Watching Bill McDonough’s expanded version of his TED talk at the Dwell conference Friday night was extraordinary. He is one of the key sources of inspiration for the Green Idea House.
Ed took the stage Sunday afternoon with a vigor and clarity that was masked in the nature of his “living
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We really appreciated the opportunity to be in the Water and Energy Expo in the morning and on the EPN Green and Solar house tour circuit in the afternoon.
We were impressed by the interested and engaged group that showed up. Thanks to all our friends (old and new) that
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Arthur Renauld, Regional Manager for The Reuse People visited the Green Idea House a couple of months ago and saw the Youthbuild crew hard at work. Arthur was so impressed that he connected them with the ReUse Haus project for AltBuild. As a result our friend Wes Harding hired
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Unfortunately, one of the people in the neighborhood (you know who you are) is complaining to the city about our lumber pile. Therefore we have to get a dumpster out to the site in the next week. So, if you need any of the above for projects from furniture to
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Congratulations, Hermosa Beach
You are Southern California’s Greenest City this Earth Month!
Hermosa Beach, led by Mayor Peter Tucker, has won the title of Southern California’s greenest city for Earth Month. Hermosa Beach fended off strong challenges from Redondo Beach, Gardena, Long Beach, Villa Park, Agoura
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We hired a contractor to replace the rotted mudsills and rim joists (see Foundational Problems). The contractor normally uses green (in color) pressure treated lumber for that application. Unfortunately, the green stuff contains arsenic and chromium that gets airborne when cut or drilled and can also leach into your soil
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The video clip is taken from the April 26th Hermosa Beach City Council meeting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sswh242BWTQ
Also, We’ve attached (SBESC Letter) a very kind letter from Jacki and Marilyn at the South bay Environmental Savings Center thanking us for speaking at the South Bay Cities Council of Governments meeting on
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We will be briefing the Hermosa Beach City Council at their meeting at 7pm tonight!
Eric Michael Stitt very kindly marked our first big milestone: Owners save 97.5 percent of razed home
A grandmotherly woman named Grace contacted us about the free clean sandy soil we advertized in the local press. She came with her contractor and a pickup truck and took four giant loads of dirt off our hands.
Her city was making her take out some concrete and replace it with
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The South Bay Environmental Services Center asked us to speak at the quarterly South Bay Cities Green Task Force Meeting to share information about our 97.5% landfill diversion milestone. We will be complementing Lisa Coppedge’s presentation on Grades of Green’s incredible efforts to reduce trash and how that translates into
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Lucas’ words were ringing in my ears as the second cement truck finished unloading. When asked what materials his Danish eco village tries to avoid, the number one item is poured concrete because of it’s high embodied energy and the fact that you can’t really recycle it. Discarded concrete just
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As the end of their useful life, most buildings in our area get demolished with a bulldozer and get scraped into a dumpster. We certainly understand the logic. It is currently cheaper and easier to do it that way.
Reuse and recycling is hard work. Almost every architect and contractor we
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Moving is never easy and usually not green (e.g. cardboard boxes, diesel trucks…). Thankfully we found some very good local companies with affordable products and services that are environmentally friendly – and made the process easier.
Rent a Green Box reinvented how we loaded up our stuff with recycled and recyclable
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I am honored to be a lecturer at an innovation school in Denmark. The school, interestingly called KaosPilot, is doing amazing things in the world and is at the cutting edge of social and business innovation.
Half way through my week long series of lectures, one of their former students, Lukas
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The GreenPoint Rated label is the mark of quality for green home construction. It is a recognizable, independent seal of approval that verifies a home has been built or remodeled according to proven green standards. To make sure that every GreenPoint Rated home is healthy and efficient from the inside
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We started the project with a system of interdependent objectives that acts as a map and a compass. No project is perfect and this one won’t be either; but being mindful of these objectives keeps us on track when making decisions. We have found that it is particularly
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Merlex Stucco is continually improving its product line of natural stucco products to add products offering (1) energy efficiency; (2) recycled content; (3) local sourcing; and (4) reduced embodied energy. Products to be included on the Green Idea House include 33% Recycled Stucco (based on recycled concrete aggregate), and Vero
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Harding Construction & Sustainable Solutions is an industry leader in green building, net zero energy retrofits, and energy auditing services in the greater Orange County and Los Angeles areas.
From concept to completion, we work with our clients to build green homes that are energy efficient and considerate of environmental design
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VELUX is the world leader in skylights and roof windows and is one of the strongest brands in the global building materials sector. VELUX America products are available nationwide through home centers, building material suppliers, lumberyards, and independent door, window, or roofing retailers.
Consumers can access complete product information and can
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Hohmann and Barnard, Inc., a Mitek-Berkshire Hathaway Company; serves both the Commercial and Residential markets as the leading developer and distributor of reinforcement, anchoring, and moisture protection systems for masonry. Hohmann and Barnard, Inc. is also committed to the environment, offering a complete line of green
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Cleveland Art was founded in 1994 by Jason Wein. While working at the family salvage yard as a young man he saw the potential of industrial machinery and surplus being repurposed and recycled as functional design for the home, office and retail setting. For well over a decade now, Cleveland
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WeatherBond PRO PAS TPO is a heat-weldable, thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) membrane that provides extreme durability and weathering capabilities. With pre-applied adhesive technology, this membrane combines the energy efficiency and durability of TPO with the easiest and most consistent TPO installation technology in the industry.
When combined with a full line of heat-weldable accessories,
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Uponor is a leading manufacturer and supplier of radiant heating and cooling, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems for the residential and commercial building markets worldwide. Our products and systems provide safety, comfort and water and energy efficiency with superior design functionality.
Our mission, through innovative products and state-of-the-art training and education,
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Nestled in the hills of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, StonePeak prides itself as a company with a uniquely American character that honors the time-proven tradition of fine Italian porcelain ceramics. Respecting and protecting nature is a vital part of our philosophy, so we were honored when the
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Truth Hardware is the North American leader in the design and manufacture of quality operating hardware for windows, patio doors and skylights. Providing engineered solutions to the manufacturers of windows and doors, Truth Hardware works closely with their customers in developing solutions that help make
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Stepstone Inc. has produced high strength, precast concrete products for over 30 years. Today’s hardscape designs demand paving options that are versatile, enduring and have minimal environmental impact. Stepstone, Inc. is pleased to expand the design community’s permeable paving options by offering our new Pervious Pedestrian Pavers. Combined with our
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CELOTEX® PREMIUM INSULATING SHEATHING, as manufactured by BLUE RIDGE™ FIBERBOARD (http://www.blueridgefiberboard.com/pages/green-building.php) is a key component of a superior exterior building envelope design. An R-value of 1.3 per ½” provides superior insulating qualities in comparison to standard O.S.B. and plywood sheathing, thus providing an excellent thermal break. The indoor air quality
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GreenFiber is the only national manufacturer of natural fiber insulation. With eight manufacturing facilities across the country, GreenFiber uses recycled materials from local sources, low-energy manufacturing, and short-haul transportation to offer an environmentally responsible choice for homeowners.
GreenFiber Natural Fiber Insulation consists of certified 85%
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Net zero energy means harvesting as much energy as you use on an annualized basis. It is our key objective because there a lot of prescriptive standards our there, but most are not performance based. Net zero energy gives us a verifiable target that tells us how the building
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