New paint, cleaning, patching up the drywall holes…that was the easy part of our journey.  All of the flooring needed to be replaced, (other than the ceramic tile in the entry), and the kitchen cabinets were waterdamaged and in need of repair or replacement.

We decided to use hardwood throughout the main floor, and carpet  in the lower level and loft above.  At the time we knew nothing about finishes, let alone green choices, but we had a cousin’s father in the flooring business.  After visiting a few other local flooring shops, we chose to use our family connection and ordered the carpet and wood flooring.  (Oh that we’d known about cork and FLOR carpeting)!

Meanwhile, after doing some local research on cabinetry, we decided that replacement was definitely out of our budget.  A family friend and interior designer, Kris, from Pinto Pony Designs, recommended a local painter who does cabinetry painting in several styles, including our desired, antique style.  Soon, the doors to our cabinets were off to her garage.  (Once again, knowing about VOCs in paint would have been so helpful).

We were young (ya, we still are), and inexperienced in hiring out work for remodeling.  We received bills and immediately paid the balance.  Mostly, I was hoping that would help them move along quickly.  The flooring installations crawled along.  The subcontractor had excuses after excuses as to why he was not working, and when I called the manager, she was new and did not know what to do other than call him as I had done.

Fortunately, we were not living in the condo as this was happening, though I know this is common for many of you, including my parents, that have been eating and cooking in their garage the past 4 months.  Yet, I wanted things to move along so that we could move in.  It  took much longer than it should have, the subcontractor was eventually fired, due to his terrible work ethic and addictions that were affecting his availability and reliability.  Finally, the owner of the business finished the job after several months of my routine calls to his manager.

Similarly, the cabinets were looking beautiful, but we were missing some doors.  Lesson learned, we did not pay for the cabinets in full, but had given a deposit, and had mentioned the flooring problem.  We agreed to pay for all but the last $100 until the job was completed.  A wise decision, for though the doors were all eventually hung, the caulking and a few other details were never finished.

Looking back, there are a number of things I would have done differently:

- learned more about finishings (green choices, materials, gone to my local green building center)
- paid a deposit and made a contract with the subcontractors where we pay by stage and increments
- not been so hasty to get into my home (since we were living rent free), made careful decisions
- looked longer for good local flooring companies/suppliers
- researched and done more ourselves (the hardwood floor would have been a great DIY project)
- asked for more local flooring advice

Two kiddos later, we no longer live in the condo.  We still love the colors and styles we chose, though I am happy to have the knowledge to feel confident in making greener choices in the future.  I’m thankful for the lessons we have learned and the opportunity to research and make decisions before our next remodeling adventure.

Where have your remodeling travelings taken you?  What have you learned?  Where have you succeeded, and what would you have done differently?

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Treehugger recently ran an interesting set of videos highlighting Jack Johnson, and the story behind his latest album (Sleep through the Static).  In one particular segment Jack Johnson talks about improvements to his home, and his responsibility as a parent when asked, “As a father do you feel more responsible for the type of world you’re handing down to the next generation?”

Green Deets: Jack Johnson 10 from George Spyros on Vimeo.

Jack Johnson?s record label, Brushfire Records, is blazing a trail in environmental responsibility among record labels. Brushfire is headquartered in a newly-renovated green building, leveraging a number of innovative features to keep their environmental impact low. These features include: solar panels providing all power for offices and studio, interior/exterior wall insulation made from100% post consumer waste (cotton from blue jean scraps), Duro-Last green roof, and recycled shingles. In addition, the label pays close attention to its internal operations, monitoring energy use and increasing efficiency through lighting and fixtures, reducing office waste and ensuring company-wide recycling, sourcing sustainable goods for office supplies and other operational needs, and offsetting all company CO2 emissions.

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Zero VO What?

The battle between living green and having nice, new, shiny stuff is a theme that often runs through my life.  Blame it on all of those home shows that I am addicted to, but I have a need to redecorate my house.  Recently I discovered how green my home decorating choices can be.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that the air quality inside your house can be two to five times worse than the air outside.  Most Americans spend 90% of our time indoors.  That is a dangerous cocktail. 

