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Self-Counsel Press - Thomas Teuwen , Laura Lynn Parker

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88 pages

English

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Description

In old and new homes alike, there are opportunities galore to save energy, reduce waste, and live more sustainably. As Greening Your Home shows, all it takes to make a difference to your living environment is a first step.
This book discusses how to reduce your carbon footprint; what maintenance and design issues you should consider in order to build and live more effectively; green materials and appliances to save energy and money; and how to decide whether to eco-renovate on your own or with a contractor’s expertise.
Authors Thomas Teuwen and Laura L. Parker have much experience in creating an environmentally friendly life at home, and have written this book to provide you with practical, affordable, and insightful advice, room by room, that will help you convert your home into a more efficient place in which to live and enjoy.
Whether your eco-renovations are small or substantive, Teuwen and Parker take you through the process to obtain the outcome you want: an eco-friendly home that will make your friends and family green with envy.
Introduction vii
1 The Carbon Footprint of Embodied Energy 1
1. What Is Embodied Energy? 3
2. Hidden Energy Consumption 3
3. Explore Functionality of Current Design 6
4. Where to Draw the Line 7
2 Maximizing the Livable Space in Your Home 11
1. Maximize the Space in Your Bathroom 13
2. Make Your Bedroom Multipurpose 17
3. Utilize the Space in Your Living Room and Dining Room 17
4. Make Your Kitchen Welcoming to Visitors 19
5. Share Living Space 20
6. Consider Zoning Bylaws and Building Codes
When Renovating 22
3 Building for Resale or for Yourself 25
1. The Split-Level Home 26
2. Staying Put in an Ideal Location 28
3. Resale Value 29
4. Think outside the Box 30
4 Building to Last: Key Maintenance Issues 35
1. Exterior Materials 36
2. Foundation 37
3. Perimeter Drain 38
4. Condensation and the Building Envelope 39
5. Annual Inspection and Maintenance Tasks 45
5 Design Features to Improve the Livability of Your Home 51
1. Venting and Makeup Air 51
2. Convection 53
iv Greening Your Home
3. Visual Space 55
4. Strategic Illumination 57
5. Placement of Windows 58
6. The Home As a Sanctuary 60
6 Water Conservation and Appliances 63
1. Water Conservation 64
2. Water Catchment Systems 64
3. Gray Water 66
4. Hot Water Tanks 67
5. Tankless Water Heaters 68
6. Appliances 69
7 Green Materials: How to Evaluate the Claims in a
Changing World 71
1. The Progress Trap 72
2. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) 73
3. Agriboard 73
4. Bamboo Flooring 74
5. Vinyl Windows 74
6. Drywall 75
7. Siding 76
8. Quality and Cost 78
9. Cradle-to-Cradle 78
8 Getting Ready for the Solar Revolution and
Why It Matters to You 85
1. Early Innovators 87
2. Passive Solar Energy 88
3. Active Solar Energy 96
4. Distributed Energy 99
9 Do It Yourself or Hire a Contractor 103
1. Leverage Is Your Friend 105
2. Safety Is Number One 106
3. Plan Your Renovation 110
4. Do Your Research before Hiring a Contractor 110
Conclusion 116
Download Kit 118

Sujets

Sustainable living

Self-help

Informations

Publié par	Self-Counsel Press
Date de parution	30 avril 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781770409620
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0020€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Greening Your Home
Successful Eco-Renovation Strategies
Thomas Teuwen & Laura L. Parker
Self-Counsel Press
(a division of)
International Self-Counsel Press Ltd.
USA Canada

Copyright © 2015

International Self-Counsel Press
All rights reserved.
Contents

Cover

Title Page

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Carbon Footprint of Embodied Energy

1. What Is Embodied Energy?

2. Hidden Energy Consumption

3. Explore Functionality of Current Design

4. Where to Draw the Line

Chapter 2: Maximizing the Livable Space in Your Home

Exercise 1: Room Use

1. Maximize the Space in Your Bathroom

2. Make Your Bedroom Multipurpose

3. Utilize the Space in Your Living Room and Dining Room

4. Make Your Kitchen Welcoming to Visitors

5. Share Living Space

6. Consider Zoning Bylaws and Building Codes When Renovating

Exercise 2: Livability of Your Community

Chapter 3: Building for Resale or for Yourself

Exercise 3: Livability of Your Home

1. The Split-Level Home

2. Staying Put in an Ideal Location

3. Resale Value

4. Think outside the Box

Exercise 4: Livability of Your Property

Chapter 4: Building to Last: Key Maintenance Issues

1. Exterior Materials

2. Foundation

3. Perimeter Drain

4. Condensation and the Building Envelope

5. Annual Inspection and Maintenance Tasks

Exercise 5: Exterior: Inspection for Moisture Issues

Exercise 6: Interior: Inspection for Moisture Issues

Chapter 5: Design Features to Improve the Livability of Your Home

1. Venting and Makeup Air

2. Convection

Exercise 7: Improving on the Livability of Your Home

3. Visual Space

4. Strategic Illumination

5. Placement of Windows

6. The Home As a Sanctuary

Chapter 6: Water Conservation and Appliances

1. Water Conservation

2. Water Catchment Systems

3. Gray Water

4. Hot Water Tanks

5. Tankless Water Heaters

6. Appliances

Chapter 7: Green Materials: How to Evaluate the Claims in a Changing World

1. The Progress Trap

2. Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC)

