Filed under: lessons learned
When people are talking about green/eco-friendly cabinetry, what exactly are they referring to and what are the options? Let’s look at 4 key factors which contribute to green cabinetry.
1) Cabinet Casework Material
The term “casework” refers to the box and drawers of your cabinets. At the minimum, green/eco-friendly kitchen cabinet should have “no added urea-formaldehyde”. Urea formaldehyde resins are used in conventional plywood and particleboard adhesives and can off-gas formaldehyde gas, a carcinogen, into homes.
According to Fine Homebuilding magazine, formaldehyde occurs naturally in wood and throughout the environment, so no wood product is completely formaldehyde free. That is why green-cabinet makers often specify “no added urea formaldehyde” to indicate that they use non-formaldehyde-emitting binders.
It is a good idea to consider using casework material that is free of added urea formaldehyde such as formaldehyde-free particleboard or medium density fiberboard (MDF). Formaldehyde-free particleboard or MDF is marketed under several trade names, two of the best known are Medex and Medite II. Both are often more expensive than conventional particleboard or MDF.
2) Cabinet Door Material
Cabinet doors should either be built entirely from hardwood or have a hardwood frame with a veneered, formaldehyde-free center panel. This can be a FSC-certified hardwood or other rapidly renewable materials such as bamboo and wheat board (an MDF-like agriboard made from wheat straw). Recycled or reclaimed materials can also be considered. Some of these options will incur a premium (e.g., FSC-certified wood can command a premium as high as 25%).
3) Cabinet Finish
Whether you are re-finishing cabinets or buying new ones, look for water-based sealants, low- or no-VOC finishes; formaldehyde-free paints; and solvent-free adhesives.
4) Origin of Production
Local production should be chosen whenever possible to minimize carbon footprint and also to reduce freight cost. “LEED for Homes” green certification defines “local production” as products that are extracted, processed, and manufactured within 500 miles of the home.
According to “Fine Homebuilding” magazine September 2009 issue, European manufacturers already meet formaldehyde limits lower than the Phase I US “California Air Resources Board” standards. So the good news is that environmentally conscious homeowners on a tight budget might consider kitchens by Swedish furniture maker Ikea. In addition to meeting Europe standards on formaldehyde, Ikea does not use wood from intact natural forests and is working toward using only certified wood.
January 14, 2010
Did you know that the typical U.S. family spends about $1,900/year on home utility bills (reference from “US Department of Energy”)? Unfortunately, a large portion of that energy is wasted. And each year, electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. Energy-efficient improvements not only make your home more comfortable, they can also yield long-term financial rewards.
Here are 10 easy and no/low cost ways to save energy and money at your home:
1) Take short showers instead of baths
2) Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes
3) Unplug chargers when not in use. Did you know that your cell phone charger, PDA charger or other small electronic chargers continue to consume energy when they are not plugged into your device? Unplugging these chargers will save you electricity and money.
4) Turn off your lights, computers and monitors when not in use
5) Use compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. CFL bulbs are a little more expensive than regular light bulbs but they can last 10 times longer and can cut lighting costs by up to 75%, a very good investment for your home. Check your local Ikea stores or lighting companies for the many options that are available in your area.
6) Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.
7) Setting Your Thermostat. Turning down your thermostat when your home is not occupied or at night can save about 1% for each degree the thermostat is lowered for an 8-hour period. For example, lowering the thermostat from 72F to 65F at night is expected to save you $70 if heating your home costs $1,000/year. If you don’t have a programmable thermostat at home, installing one is a smart way to keep your home comforable and to save energy.
‘8) Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120F.
9) Wash Clothes in Cold Water. When possible, wash clothes in cold water. About 90% of the energy used in a clothes washer goes to water heating.
10) Clean Your Clothes Dryer Lint Trap After Each Load. This can dry your clothes faster and help you to save money.
If you are looking to replace home appliances or products, be sure to look for ENERGY STAR labelled models. ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency and can save you significant amount of energy and money throughout the life span of the products.
January 14, 2010
Cutting back on the water we use is good for the environment, for salmon and other wildlife, and it can lower your water bill too. Therefore, it is a good idea to reduce water use at your home. A good place to start would be to review the water consumption of your bathroom fixtures and fittings.
1) Toilets
According to “Built Green”’s publication, toilet flushing is the largest single use of water in a household, using up to 40% of residential water. Older toilets can be using 3 to 5 gallons per flush (gpf). Federal law mandates all new toilets use no more than 1.6 gpf.
Nowadays, there are many options that can achieve even higher standards; in fact, it is not difficult to find affordable toilets that can achieve 1.28 gpf. Check out the Water-Sense approved list for models.
