ALTERNATIVE BUILDING AND URBAN DESIGN PRACTICES

by Beverly Clarke

The patterns of usage that characterize the North American lifestyle largely dictated by the buildings we choose to inhabit and where we put them. Managing the location and method of building with climate change and reducing carbon emissions in mind, will have a profound impact on how climate change is met.

WASTE IN WESTERN BUILDING PRACTICES

The amount of energy and waste in most new buildings is incredible. The materials themselves are wasted in tremendous quantities that are then hauled off to solid waste dumps.

Sustainable buildings is a fast growing field of architecture that combines several different approaches into an integration of the indoor and outdoor worlds. This includes managing the energy costs and suitability of materials, concern for the interior and exterior environments and, special attention social concepts like livability and likely usage patterns. This type of sustainable development really strives to make ultra-efficient buildings that have a wider effect on making the shift to a carbon neutral society smoother.

TOXIC BUILDING MATERIALS

For starters, there are so very many man-made chemicals that go into the construction of a new home, many believe new buildings to be "sick" for at least the first few years of use. Imagine all the chemicals in new carpet backings or plywood glue. Paint is even a volatile organic compound that causes respiratory problems in many.

One can either avoid using toxic materials by taking over the construction themselves or detoxifying the house once it's built. Older houses can be detoxified, too. In fact, a yearly examination for molds that can speculate and lead to respiratory mycotoxicity is a very good idea, even if you have to call professionals in to deal with the problem.

Interestingly, there are quite a few house plants that actually absorb these toxins into their tissues during the course of photosynthesis. As long as you don't eat your house plants, those toxins are sequestered in heavy organic molecules that keep them from becoming airborne again.

ENERGY PROFILE OF COMMON BUILDING MATERIALS

One of the largest sources of energy input into building materials is the cost of finding, mining, processing and transporting mineral items such as drywall. All the wood used to make a frame is also costly to transport and has a negative impact on the ability of the Earth to soak up all that excess carbon.

BUILDING PLACEMENT

Architecture is ripe to begin considering fuel efficiency when designing buildings for public and private use. LEED certification standards favorably rates building placement that allows natural airflow and solar accumulation to provide heating and cooling for the occupants. Whether buildings set into southerly exposed hillsides (which is very energy efficient in cold climates) will fare well with increased climate chaos depends on how well vegetation is maintained to keep erosion at a minimum. RECYCLED MATERIALS

Architectural salvage has already been successful as a way to find old or obsolete house parts for residences sometimes billed as "handyman's paradise." They are also wonderful places to find just about anything you might need for a house, from doors to windows to broken bits of concrete that can be used to underlay a foundation. The use of alternative materials allows building designs to be a bit more fluid and to accommodate random inputs that don't necessarily fit a set plan.

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS

While some areas do absolutely require building to follow the conventional "western" wooden frame design. There are other ways to build houses that are actually more stable and entirely made from toxin-free alternative materials.

Earthships, straw bale houses, adobe brick, tire-tamped earth, Oregon cob and even bamboo are popular alternative building materials. These are all made from dirt itself or harvested crops and are very stable and efficient over time when correctly designed. Generally contractors won't bother with such materials, so if you want to design and make such a home or business, you may need to plan on doing it yourself. Spend some time practicing telling the bank how you want a loan for a mud hut, too.

Scorn and ridicule from the construction trades aside, the use of alternative materials will likely become of greater interest as rapidly rising fuel costs make construction too expensive for many to afford. Recession-proof materials will be in high demand.

Home Remodeling Secrets -- Types Of Carpet

by Christine O'Kelly

Carpet provides home and business owners with a cost effective and comfortable flooring solution. Color plays a large role in the visual look and feel of the space, but it isn't the only factor. The type also comes into play. Each one is made distinct from the other by the kind of yarn as well as the techniques used during the manufacturing process.

Loop

One of the most common varieties on the market today is the durable loop variety. Also called Berber, this flooring is perfect for high traffic areas such as front entryways, hallways, offices, and waiting rooms. This style of carpet wears slower than others under heavy traffic. It also cleans easier and hides the dirt more effectively than other varieties because it is made from olefin or an olefin-nylon blend. When selecting this style of carpet, you can choose from a solid or pattern with loops at various lengths. To make this style of carpet as resilient as possible, select styles with smaller loops.

