We are on holiday. This morning my daughter asked, “Why wherever we go in the world there are so many houses? Why are there so little open fields with flowers?” What have we done to this world? I don’t care if all the houses are green. We’ve got too many of them. We are in …
A net zero brownstone means that it consumes a net zero amount of energy, meaning over time it creates as much energy on site as it consumes. It does this by using very little amounts of energy (few and efficient appliances that are sparingly used) and producing a lot of energy (lots of solar panels …
Wake up – 7:30 – Arrange Plumbing Delivery to Client Job Site 7:45 – Make kids breakfast, send to school 8:00 – conference call with site manager at Client Job Site 8:30 – Work on NYC Water Runoff Management Contest 9:00 – Arrange delivery of salvaged insulation from upstate NY to Brooklyn 9:30 – inspect …
One aspect of green building is about reducing the toxins we use in the building process. For example our green renovations of Brooklyn brownstones use no toxic glues (Liquid Nails, for example). Our meter is that if a child can’t be in the room while we are doing it then we aren’t interested in doing …
Here is a video put out by Sustainable South Bronx about their green training program, BEST. They have it down in the sense that they understand training green builders is more than technical info. It is about community outreach, personal empowerment and large scale advocacy – essencially a holistic approach to living and teaching. Check …
Here is an email blast from one of my favorite organizations, Solar Energy International. They wrote a great eulogy to Walt Ratterman, a real pioneer in humanitarian renewable energy. I never knew him and I wish I had. He is a great example of what it means to be a green builder. Green building is …
What do brooklyn green contractors do on their day off? Build igloos of course! The trick to building a good igloo is to use deep cake pans or small storage boxes to make snow bricks. The other trick is as you slant the walls inwards be careful NOT to slant the bricks. The walls slant …
What Do Brooklyn Green Contractors Do On Their Day Off? Read More »
The NY City College of Technology does this cool seminar series called Anatomy of a Brownstone. This spring I’ll be one of their speakers. For more info see below. Spring 2010 Offering: Layouts and Lifestyles Course Code: BRNS 032 Date: Saturday 3/13 1 – 5 pm Fee: $40 Directions: click here When it’s …
I call myself a green builder and as such am constantly thinking what that title means. Possibly one of the best definitions of green building I can think of is this: does it age well? Green building is meant to be sustainable, meaning it can be repeated on an ongoing basis. Clear cutting trees is …
Here is a good formula for a beautiful strong concrete countertop: 4 parts white cement 1/4 fly ash 4 white sand 4 marble dust 1/3 fiber It creates a nice white counter top that is also very strong. We do custom concrete counters and find that this formula really works. We sometimes add decorative aggregate. …
