Like most people nowadays we think Solar PV is sexy. When you have a Brooklyn brownstone it isn’t like you can have a lot of it, though. Especially now with the new fire regulations requiring a large area of the roof be left open for fire fighters. And if you want a green roof or …
Reuse is the new IT word. I see it becoming the next stage of green building. It is a reaction to over consumerism and a humbled economic situation where people want to buy less new and reuse old more. I am happy to see this trend. I’ve always been uncomfortable with the green building movement …
We’ve been using PolyWhey Natural Wood Finish from Vermont Natural Coatings for a lot of our salvaged floors and we are very happy with their product. First of all you can apply it in a closed room without barely any smell. It is really low VOC and the VOC that is present is not noxious …
There is a good article on the Gowanus Canal in the NY Times. It gives a pretty accurate overview of the state of affairs of the canal. Basically everyone agrees it is a cesspool. Simply put on one side there are a lot of developers invested in the area who want the city – who …
Here you see the Eco Brooklyn team diligently salvaging some beat up old stairs in a Brooklyn Brownstone. Along the Eco Brooklyn credo we salvage anything we can. Buying new is our last resort. But we keep in mind the cost. If it costs the same in materials and labor to salvage than buy new …
Here is a cool window shade made out of a box and semi wild plants. It shows how we can put plants in a lot more places that the hyper manicured garden. Window sills, ledges, above doors, on walls, as fences….plants can be part of our building structure just as we use other materials to …
Here is a good list of salvage and reuse stores in Brooklyn: Antique Plumbing Fixture Company- Tel: 718 434 70021054 Coney Island Avenue, BROOKLYN, NY Architectural Salvage Warehouse 337 Berry Street Brooklyn NY 11211 Phone: 718-388-4527 Arlyn Lumber and Home Center 715 E 98th Street Brooklyn NY 11236 Phone: 718-498-0600-Used Building Materials Samuel Feldman Lumber …
The main tenet of a green building is that we are all connected. If I build a house, on the consumption side my actions are connected to the forests for wood, the ground for metals and so on. On the waste side my actions are connected to my neighbors in terms of noise and dust, …
Gray water systems in Brooklyn brownstones, where you collect shower, bath, sink and clothes washer water in a tank and then pass the gray water back to the toilets when you flush, essentially eliminating any use of water for toilets, makes a lot of sense. I am really into gray water systems of this type …
We have been getting really into clay wall applications for Brooklyn Brownstones. Brownstones have a lot of brick walls which lend themselves really nicely to clay wall applications. Here is an order of clay we just got. We love to mix different combinations to see what comes out. The trick is to find the right …
