The green product resource for your home remodel.

The momentum around eco-friendly EcoTop “paper” countertops continues to build as Klip BioTechnologies is locking up distribution agreements that will take this green countertop product “mainstream”, and make it incredibly easy to obtain for our home projects. 

As many of you know, and write often to us about, it is very difficult to easily buy “green” products for our home remodels.  Thus many of us just purchase what is most easily available from our contractors, Home Depot, or other — at the last minute.  (Come back later this week as we tell of our most recent difficulties trying to obtain UltraTouch insulation from Bonded Logic!)

Today, EcoTop is available to order by directly calling Klip BioTechnologies at 1-253-507-4622 in Washington.  At the moment all homeowners receive factory direct pricing.  Lead-times are running three weeks, for the present earth-tone neutral colors:  Snow White, Ivory, Cashew, Palamino, Pecan, and Jet Black.  Soon EcoTop will be available in a Charcoal, Concrete Grey, Espresso Brown, and Thistle Green.  

Sample Kits can be ordered from EcoTop for $30, and if you decide to purchase EcoTop the $30 will come off the price of your final order.  Klip BioTechnologies did tell GetWithGreen.com that the Sample Kits are on backorder, so contact them now if this is how you are planning on evaluating their product.

Remember that this product differs from Paperstone and other fiber countertop products in that it uses a completely new fiber system, a newly developed resin, and is manufactured with patent pending processes.

Finally, the team over at Finehomebuilding.com is running a great “paper” countertop overview in their most recent edition.  See the article at:  Paper counters look and feel like stone.  (Note: you might need to register to get the article.)

More news out of the K/BIS show in Chicago this week.  GROHE is making a low-flow splash with the announcement of their WaterCare® line of low-flow faucet options. 

The company is introducing more than 60 low-flow faucets and shower products at the show.  Including GROHE WaterCare® kitchen faucets, lavatory faucets and shower products to help us homeowners reduce water consumption by up to 30 percent without sacrificing performance or comfort they say.  Additionally, GROHE has also announced their status as an EPA WaterSense Partner.

Americans use an average of 100 gallons of water each day, enough to fill 1,600 drinking This post continues… »

It is time to buy a new bathroom ceiling ventilation fan for our hall bath, and so I am going to take you through my thought process, and review of the products GetWithGreen.com found.  It wasn’t an easy task sifting through the myriad of models.  Light, no light, heat, no heat…the Energy Star site boasts 140+ manufacturers of ventilation fans!

Energy Star qualified ventilation fans that include lighting use 70% less energy on average than standard models, saving $120 in electricity costs over the life of the fan.  Further the fans are more than 50% quieter than standard models according to Energy Star. 

The first thing that I did was write down my needs in priority order:

• Efficient: Yes
• Noise: Low
• Warranty: 3+ yrs
• Light: No
• Heat: No

I then used one of the many online tools out there to measure how much airflow my bathroom needed.  I didn’t want to buy an over-sized fan.  A couple very easy to use tools to size up your fan can be found at:   Pansonic and RE Williams.  Simply input your room dimensions, and the calculators tell you the size of fan you should be targeting.  In my case, the calculators returned a fan size slightly smaller than This post continues… »

ShowerStart Launches Line of Eco-Friendly Luxury Showerheads in Western Washington 

ShowerStart, LLC just announced the availability of their luxury-featured, environmentally friendly showerheads in the Pacific Northwest. The evolve(TM) showerhead combines European styling, drenching spray patterns, solid brass fittings, anti-clog spray nozzles and maximum flow rates with the company’s innovative ShowerStart(TM) water- and energy-saving technology.

The company says that evolve’s integrated ShowerStart technology is driven by a temperature sensor that enables the showerhead to prevent hot water from running down the drain when no one is in the shower—an event most commonly associated with waiting for the shower to get This post continues… »

Recycled glass tiles are gaining in popularity, and let’s just face it — the unique patterns and colors are beautiful.  We’ve taken some time to compile a list of manufacturers to help you quickly source tiles for your kitchen or bath.  Enjoy! 