Frieze And Cable

Frieze carpet consists of nylon or polyester yarn that has been spun tighter. Once manufactured, it resembles a shag with more of an urban feel. Because of the way the yarn is made, it doesn't fray or mat together as easily. Therefore, it will not show wear as easily, making it another ideal solution for high traffic areas and commercial use.

Cable carpeting is almost identical to Frieze with one important exception -- it has heavier yarn that gives this style a more contemporary appearance. It works well in busy areas because its chunky appearance gives the space personality while resisting wear.

Texture

Another style frequently seen in homes is textured flooring. While it doesn't show use as easily as others, it does wear slightly faster than Berber varieties. As a trade off, it requires very little care beyond basic maintenance. This style of carpet is also ideal in rooms that require a little more visual interest.

Pattern (Loop And Cut Pile)

This premier style of carpet uses loop, cut pile, or a mix of the two thread types to create interesting styles, patterns, textures, and colors. In short, the more pattern to this style of carpet, the more expensive it is, but it also becomes more pleasing to the eye. It can have bold colors and patterns or it can be almost indistinguishable. This style is found most often in formal rooms such as a master bedroom or dining room.

Saxony

The least wear friendly of the bunch is also one of the most luxurious styles. Saxony is a cut pile that gives your feet a lush, comfortable feeling. Having been used in homes for many years, this is another type of premier-style carpeting found in bedrooms and dining areas. It is most recognizable by its even, smooth appearance that is often augmented by rich tones.

Whether you are decorating a small town doctor's office or a townhouse in Chicago flooring will play a major role in that decision. Loop, Frieze, cable, texture, pattern, and Saxony are only a select few of the different types available. By determining the amount of wear the flooring will receive, the visual look you'd like it to have, and the texture the space needs, you can compare it to the different styles to help narrow down your choices.

Going Green in Home Remodeling

by Eugene Makeev

More and more homeowners, not only in New York but the whole country as well, have been talking and thinking green. Though no national standards yet states what a green home remodeling constitutes, it all boils down to social and environmental consciousness that promotes maximized energy efficiency.

One misconception that commonly arises when thinking green construction is having to build houses of mud bricks or straw bale and living solely on solar panels. Though solar panels are among the examples of eco-friendly home improvements, it is just one among the many things that you can do. So to clear any more wrong ideas, here are several factors that make any home remodeling project green:

• make use of recycled or easily renewable resources,
• apply non-toxic products,
• utilize low maintenance and long lasting materials,
• enhance the quality of air inside the house promoting healthier indoor living,
• features economical use of water and energy, and
• results to less waste along the completion of the home remodeling project.

To sum it all up, going green in home remodeling will not only save you money in the long run but also promotes optimal comfort and health inside your house. An essential element that makes these benefits possible is high quality craftsmanship, and excellent building practices making your choice of home remodeling contractor crucial. Make sure that the local contractor you pick to work on your job fully understands what he will be doing. There are also qualified craftsmen specializing in green projects that you could look up.

The information campaign on going green has spread among homeowners in New York and throughout the country like wildfire inflicting social and environmental awareness. It has even established some trends in home remodeling that more and more people are implementing into their homes. So if the concept of enhanced quality of living and increased savings without causing harm to the environment got you interested, here are several green ideas for your next project:

Home Additions are great solutions that add considerably to the living space of your home and superb opportunities to implement every green building ideas there is. For sunrooms, decks, and patios to be ideal for multi-seasonal use; build them facing the south for optimal use of natural light.

Insulation should be adequate to enjoy cooler summers, warmer winters and lesser energy consumption thus a cutback on monthly bills. Have your home evaluated for possible leaks and have these areas looked into and have the rest of your home's insulation upgraded. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are green building insulators that considerably heighten energy efficiency, reduce noise pollution, while saving on materials and labor cost as it uses lesser wood and can be installed faster. Other home features to look into to enhance insulation include:

• Windows and doors- opt for energy-efficient designs like those with wood or vinyl frames and multiple panels for windows;
• Heating and cooling systems- upgrade old ones to high efficiency and Energy Star-rated air conditioners and heating systems;
• Leaks- weatherstrip, seal and caulk wherever needed.

