SIPS/ Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

...Sipsare straight, solid and beautiful Lastly, this generation is seeing a disturbing trend towards more respiratory illnesses, specifically a huge spike in reported cases of asthma. Indoor air quality is something we should spend a bit more time thinking about, and Straw BaleSIPSare big winners in that are...

...SIPS- Structural Insulated PanelsSIPSwall panels on a timber frame home © Ecohome FoamSIPSusually consist of a panel made of polystyrene or urethane sandwiched between two sheets of OSB (Oriented Strand Board). WhileSIPSwith a 5.5 inch foam core were considered a high performer less than a decade ago, i...

Siding is important! There is no stage of home construction that you should rush through, but if there were, it shouldn't be siding . Whatever type of siding product you choose, purchase and installation is not cheap, so you don't want to do it again anytime soon. Your siding needs to protect your home from the we...

Siding Installation The walls of your home are an environmental separator. Their job is to keep the inside in and the outside out. Exterior cladding or siding is your first line of defense against weather elements, and its job is to allow interior control layers (ie. the building envelope) to do their jobs without...

What is Shou sugi ban siding? © Resawn Timber Co. Shou sugi ban is an ancient Japanese carbonized wood finish created by burning the surface of wood to preserve it. The final product is also known as Yakisugi (yaki means to cook/burn and sugi is the Japanese name for cedar), but shou-sugi-ban seems to have won...

一旦你知道怎么做，在你的房产上合法地安装一间小房子通常是可能的。微型住宅行业协会(THIA)与各州和社区合作，帮助他们认识到有一个朝着小型住宅发展的新趋势，并适应……

The U.S. Green Building Council and the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning released a landmark report Feb. 29 that describes how green buildings advance resiliency in disasters. “Green Building and Climate Resilience: Understanding Impacts and Preparing for Changing Conditions”...

Polished concrete floors are extremely durable and non-toxic ; silicate-based densifiers keep them that way and make it a great start to safe indoor-air quality in a home. This is an excellent flooring option for anyone with chemical sensitivities who wants a beautiful and durable eco-friendly floor in their passive s...

A technical guide to understanding the role weather barriers and rainscreens play in a wall, choosing the right products and installation tips for optimum performance. They're officially known as water-resistive barriers or WRBs, sometimes weather-resistive barriers, but in practical terms they are more commonly cal...

Rainwater harvesting is a great strategy for reducing domestic water use and protecting our homes and the land surrounding it. Harvesting rainwater can lead us to dozens of other practices that bring us into greater sustainability. The three potential sources for harvesting rainwater: Direct rainfall, street harve...

The Eco Bath concept is simple: use the waste water from the sink to flush the adjoining toilet. The execution is nothing less than stylish. Though compact, the Eco Bath’s water tank is comprised of two compartments, one that holds drainage water from the adjoining sink and one that contains fresh water in case the ne...