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Entries from November 1, 2006 - December 1, 2006
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle @ Southface Eco Office
I was able to experience firsthand Southface Institute's "reduce, reuse, recycle" philosophy while volunteering on the construction site of their Eco Office last Saturday.
Patterson Services, Inc. has made possible the practical application of an onsite recycling effort by providing five dumpsters on an adjoining parking lot. There is a dumpster for drywall, cardboard & wood, metal, and concrete. The dumpster furthest away from the construction is reserved for garbage. All the dumpsters have bilingual signage and are being "obeyed" with dumpsters well-sorted by material.
Concrete curbing and paving from the dumpster area has been busted up and re-stacked as an earth retaining wall on a sloped part of the site. Scrap wood has been ground up and used as mulch.
98% of the waste stream is being recycled, exceeding the LEED standards by 23%. It was obvious to me that Southface is an exemplary model in following the LEED standard to "divert construction, demolition and land clearing debris from landfill disposal."
I had a chance to talk with Project Manager Frank Burdette about the progress of the office. He said that while many firms had been generous with donated materials, the building activity Intown had slowed the flow of donated services. Southface is maximizing donated dollars by self-performing much of the work with Southface employees pitching in an extra hour each day after their normal work day. This is a great opportunity for the good, green-leaning, benevolent folk of Atlanta to pitch in and help bring the project to completion. Please consider volunteering your time. You can email them at ecovolunteer@southface.org for more info.
Burke Sisco
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PrintInsulate with paint
I was introduced to insulating paint watching a Bob Villa segment on affordable housing created from steel cargo containers in Florida. They were spraying the home's external metal skin with a ceramic-infused paint that was adding R-20 insulation value.
All those space shuttle trips are beginning to pay off in this NASA spinoff technology. The secret is a fine white powder consisting of a complex combination of ceramic "microspheres" that can be added to any paint.
In addition to the insulation properties, the paint provides:
- Greater durability than regular paint
- Advanced stain resistance
- Superior fire resistance
- Greater sound-proofing
- Interior or exterior application
- A super-hard surface that resists corrosions, abrasion, mold and mildew
Best of all, the paint additive is non-toxic and environmentally friendly.
The dome home pictured above is an energy-efficient, super storm-proof structure developed for coastal areas that utilizes ceramic paint to insulate and add durability to it's "thin skin" construction.
Toilet lid sink conserves water, expense, and space
My client's home is functionally obsolete because it only has one full bath. A potential buyer has expressed interest in the house but only if it has an additional half-bath. My suggested solution (which is a water/space conservation idea that has been in use for years in Japan) not only addresses space and budget constraints but is an ingenious greywater solution to boot.
The attractive poreclain-like white plastic lid sink replaces the original toilet lid. Installation is easy and tool-less. After flushing, the water is first routed up through a chrome goose-neck spigot for hand-washing. This perfectly usable greywater drains back into the tank for use with the next flush.
The toilet lid sink is $89 and the buyer will only need to contract for the plumbing of one fixture instead of two.