Volatile Organic Compounds or VOC?s are those sneaky gasses that are contained in conventional house paints, cleaners, lacquers and some furniture.  They are responsible for much of the toxic air in our homes.  When we paint the inside of our homes with paints that contain volatile organic compounds, our family breathes them in long after the paint is dry.  VOCs can cause nausea, loss of coordination, kidney damage, repertory infections and memory loss just to name a few of the lovely side effects.

There is a better way!  Zero VOC paint.

My research started on the phone.  The Big hardware stores weren?t sure what I was talking about and the Benjamin Moore dealer I called even told me that there is ?no such thing as Zero VOC paint?.  I eventually chose my local Sherwin Williams store because they seemed to be the most knowledgeable. 

When I arrived at Sherwin Williams the friendly paint specialist presented me with all of my options.  One being zero VOC paint and one being a low VOC paint.  I asked what the difference in quality was and the paint specialist told me that they were essentially the same in terms of quality.  They cover well, go on to the walls easily, clean-up well and have rich colors.  So I decided not to let anymore VOCs into the house and go for the zero voc paint.  My gallon of Harmony Interior Latex zero VOC eggshell paint in Friendly Yellow was $30.49 on sale.  The paint specialist even carried the gallon of paint out to my car.   

The paint specialist was right on all fronts.  The zero VOC paint was easy to paint on the walls.  The color was rich.  Clean-up was simple.  My kids could even be in the room while I painted.  (Not that my floor and sink would recommend tiny helping hands.) 

Taking a step towards keeping your family?s indoor air safer is an easy one.  Put down that conventional paint and pick-up a gallon of Zero VOC paint.  You will love it. 

Gruppie Girl
www.GruppieGirl.Blogspot.com

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We have moved to the walls and trim! 

TRIM
I have been doing some searching on line for recycled floor trim and crown moulding and came across a company called Timbron.  They are a semi-local company (Stockton, Ca. which is about 50 miles away from the bay area) .  Their web site says that Home Depot  carriers their product which is  a 90% recycles polystyrene wood alternative to your typical mouldings.  This company also collects  that nasty white styrofoam ( white Expanded Polystyrene aka Styrofoam? and any white container labeled #6 that is CLEAN) and use it to create their trim products!  However, when I went to Home Depot no one had never heard of this company including the building materials buyer.  I looked around and found that most trim board is manufactured with some type of reclaimed and/or recycled wood fiber.  We settled on both a crown and floor trim that uses 100% recovered and reclaimed wood fiber.  See attached picture for sticker info.

PAINT
For the paint I was interested in a low or no VOC paint and even entertained the idea of the milk based paints for a minute. However color choice won out!

When I called Kelly Moore to find out about  their new eCoat which is  a recycled post-consumer paint product that is blended into a quality paint by using old, unused, and left over paint I was told you can only get it from the facility in Sacramento and there are only a few colors to choose from.  Although it does preserve the environment by not creating any more paint and is green friendly I could not sacrifice design for poor paint color choices.

Last summer while at the Sunset home festival I fell in love with the 144 beautiful colors that seamlessly go together in the recently introduced Benjamin Moore Affinity color collection.    Benjamin Moore also recently released a new breakthrough waterborne interior paint  line called Aura which “is the first paint to be considered eco-friendly while still maintaining high performance standards. It’s low volatile organic compound (VOC) formula meets and exceeds the highest VOC requirements set by the Ozone Transport Comission in the Northeast  and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) of Southern California”.  They also offer little 2oz sample cans so you  can try a patch on your wal without committing to a full quart – and they have EVERY color!!! 

Aura and Affinity are slowly being  introduced wherever Benjamin Moore paints are sold - we found ours at Almaden paint an Wallpaper on Camden Ave. in San Jose, Ca.  The downside is the cost of the paint- $55/gallon!  However you are able to get any one of the 3,000 Benjamin Moore colors in the Aura paint product! 

The walls are Cosmopolitan, the ceiling is Bunny Grey, and the trim is Distant Grey!

We love the colors and I’m super excited to pick out different colors for the other bedrooms, bathrooms and hall because I know that whatever colors I pick from the Affinity line will work together perfectly!

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We are Jim and Hanmi Meyer, and will each be contributing to the blog.  We are both in our mid 30?s and were married in 2006.  Our family consists of two dogs, four hens, and our housemate Bobby. 