3. Agriboard

4. Bamboo Flooring

5. Vinyl Windows

6. Drywall

7. Siding

Exercise 8: Green Materials: Exterior

8. Quality and Cost

9. Cradle-to-Cradle

Exercise 9: Green Materials: Interior — Use of Current Materials and Fixtures

Exercise 10: Green Materials: Interior — Components in Need of Replacing

Chapter 8: Getting Ready for the Solar Revolution and Why It Matters to You

1. Early Innovators

2. Passive Solar Energy

3. Active Solar Energy

4. Distributed Energy

Exercise 11: Solar Revolution Checklist

Chapter 9: Do It Yourself or Hire a Contractor

1. Leverage Is Your Friend

2. Safety Is Number One

3. Plan Your Renovation

4. Do Your Research before Hiring a Contractor

Exercise 12: Doing the Work Yourself or Hiring a Contractor

Conclusion

Download Kit

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Notice to Readers

Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook.
Introduction

Building green is not a new idea. While the concept of our carbon footprint and the focus on carbon reduction is fairly recent, many architects and builders have been aware of the environmental consequences of their decisions since the 1970s. Back then, the focus tended to be on pollution and the toxicity of materials, both inside the home and in their places of processing or manufacturing.
During the oil shock of the 1970s, the push to insulate homes was mostly driven by economic considerations and all types of materials were injected into exterior wall cavities, including the dreaded asbestos. Not only was asbestos included in blown-in insulation but it was also embedded in tiles, sheet flooring, and drywall. There were many false starts, and more than a few dead ends on the road to sustainability, some of which turned out to be disastrous and expensive to remediate.
Insulation without proper vapor barriers proved to be functionally short lived as it absorbs moisture condensing inside the walls. Vapor barriers without proper ventilation proved treacherous as it increases the humidity in the home to the point of triggering uncontrolled and often very unhealthy mold growth. Ventilation without heat recovery soon negates much of the benefit of the insulation.
A home built at the turn of the last century was inherently drafty. The inside of the studs and joists tended to be covered with lath and plaster, put there by an arduous process of nailing thin furring strips perpendicular to the studs with gaps of the right proportions to allow the plaster to be squeezed through, expand, or deform slightly, and hook itself into place.
The outside cladding would typically consist of one layer of planking followed by a layer of birch bark, cardboard, or tar paper, on top of which was placed another layer of shiplap siding. Windows were single pane although the frugal among us might have mounted shutters to be closed during storms or at night.
Storm windows that, in the beginning, would be removed in spring and stored until fall were perhaps the first attempt at improving the energy efficiency of a home. It may have become popular because one of the side benefits of installing these often unsightly aluminum additions was that they prevented condensation and ice buildup on the inside of a single-pane window, which allowed for a clear view during the winter months.
Homes in the last century typically housed large and often extended families. Three, four, and even five bedrooms were commonplace. Kitchens were utilitarian, a place where “women folk” or sometimes servants did the messy work. They were usually situated at the back of the house, hidden from view and fully segregated from the stately dining rooms where as many as 10 or 12 people would gather around at mealtime.
Amazingly, these densely populated, 2,500-square-foot homes often were outfitted with only one water closet, usually separate from the bathroom to maximize its accessibility. Vertical slider windows would provide any desired ventilation and a minimum of one “naturally aspiring, fuel fired vented appliance” (as the building code refers to it now) consisting of a wood or coal stove was present to help suck the stale air out of the building.
We remind ourselves of this history to illustrate that much of our current design and building practices have their roots firmly planted in the legacy of the past. There is a story that is told of a little girl who is watching intently as her mother prepares dinner one afternoon. After the onions and carrots are cut into cubes, the mother carefully unwraps the roast, places it on a cutting board and before nestling it into the pan trims off the ends with a sharp knife.
The little girl, resting her chin on her fist as she peeks over the edge of the counter, asks innocently: “Mommy, why do you cut the ends off the roast before placing it into the pan?”
“You know darling, I’m not sure. I’ve always done it this way because that’s how I learned it when I was a little girl. Let’s go visit your Nana tomorrow and ask her.”
“Nana, Nana, we’ve come to ask you a question!,” the little girl was so excited to be on this quest that she announced their reason for the visit before welcoming hugs were exchanged. “I asked Mommy why she cuts the ends off the roast before putting it in the pan, and she said she learned it from you! Why did you do that, Nana?”
“Good question my child,” was the immediate response. “I suppose I learned it from your Great Grandma. Let’s call her and ask her shall we?”
The phone rang a good long time before the old woman answered it. But the little girl was patient. “Grandma?”
“Yes darling, how wonderful of you to call!”
“Grandma, I watched Mommy cut the ends off her roast yesterday and she told me that is how she learned it from Nana. Then Nana told me that is how she learned it from you. Why, Grandma, why did you cut the ends off the roast before you put it in the pan?”
“Why that’s easy, my darling, I only had one pan and the roast was always too big, so I cut off the ends to make it fit!”
Just because something has been done a certain way for generations does not mean it’s the most appropriate method for the times. Humans are not hardwired to cope easily with change. We prefer the well-worn patterns of habit to the treacherous realm of innovation. Tradespeople, designers, and architects tend to build on past practices; often old concepts are simply adapted to new situations without considering their genesis or even their underlying purpose. Of course, it’s important to build on the knowledge of the past but this should never dissuade us from asking why, and exploring the deeper issues underlying