Eco-Remodelers

Gardening Tip:

By Sara Snow; Green Lifestyle Expert, TV Host and Author of Sara Snow’s Fresh Living

Summertime is the time to be outdoors and gardening is a perfect activity to relax a busy mom’s mind and entertain small children.

Even if you don’t have a big yard for a garden, you can use a small patch or containers to grow some edible plants with your kids.  What you plant is completely up to you, but I recommend starting with foods that you’ll actually eat because those will be the things you’ll most happily tend to.  Basil, oregano, chives, parsley, and rosemary are good starter herbs.  And cucumbers, tomatoes, pole beans and lettuce are great easy vegetables to grow.

Here’s a simple idea: grow a salad bowl.  Take a large container, about three feet across, and plant a variety of lettuces (arugula, romaine, endive, and red leaf will make a colorful and nutritious salad mix), as well as some chives and other herbs for dressing, and a dwarf cherry tomato plant.  Harvest and enjoy!

With a few strategically placed pest-repelling plants, you can make your garden a more restful place, so you can relax outdoors without the temptation of spraying chemical laden repellants.  Studies have shown catnip to be ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than the common bug spray ingredient DEET.  Catnip, geraniums, lemon thyme, marigolds and rosemary are just a few mosquito-repelling plants that you can easily grow.

I’ve been so busy renovating the house to be more green, I haven’t taken the time to write about it. One of my projects was to inspect and insulate my ductwork and I finally got around to doing it. And now I’m finally getting around to blogging about it.

It’s a good thing I did, but I should have done it much sooner. I started by inspecting all the ducts near my furnance. Ducts work by taking the warmed (or cooled) air and sending them to the rest of the house. More ducts are used to return the cooler (or warmer) air back to the furnace or heat pump. I wanted to look my ductwork over and make sure there were no gaps, holes, or problems.

I noticed one big problem right away. About 20 feet away from my furnace, one duct had completely come off the main line. This duct was serving warm air up to our living room and our daughter’s room. This explained why her room was always a bit cooler than the rest. But the living room is where our programmable thermostat is. This meant that the heater might be staying on and running longer than it should because the room with the main temperature readings wasn’t getting enough direct heat.

With some duct tape and duct sealant, I re-attached the duct. I also found a few other minor problems and sealed those ducts up as well. To really prevent leaks of warmed or cooled air, you can use duct tape (not the gray “regular” duct tape - but only the silver tape approved for ductwork) and/or a duct sealant. The sealant can be applied using a trowel, a brush, or even your finger. I used both to make sure I got a great seal.

Next, I insulated all my exposed ductwork down in our basement. At all home improvement stores, there is insulation designed specifically for your ducts. All you do it open it up and wrap it around the ducts. You use tape to tape up the seam where the two sides of the insulation meet. It’s that easy.

All the insulation means there will be much less heat-loss while the warm air is being sent to the rooms in your house. The rooms will warm up quicker and the heater will turn off faster and stop using as much energy. Which saves you money.

I did find up problem up in my crawl space. Apparently, at some point, the previous homeowners had cable installed. The cable installers were too lazy to do their jobs, so they pulled open my air duct return and shoved their cables up through my heating system. I was so beyond mad. I was furious that someone would compromise the heating ducts like that.

I cut the cables, screwed the opening shut, and sealed up the ducts again. The change in the heat throughout our house was amazing in February and March. The air coming out of our registers was so much warmer and the house warmed up that much faster.

I highly recommend sealing and insulating your ducts, either from in your basement or under your house in the crawlspace underneath. It’s very easy to do and very inexpensive - and it will save you a lot of money.

If you don’t want to try to do it yourself, you can always contact a heating contractor to come inspect your ducts, to seal things up, and to insulate for you. Find a heating contractor for free at ConstructionDeal.com.

Just read an article on CNN.com today about warning on global climate change. Here’s a taste:

“The world is facing an increasing risk of ‘irreversible’ climate shifts because worst-case scenarios warned of two years ago are being realized, an international panel of scientists has warned.”

“Temperatures, sea levels, acid levels in oceans and ice sheets were already moving ‘beyond the patterns of natural variability within which our society and economy have developed and thrived,’ scientists said in a report released Thursday.”

This is the sort of thing that has me worried. Are we too late? Does it matter that I’m spending time and money to make my house more of a “green” and sustainable home?

Of course, none of this means I’m going to stop what I’m doing. I’ll continue to do what I can. Sure, weather conditions can worsen, drought can cause problems in my area, and prices can skyrocket on us due to all the changes in the climate…  It may all be for nothing, but I can say I tried.

My concern is that people, businesses and governments might continue to hear news like this and completely give up trying. If they feel it’s too late, it’s going to be impossible to recruit more people to do the right thing.

Fingers are crossed.

I’ve been recycling. A lot. In fact, nearly three quarters of the trash that leaves our house goes to recycling.

