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Jeff Wilson's Everyday DIY Blog

Living Green in Outdoor Spaces

Written by Stephanie Aurora Lewis Wed, Jan 13, 2010

Don't Mow Your Lawn

Prevailed upon by a technocratic society, people are frequently alienated from nature and social interaction. As such, rumor has it that ecological outdoor living spaces are greatly coveted safe havens. The sky’s the limit; an outdoor living space or room can take on the functions of any interior home space within the constructs and limits of any locale. This is green architecture at its best; it brings the residents and their visitors' mental, emotional and physical conditions back into sync with nature.

Countertops 101

Written by Buildipedia Staff Tue, Jan 12, 2010

Which kind of countertop should you get? Our guide will help you to decide which of today's most popular countertop materials will best work for your style, budget, and habits.

Drawing a Line in the Sand

Written by Joshua Lloyd Mon, Jan 11, 2010

Joshua Lloyd, LEED AP and blogger of Symbiotic Home, explains a bit of the process by which he selects green building materials.

As a working architect with several years of experience of project management for green buildings, I believe that the sooner you can draw a line in the sand that defines your green objectives, the more likely your building will achieve sustainability success. Let's take materials for an example. While materials are the most visible features of a green building, they are often the most publicized features of green buildings as well. When choosing green materials, we should research the data and then be able to answer why we chose this material and how it fits into the sustainability of the project.

It's About Dam Time!

Written by Andrew Kimos Fri, Jan 08, 2010

This is the fourth article in the series on U.S. infrastructure, following our bridges article, “A Bridge to Everywhere." The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) assigned the United States’ DAMS infrastructure a grade of “D” on their 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.

As discussed in the prior infrastructure article, the average age of a bridge in the United States is now 44 years. The average dam is an older sibling to the typical bridge, at 52 years old. Dams and bridges in the United States share many things in common. Being generous and assuming an average life span in parallel with human years, both these national systems are in the midst of a mid-life crisis.

Greenhome Journal

Written by Stephanie Aurora Lewis Wed, Jan 06, 2010

Homeowners are motivated to build a “greenhome” or to renovate their existing home for a variety of reasons, such as: saving money as utility costs rise, an enthusiasm and respect for nature, to achieve a healthy living space, and even to enjoy the advanced technologies associated with energy efficiency. Yet, a “greenhome” is a process more than a sum of products. Record the process, perhaps in a journal¹, including websites and data about what and where the materials and services were purchased, various installations and reconstruction stages, experimental discoveries and failures, a record of costs and savings, and a record of temperatures to measure efficacies of eco-friendly materials and technologies. A journal, like that of a gardening journal or a travel journal, can help to keep the ball rolling and to act as a display of accomplishments for others who may follow in your footsteps.

The Bridge Finder for Your Daily Travels

Written by Andrew Kimos Wed, Jan 06, 2010

The most recent article posted on the Operations Channel is titled “A Bridge to Everywhere” and briefly explores some notable facts and figures concerning our nation’s bridges, as part of our ongoing infrastructure series.

One web link embedded in the article, provided by MSNBC, provides each reader the ability to evaluate the bridge status along any route of car travel in the United States. This MSNBC web link has been a favorable feature of our bridges article, and some folks that have read the article suggested I bring that link to light in this Blog section as well.

Maintenance Tips: Bathtubs and Showers

Written by Buildipedia Staff Tue, Jan 05, 2010

Remnants of dirt, debris, and soap that are not rinsed down the drain can harden on the surface of a bathtub or shower, forming a residue. Limiting the amount of residue is important because mildew often grows in areas where residue is not properly removed. Also, areas that are prone to water infiltration should be regularly inspected and repaired as necessary.

Burj Dubai: Reaching New Heights

Written by Ryan Carpico Tue, Jan 05, 2010

Records are made to be broken. Most are unexpected, like the 100m world record shattered by Usain Bolt in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but the world could see this one coming. Yesterday, in an unprecedented display of ceremonial hype usually reserved for major social goodwill events such as the Olympics, the opening of the Burj Dubai tower in the United Arab Emirates made it official. It is the new tallest building in the world, stretching more than a half mile into the sky. The Burj Dubai measures over 2625 ft (800m) and stacks over 160 floors of residential, hotel and office suites into a space-age, missile-like structure.

