The recent polar vortex has hit us all with some really harsh conditions and as a green contractor based in New York it has made work on our ecological construction sites difficult. Spending cold, winter days inside of an upcycled shipping container can leave you freezing for hours. Space heaters require electricity that you may […]
DIY Rocket Mass Heater Read More »
Eco Brooklyn recently completed a number of jobs in a building where there were children living. We renovated three children’s bedrooms, two bathrooms where they bathe, and two play areas. Doing this increased our focus on using non-toxic materials and building in a manner that created no dust. A toxin free green building process should
Building for Children Read More »
We have been experimenting a lot with self sustaining garden ponds lately. One thing is to build a pond that looks like a black bathtub with half dead plants and a goldfish, another thing is to create a diverse ecosystem that thrives. The trick is to design it right. And they will come. The bugs,
Part of being a green contractor means studying emerging technologies offering more eco-benefits than conventional construction. In this case we’re looking at old technologies: the rammed earth wall, one of humanity’s oldest building techniques. When it comes to walls, a couple of rammed-earth techniques are available as alternatives to your standard insulation-filled 2×4 frames: The Earthship model uses
Two Rammed Earth Walls Read More »
Here’s to every immigrant worker in the world. Did you ever think that countries were created to create cheap immigrant workers? Here at Eco Brooklyn we love immigrant workers. Not because they are cheap labor. Eco Brooklyn pays based on talent alone, not nationality, race or sex. And if you have a family to support
Eco Brooklyn’s Gennaro Brooks-Church discusses our clay wall application. Creating a better seal on bricks and more insulation, Eco Brooklyn applies clay to walls all over New York City. Most recently we applied clay in our Harlem Passive House and in the downstairs apartment in our Brooklyn Show House. Check out this great video!
Eco Brooklyn’s Clay Wall Application Read More »
As a New York contractor we are constantly trying to incorporate the best green building techniques to New York and Brooklyn brownstones. The creative use of clay is one of our tools. We just did a another clay wall job in Brooklyn. We switched the mix up a little to make it a little smoother, less
Clay Wall Application Read More »
Eco Brooklyn is a New York clay wall installer. We don’t use any brand name clay mixed but prefer to mix the clay ourselves depending on the use. We recently installed some cool clay concrete base molding onto a clay wall. The challenge was that the clay wall was not flat enough for salvaged wood base molding. There
Clay Concrete Base Molding on Clay Wall Read More »
We are building a Passive House in a Manhattan brownstone. Instead of using more synthetic materials to air seal the brick walls (crucial for PH) we are using clay. Here are some notes to a successful clay application over New York brownstone brick walls: – Use reinforcment mesh (fiberglass is best, hemp is mesh also usable,
Clay Plaster Walls For New York Passive House Read More »
What does green building in New York and John Lennon have in common? There must be something in common since as a NY green builder I get inspiration from him. And I know I’m not the only one… In honor of his 70th birthday lets look at the commonalities. There are many good builders just
Tribute To John Lennon – This Earth Floor’s For You! Read More »