Jim works as a software engineer in downtown Portland and regularly commutes by bicycle.  Hanmi is a freelance photographer and industrial designer who recently gave up commuting to a corporate design job in the ?burbs and now works out of small office in our home.  Though each of us owned a house prior to meeting, this is our first home together. 

Our house, located in the Hawthorne District of Portland, is a 2-story 1400 sq. ft. Craftsman-style bungalow on a 3500 sq. ft lot, built in 1908.  It has 3 small bedrooms and 1 bath.  Space is tight, which helps us avoid living a lifestyle of over-consumption. 

The history of the house is pretty typical for the area.  It was built with both electric and gas lighting, used local fir lumber for studs, beams and floors, lathe & plaster walls and ceilings, double-hung windows and lead paint.  The original siding was cedar plank with cedar shingles on the second story dormers.  Some time in the 40?s or 50s, the original siding was covered with asbestos cement tile.   The heating system was most likely originally coal, upgraded to oil in the 1940s and switched to natural gas in the 80s or 90s.  Lighting was originally meager electric, with gas as a supplement to the same fixtures – the gas piping is still present between much of the first and second floors.

When Jim bought the house in 2001, several modifications had already been made:  The bathroom had been remodeled twice and the kitchen had been upgraded and expanded by enclosing the corner mud room, installing a ceramic tile floor, and replacing the cabinets and appliances.

In our lives and our remodeling habits we try to be as earth friendly as possible.  In plenty of cases, we find there is little economic impact to making green choices.  When there is a significant cost factor, we try to look at the bigger picture, and often times we?ll see a ?you get what you pay for? scenario.  By living in a high density neighborhood that is both bike and pedestrian friendly, we limit our need to drive to get around.  Generally, we only use the car for weekend adventures out of town and for running errands (several at a time) that would be highly impractical by bike.  Things like buying local, composting, using our tiny yard for growing vegetables and chickens, recycling, using CFL?s, etc. actually end up saving us money rather than costing more. 

When we decided to gut and remodel our bathroom, bids were coming in much too high, so we opted to do it ourselves while hiring sub contractors as needed for more specialized work.  The money we saved in labor costs [over using a general contractor] went directly towards upgrading nearly everything to green building materials. 

Jim & Hanmi

About We Got Green
We Got Green is a GetWithGreen.com exclusive where homeowners tell their everyday real remodel stories, and their efforts to get a bit greener during the process.  Decisions by our homeowner contributors may not always be the “greenest” due to limitations they may incur such as budget, locating products, time, etc.  At GetWithGreen.com we believe their decisions reflect the reality of the world we live in today, and we believe that every eco-friendlier decision a homeowner can make is better than doing the same they’ve always done.    

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Water-Based polyurethane for Hardwood Floors

After ripping out the carpet in our master bedroom we sanded the very nice, but 50 year old oak flooring underneath.  As part of my  requirements for redesigning our home I always want to start by  looking into environmentally friendly products.  So in an effort to work with materials we already have, and not consume unnecessary laminate flooring I took a trip to Southern Lumber in San Jose and talked to someone there about the difference between water-based vs  oil-based stains, and water-based vs oil polyurethanes.  The professional at southern lumber right away discouraged me from using water based anything- just because it takes so many more coats. However I pressed him and told him I have plenty of time since I am  doing it myself and not paying a contractor by the hour! When he showed me a sample of oak stained with a water based stain however I had a few things to consider.  The samples looked like they were painted.  The wood grain was hardly visible and the stain-since it is water-based sites on top of the wood and very little soaks in so it ends up looking fake.  So did I want to use an environmentally product even if it would not achieve the design I was looking for.

After deciding that I would go with an oil based stain I was determined to go with a water-based polyurethane.  Again the sales associate had nothing good to say about the water based polyurethane. Though I was persistent and kept asking does it hold up like the oil, his answer was yes but it takes longer to apply.  Well that was fine by me.  So by the end of our conversation you would have thought water-based polyurethane was the best thing since sliced bread!  I purchased Zar oil-based stain and Zar water-based satin polyurethane.  We  applied the stain and polyurethane as per the directions on the cans. The water-based polyurethane had very little smell and wiped clean with water!  It was nice to be working with an easy to clean product that you do not need paint thinner to get off your hands.  We applied four coats which was time consuming since you have to sand, vacuum, and wipe with alcohol in between each coat.  It seems to be wearing just fine although it has only been 1 week.  We have been walking on it and I have not been able to notice any differences between it and  the oil-based polyurethane wood floors I grew up with.  We will used the same combination in the other two bedrooms and hallway!!

