In one of our recent projects, we installed a rainwater harvesting system that captures 100% of the roofs’ runoff water. The water is captured through gutters and then routed into a 16,000 gallon tank. For this purpose we installed a “trunk line” all the way around the home’s perimeter. All the downspouts of the gutter system “feed” into this trunk line which is connected to the tank. The water is pushed into the tank by gravity and then pumped out when needed. One important aspect of the system is the pre-filtering system, on this project we used a product called “Gutter Foam”. You can find details about their product at http://gutterfoam.com. You can see in the picture that the foam piece is wedged in the gutter and prevents any debris from entering the system.

The tank is a galvalume tank with interior liner set on a sand & gravel base. It has a backup line from the city water meter in case the water level ever drops too low. At this point the backup kicks in and fills the tank to minimum level with city water. Water is pumped out of the tank with a Grundfos pump and filtered through a UV-filtration system. That way the water will not carry and “foul” odor, especially if it is used for toilets or exterior water faucets. In this home the rainwater harvesting system supplies 100% of the irrigation water and 100% of the water for all toilets and the washing machine. This dramatically reduces the use of city water and also helps with managing drainage around the homes’ perimeter.

When remodeling a home there are a lot of times when we have to perform work in a residence that the homeowners actually live in while we work. In order to protect any installed components, to keep dust and dirt from the work area to a minimum and most importantly – to make sure the actual working area stays clean and no dust and dirt gets trapped in new wall cavities or underneath cabinets and new components, a number of precautions should be taken:

A) All woodfloor walkways get covered with a floor runner that is specifically made to protect existing wood or hard surface flooring. This material breathes and does not leave any marks or stains if left on the flooring for an extended amount of time. 

B) Shield the rest of the house from the work area with a plastic cover or tent that is tightly taped at all wall/ceiling connections. This keeps dust and dirt to a minimum, but don't expect the rest of the house to stay perfectly clean during the construction process. No matter how good a work area is covered, there will always be some amount of dust.

C) At the end of each walking path, put down "tacky" mats. These mats are sticky and collect dirt and dust as workmen walk over them. This really helps to keep the rest of the home as clean as possible.

D) Always cover all newly installed components such as cabinets, plumbing fixtures and new flooring immediately.

E) Cover all HVAC supply and return ducts and ensure that the HVAC is not running while major dust is produced such as floor sanding or drywall sanding.

F) Vacuum all wall cavities before they get closed up. Too many times you see sanding dust and drywall mud, drink cans and all sorts of other stuff that stays in wall cavities and just gets covered up with drywall. Not so on properly managed projects. All wall areas should be vacuumed and inspected before the drywall crew hangs sheetrock.

F) Most importantly, perform a thorough daily cleanup. Don't use regular shop vacs with regular filters as they seem to spread more dirt around then they pick up. Ensure that vacuums have HEPA filters and bags and vacuum the entire work area.

Using these methods will ensure that the process of remodeling is made as pleasant as possible for your clients while the work is performed. Of course it is equally important to set proper expectations. Clients should know that it is impossible to keep a house completely dust free while work is performed. Ensure that they are aware of working times and when to expect extra loud noise and both parties will have a much more pleasant remodeling experience.

As I was looking on the web for some information about bottled water, I stumbled on to this article. I feel that there is a bit more to building a green project, than products or services. I believe its a “Life Style.”  Wanting to do our part as individuals, check out this article below, and you will see why!  It might just make you think twice about “Bottled Water.”

Last year Americans spent nearly $11 billion on over 8 billion gallons of bottled water, and then tossed over 22 billion empty plastic bottles in the trash. In bottle production alone, the more than 70 million bottles of water consumed each day in the U.S. drain 1.5 million barrels of oil over the course of one year.

Ban The Bottle

Though the sale and consumption of bottled water is still on the rise, certain policy makers and activists have taken steps to reduce it. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in June that bars city government from using city money to supply municipal workers with bottled water, and New York City, where residents consume nearly 28 gallons of bottled water each year, launched an ad campaign encouraging residents and tourists to forego the bottled beverage for the city’s tap, long considered some of the best water in the country. Even upscale eateries in Boston, New York and San Francisco have taken bottled water off the menu, offering filtered tap instead.
Improve Your Health
Not only does bottled water contribute to excessive waste, but it costs us a thousand times more than water from our faucet at home, and it is, in fact, no safer or cleaner. “The bottled water industry spends millions of dollars a year to convince us that their product is somehow safer or healthier than tap water, when in fact that’s just not true,” says Victoria Kaplan, senior organizer with Food and Water Watch, a nonprofit that recently launched a Take Back the Tap campaign to get consumers to ditch bottled water. “As much as 40 percent of bottled water started out as the same tap water that we get at home,” she adds. A 1999 Natural Resources Defense Council study found that, with required quarterly testing, tap water may even be of a higher quality than bottled, which is only tested annually.

Water aside, the plastic used in single use bottles can pose more of a contamination threat than the water. A safe plastic if used only once, #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) is the most common resin used in disposable bottles. However, as #1 bottles are reused, as they commonly are, they can leach chemicals such as DEHA, a possible human carcinogen, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), a potential hormone disruptor. Also, because the plastic is porous you’ll likely get a swill of harmful bacteria with each gulp if you reuse #1 plastic bottles.

Noting that the federal share of funding for water systems has declined from 78 percent in 1973 to 3 percent today, Kaplan urges consumers to “support public policies that promote safe, affordable, public tap water for future generations.” Visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org and take the pledge to take back the tap, promising to choose tap water over bottled whenever possible and to support policies that promote clean public tap water for everybody. And meanwhile, invest in a safe, reusable bottle.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/food/buying/tapped-out/1

Photo credit: jeremylevinedesign

One of the easiest ways to design a new home efficiently is through site selection.  Simple building orientation and location can make a huge difference when designing a high performance home with a reduced environmental impact.  The greenest development sites are in-fill properties like former parking lots, shopping malls, etc.  Consider the area infrastructure and proximity of resources.  Are you near public transportation, leisure, workplace and stores?  Can you make use of the existing landscape and does it require grading excavation/infill?  The Green Home Guide recommends a density of at least six units per acre which maximizes infrastructure.  Let’s start selecting land by careful analysis and not by how well you like the street address.

The home should be oriented to make use of natural daylight and prevailing winds.  Ideally the longest side should run east/west with windows placed predomanantly on the south side.  Natural and architectural shading devices can be used on the south and west facades to control the amount of light that enters your home.  These things sound simple but they could cut your energy bills in half!  Be sure to plan ahead before you are paying $100/hour to flip this and flop that around your floor plan.

As we discussed the framing layout at our site meeting this morning, I thought it would be a good idea to write a post on how important early planning is in any project. As it is the case in this project, we have a final design that calls for all sorts of things to be aligned with a tile layout – door openings, location of the tub, shower fixture locations etc etc. all need to be aligned with tile and grout lines – and btw – we have 1/8″ tolerances. So in order to arrive at this exact design, we have to take everything into consideration early on – framing dimensions, subfloor dimensions, exact tile dimensions including thickness for adhesives and grouts etc etc – and it all starts with?? You guessed right: FRAMING! So in our case, in order to get to the level walk-in shower with no shower curb, we have to lower the subfloor structure just enough to allow for a shower mud pan to be recessed in the floor. As you can see to the left, the area of the new shower floor has been recessed to allow the addition of a sloped shower pan. After this, the layout of the walls and exact framing will be super important. It is not easy to get to super tight tolerances working with wood, that’s why sometimes we use engineered studs or even metal for interior wall framing. Again, proper planning for all of this is detremental for a good final product.