March 2009 ~ Home Idea

Monday, March 30, 2009

Coastal Living Idea Home Photo Journal

6:28 AM Coastal Living Idea Home No comments

Getting the 2nd story all wrapped up!

Coastal Living Idea Home Photo Journal

6:12 AM Coastal Living Idea Home No comments

The Coastal Living Idea Cottage is undergoing all rough-ins. HVAC, electric and plumbing - our awesome crews are busy working around each other to get everything installed and ready for our framing inspection!

Protecting Your Investment From Mold

6:21 PM maintenance No comments

Tips for Homeowners

(NewsUSA) - In these hard economic times, it has never been more important to protect what for many people is their most significant investment: their home. And one way to do that is to keep mold at bay -- because not only does mold present health concerns, but it also can damage your home.

Areas of your home that are continually wet -- like the insides of walls or attics and basements, often out of view -- will eventually shorten the life of your home and lead to expensive repairs. Research shows that if you keep moisture out of your home, you'll likely avoid mold. In the presence of moisture, mold will grow on virtually any surface -- steel, plastic, even fiberglass.

Fortunately, there's a new source of information to help avoid such problems. The Responsible Solutions to Mold Coalition, funded by USG Corporation, National Gypsum and American Gypsum is an excellent source of information on how to keep your house dry -- from the way it's designed, to the way it's built, to the way it's maintained. RSMC's members, including academic, government and building industry associations, developed the Guiding Principles for Mold and Moisture Control-50 steps that can be taken to build and maintain a house free of mold.

Here are some helpful hints:

- Run bathroom and kitchen vents for an extra 10 minutes after you finish showering or cooking. Also, make sure your vents go outdoors. If they vent into the attic, you're not getting rid of the moisture.

- Make sure the grade around your home slopes away from the foundation. Often, houses will settle as they age, creating a drainage problem. If the ground around your home slopes inward, which may or may not be visible, it provides a pathway for moisture to enter your basement.

- Make sure sprinklers are pointed away from the home. Over time, sprinklers that are directed toward your house will allow thousands of gallons of water to penetrate the walls.

- Take a look at the caulking around doors and windows. If it's cracked or falling apart, water can seep into your walls.

- Replace washing machine hoses every five years. This is the single largest category of water-related claims filed with insurance companies each year.

The Responsible Solutions to Mold Coalition (www.responsiblemoldsolutions.org) provides a wealth of information for homeowners -- whether you're building, remodeling or maintaining your home. Be a "water detective" in your own home. If you see water or dampness, find out where it's coming from -- stop it -- and repair or replace any materials that have been damaged.

Take Green Tips From Hollywood Homes

9:09 AM energy savings, Tips No comments

(NewsUSA) - When it comes to the green movement, Hollywood has been moving ahead of mainstream America. Take Ed Begley, Jr., a character actor known for roles in "A Mighty Wind" and "Batman Forever." Begley embraced environmentalism back in 1970, even riding his bike to red carpet events.

Today, Begley lends his name to "Begley's Best," a line of all natural, nontoxic household cleaners. He recently published a book about green living, "Living Like Ed: A Guide to Eco-Friendly Life."

When it comes to the green movement, Begley's home is surely where his heart is. The 1936 home now features a wind turbine and 6 kilowatts of solar panels -- Begley pays only $300 a year in electric bills.

Fitting a house with a wind turbine might seem extravagant to most Americans, but that doesn't mean that you need celebrity status to conserve energy and resources at home.

Here are some tips for Americans hoping to live more sustainably:

- Watch your water use. Taking simple steps, like only running your dishwasher or laundry machine when you have full loads, can save thousands of gallons of water each year. Take showers instead of baths, and when you need to replace kitchen or bathroom fixtures, choose high-efficiency appliances. Monitor your water bill for unusually high prices -- they might indicate leaks.

- Consider buying a high-efficiency water heater. Heating water can use up to 25 percent of a home's energy supply. If it's time for a new model, look for one that qualifies for the federal tax credit for energy-efficiency improvements, like A.O. Smith's Vertex model. Begley uses the Vertex in his home to provide all of this home heating and hot water needs.

- Upgrade your lighting. If every American home replaced just one lightbulb with an ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent light (CFL), it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars for a year. Better yet, CFLs are inexpensive and easily installed.

Coastal Living Idea Home Photo Journal

5:26 AM Coastal Living Idea Home No comments

Coastal Living Idea Cottage, built by Structures Building Company is well on its way! Windows and doors are being set, roof is being prepped, and the start of the interior work is beginning!

Coastal Living Idea Home Photo Journal

8:21 AM Coastal Living Idea Home No comments

Go Green With Recycled Counters and Floors

12:46 PM home improvements No comments

(NewsUSA) - The eco-savvy homeowner is always looking for the next great breakthrough in earth-friendly, environmentally safe features to suit their lifestyle. Especially if these new features can add beauty to their home.

So, what is the next ground-breaking home improvement that will have homeowners living in the lap of luxury while committing to save the environment? Try recycled porcelain countertops and floors.

EnviroGLAS has recently released a new terrazzo application used for countertops and floors, called EnviroMode. Terrazzo is an ancient method of creating walkways, floors, patios and panels by exposing marble chips and other fine aggregates on the surface of finished concrete or epoxy resin. The aggregate used in EnviroMode is made of recycled porcelain.

As the forefathers of recycled glass, EnviroGLAS has developed a relationship with Kohler Co. in which they recycle their imperfect, pre-consumer sinks and toilets by crushing them into chips and tumbling them to a smooth surface. The result is beautiful porcelain stone for their EnviroMode products, which in turn creates a harder surface than traditional marble terrazzo.

"I am always looking for companies that are creating new and innovative products from recycled materials," said City of Dallas Recycling Manager Sherlyn McAnally. "The crushed porcelain has a beautiful pearl-like finish and can be used in a versatile array of applications."

With hundreds of epoxy resin colors, the recycled porcelain creates a sustainable housing material that can be crafted to fit any home. It is available for both commercial and residential uses and can even be used for landscaping.

For Long Beach, Miss., EnviroGLAS donated 15,000 pounds of EnviroMode aggregate for the rebuilding efforts of their city park. The resulting efforts of sustainability have earned EnviroGLAS the "2008 Greater DFW Recycling Alliance Award" and the "2008 Contractor's Choice Top Products" award.

For more information on sustainable home improvements, visit www.enviroglasproducts.com