Another option is a dual flush toilet – i.e., toilet that has two flushing choices, 1.6 gpf and 0.9 gpf, the user can choose the flush depending on the type of waste. Dual flush toilets are now becoming increasing popular and are available from many major manufacturers, including Toto and Kohler.
A limited number of manufacturers now have “very high-efficiency” toilets with average flow rate achieving <= 1.1 gpf (including Kohler, American Standard, Mansfield), though personally I found that models are still limited (especially if you are looking for comtemporary style like us) and you do have to pay a premium to get these models.
2) Lavatory Faucets
Another water consumption in your bathroom is obviously your faucets. Federal law requires that faucets have flow rates no greater than 2.5 gallons per minute (gfm). There are now many faucet options out on the market that can achieve 2.0 or even 1.5 gpm. If a faucet is labelled as EPA “Water Sense”, the maximum flow rate is 1.5 gpm. For existing faucets, you can also install Water Sense approved aerators to achieve these new lowered flow rates.
3) Showerheads
As for your showerheads, it is a good idea to look for showerheads with an average flow rate of <= 2.0 gpm (per stall). There are now many options on the market at affordable prices. Newer “very high-efficiency” showerheads can even achieve <= 1.75 gpm.
Believe it or not, ToTo now even carries a RAINSHOWER head (10″ x 10″ square) that can achieve a maximum flow rate of <= 1.75 gpm, giving you both a comfortable, luxurious bath experience and still achieving incredible water savings.
Both “LEED for Homes” and “Built Green” certifications encourage water conservation indoors and outdoors and there are points given for high-efficiency and “very” high-efficiency fixtures and fittings.
For more tips and information on water conservation, to calculate your current water consumption with online calculator, or to find out rebates in your area, please visit “Saving Water Partnership” and “United States Environmental Protection Agency Water Sense” websites.
January 14, 2010
Landfill space is rapidly diminishing and incineration produces pollutants; therefore, part of being green is to reduce waste as much as possible. I’m sure you have heard of the phrase “reduce, reuse and recycle” in your daily life, and managing construction waste is no different — You want to reduce as much waste as possible (e.g., by ordering just enough materials based on your construction needs), reuse as much as possible and recycle as much of the waste/materials as possible.
Both “LEED for Homes” and “Built Green” certification programs require builders to achieve a certain level of waste reduction/diversion (e.g., recycling, reuse).
For “Built Green”, the pre-requisite for 4 star certification is to recycle at least 50% of your waste, and you can get additional points for achieving higher waste reduction/diversion percentage. “LEED for Homes” requires builders to investigate local options for diversion and to document the diversion rate for the project. Additional points can be given based on higher actual diversion rate.
We are fortunate that there are many local options for recycling and diversion in the King County/Seattle area. Many of these local facilities are able to achieve diversion rate higher than 88%, thereby giving you maximum points to both “LEED for Homes” and “Built Green” certifications.
If you live in the King County/Seattle area and are looking for a waste management company for your house re-modeling/construction project, a good place to start your research would be the King County Solid Waste Division (click here). This website consists of names/contact info of many local waste management companies and their published monthly diversion rates. There are more waste management companies than are listed on the website but this is an excellent place to start your research.
January 2, 2010
For residential project, concrete foundation stemwall thickness usually come in standard width of 6″ or 8″. This is because the metal cleats and metal ties that hold the formwork to gether come in those standard sizes. It’s not to say that concrete walls cannot be poured with other thicknesses – it’s concrete! it can be any thickness you want! However, if you wanted to pour a 6 3/8″ thickness wall, most residential project contractors will not have the accessories for those customized dimensions. They would have to spend more time building a non-standard width formwok. More time = more cost.
October 14, 2009
After approval of our construction permit, we were required by the building department to do a survey to locate the corners of the house, because the house is within 2′ of the side setback limits. This is to ensure that the house is not intruding into the setback. After digging the trenches for the concrete footings, the surveyor came to mark the corners of the house with stakes. We then submitted the survey drawing for the land use reviewer’s approval. We would then call the inspector to come out to the site to approve that the house is located accurately per the survey. The stakes must be kept throughout the construction of the concrete foundation until the concrete foundations are formed.
This is not a typical requirement in many other jurisdiction.
September 24, 2009
We will be using SIPS (Structural Insulated Panel System) for the majority of the exterior walls and all the roofs. Our supplier is Premier Building Systems.
SIPS is a pre-fabricated panelized wall system consists of an insulation core of rigid expanded polystyrene (EPS), structurally laminated and pressured cured between two sheets of oriented strand board (OSB). The prefabrication in factories cut down on material wastage, reduce on site construction time, and improves the insulation and air tightness of the structure significantly.