                         
                       (before)                                                       (after)

Next we will be looking at paint and trim (baseboard and crown molding)!!!

Erin & Tim

About We Got Green
We Got Green is a GetWithGreen.com exclusive where homeowners tell their everyday real remodel stories, and their efforts to get a bit greener during the process.  Decisions by our homeowner contributors may not always be the “greenest” due to limitations they may incur such as budget, locating products, time, etc.  At GetWithGreen.com we believe their decisions reflect the reality of the world we live in today, and we believe that every eco-friendlier decision a homeowner can make is better than doing the same they’ve always done.    

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As part of our commitment to bring you eco-friendly product information from homeowners to homeowners like yourself, GetWithGreen.com is pleased to announce “We Got Green – Homeowner Stories.”

“We Got Green” brings you stories direct from homeowners, written by homeowners who are remodeling. These homeowners have made a commitment to try and get a little “greener” during their project, and tell you about so that you might also do the same for our planet.

Not every decision they make will be “green”, because of the realities each homeowner might be facing in their project. Here at GetWithGreen.com we felt that this is exactly the same place that almost all of us are in. With their honest and insightful information, you will learn about practical choices you can make in order to make a difference. We also hope that manufacturers will stop, take note, and make an effort to do even more to make it easier for all of us! (we already have seen evidence of this with the following Comment on this We Got Green story)

Please welcome our guest homeowners, as they introduce themselves over the coming weeks. Don’t forget to sign up for the GetWithGreen.com newsletter where you will receive all stories as they unfold via email! And, if you would like to tell your eco-friendly story so that others can learn and be better informed for their remodel, then please send an email to: info[at]getwithgreen[dot]com!

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As part of our new We Got Green-Homeowner Stories initiative, GetWithGreen.com would like to welcome contributors Erin and Tim! As the coming weeks unfold you will learn more about them as they tackle their home improvements, and make an effort to be a bit more eco-friendly in the process. They will be writing their story here at GetWithGreen.com for you to read, comment upon, and ask questions.

Erin and Tim, we are happy to have you, and thank you in advance for sharing your home and your project with all of us!

Bio for Erin and Tim:

1. We are a young couple, under 30. We recently became engaged and
purchased our first home in the Cambrian area of San Jose.

2. Our audience is first time homeowners, weekend warriors, do-it-
yourselfers, and people looking for eco-friendly home improvement
alternatives.

3. First time home owners, Going on our second month in our new home.

4. Our 50+ year old home, needs updating! We are currently working on
the master bath and bedroom. We have ripped up all the carpet and
sanded the original hard wood floors. We will be replacing doors,
painting walls and adding trim in the bedroom. We gutted the master
bath (shower, toilet, sink and floor.) We will create new tiled
shower, add new fixtures, paint, and storage in the bathroom.

5. We would like to explore eco-friendly design and building
alternatives in an effort to minimize our ecological footprint and
reduce the toxins and unnecessary chemicals released in to the
environment from the manufacturing, installation, deterioration and
disposal of most traditional building and design materials.

6. We are not entirely sure if we will be able to use 100% eco-
friendly products and materials however we have made the decision to
begin each search looking first at those options that reduce our
impact on the environment. Depending on the availability,

7. As a yoga instructor I feel strongly about creating an environment
surrounded by clean air, natural light, and organic materials. We are
looking to create a serene space with clean lines and room for
organizing.

So, look for more from Tim and Erin very soon. You can find more homeowner contributions by clicking on the We Got Green – Homeowner Stories category.

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Blogger and Real Estate Broker Angela Ward in Maui, tells her story about staining her concrete floor with Ecoprocote.   Here is the article from Angela’s blog:

In an effort to go Green on my remodeling project, I stumbled across an environmentally-friendly concrete stain which is made out of soy:  Ecoprocote.