Flooring trends tend toward stone and ceramic tile flooring, bamboo, FSC-certified wood, and cork which all offer high quality and attractive flooring.

Improve water systems by having your faucets and showerheads changed with water-saving models and having filters installed with them. Another water-saving green idea to add into your home remodeling are hot-water recirculation pumps.

Electric forever hot water heaters: Do they help the environment or will they cost you and the planet more?

by Robin Green


On demand electric heaters will save you money at first but are more harmful to the environment, and are not as good for the efforts of the utilities managing the electrical grid. That is why these heaters are falling out of favor in countries such as Japan where until recently they were very popular.

The main reason tankless heaters save money is that in a tank water heater, you produce heat throughout the day for use later, and some of that heat escapes from the tank into the surrounding living space (or furnace room or wherever your hot water heater is located).

You can compensate for this heat loss to some extent by properly insulating your hot water tank (special insulating blankets can be bought to this end - get the thickest one available), putting pipe insulation on your hot water plumbing, and by turning down the heater thermostat from the factory default of 140F to 120F, which is both more efficient and safer. But even with these changes you will probably discover that an on-demand heater costs less to operate, at least in the short term, because there is so little energy lost to heat escaping from the device, since there's no tank for the heat to escape from.

The reason I say electric tankless water heaters are not as good for the environment is that they create unpredictable spikes in electrical demand, which makes it more challenging for electrical utilities to manage generation load. An on demand electric heater draws a huge current while it is in use. A tank heater, however, draws a lesser current for a longer period, and stores that energy as heat. Imagine if in a city of a million, every home had an on demand electric heater, and everyone showered when they got up. The electricity company would need to rapidly increase electrical production in time for the tankless electric water heaters to heat water for showers, then to rapidly ramp down electricity production once the showering time (say, 8:30 in the morning) is more or less done. Since they can't ramp up this fast with fuels such as coal or nuclear, they wind up ramping up much earlier (say, 3 am), and then have to ramp down much later (say, 10 in the morning), so that while you have saved energy, you have indirectly required the electricity supplier to generate a significant amount of energy that isn't actually required, and may go to waste.

For this reason, in Japan for example, there is a major campaign underway to convince homeowners to switch away from on demand electric heaters, and instead use a tank electric heater with some intelligence designed into it so that the tank heats water hotter when there is excess power available, and then blends that water with colder water if necessary, to supply hot water at a steady temperature.

Then there's the issue of time-of-use pricing. In some states and provinces you are charged for electricity based on the time of day it is consumed, and in some areas you may even pay based on the peak amount you use. So if you shower at 8:30 in the morning you are showering during 'prime time' for electricity prices, and that means an on demand electric heater will cost you a lot of the expensive power, whereas a tank water heater, if it has the smarts built into it to predict that no hot water is typically required while you're off at work, can give you hot water stored up overnight, then not draw more electricity to heat the tank until the next evening, when electricity prices have dropped.

The other point to think about is the lifestyle changes you will need to make when you switch to an electric tankless water heater. The house I live in now has an electric tankless water heater, and I must say it does not work as well as I would like. The flow is much slower than you might get from a tank heater (because the tankless heater only lets through as much hot water as it can produce at that time), and for a job like cleaning pots and pans, where you might turn the tap on, then switch it off, then back on, then off again, it just doesn't work like a tank heater does, because there is a lag between when the water starts running and when the tankless heater engages. So your pipe is like a sediment core of cold and hot sections moving towards the tap.

All in all, while on demand electric heaters are getting a lot of attention at present, and may become more common in the US over the next two or three years, I predict that their popularity will not last, because of all the drawbacks mentioned above, both to homeowners and utilities struggling to manage peak electricity load. If you're considering purchasing an on demand electric heater, expect to see short-term savings replaced with higher electricity bills over time, as electricity companies put more pressure on consumers to cut their peak demand, and don't be surprised if the performance of your heater doesn't meet your expectations, in terms of constant heat output or the heater's ability to handle intermittent hot water needs.