Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation wrote an Op Ed in the times yesterday that really resonated with me. I quote,
“Before demolishing an old building to make way for a new one, consider the amount of energy required to manufacture, transport and assemble the pieces of that building. With the destruction of the building, all that energy is utterly wasted. Then think about the additional energy required for the demolition itself, not to mention for new construction. Preserving a building is the ultimate act of recycling.”
I could not possibly agree more. I think of my project on 2139 39th Ave as one giant recycling bin – there were items that had to go of course, like the infamous red shag disco fever carpet, but so much was saved; the structural framing and timbers, the perimeter foundation, much of the front exterior. It is the essence of sustainable building, to find new life in what is already there. Why stop at recycling aluminum cans, recycle whole buildings!!
A few readers over the weekend asked about insulation. Megan from Omaha asks:
“Hi, I am researching some green ways to renovate our home that will be finished in September of this year. I’ve been trying to find a supplier for that blue jean insulation in my area. However, I know Omaha, Nebraska is not known for it’s innovation in the “green” way of life…at least not from what I’ve seen. Any suggestions?”
Omaha may not be know for green building, yet. But with people like you Megan, it will be. You can order recycled cotton insulation pictured below direct from the manufacturers, Bonded Logic or Insulcot. It is a fairly straight forward insulation, similar to fiberglass, in that you roll the bats into your walls – but without the itchy scratchy bits of glass flying all around.
Another option that I used on my project is blown cellulose. Marie asks, “Where did you buy the insulation made of…blown cellulose, shredded phone books?” Blown cellulose is becoming more readily available day by day. You can read an outstanding piece on it from UMass here as well as a detailed instruction and product information from the Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association available here. Here is yours truly lounging…I prefer construction to the finished product =)
Blown cellulose insulation installation (say that 5 times fast) is not as easy as recycled cotton bats (Blue Jeans) as you need some equipment and training to get it into the walls like you see above. Basically you take a giant hair dryer thingy and blow it up, slightly damp, and then scree it flush with the studs. Let it dry out and you are gtg for drywall.
PS Here is a link to an earlier post about some of the federal tax credits President Obama enacted to help people pay for things like…INSULATING!
Concrete. I mean, I get why cars would be there, and oil, and airplanes, deforestation, unbridled consumption….but concrete? When I bring concrete up people give me a funny look, but most of you at some point or another will have to work with concrete, even if it is just getting your driveway or your foundation redone. So think about this when the time comes. Concrete contributes any wheres from 3%-5% of GLOBAL CO2 production yearly. Were talking millions of tons of carbon. Concrete is far and away the most common man made building material in the world. You have to take it seriously if you are going to build sustainably.
The NY Times has a good piece today that reminded me of the need to talk about concrete. When I remodeled 2139 3th Ave I used close to 30 yards of concrete getting the foundation earthquake strong and pouring a new retaining wall.
30 Yards for a little crappy house in the Sunset – ok not crappy, but you get my drift. Concrete is a major player in building, so how do you do it Sustainable? One option is to use concrete with Fly Ash and/or Slag in it. Bode concrete sells it in the city, and that is what I used here. The problem with concrete is in the Portland Cement used to bind all the stuff toegther. See cement comes from limestone, and you gots to heat it up to over 2,000 degrees to make the limestone into cement – that’s is where the CO2 comes from. Flyash can replace 10% – 20% or more of the cement in your mix. Less cement, less CO2. It is a simple as that.
There are a lot of players trying to make greener concrete, and I give them props. There are pros and cons to all the approaches, but God bless them for working the problem in creative ways – we need more of that and less crying about how bad thigns are getting. One local company that is doing some really interesting stuff is the Calera Corporation. They are mentioned at the end of the times peice and the Chron did a great stort on them in 2008 that is worth reading again…basically they are making cement using sea water similar to how corals form. Don’t ask me for details, I am not smart enough, but I am impressed, it is people like this who are really going to make a difference for our future.
Interesting idea…this seems like it would be a good solution for an NGO working in the third world, not sure about its applications in a developed country like outs, but maybe I am not thinking creatively enough. So here is StrawJet, a funky machine that makes structural, timber type material, out of plants:
Building on what the discussion over at the Chronicle boards about the article on 2139 39th Ave, there arises the interesting question of how to do a demolition. There are people who feel if you tear something out, that is somehow not green. Sorry, but that is a load of crap. Anyone who has ever built knows that things get old, wear out, rot. After enough time even the pyramids in Egypt are going to fall down. The real question is how do you manage the remodle process so you preserve what you can, recycle what is viable, and when you rebuild, you think about what will happen to the material you are now putting back into the structure. One tool you can use is Ohmega Salvage over in Berkeley. I quote from their own site:
“At Ohmega Salvage we are committed to preserving the architectural heritage of the Bay Area. To this end, we buy and sell usual and unusual building materials.
Our company has made its mark in the Bay Area over the last 35 years as the leading supplier of restoration materials to architects, contractors, and homeowners.
Our goal is to save architectural materials that are still useful to others and essential to authentic restoration projects; as well as to save resources in a world burdened with too much landfill.”
If your debris is more junk, be careful when you throw it out. For example, hazardous waste needs to be disposed of properly. If there is asbestos, have it abated by people who know what the hell they are doing, and won’t dump the bags on a street corner someplace. If there are old chemicals, paints, solvents, batteries – don’t through them into the dumpster and cover them up with other stuff, bring it all over to third street for proper disposal. You are in charge of you’re own demolition, so do it right.
And when you rebuild or remodle, remember, what you put in will eventually come out. So every choice you make now will impact the environment in the future.
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