Yesterday I went to a workshop hosted by Expedition Gowanus an “underground” group looking at local and alternative ways (vs. Superfund ways) to remediate our waterways. Expedition Gowanus hosts a series of workshops on DIY sustainability techniques that will culminate in the final design of an off grid, regenerative, floating structure on the Gowanus Canal […]
Gowanus Phytoremediation Read More »
Eco Brooklyn uses a lot of natural coatings on our Brooklyn brownstone walls, among them Milk Paint and clay. Both milk paint and clay are both matte finishes and anyone who has painted using matte paint knows that it scuffs a lot easier than glossy paint. So when we want a more durable finish we seal the
Milk Paint and Clay Sealer Read More »
Eco Brooklyn’s clients usually get a gray water system. And our clients tend to be natural minded anyway, with a healthy dose of liking to save money. Thus comes the interest in making your own laundry detergent. Store bought laundry detergents are full of chemicals. In fact they are packed with fertilizer! Plants love laundry water that has
DIY Laundry Detergent Read More »
In Eco Brooklyn’s brownstones we are still weighing the options of using rain water or gray water for flushing the toilets. So far we have always decided on doing the gray water, letting the rain water drain into a dry well in the back yard. Here are two sketches Joe Schafer my water engineer drew up to
Gray Water or Rain Water Read More »
Sheet rock isn’t very green. It requires a lot of heat to make it and the ingredients are not great. I’ve had little luck finding sheet rock alternatives. Plaster and lath is one but the labor costs make it hard to compete with sheet rock. The best I do so far is use salvaged sheet rock.
Sheet Rock Alternative Read More »
One of the things Eco Brooklyn is focused on is eliminating the use of concrete. Concrete is normally used in the following areas of the brownstone: the foundation footings, the cellar floor, front sidewalk. Concrete and its ingredient of cement is not green. It produces massive amounts of CO2. So we are eager to find
A green roof is engineered to partially duplicate normal soil only without the depth. In normal soil the earth is deep but with a typical shallow green roof (aka extensive) the soil is no more than 6 inches at the very most. You replicate an earthen environment using drainage mats and water retention mats so
It is striking that despite the many green building going on in the US that there still remains some blaring gaps in our knowledge and available products. I encountered another of these gaps recently in my search for a good front door for a Brooklyn Passive House style brownstone. I was looking for something super
Energy Efficient Front Doors Read More »
Fans are inherently energy efficient since they reduce your need for an energy hog air conditioner. But for those of us constantly pushing the envelope we want to know what the most energy efficient fan is. Right now my favorite is the Sycamore Fan. The main reason I love it is that it is a classic example
Energy Efficient Fan – Biomimicry Read More »
A client of mine just came back from England raving about her friend’s natural paint company Annie Sloan. Paint, a substance you put onto another surface, usually acts as protection and an aesthetic. Natural paint can be many things but needs to have the same basic elements: a binder, a base and optional color. The
Natural Paint Options Read More »
