29 tips to help you make sensible renovation choices - Part 2
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
20. Plant drought-tolerant plants instead of high water consuming grass to make your outdoors a different shade of green.
21. Compost.
22. Use larger windows on the south side of a building for greater heat gain in the winter.
23. Use cellulose insulation because manufacturers add borate or borax to fire proof, insect proof and mould proof your home.
24. Kirei board is an eco-product made from the Sorghum plant in China. It is an engineered panel product used in interior architectural millwork (www.kireiusa.com).
25. Marmoleum flooring is made from cork, limestone and natural resins. It comes in many colours and can add a retro feel to your renovation (www.themarmoleumstore.com).
26. Engineered flooring is 1/4-inch thick hardwood laminated with plywood to create a stable floor that stretches our hardwood resources (www.bhkofamerica.com and www.kahrs.com).
27. Install a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) and increase the air quality in your home.
28. More green home sources: www.ecologicalhomeideas.com, www.greennest.com, www.debraslist.com, www.organicmatressstore.com and www.greenbuildermag.com, a new magazine by Hanely Wood.
29. One of the best and most informative books available for going green is Green Building Products, The GreenSpec Guide to Residential Building Materials. It's edited by Alex Wilson and Mark Piepkorn and contains valuable information on new appliances to smart insulation. It's co-published by Building Green and New Society Publishers.
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