Last week, when the garbage truck came to pick up our trash, it only had two small bags lining the bottom. But it got me thinking about all the stuff I’m taking to the recycling bins and so I did some research. It turns out I may have been doing more harm than good.

I hate to put this type of information out there, because so many people already think it’s a big hassle to have to recycle anything. But if you are putting paper and cardboard products into recycling bins with food on them, you could be ruining the batch of recycled materials.

For example, the recycling dumpsters in our neighborhood say that we can put all paper and cardboard products in - including cereal boxes and, yes, pizza boxes. What they don’t tell you is that the food contaminates the process. A pizza leaves grease and oil residue on the bottom and/or top of your pizza box. When that oil gets mixes with the water used to break down the cardboard, the paper recycling batch gets spoiled.

While it can be a big enough pain to separate all your trash and recycling, it’s important that you add another step to the process. Otherwise, don’t bother with any paper products. Don’t recycle any cardboard or paper that has food on it. Don’t bother with napkins, paper towels, tissues, pizza boxes or paper plates if they’ve had food on them. Throw them away (or better yet - don’t use them at all…)

However, you can cut away the ruined portions of these items. Yes, it’s a pain to do, but it’s got to happen to be effective.

This really only happens with the paper products. Water is used to break down the paper into a slurry material that can be recycled into new products. But metal, glass and plastic use heat to break down the raw materials to make new products. Heat isn’t affected by the oil or grease in food.

I do recommend that you rinse the food out of the metal, plastic or glass containers, though. You wouldn’t want your recycling center to get too stinky

The President signed the 2009 Stimulus Plan into law on Tuesday, February 17th. This law has some great benefits designed to help homeowners improve their homes and save our economy. And there is a section that can help motivate homeowners to go green and purchase energy-saving products.

ConstructionDeal.com reviewed the stimulus package and had some information on how this stimulus package can help you renovate with green products and save cash.

There are tax credits and incentives for energy efficiency improvements completed on your house for products that are installed between now and the end of the year.

These tax credits can be worth as much as $1,500 for the installation of Energy Efficient items, such as:

• Replacement Windows & Skylights
• Insulation
• Energy Star Appliances
• Solar Water Heating Systems
• Exterior Doors
• Metal & Asphalt Shingle Roofs
• Central Air Conditioning,  Heat Pumps, Furnaces & Boilers
• Water Heaters
• Wind Turbines
• Solar Photovoltaic Panels

These new incentives and tax breaks make buying new products for your home more affordable. Their contractors are already putting together systems that qualify for the tax credits.

To talk to a qualified installer, click on the links above and submit your request on the ConstructionDeal.com site. It’s a fast and free way to find quality contractors.

Your water heater uses almost 20% of your home energy budget each year. Depending on the size and style of your water heater, you might be throwing away a lot of cash. If you heater is more than 5 years old, it might be a good idea to replace it. Newer models are more efficient than older ones.

But, a great way to go green and save money - no matter how old your water heater - is to wrap it up. A water heater constantly heats up water to make sure you have what you need… when you need it. All day long. This is very wasteful.

Today, they make insulation for your water heater. This works just like your house insulation works - it’s a barrier than keeps the heat inside the water heater. If the heat stays, it won’t need to turn on and heat up quite as often. That saves you money.

I installed a water heater insulation blanket today and I’ll start seeing savings very soon - probably on my next electricity bill. The kit only cost $20. It should pay for itself in a few months. And I put it on in less than 20 minutes.

HOW TO INSTALL WATER HEATER INSULATION

You can pick up the kit at any home improvement store. They’re in the water heater section. There are several types and several R-values. The higher the R-value, the more protection (and thickness) you’ll get. I picked up an insulation kit that has an R-11 value.

My heater is an electric model with a 50 gallon capacity. The kit comes with the insulation blanket and tape to seal it up. I laid the blanket on the floor to inspect it and find the tab. There is a section of vinyl at the top that creates a tab. The tab will then be taped down to the top of the water heater.

Next, I wrapped the blanket around the heater to make sure it fit and to find the spots where I need to cut out sections that expose controls, valves, etc. Make sure you read the insulation kit instructions for your type of water heater and follow those. There are more restrictions for gas heaters, according to my kit.

I cut out some tape sections and used them to hold the blanket on the heater. All my cuts worked well and the water heater controls were properly in view. I used a long section of tape from top to bottom to create a tight seal. And next I taped the tab down to the top of the heater.

And that’s it. With insulation on my heater, I hope to cut my water heating bill by 5% to 10%. Not much, but it’s all part of the green renovation. Adding everything together and the money will add up.

Caught up in my birthday and the holidays, so not much time to post. Happy holidays to everyone!

Dreaming of a Green Christmas?

With all the shopping, holiday parties, and traveling around many people forget about going green this time of the year.

