Information on making building and remodeling projects more eco-friendly.
In a 2017 post, I mentioned converting to LED lighting as a simple way to improve your home's "green quotient." Today, I'll take a more in-depth look at LEDs and what you need to consider when converting from incandescent or CFL to LED bulbs. Why Convert to LED? Energy Savings - LED bulbs use at least
Concrete is one of the most widely used building materials in the word. Globally, about ten billion tons of it are produced each year. Since the Romans pioneered its use more than a thousand years ago, architects and engineers have used it in everything from skyscrapers to suburban backyards. Chances are, your home uses it
You recycle, you compost, you turn off lights when you’re not using them, but have you ever wondered what else you can do to improve your home’s “green quotient?” One way to make sure you’re doing everything you can to save energy and water and protect our environment is to do a green audit of
Building design can have a signficant impact on your health. According to the landmark National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS), conducted between 1992 and 1994, people spend an average of 87 percent of their lives in enclosed buildings, where pollutants like tobacco smoke, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), asbestos, pesticides and carbon monoxide can prolilferate and,
Salvaging What Matters in Home Building When an older home undergoes extensive remodeling, or a complete tear down, what happens to the debris? Most of it ends up in landfills. Let’s dust off that old adage, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” There are a multitude of reasons to think this way. It will
That headline won’t surprise many homeowners in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially in Marin. During the pandemic our perspectives shifted radically on what a home should offer. Four bedrooms, three baths and a family room suddenly felt cramped. Where could the home office go? Um, make that two home offices, a classroom for the
If you are among the two-thirds of households that cook on an electric stove, you may not care. That is, unless you are concerned about climate change. The incremental changes “cooking with gas” households will be asked to make, will be for the sake of our health and the planet. The movement to eventually end
The original version of this post ran in 2016. One of the best ways to lower your project's environmental footprint is to use green building materials. Whether it's a simple kitchen remodel or a new, multi-unit office building, if you want to reduce your impact on our environment, there are five key questions to ask
This post first ran in 2015. Green design, also known as sustainable design, was once an afterthought – a nice "extra" to think about after the big design decisions had been made. As our awareness of the importance of caring for our planet has grown, green design has evolved to become a key consideration for
There was a time, not so long ago, when greywater systems were not allowed in some municipalities. Even today, they are regulated. Long-running droughts have, of necessity, made the installation of greywater systems not only legal but desirable. Greywater is the water used in your washing machine and in your bath for bathing or showering
