens (e.g. local food production or co-ops)
  • The greater insulation offered by green roofs can reduce the amount of energy needed to moderate the temperature of a building, as roofs are the sight of the greatest heat loss in the winter and the hottest temperatures in the summer.
  • Noise pollution reduction – studies show noise levels in a building can be reduced by as much as 40 decibels

(Facts and benefits taken from greenroofs.org)

Here are some useful websites that you can find out more information and where you can inquire about getting a green rooftop for your building or home!

http://www.greenroofs.org

http://www.greenroofs.com/depot.htm

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Featured Green Building

Why Use a LEED Certified Builder?

Whether you are building a brand new structure or having work done on your existing home, if you’re an eco-conscious homeowner, you should consider pursuing LEED certification. This involves two aspects of your project: hiring a LEED certified builder and having the structure itself certified.

What is LEED certification?

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a rating system created by the USGBC (US Green Build Council) to help business and residential builders and building owners create and maintain more sustainable properties. There are two types of LEED certification for structures: standard LEED certification and LEED for Homes certification. The LEED for Homes guidelines lay out how efficient residential structures need to be to be LEED certified, while the general LEED guidelines refer to commercial structures.

The Advantages

LEED certification for your home comes with many advantages. Part of getting the certification involves making a home that is healthier. This is due to the requirements involving air quality, sunlight exposure and more harmonious views.

LEED certification also requires water and energy efficiency. This makes your home more eco-friendly. It also reduces your costs, as reduced water and energy usage translates into lower monthly costs for those utilities.

But this isn’t the only way it can save you money. Indeed, homes that are LEED certified also have higher resale values. This makes your home more valuable should you choose to sell it.

LEED Professional Credentials

But it isn’t just structures that can be LEED certified. Builders can also be certified. That is, their work has been evaluated by experts and rated based on how many of the designated areas they have hit, and how well. Builders with this credential have been acknowledged for their innovation and awareness of green building techniques and processes.

Getting LEED Certified

You can use the LEED for Homes Green Rater to determine how efficient your home already is. To get certified, you’ll need to register your project with USGBC and have your project evaluated by a professional LEED for Homes Green Rater. You’ll also need to have your home rated by a Home Energy Rating System Rater.

You can find a map of LEED for Homes providers on the USGBC website, www.usgbc.org. If there are no providers in your immediate vicinity, don’t worry. You can contact any of the providers listed and seek their aid.