29 tips to help you make sensible renovation choices - Part 1
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
There are many ways to save energy and live the green life, says Paul Denys, a 23-year veteran of the design and renovation industry, who has won design honours for thoughtful restorations of heritage homes.
Old or new, his 29-point approach to sensible design ranges from scaling down our living spaces to buying the most energy-efficient appliances available.
The owner of Denys Builds Designs volunteered to share the knowledge and sources he's gained during a career of small-scale renovations and restorations.
1. Compact living: Denys' first and most important premise to green living is to downscale your spaces, especially when considering an addition.
2. Light touch: Use fluorescent lights and infra-red motion detector light switches in bathrooms, hallways and storage rooms.
3. Dim down: Check out Lutron Maestro fade dimmers at www.prolighting.com. You'll use less electricity and your light bulbs will last five times longer.
4. Day lighting: Before building or adding to your home, carefully look where you will use energy-efficient windows. Then add more natural light with Solatubes (www.solatube.com), an alternative to skylights and switching on a lamp.
5. Recycle: You don't have to always use new products when renovating. There are great architectural doors, flooring and other materials in shops nationwide.
6. Avoid large use of concrete: It's durable and long-lasting, yet takes a lot of energy to manufacture.
7. Turn to bamboo: It is a fast-growing grass that matures in as little as seven years, grows anywhere without fertilizers or pesticides and releases 35 per cent of oxygen back into the air.
8. Wash time: Commit to smaller, longer-lasting, energy-efficient appliances, including the 18-inch Miele dishwasher. This little baby will hold as many dishes as an American-built, 24- inch dishwasher. Also, consider dishwasher drawers.
9. Low flush: Use low-flow toilets and low-flow showerheads.
10. Instant hot: Tankless water heaters are hot commodities, including the Rinnai tankless water heater (www.rinnai.us).
11. Fire's burning: Consider an alcohol-burning fireplace, forget about the need for a flue and never have to fret about heat escaping up your chimney (www.ecomartfire.com/canada/home.php).
12. Old is sometimes good: Did you know that a 100-year-old-window can be weather-stripped for as little as $250 and it will be as air tight as a new version that can cost as much as $2,500.
13. Fence us in: Look beyond cedar and pine when looking to build a fence. Think of bamboo (www.bamboofencer.com).
14. Fresh air: Use green cleaners, low-VOC paints.
15. Rainy days: Save rain water in a barrel.
16. Donate: Give your old kitchen cabinets or bathroom vanity to charity.
17. Test all plaster, insulation and floor material made prior to 1983 for asbestos.
18. If you're stripping old wood work use a steam box or industrial garment steamer.
19. When reproducing a clear finish on interior wood trim, it's best to use a Clear Bull's Eye Shellac, and when staining wood, use a mild solution like vinegar and steel wood to ebonize wood (www.naturalhandyman.com)