Lately I have been looking a lot at how we use the world’s resources. As a green builder it interests me how we do this because it directly relates to what resources I will use in our green building in Brooklyn. Another reason I like looking at resource allotment is that it is more factual […]
Green Builder’s Case For Vegetarianism Read More »
I was on a radio show this evening called Burning Down the House in Williamsburg with Joe from Fine Lumber and Hector a furniture maker. We talked about wood, specifically salvaged wood. We started around 18 minutes into the show. I started around 25 minutes into it. Check it out here
Burning Down the House Radio Show Read More »
The concept Build It Forward was coined by Gennaro Brooks-Church, Director of Eco Brooklyn, to describe the driving focus of the company, which is to turn all buildings in Brooklyn green. The idea of Build It Forward is not new. Certain Native American Tribes have it in their concept of “seven generations”, Buddhists have it
Build It Forward Defined Read More »
I just got invited to a greenwashing event called “NEW YORK CITY’S FIRST EVER PRESS ONLY SHOWCASE OF ECO-LUXURY PRODUCTS & SERVICES FROM THE PRODUCERS OF GO GREEN EXPO”: You are invited to showcase your environmentally friendly LUXURY product or service at New York City’s premiere Eco-Luxury Press Event on September 22nd. Leverage Rubenstein Public
Eco-Luxe Media Showcase Read More »
Boutique Green Building is the dominant business model of most residential green building right now. It is a combination of three things: 1. bad business management Usually you have a skilled artisan who is not naturally a good business person. So their efficiency is not great and they waste resources and energy. This drives costs
Boutique Green Building Read More »
You might have seen the recycled glass tiles in green magazines. You might have also seen the price…..for some reason they remain in the stranglehold of boutique green builders. It is actually pretty easy to make glass tiles out of salvaged glass. You do need a kiln. But thats about it. This page describes it
Making Glass Tiles Read More »
We love tung oil. If you want to do a green renovation in a Brooklyn brownstone you can’t do it without tung oil. All the floors, stairs and banisters need to be treated with something. Usually it is some nasty poly or paint application. We use tung oil. It is a key element in our
I wrote last week about root barrier options to protect the Eco Brooklyn show house roof from root intrusion and/or bacterial degradation, which could potentially lead to leaks. Since Eco Brooklyn focuses on green building, I laid out some of the characteristics associated with the most commonly used root barrier materials, including manufacturing byproducts, potentially
Root barrier costs and availability Read More »
Keeping chickens in the back yard of a Brooklyn brownstone makes sense. You might not want to let them roam the whole yard since they do eat everything and leave the ground barren. A little pen where they have space and are protected from predators is good. Here are some web sites where you can
Chickens in Brooklyn Read More »
Here is the Green Roof Tax Abatement. The green roof tax abatement makes a green roof a very sound financial investment. With the rebate it barely costs more to get a green roof than it does to install a crappy tar roof. And if you include that a green roof lasts at least twice as
New York Green Roof Tax Abatement Form Read More »
