Even if you rent your home, the six steps for winterizing are worth doing. They help save the planet… and save you money!
Whether you are a renter like me or own your own home, these simple steps will help you to prepare your home inside and out for these chilly winter months.
Contractor to Contractor: In this second of a two-part series, contractor-turned-homebuilder Fernando Pages Ruiz shares his knowledge on how to choose a mix, prep the site, and install porous pavement.
Although a blended, high-course aggregate/low-fines concrete (a concrete blend of Portland cement, 3/8" or pea gravel aggregate, and little to no sand) is a simple concept, the logistics of it are far from simple. For this highly porous concrete to provide a durable surface, conditions have to be almost perfect. The concrete requires an exact proportion of aggregates and water, special chemical admixtures, proper mixing during delivery, and expert placement. I recommend that if you decide to use pervious pavement in one of your projects, don’t do it yourself. Hire the very best paving contractor in your area and work with the largest and most sophisticated ready-mix supplier. Pervious pavement is not so much a concrete product as it is a paving system, including soil, sub-grade, and, of course, the mix.
Located across the street from SANAA’s Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art is Frank Gehry’s Center for the Visual Arts. Completed in 1993 to house the University of Toledo Department of Art as well as the Toledo Museum of Art's Reference Library, the four story, L-shaped fortress like building is a prime example of postmodern Deconstructivism.
Environmentally friendly. Eco-conscious. Green. These terms have become increasingly important for the building products industry. Yet, because no standard definition exists and regulations surrounding environmental claims continue to evolve, many industry leaders find themselves blazing new ground in the green realm. In an effort to capture a moment-in-time synopsis of where the industry stands on environmental practices and products, I asked representatives from various segments of the building products industry to respond to one seemingly simple question: “What does green mean to you?” One simple question yielded diverse and complex responses.
American universities have committed to greening their campuses. Three institutions — the University of Michigan, the University of California, and University of Pennsylvania — share their experiences.
Whenever you flip a light switch or adjust a thermostat at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, you’re unwittingly interacting with Henry "Hank" Baier, or at least with his department. Baier, Associate Vice President for Campus Facilities and Operations, oversees a city-size infrastructure supporting 80,000 students, faculty, and staff on a 3,200 acre campus with 500 major buildings, including 150 health clinics, three hospitals, two golf courses, and “The Big House,” also known as Michigan Stadium, the largest sports arena in the United States. As Baier sees it, “Energy is the lifeblood of our competitive society.” And by extension, the lifeblood of the university. “Our energy consumption and environmental footprint has become more important at the University of Michigan, because it’s become more and more important to our students and faculty,” says Baier. It’s become more costly, too; Baier’s campus devours $155 million energy dollars every year, meaning the concept of sustainability has become a fiscal necessity as well as an environmental imperative.
Looking at INhome, short for "Indiana home," one wouldn’t assume that it is net zero or even necessarily green, if not for the solar panels mounted on its roof. It looks like a quintessential Midwestern home, and that is exactly what Purdue University students intended for their 2011 Solar Decathlon entry. Sarah Miller, the team’s Architecture and Design Manager, describes the look as “transitional style,” falling somewhere between modern and traditional. With an estimated cost of less than $250,000, INhome’s practical design will appeal not only to the Midwestern homebuyer, but also a national market.
When I think about DIY painting basics, I think about process and procedure -- setting up an effective work space and job sequencing. I have been at this business for a long time, and I have seen and learned a lot. I have met homeowners of all competencies, each of whom seemed to lack this understanding of process and procedure. Throughout this series, we will look at interior and exterior application techniques, including tips and tricks. The goal is to help the DIYer produce a higher-quality result using fewer resources.
Construction documents technology uses in-progress photos and video footage to offer a significant improvement over the traditional method of producing "as-built" drawings.
Construction documentation technology has multiplied the advantages of the traditional “as-built” process, in which a red pen and the memory of the construction superintendent were the primary tools. Along with (or instead of) a set of marked-up drawings as a final contract deliverable, a more comprehensive construction journal is possible with the new construction documentation technology, which electronically captures the “as-built” process and cross-references electronic drawings to digital photographs.
An interview with Tedd Benson on Open Building, an approach to building that embraces the changing needs of homeowners.
The summer heat waves are upon us, so we've come up with some simple and easy ways to stay cool.
Brownfields are properties that are contaminated with hazardous substances and pollutants that may complicate the properties’ expansion, redevelopment, or reuse. Despite this drawback, brownfield development appears to be increasing. According to the Green Building Market and Impact Report 2010 of the GreenBiz Group, LEED resulted in an estimated 8,800 acres of brownfield reclamation in 2010 vs. 4,800 acres in the previous year. Reclaimed brownfield acres are forecast to grow to over 17,000 acres and 27,000 acres by 2020 and 2030, respectively.
Speed matters. That is a fundamental fact of the construction business. In my years as an architect, I don’t recall ever meeting a single client who said, “It doesn’t matter when my building gets completed.” Every project has deadlines, and every deadline is important. If the owner is financing the work through a construction loan, then the faster the building is completed, the sooner they can complete the loan. If the owner is a school district or an expanding business, then there may be hard deadlines that must be met, such as the day that the new school needs to be open for students or when the business owner needs the space for additional equipment or employees.