The Burj Dubai is the latest skyscraper from the prolific neck-bending designer Adrian Smith and his former firm SOM. The official website - Visit the Burj Dubai — The Tallest Building in the World - offers a glimpse into the vision, outlines the features and provides a comparison with the world's other tall towers.

Conceived to be one of the focal points of Dubai at the height of the massive construction boom, the tower opens in the midst of struggling world markets and stalled construction at other major Dubai projects. While certainly eliciting a few 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the average citizen, the project teeters on the ostentatious, especially taken in context of its immediate environment of Dubai. However, I would venture to say that among the design and construction community, the physical structure garners much curiosity and respect - never before has man reached this far into the clouds.

New Year's Football: Go Green

Written by Stephanie Aurora Lewis Fri, Jan 01, 2010

"It's Time for Some Trash Talk" is the banner on the opening page for the Philadelphia Eagles' Go Green website. Christina Weiss Lurie, co-owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, initiated a Go Green program for their NFL team. By using 100% clean energy on game days and by recycling 100% of all trash collected, the Eagles' Go Green program is the most environmentally friendly program in the NFL and most likely throughout all pro-sport organizations. Lurie explains their motivation for the program, which was unveiled in 2003, "We have always felt strongly that what we do on the field should be parallel with what we do off the field. We also feel strongly that we need to give back to the community."

The Eagles' Go Green website has information about how much carbon a fan burns while traveling to the stadium for a home game; a green calculator; a program that allows fans to purchase a tree in honor of the Eagles; details about the Eagles' Go Green program; and more information about sustainability in general.

A Bridge to Everywhere

Written by Andrew Kimos Thu, Dec 31, 2009

This is the third article in the series on U.S. infrastructure, following our aviation article, “Three Square Miles of Concrete." The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) assigned the United States’ BRIDGES infrastructure a grade of “C” on their 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.

While a “C” denotes just average, the BRIDGES category actually has the highest grade of all fifteen infrastructure categories on the 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.

In the United States there are approximately 600,000 bridges which are catalogued and routinely inspected. This is encouraging from the perspective of someone who drives over many bridges during daily life, as most of us do.

The Green Flip

Written by Stephanie Aurora Lewis Wed, Dec 30, 2009

LEED V3 Provides New Tools.

Many homeowners are running amok trying to sell their homes in a downturned economy. The design/build professional Christopher Prelitz, LEED AP, founder of Prelitz + Partners, owner of New Leaf America, and author of the book Green Made Easy, has been renovating buildings with green features since 1993. An active member of the sustainable building community of Southern California for nearly 20 years, Prelitz says, "If you green it, you will sell it." Perhaps Prelitz's most profitable market is green-ovating homes and flipping them for nice profits. The concept sounds "easy," but doing a green renovation is often seen as such an elephantine task that many walk away from the idea with their eyes dazed over.

The Everyday Guide for Transitioning to a Green Lifestyle

Written by Stephanie Aurora Lewis Wed, Dec 30, 2009

If you are one to make New Year's resolutions or goals, may I recommend Prelitz's Green Made Easy book? As the title of the book suggests, the idea of 'making green easy' is one of our greatest challenges, as I alluded to in the feature article this week. Not only homeowners, but professional architects and those in academia find sustainable concepts difficult to manage, largely because of complex mathematical and engineering concepts.

Prelitz told me during an interview yesterday, "Green Made Easy was designed to reach a wide spectrum of the population, so it covers many facets of sustainability. For the design professionals, there are four chapters devoted to passive solar design."

Green Made Easy exemplifies Prelitz's view that sustainability goals are achieved through education. With regard to LEED, Prelitz believes that LEED's strength is indeed sustainable education. However, when it comes to using LEED's resources, Prelitz believes, "LEED is a measurement tool; not a design tool." The main design tool we need in our back pocket is green knowledge that leads to a dynamic green design intelligence.