Posts Tagged ‘green’

A Nation of Old Homes

Todd Hawkins

 

Feb 4 |07:05
70s_house

Seen this house? Like me, you might’ve grown up in one, or come home to it daily. Did you know that more than half of our nations houses were built more than three decades ago? Review the data and graphs within The Current, and learn about our concept of building new within old walls.

Cable shows have romanticized fixing up old houses; but, assuming structural integrity, you’re pitching money if you don’t completely retrofit, modernize the systems and tighten the building envelop (i.e. proper air sealing and insulating).

There’s nothing wrong with renovating to a traditional STYLE of house, the problem, many owners focus only on fixtures and finishes and lose sight of the house as an integrated system. Brushed nickel looks spiffy but $400 electric bills aren’t warm and fuzzy. They’re pouring money into putting lipstick on a functionally and operationally, obsolete pig and will continue bleeding money monthly heating and cooling outdoors.

A new building code is now taking effect and best practices the last five years in green building science and universal design correct many design and construction mistakes of the past, so those inclined to renovate an older home can achieve a traditional look along with energy and social sustainability. Just remember when looking at these properties, we no longer build that way for a reason, not all oldies are goodies.

 

Lifetime Home Survey UPDATED

Todd Hawkins

 

Jan 19 |09:04

 

Recycle your house into a Lifetime Home

This is the first revision of the LTHS since I posted the original in October. (Click “What is a Lifetime Home?” if you have no idea what I’m talking about.)

Changes include:

  • new products we’ve discovered and/or are now using
  • replacing any mention of fluorescent with LED lighting
  • multiple embedded hyperlinks to source material, additional information or manufacturers/vendors

There are numerous active links (anything underlined blue, all dot-coms as well as the green title of the document) to make the surveys convenient and save you time Googling. Click the underlined text and you’ll be taken to that web site. If you rest your mouse pointer over blue underlined words, you should see the web address to which you’ll be re-directed when you click those words. Email me and I’ll forward as raw PDF attachments if it’s not working.

Remember, because I’ve added and deleted since the original, the line items have changed. Please reference the version date at the top and specific line item if you have a question so we’re on the same page.

Click this link or see the Lifetime Home Survey tabs on the home page of this blog or main site to download the mini- and full version PDFs.

Questions or comments?

 

Green Baloney

Todd Hawkins

 

Dec 20 |09:16
All you need to remember: build a tight house and mechanically draw in fresh air. And I don’t mean “fresh” from an attic, crawl space or garage, bring in from the Great Outdoors. Think airplane, but NOT a tight house without fresh air circulation, that would be like living in a coal mine. If you live in a tight house without fresh air, you’re farming dust and allergens.

 

Old school builders espouse that you don’t want to make a house too tight. My favorite rebuttal is from an architect teammate, Charles Hendricks who typically replies, “Which window do you want me to leave out?” (By the way, Charles is an expert in indoor air quality.)

 

Green building is the “in” thing right now and we’re all for energy (and social!) sustainability and maximum efficiency. Folks, this is simply smart construction with newer, better products and all soon to be code.

 

Greenwashing_grinch

(graphic courtesy TerraChoice)

However, there are plenty of dubious designations, certifications and unsubstantiated claims (even by the government! Imagine that?) resulting in “green washing” (i.e. all that’s “green” is not gold). Attorneys call it something else, making their cash register ring with LEED-igation (lawsuits over unsubstantiated performance claims). I’m not damning any particular designation or measurement, I’m not a scientist, but undeniably there’s Bovine Scatology in unverifiable claims of utility savings and conservation, the modern day snake oil within the housing industry.

 

Martin Holladay of Green Building Advisor wrote one of my favorite posts weeding some of the green junk claims by our government and others in A Plague of Bad Energy-Saving Tips. One example, running ceiling fans during the winter (which I admit I believed). Does ZIP to lower your heating bill, actually raises your electricity bill if you’re unnecessarily running fans, only reason to do it is circulating air so you’re not dust farming.

 

So ’tis indeed a good thing that owners and housing professionals are concerned about energy efficiency and sustainability. But back to my main point, tighten your house, suck in fresh air from outside the walls and skip the green baloney.
 

Lifetime Home Survey

Todd Hawkins

 

Oct 25 |11:17

 

I was on a mission and took six months developing the Lifetime Home Survey (LTHS), which was born of a single negative comment following a post class, feedback form. Without ever knowing his name, I still picture the disgruntled attendee with arms crossed, an engineering type who frowned the entire presentation.

His comment? “Didn’t give specific measurements!” I purposely avoided getting technical to reduce the likelihood of audience slumber; but, after reading Mr. Unhappy Engineer’s feedback, I vowed, “Metrics you want, measurements thou shall get!”

Call me obsessive compulsive but, with Mr. Unhappy Engineer’s scowl burned into my mind, what began as a simple checklist grew (out of control?) into a whole house assessment. I referenced 17 documents and architect teammate Charles Hendricks proofread the final product, what we believe to be THE most comprehensive Universal Design home assessment resource currently available on the web.

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Gardening for Life

Todd Hawkins

 

Apr 6 |12:11

 

photo courtesy Lowe's

People often assume they can no longer do something they enjoy simply because they cannot continue the way they’ve always done it. Like most things universally designed for the home, your outdoor living areas and activities can be accommodated and inclusive for people of any age or circumstance so nobody should have to give up hobbies and activities which make them happy.

This is particularly true of flower and vegetable gardening. If you’ve got a deck, patio or yard of any size, you can garden by choosing an efficient and accessible method from numerous options. Before I list some alternatives and resources, let’s review the ideal conditions for any outdoor activity.

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