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Carpet is one of the most unfriendly commodities on the planet, from its manufacture until its removal and disposal. Why? because when most carpets are made the chemicals, or volatile organic compo...
When builders put in fiberglass insulation in the past there was no vapor seal and the batts sometimes could get wet. Air could could then get in the walls through cracks or crevices in the exterior, either...
Thirty years ago some government agencies were giving grants to install the new urea formaldehyde insulation (UFFI) into homes as a way to make them energy-efficient. It worked well and the R-values wer...
Almost everyone who writes about renovation talks about "r-value this" and "u-value that." I know I do and there seems to be a consensus that if you pile up 2 feet of insulation in your walls th...
For everyone that detests carpet there is someone who loves it - however not unconditionally. Carpet, despite being a trap for dirt and other unpleasant things, is warm and cozy. In most cases this is b...
You hear the word all the time: Solar. And this conjures up visions of space and how satellites and the Space Station are powered by the sun. And then you hear about people carpeting their roofs with solar ...
The laws of thermodynamics deem that heat wants to go out to the cold. And figuring that the temperature in space is -270 degrees Celsius, or -455 Fahrenheit the heat in our homes desperately wants to get ...
The door leading from my kitchen out to the patio gets extremely cold during the winter mo nths, which makes the tile floor cold in the kitchen as well. It is better to simply purchase a new exterior doo...
There is an old wives' tale that states that low-flow shower heads do not reduce the flow of water. Well, that's just a lot of uninformed prattle. Just like putting your thumb over the end of a hose...
You wouldn't believe how many homeowners go through with a major renovation and watch as workers cut out portions of the house with a chain saw and then throw everything into the container. In other words t...
Changing out all the windows is one of the most expensive renovations in a home. Yet this is what "green renovators" tell homeowners all the time. Sometimes it can be a waste of time, money and spac...
Many household items come in pallets or, as in the case of many appliances, just foot pallets. These pallets are usually made from 1" X 6" X 3' (sometimes 1" X 4" X 4') s...
With the amount of pollutants floating around in the outside, city air it's sure great to be able to go indoors to save your lungs. Smog is still a major health risk and it doesn't look like it will...
I'm sure everyone remembers the "new car smell," that intoxicating aroma of having something brand new. Well, it was intoxicating because the materials from the car seats, plastic and sy...
Many of the conventional paints contain a host of toxic chemicals and their associated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can cause respiratory, skin, and eye irritation, headaches...
Many people can't afford to do big improvements on their home to make it greener such as changing the windows, solar paneling, etc. So I was wondering if anyone had any tips for simple and easy-to-...
One of the best products you can use for your floor is made from the same material as the stopper in your wine bottle – cork. Cork is an amazing product because it can be placed in so many areas of the home. It...
46 percent of home energy used is lost. Their are very simple things we can do to minimize this. Please share your ideas too. Here are some of mine: 1. Each degree you turn down the heat saves 3 percent...
I would love to have a series of sun tubes installed in my family room, bathroom, and kitchen to brighten the areas without turning on electric lights. I have been drooling over a few that I saw at ...
Years ago, there were tons of small companies installing solar panels to homes, and instructions for building your own unit were easy to find. The units didn't heat the home, though. They heat...