There are a few things that I can think of to help make it a more sustainable and Earth-friendly holiday season:

• If you still have time, try making only one or a few shopping trips to one location instead of driving all over town. It saves you gas money and reduces your carbon emissions.
• Ordering online and having it delivered might not be the best green choice, because you’re still creating a big carbon footprint by having large trucks, airplanes, and small trucks ship your packages all over the country.
• Buy local - deliver local. If you can find a local company to buy gifts from, you’ll be making a big impact. And, if you can, order a gift for someone from a company local to your friend or family member and have it delivered.
• Be creative with your wrapping of presents. Do you need to buy up a lot of wrapping paper, tape and boxes to cover up your presents? Re-use, recycle and pre-cycle! We try to re-use a lot of gift bags so that we’re not buying more or wasting paper. You could also make a “present box” that is covered with old holiday paper but that is easily opened. It can be used again next season!
• Put your holiday lights on a timer. Set the timer to only run during evening but shut off by 11pm or midnight. There’s no need to leave the lights on all night long while most people are sleeping… and I’m sure your neighbors would love you more without the bright lights shining in all night.

And, my favorite method of being green during the holidays! Re-gifting! Get something you don’t like this Christmas? Save it for the next birthday or holiday season and give it away again! You don’t need to go shopping, you don’t need to spend any money, and you’ve already got a few gift bags left over from this year’s celebrations!

The perfect solution!

Have you got any more ways to be green during the holidays?

Photo courtesy of Phillyburbs.com

The green renovation continues! I spent all day Sunday installing bamboo floors in our dining room. It’s the same bamboo I used in the 2nd floor bedroom/office. I had to run over to Lumber Liquidators to pick up 2 additional boxes to complete the work.

It turned out really well. One problem I had was the two additional boxes of bamboo. They were from a different batch - even though they were from the same company, there was a difference. The coloring was very similar but the new batch had a smoother and shinier surface.

I noticed right away and made two piles of bamboo planks. I would take a different plank from each pile and mixed them all together. I also adjusted the lengths of each row I would start so the entire floor has a completely random pattern of cuts to go along with the different looks on the planks.  I’m pretty happy with it.

I didn’t complete the baseboards or the transition pieces. I was too tired. I did the entire room, about 300 square feet, in 6 and a half hours. I made sure I completed anything I would need the pneumatic floor stapler for before I returned the rental to Home Depot.

Until I start on finishing our basement, that’s pretty much it for our flooring needs in the house. We’ve got recyclable carpeting and bamboo flooring (along with the new hardwood floors that came with the house.)

Next, I’m going to look into composting.

On to the dining room!

I’ve completed all the bamboo flooring in the office and I wanted to move on to add it to the dining room floor. But I also knew it was a good idea to paint before I put the floor down.

So, we shuffled off to Sherwin Williams again to pick out some more paint. Before, in the bedrooms, I had used the No-VOC Harmony brand. For the dining room, I wanted a darker, richer flat paint color. The color we chose was not available in the Harmony brand. It was the Duration brand. The good news was that it is a low VOC paint that has the “Green Sure” designation, which means it’s environmentally-friendly paint with the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

We chose a reddish brown color. The bamboo is a very light and bright yellow-ish color and wanted to contrast that with a darker color. I managed to get very good coverage in only two coats - which is hard to do with a red color over a white wall… Sometimes you need a coat of primer or three coats or more.

I did it all in one night, too.

I also put down the underlayment on the subfloor to get it ready to put down our bamboo floor over the weekend. I also need to replace the outdated ceiling fan with a new energy-efficient light fixture as well as light colored window treatments to soften the darker brownish-red color.

Next… we need to shop for a dining room set.

The people over at Best Buy have let me know that it’s National Vampire Awareness Day. Oddly enough, it is not in honor of the Halloween holiday.

No, this day is being set aside to make you aware of the energy vampires found in your home. And they’re not sucking your blood… they’re sucking your checking account dry.

Energy Vampires are the electronic devices - your computer, DVD/VCR, stereo, cellphone, etc. - that continue to use energy even when switched off or in standby mode.

This excess energy consumption is costing you money and it’s causing power plants to send more carbon dioxide into the air - for no reason!

Head over to the Vampire Awareness Day website for more details, a fun video, and a Fact Sheet.

What Can You Do?

• Easy. Attach power strips to all your major (and minor) electronic toys and switch off the strip when they’re not in use.

• Unplug your battery and devices chargers when not being used to charge your stuff. That’s right - even your cellphone charger is using power when the phone is not attached to it.

• Don’t rely on the “sleep” mode for your computer - shut it off. Otherwise, you’re blowing $70 a year to keep it powered up (in case you need it at 4 in the morning.)

• Buy only Energy Star electronics and appliances the next time you go shopping for more toys.

Why Should You Do it?

Individually, these appliances and electronics don’t use up much. But every house is full of devices that rob you of money. Add them all up and you could potentially be spending an extra $1,000 a year. Think about how many more electronic goodness you could buy with that kind of money…

For more information on how to save money and energy, check out the Department of Energy Energy Savers page.