Aurora Glass

Aurora Glass Architectural Accents include glass tiles and drawer knobs made from 100% recycled glass. Aurora Glass is a program of St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, Inc. All profits from sale of Aurora glass support homeless and low-income people through emergency services, housing, jobs, training, and other charitable endeavors in Portland, OR.  Products can be purchased directly on the company’s website. 

    

Bedrock Industries 

Blazestone® tiles are made by hand from 100% recycled glass, most of which is post-consumer content. They come in all types of shapes an sizes, as well as mosaic pieces. Color varies with the recycled glass materials used, but the company notes that they do not use pigments.  The Bedrock Industries Price List offers pricing details.  Products are shipped in recycled This post continues… »

You will already be under extreme pressure during your kitchen and or bath remodel to keep the contractors moving.  In fact, it is likely that if your contractor is unfamiliar with “greener products” they will route you toward their faithful legacy vendors in the process.  If you don’t believe us, wait and see when it comes to kitchen cabinets!  Kitchen and bathroom cabinets are one area where standing your ground will take some effort.  Taking time to introduce your contractor to your eco-friendly idea of Neil Kelly Cabinets will be an effort (worth it if you are prepared to work a bit more for what you believe in).  

Once you’ve locked in your cabinets, GetWithGreen.com wanted to share with you an eco-friendlier supplier of cabinet fixtures and knobs.  We met the team from Nature’s Hardware last summer at the West Coast Green show in San Francisco.  Owner Lorraine Vitkauskas walked us through her products, and gave us the scoop on her business that has been offering greener products since 2001.

                

Nature’s Hardware offers a comprehensive line of handles, knobs, coat hooks, and more.  Many of which are made from recycled and or sustainable materials such as glass, metal, and bamboo.  The cabinet hardware is nicely categorized on Lorriane’s site, and each product write-up provides a considerable amount of detail.  In some cases you might find it a bit difficult to find detailed information about the recycled content of some products, but by simply calling the Nature’s Hardware customer service line they will answer any specific questions you might have.    Or, we have compiled the list from their Collection right here at GetWithGreen.com… This post continues… »

GetWithGreen.com recently spent some quality time with two industry and market leading concrete product manufacturers. We gave you the scoop on one about a week ago, and today we are going to introduce you to the second: VitraStone.

As we discussed last week, both Sonoma Cast Stone and VitraStone are at the top of their game in the concrete countertop, concrete sink and concrete tile market. These products are a must see as you are preparing for your kitchen or bathroom remodel.

VitraStone, The Company

We started our first discussions with VitraStone in July of this year. The company is headquartered in Durango, Colorado, and the team has been delivering concrete products to homeowners for seven years.

Founder, Ryan Waxman started in the concrete business in 2001. His work began using ceramic cements in landscaping projects, he then began fabricating vessel sinks, soon people wanted matching countertops. He moved from one shop to the next, gradually needing more space. VitraStone now has 3,000 square feet dedicated to fabrication, and a huge This post continues… »

GetWithGreen.com recently spent some quality time with two industry and market leading concrete product manufacturers.  Today we are going to introduce you to the first:  Sonoma Cast Stone.  Next week we will introduce to our second manufacturer, so check back, or click on the link to the right and sign-up for our newsletter to be notified.

Both companies we spoke to are at the top of their game in the concrete countertop, concrete sink and concrete tile market.  Our discussions covered their love for concrete, their passion for the environment, and the resulting products that we as homeowners build into our kitchens, baths, and other aspects of our home remodels.  Right off, we want to tell you that the products from both companies are absolutely amazing!

Sonoma Cast Stone, The Company

We first met Sonoma Cast Stone at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) in San Francisco in June of this year.  On thing led to another, and last month we found ourselves at their Headquarters.

Sonoma Cast Stone is a growing company residing north of San Francisco in a old warehouse building next to what looks like a This post continues… »