Here are some important things to look out for when considering the use of SIPS as structural materials:
1. SIPS is a relatively rare building system. Some of the Building Departments officials may not have experience reviewing this product. Thus it will be very important to provide the manufacturer’s test report upon submission of the permit drawings. Sometimes additional test reports may be needed per the city’s request.
2. When using SIPS as shear walls in seismic zone D,E and F, the height-to-width ratio of the designated shear wall shall be 2:1 or less (Stick frame walls are at 3.5:1). This will limit the size of openings at certain locations, and may require replacing certain segments of the exterior walls with stick framing or other types of lateral force resisting structures.
3. SIPS roof panels are limited in its span, depending on its thickness. 10″ nominal roof panels span a maximum of 20′-0″.
4. Panels come in increments of 4′, 8′ (although sometimes 9′ is available). Planning the layout of the panels according to these dimensions will help reduce cost and wastage.
5. Hold-down installation may get tricky with SIPS panels – especially if high strength hold-downs are required – after installation of SIPS, the hold-downs will no longer be visible. Although many installation guidelines may suggest carving away the OSB and insulation to install the hold-downs, such approach will likely compromise the integrity of the panels. It will be worth talking to the inspector to arrange a separate inspection for the hold-downs prior to closing up all the walks.
August 25, 2009
Did you know that water that falls from the sky is considered a State property? State law defines water resources as “all water above, upon, or beneath the surface of the earth, located within the state.” I didn’t know about that until we planned to put a rainwater cistern into our house. The city officials suggested that I talk to the Department of Ecology, as there may be some regulation about using rainwater, which is considered a state resource, for personal use.
So I gave the State of Ecology a call. Well, it’s actually not a real issue for the western part of the Washington state, along the Puget Sound, where we get plenty of rain through out the year. However, in the Eastern part of Washington, where months of the year goes into serious drought, rainwater becomes a very treasured resource. Therefore someone with a huge rainwater cistern in the backyard may be depriving someone else from using the natural resource of the State! The department has the responsibility to protect the water resource. Although there has been no official permit and regulation yet regarding the use of rainwater collection systems, the department of ecology had been trying to educate people of the rainwater as a State’s resources, to make sure no one gets themselves into legal troubles for depriving their neighbors from the use of the natural resource!
That really puts things in perspective. We take it for granted that rainwater is a natural resource that just comes at God’s will. But who owns that water? If it falls on your property, is that your resource now? We see that the use of air — or the right to emit CO2 — is starting to be taxed… What about Sun light? would there come a time when Sun light is considered a State’s resource? Don’t take the natural resources for granted! Treasure them!
For more information from Department of Ecology on rainwater collection rulemaking in Washing State, please visit the following link. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/hq/rwh.html
July 27, 2009
So this is not something new, and I am sure contractors all know about this.
Before you start digging, call for locators to come out and mark your site. Here’s a number you could call: 811 before you starting digging for your construction. This number works everywhere in the US. The phone call will reach a dispatcher that will dispatch you to the relevent companies who provide utilities and services to your property.
In Washington, you can also go to www.callbeforeyoudig.org to request for a locater. It was a real breeze signing up for the locate service. In the couple days after I signed up online, the various companies from Comcast, Puget Sound Energy came out to mark the site with colorful spray paints. Very useful indeed to know where the utility lines are and take the guessing out of the equation. And here’s the best part — it’s free!!
July 13, 2009
During our bidding process, we came to realize the prices of the TJI floor joists and the dramatically difference in cost depending on the type of joists used.
We’ve been planning to put radiant flooring system on the 2nd floor. We were planning on using bamboo flooring planks over 2″ of gypcrete (for radiant floor tubing) over 3/4″ floor sheathing over 11-7/8″ TJI. However due to the large span (up to 21′ in some areas of the house) of the floor joists between bearing walls, the structural engineer had to specify TJI 560 for all the 2nd floor joists assembly. When we found out the costs of the TJI 560, we realized there’s quite a bit of saving we could achieve by going to a lower capacity TJI. A TJI 560 cost around $4.15/LF whereas a lower grade TJI 230 is almost half that price. The lumber sales person told me he has not seen a 560 used for 5-6 years now. This is because the TJI 560 joists are rarely used and is not something lumber yards typically stock. We can potentially save up to $3000 by switching to a lower grade TJI!
Therefore there had been some changes to our heating system. We’ll have to get rid of the 2″ gypcrete topping to reduce the weight of the floor. We’re looking into either using only radiators (also hydronic) on the 2nd floor, or possibly using a modular underlayment board that can accomodate the hydronic tubes (such as Thermalboard or Warmboard). Further research will have to be done to determine the best direction for this.
See our separate posting on the radiant floor features.
July 13, 2009
