Recent Blogs

Picture this, you are driving home it starts to rain and you think , 'oh great the sprinklers are going on during a shower and I'm paying for it'. Lets face it, if we knew when it was going to rain we wouldn't need to use the sprinklers. How about extra humidity? That counts too, according to CYBER-RAIN, the technology that allows your sprinkler system to adjust it's watering schedule to meet the needs of the day. Cyber-Rain also adjusts to meet watering requirements in the different areas of your yard. It costs about $399.00. Cyber-Rain software enables the controller and your computer to communicate. It communicates with the sprinkler controller to stop watering until the forecast changes. The wireless range from controller to computer is 300 feet. The computer checks the weather forecast, automatically, throughout the day, communicating to the controller. It stores information, so the computer doesn't have to be the whole time either. It manages up to 8 different zones, which you label yourself, so' fig tree next to bedroom window', can get less water than the 'front yard lawn'. If you don't want the sprinklers to come on when you're having a party you just program it in. Want to know how much you've saved? The system tells you, it keeps track of the amount of water you're using, and it shows you with graphs. Sixty percent of home water use is said to be used for landscape watering. You can dial in your monthly bill on Cyber-Rain's web-site, at www.cyber-rain.com and they will show you how much you would expect to save.

A home building company in Seattle, Howland Homes, recently announced that it will start construction on zHome, a development of 10 townhomes that use zero net energy, 60 percent less water and have clean indoor air.

The development will be built east of Seattle in Issaquah, Washington. Since 2004, Issaquah has required new buildings to meet certain environmental standards and has offered incentives, such as expedited permitting and free green-building consulting, to private developers who do the same.

The homes will cut energy use through such measures as extra insulation, triple-pane windows, LED lighting and ground-source heat pumps, and offset the energy use with solar panels that generate power. The homes will cut water use with rain recycling and efficient water fixtures, reduce runoff with rain recycling, incorporate salvaged, reclaimed and locally made materials, divert 90 percent of construction debris through waste prevention and recycling and use ventilation and healthier materials to improve air quality.

The homes will cost about 25 percent more to build than traditional townhouses. However, because the land was donated for free, they will sell for only 5-10% more, with prices starting around $400,000. The homes are expected to be finished next fall.

Will zero-net energy homes become the next hot building trend? Only time will tell.

In this weeks Slow Home Report we discuss the Rue Street House by Hurt Partners Architects.

From the second David Day's fabulous casa ti house kit design was laid before me, I have dreamed, imagined myself in my future home. Which bedroom will be whose? Where will the dining table go? How to furnish it?

(Luckily, for myself, an avid thrift-er, I have kept an eye out for good finds and amassed a basement full o' furniture over the years with which to trick out our prefab-ulous house. Here's an example of just a few o' the things I've collected & reused over the years!)

I have imagined all sorts o' frugal, crafty solutions for the interior wall. See, drywall just doesn't "do it" fer me; I like natural, I like patina, and, even the green alternatives for drywall were a little too smooth for me. (Watch out, there's Bryan Adams in them thar link!)

So when a friend on twitter messaged me that a historic college, Virginia Military Institute, had torn up it's maple basketball floorboards and was auctioning them on GovDeals.com, I *jumped.*

Let's just say... those salty builders bidding against each other had no chance. In the last 12 seconds, I swooped in and stormed off with over 5,000 square feet o' solid maple history.

So our casa ti interior will now be lined with beautiful, durable, historic maple boards, reflecting my passion for history yet maintaining a natural, modern design.

Now lissen here, you crafty VMI alumni or lovers of reuse: I am not going to need 5,000 square feet o' boards. Certainly I can find ways to use it all, but if anyone is interested in adoring the history and natural beauty of this maple in their own home, direct message me. : )

Green Open House Tour: Green Retro-fit: Built in 1818 and renovated with a grant from the state, one home on the Green Open House Tour now features modern green building systems.

The NESEA (Northeast Sustainable Energy Association) is hosting an open house on Saturday, October 4, from 10 am to 4 pm. The organization has coordinated with home owners and facility managers to provide access to numerous green buildings. Visit the site to see if there is an open house in your area and drop in to ask questions and see the installations that make new and remodeled homes more energy efficient. Just click on the map search, enter your zip code, and click GO. You can also search for projects that involve a specific type of green feature, like a geothermal heat pump, grey-water collection, or LEED rating in the drop down menu at left. I’m going to visit a home built in 1818 in Andover, MA that exhibits grid-tied Photovoltaics, a geothermal heat pump, a tankless water heater, and an alternative fuel vehicle for daily use.

Post submitted by ThinkDwell.

Ah, fall. It's been rainy and we all have colds.

So when the 4 year old whined that she wanted to stay home and play "pony"... recognizing that this time of year we pretty much camp every weekend and will be doing so for the next few weeks... we conceeded.

The Boyz, adventurous, strode off to the land; The Girlz, keeping close to home, had a lunch date with Mr. H and the H's two daughters: Three happy girls talking about ponies and unicorns while Mr. H & I split a hot saki and gorged on delicious Asian food. : )

Our modern house kit foam is down, the foundation and radiant tubing are being laid, and pretty much from now on you will quickly see our prefab hybrid SIPs house become complete.

Our fabulous contractor Ron thinks it will take about five days to put the SIPs panels together and frame the windows /doors /interior load bearing wall for our modern house, fyi, for your own evaluation and estimates.

In the meantime, here are some pictures and videos of the land taken by The Boyz... happy and muddy and running loose in the wild. ; ) Keep yer eyes peeled for next week's installment of Green Modern Kits: SIPs House Kit Construction Continues On Our Modern House!

This week we feature an interview with Omer Arbel of Bocci in which we discuss his design philosophy. New to Projects is the Newning Avenue house by Hurt Partners Architects of Austin Texas.

 My friend Matt turned me on to a pretty neat service -- it's Green Tips -- Text GREENTIPS to 44636 and you will get a daily SMS sent to your phone with a green, (usually household) pointer. I don't read them everyday but usually they're pretty good. The messages are sent by USA Today and 4Info (for disclosure, I have a professional relationship with USA Today). I haven't tried to unsubscribe, but I imagine it's possible if you get sick of the messages or master them all :) There are ads in the messages, though usually for something local, relevant, or at least interesting. 

Here is the update you have been asking for.  Wednesday I went to the site to drop off some tools for the Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and snap a few shots of the site.  This is where five Habitat for Humanity homes are to be built.  Three of them will be finished before the end of the year and two more in spring.  All of these homes are being built with R-Control Structural Insulated Panels provided by Cardinal Building Systems (yes I just gave myself a plug but you know I don't do it often). 

These panels were originally only going to be used for the woman's build due to the limited supply of skilled labor.  Once we were able to work with Habitat they realized that these could save them money elsewhere with speed of construction, even with unskilled labor, and they chose to use SIPs on each of these houses.  Here is a shot of me putting in my volunteer hours at the Woman's Build site.  It isn't a good shot but it proves that I do more than just sit behind my computer.

These homes are going to help the recipients to be able to afford to live in them.  There is more to living in a house than just paying your mortgage.  There are also energy costs.  The SIPs create a tight envelope that will drastically reduce energy leaks and eliminate on average 2 to 3 tons of CO2 emissions per year per house.  These houses will also be quieter inside than their conventionally built neighbors due to the fact that the foam is a sound barrier.

R-Control SIPs are non toxic and recyclable.  We even took the scrap from cutting out the doors to cut down into sample pieces to give to our builders so that they can educate their customers.  There will be more updates as this project moves along.  Below is another example of unskilled labor.