A few weeks ago the EPA held a webinar on the safe use of spray foam insulations titled “What You Need to Know About the Safe Use of Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF)”. We at Eco Brooklyn are not crazy about spray foam so we watched what the EPA had to say closely. Their view in …
Modified hot water return systems in a green brownstone make a lot of sense. You want to minimize the amount of wasted water that normally goes down the drain while you are waiting for the water to heat up, thus the use of a hot water return, but you modify it from the normal hot …
Saving Water and Energy in a Brooklyn Brownstone Read More »
Here is an interesting cost comparison between LED, CFL and incandescent. I have not checked the numbers but they seem pretty accurate. They clearly show that over the life of the bulb it makes a lot of sense to buy LED. What the numbers do not show are the quality. I’ve tried a lot of …
We’ve had a good deal of experience with natural wood applications and the Polywhey product by Vermont Natural Coatings is one of our favorite natural alternatives for wood and surface applications. You can’t buy PolyWhey in Brooklyn (yet, ask Green Depot and Bettencourt if they can start carrying it) but you can easily order it …
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 …
Since weather sealing Brooklyn brownstones is a large part of our business we are very into finding good products that seal all the cracks. The best solution on a practical level is Great Stuff Foam sealant by DOW Chemical. We use a lot of it. We use it around windows, doors, and in pretty much …
We like the technology of fiberglass door and window frames for Brooklyn brownstones. It is less toxic than vinyl, more insulating than wood, and longer lasting than any of them. Or at least as long lasting as any of them. Fiberglass frames are also better than aluminum frames. Aluminum is one of the best heat …
