(Re)claim to Fame
Old Wood Shines Once More
Monday, August 27, 2007
Using reclaimed timber is a great way to go green while benefiting from the unparalleled beauty and depth of old wood.
California company TerraMai offers flooring, decking, paneling, siding and beams taken from old buildings and structures, such as bridges, tunnels, and railroad ties. Reclaimed wood also includes wood from orchards that are being replaced or replanted and wood from cut logs abandoned many decades or even centuries ago during wasteful logging operations.
Their flooring is gorgeous and full of character—for example, plantation-grown teak can’t compare to the old-growth Asian teak used to create this flooring. Each floor comes with its own distinctive story and visual character, and a wide range of colors, species and prices, both prefinished and unfinished. Whether you like deep amber and cinammon, or warm rose and burgundy, cool gold and nut brown, you’ll find the mix for you.
All flooring is milled from reclaimed or salvaged, chemical free, untreated wood. Installation of TerraMai floors is easily achieved using the same techniques as other tongue and groove flooring, resulting in a one-of-a kind, solid wood floor.
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Conventional Wisdom Wrong
Green Building Not More Expensive
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
There is no statistically significant difference between the cost of green and non-green buildings, according to a recent report.
The July 2007 “Cost of Green Revisited” report updated an influential 2004 study of the cost of green building by Lisa Fay Matthiessen and Peter Morris of Davis Langdon. The authors concluded that there are so many huge cost factors in construction that it is not possible to detect any cost difference between sustainably constructed and conventional buildings.
Based on an analysis of the budgets for 221 projects, the report concludes that “buildings cannot be budgeted based on averages,” leaving open the question of whether a green approach affects cost.
Go With the Flow
Hands-Free Faucet Saves More Than Water
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
With this faucet you can be hands-free and conserve water and energy. The SOLIS solar powered, sensor activated electronic faucet from Sloan has pre-tempered or hot and cold water options, an aerator to regulate water flow, and an integrated side mix for temperature control and sensor comfort.
The first solar-powered electronic faucet can use any light source. And if the lights go out, the battery backup can last up to 10 years. With no moving parts, the faucet is almost maintenance-free. And it’s good-looking!
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Green Remodeling
Changing the World One Room at a Time
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
This is deservedly one of the most popular books on remodeling using sustainable resources. It treats the home holistically, showing how one element affects the others and how it affects the environment at large. We see how our choices for door or window materials for example, affects not only our health and well-being inside the home, but the home’s systems and the impact on the environnment from logging to transportation.
Room-by-room, with the aid of checklists, anecdotes and advice from other experts, author David Johnston shows us how to achieve healthier, more energy-efficient living spaces.
Breathe Easier
Formaldehyde-Free Plywood
Monday, August 13, 2007
Columbia has converted all of its hardwood plywood and particleboard facilities to a proprietary formaldehyde-free manufacturing system called PureBond. Cost-competitive with the similar urea formaldehyde (UF)-made hardwood plywood, Columbia’s PureBond formula is derived from soybeans, then enhanced with a proprietary resin, giving it particularly strong bonding and water-resistance qualities. It enables Columbia to completely eliminate formaldehyde from its standard veneer-core decorative panel production.
The panels are also compliant with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
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Beyond Bamboo
Japanese Artists Live an Ancient Art
Monday, August 06, 2007
Approximately 600 varieties of bamboo grow in Japan but bamboo artists use only a few select types. TAI Gallery/Textile Arts in Santa Fe exhibits these unique bamboo baskets and sculpture. More locally, the gallery participates in art fairs in San Francisco.
There are now less than 100 working bamboo artists in Japan. Artists in training spend their first 10 years learning the basic techniques of cutting, dyeing, and plaiting bamboo. Another one or two decades are spent developing as an artist. Artists begin to gain full recognition as they come into their fifties and sixties. A number of basket makers are still working in their eighties.
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