Episodes

"It's time celebrate! The house is finished, furnished, and ready for a party!"

— Building Green host Kevin Contreras

As Season One of Building Green comes to a close, Kevin takes stock of his journey and reflects on the numerous lessons learned along the way. From the feng shui design, to the blue jean insulation and solar panels, to the native landscaping, Kevin is really pleased with the end-product of his work and the efforts of the numerous people who helped him along the way.

While it wasn't all fun and games, Kevin reflects on how much easier and less expensive it is getting by the day to build green. His favorite parts of the home are how all of the pieces came together harmoniously, and the warmth and comfort afforded by the straw bales. His least favorite part? You guessed it, the size.

Kevin welcomes some special guests who help explore some ways to "live greener," and hosts a party where his team finally gets to rest and enjoy the comfort and beauty of the finished house.

Everyone loves a well-feathered nest, but the choices you make on what to put in your home can be just as important as the choices you made while building it. Health expert Alyssa Alvord explains to Kevin about non-toxic wood finishes for furniture, while interior designer Vanessa Grant talks about natural fabrics and furnishings.

As a special treat, Kevin visits the home of Zem Joaquin, eco-editor of House & Garden, whose blog Ecofabulous has long been an inspiration to all of us at Building Green TV.

Kevin's motto is "buy the best that you can buy," and it shows throughout his home, from the antique armoires Kevin bought for his bathroom vanities, to his sleek Valcucine kitchen made of recycled components. You'll learn that buying the best isn't always expensive, and that you can even find eco-friendly products at the local mall if you know what to look for.

Going green sometimes means giving up a bit of green--as in the expanses of manicured emerald lawn we have all come to accept as the standard of the house-proud. Join Kevin and learn how to achieve curb appeal without wasting precious water resources or using harmful chemicals.

This episode covers natural irrigation with rainwater catchment systems, drought-resistant plant selection, edible fruits and foliage that do double duty as ornament and food source, and even how to design a low-maintenance rock garden. Equally important is the planning phase, which should happen even before you break ground--by planning ahead, Kevin was able to set aside and preserve rich topsoil from the building site, to use later in getting his garden jump started.

"Today's challenge is to use water efficiently in every way we can. We want to bring as little water into the house as necessary, make sure it's clean for drinking and bathing as well as the cleaning of dishes and clothes. We have to see if we can reuse as much of it as possible in the garden rather than sending it to the sewer, and we have to see if we can use the sun's power to heat the water for bathing and cleaning so we spend less on resources and money."

— Building Green host Kevin Contreras

You can learn how to do all of these things by watching Episode Ten of Building Green, which is all about building creative water systems that reduce, reuse and recycle your H2O, whether you collected it from your rooftop, or bought it from the city. If you want to learn more about the resources mentioned in the show, read on.

"What makes a house sexy, makes or breaks great architecture, and allows paint on canvas to become great art? Lighting, whether natural or created, is essential. Today it's all about lighting and electricity, from the panels on the roof to the wiring in the walls to the home automation system that controls it all. Lighting and electricity, and how we get it and how we use it are vitally important."

— Building Green host Kevin Contreras

Join Kevin in this exceptionally... enlightening episode of Building Green, as he learns about Solatubes, solar panels, and even solar ovens. He shows us how to check your home for electromagnetic radiation, and how to wire your house to reduce it, and how to use efficient lighting to create a warm, atmospheric glow. Watch our video page for new clips from Episode Nine all week long.

A floor can add warmth and texture to a room, but did you know that your flooring choice can also have an impact on the air quality inside your home? Join Kevin as he leans about concrete, recycled wood, natural carpet and other flooring options.

Concrete may not be the greenest flooring material out there, but there are many new techhnologies that can make it greener than ever before. And by using the poured foundation itself as his home's floor at ground level, Kevin saved having to use an additional flooring material--after all, the greenest material you can use on any project is no material at all.

For the upstairs, Kevin explores recycled sheep barn flooring, and at his daughters' request checks out some cozy earth- and human-friendly carpeting.

We've been working hard for weeks, and now it's time to have some fun with beautiful finishes and elegant flourishes. Having built a beautiful structure out of steel and straw, it's now time to apply plasters, paints, stains and washes that will make the inside of the house glow with warmth and elegance.

As the old adage goes, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover; however, don't we all judge a house by its exterior? We do, and that's why, in episode six of Building Green, host Kevin Contreras spends some quality time investigating different types of green exteriors for his straw bale home. In this online guide to episode six, follow Kevin step-by-step as he learns more about earthen plasters, natural hydraulic lime plaster, nontoxic paints and pourable limestone.

And, or course, you'll find the links you need to all the products and experts featured in the episode!

Watch a video all about exterior finishes.

Here it is: your step-by-step guide to the fifth episode of Building Green's first season. Forgot to set your DVR? No problem. Here's where you can find all the information you forgot to write down while you were watching the show—links to the featured products and experts, detailed explanations of key concepts that host Kevin Contreras introduced ... You name it, you should be able to find it here. And if you can't? Well, go ahead and Ask Kevin.

In this episode on Doors & Windows, learn why:

Dumpster diving can be such fun. Repurposed wood is so cool. And traditional plywood can be so bad for you.

Also, click here to watch a video all about doors & windows.

Straw bales will be Kevin's main building blocks as he begins the most significant phase of construction on his green dream home. A few things you might not know about straw that you'll learn in our freshly-posted, online guide to episode four of Building Green: It's highly fire resistant, breathable (i.e., mold resistant) and cost efficient.

In this friendly guide to episode four, you'll find links to all the experts and products featured on the show, plus we'll let you in on all the green benefits associated with staw bale building and a type of insulation that is as cool as a pair of vintage Levis.

Click here to see a video all about straw bales.

Your online guide to the third episode of season one is here. In episode three, Building Green host Kevin Contreras looks for the best, most affordable, green way to support and roof his straw bale dream home. Because Santa Barbara is in California and because California is earthquake country, Kevin needs a good solid post-and-beam structure. In this guide to the third episode, find out why Kevin chooses steel instead of wood for his frame. We'll give you one hint: termites!

Also, find useful links to the experts and products featured on the show ... and, as a bonus, some info. on how you can turn your roof into a garden or a rainwater catchment system, which will allow you to become independent of any other source for water.

Click here for a video all about framing & roofing.

In episode two of the first season of Building Green, host Kevin Contreras gets to the bottom of things, i.e., the Foundation.

And, in our online guide, follow Kevin step-by-step as he discovers green concrete and tours a straw bale mansion in Huntsville, Alabama. Also, find out why Kevin decides on a steel frame for his Santa Barbara green dream home and why even building code officials and insurance companies are starting to look favorably on straw bale houses.

Want to know more about the green benefits of radiant floor heating, earthen floors and fly ash? Or perhaps about the experts and products featured on the show? Read on ...

Watch a video all about foundations.

We've just posted our online guide to the first episode of season one of Building Green. In this episode, learn why:

Retail sales are 40% higher in daylit stores, and students in daylit schools progress 20-26% faster on test scores.

The air inside your home can be five times more toxic than the air pollution found in most major cities.

Costs are coming down for a lot of green materials, and some are now less expensive than the standard stuff we’ve been using for years.

You don't have to give up style and comfort to live in an eco-friendly home.

Click here for a taste of Episode One.