The conventional method of coloring concrete is acid-staining, a very harsh and most times costly undertaking.  Not only does it involve sanding the concrete first which produces undesireable dust everywhere, the fumes can be so intense that this is usually not a DIY project.  I received estimates for acid-staining at $10/sf.  This computes out to $6,000 for a 600sf condo.

I did a Google search on concrete stains and found Soycrete, made by Ecoprocote.  The results looked the same as acid-stained concrete, but with much less impact on the environment, your wallet, and your lungs.  I purchased all the materials from Ecoprocote for about $300.  Shipping is via UPS and is another $250.  It is still a deal to have a fabulous floor for under $700.

Helping the environment, saving money?well it comes with one caveat.  Preparing the slab for staining can be labor-intensive.  But what the heck, sweat equity right?  If your slab was previously covered with flooring such as linoleum, vinyl, and carpet, you must remove all traces of the glue used to secure that flooring down.  Basically, you must remove everything from the slab including paint.  Assess your slab to see how much glue or paint is on the slab to determine if it is a good candidate for staining.

My particular project was laborious because there were layers of linoleum and vinyl flooring.  We rented a floor buffer and used Ecoprocote?s Polystrippper and got great results.  It was quite messy at times, but comforting to know all the products we were using were non-toxic.  You don?t even need to wear gloves.  Using the floor buffer, a mop and a shop vac, we were able to prepare the slab for the next step: etching.  Even the Eco-Etch product, which acts like an acid, was not very fumey or harsh.  It opened up the pores to accept the stain even better.

Staining the slab is pretty fun.  I chose Leather Brown which really looks like dark brown leather and gives the whole floor an artistic flair that is really cool.  Next step comes the sealer.  It?s been raining on Maui for a week or so, perfect time to finish the flooring before the kitchen cabinets go in.

We spent about 3 days prepping and 2 days staining.  Sealing and waxing should take a few more days.  So far I am really happy with the outcome and it isn?t even finished yet.

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Going with green with insulation is actually one of the easier choices in a remodel project. There are many alternatives to fiberglass such as UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation, spray foam from BioBased Insulation, or recycled shredded paper from GreenFiber. Below you will find a story written by Ryanne Hodson, and brought to GetWithGreen.com from the team at PodTech. Ryanne tells us about how Jay made his decision to use recycled paper insulation in a garage remodel.

Written by Ryanne Hodson (November 29, 2007)

Recently, Jay’s dad started building on some property he owns in rural Virginia. The first structure built was the garage/workshop. Jay and I were eager for the chance to try out some green building materials as an alternative to the usual stuff. Before traveling over to the east coast for Turkey Day, we did some research along side his pops about what the cheapest, most green insulation material could be used (which could also be purchased at a major box store near by). We found that Recycled Paper Cellulose was the least expensive material you could buy, at 25 cents per sq. foot and it is available through most building material suppliers. The alternatives were The Pink Stuff, fiberglass rolls at about 50 cents per sq. foot. I was wary of using fiberglass because of its notorious itch inducing particles that will irritate not just your skin, but your lungs as well! If the particles ever become loose and get into your ventilation system, this can mean big trouble for your internal organs and cancer fighting immune system. Another recycled and mostly benign insulator are the trendy new denim rolls. These are made from recycled scraps from jean manufacturers. This was my top choice until I did a price check. This stuff goes for $1.00 per sq. foot. Yikes!

The price factor is still top priority when you have to build, those square feet can add up fast. And when you’re trying to convince a retiring baby boomer to go green even though it costs 4 times as much, they’re gonna laugh and buy the usual ‘Pink Stuff’. So we were happy to find an alternative that was cost effective and recycled. The only downside was the actual packaging of the material. It came in plastic bags, which most of you know, drive me crazy and can not be easily recycled or degraded. A would love to see this company really pull through and start packaging the product in, you guessed it, recycled paper! (NOTE: Ryanne we’ve contacted the team at GreenFiber about your suggestion. We’ll let you know if they respond!)

PodTech is the leading online video network featuring original technology and digital entertainment programming. PodTech?s media platform allows professional content producers to deliver their content to millions of people who can easily find, share, and interact with it. Founded in 2005, PodTech Network is based in Palo Alto, California, and is funded by US Venture Partners and Venrock Associates.

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