UPDATE: Gregorio Remodel Completed

We have finished our green remodel of the Gregorio residence in Lake Balboa, and it will be featured on the Discovery Home Channel's "Greenovate," and will air in May.
This project was chosen for the show because it exemplifies the simple choices that one can make to help save energy, water, and waste.
Waste:
In the deconstruction phase we were able to divert 80% of materials from the landfill by recycling with Looney Bins.
By incorporating a significant volume of fly ash into the concrete, this industrial byproduct was diverted from landfills as well.
Energy:
The addition will save energy in heating and cooling costs. The home is now insulated with Ultratouch recycled denim insulation, and has dual pane windows to help reduce thermal fluctations in the room.
The Solatube skylight installed in the closet will also help to save energy.
Water:
We installed dual-flush Toto toilets which will save a great deal of water.

This home is now a healthy and spacious environment for the Gregorio family.

Keep an eye out for a clip from “Greenovate” on our blog!

UPDATE: Gregorio Residence Near Completion

We are nearly finished with our adaptive-reuse remodel in the Lake Balboa area of the San Fernando Valley. The crew from Green That House is filming us for an upcoming episode on Discovery Home.

Once work on the addition got underway, the homeowners opted to implement a green remodel of the entire structure. This enabled them to make several decisions affecting the structure as a whole; for one, they wisely chose to insulate not only the exterior walls with Ultratouch recycled denim insulation – they insulated the interior walls as well, further stabilizing indoor temperatures and adding a measure of privacy: the denim will effectively deaden sound between the rooms in the house.

To further conserve Southern California’s precious water supply, we installed three dual-flush Toto toilets with flushing options for liquid or solid waste. One of the bathrooms will feature glass bricks to maximize privacy and admit natural light, and the master closet will be outfitted with a Solatube skylight to utilize available light when possible, cutting energy demand in those rooms.

Throughout the home we have installed double-paned windows to reduce temperature fluctuations due to outside weather conditions. The windows are glazed with a low-e coating, a microscopic layer bonded to the glass surface which filters infrared and ultraviolet rays from passing through. This keeps heat out during the summer and keeps UV rays off your furnishings and artwork, preventing fading and sun damage.

UPDATE: GREGORIO INSULATION INSTALLED

The Gregorio remodel is proceeding apace. We installed Ultratouch insulation, a natural cotton fiber insulation made of 85% recycled cotton. Since it is made of recycled material it is a more sustainable approach to insulation in contrast to traditional fiberglass batting. Some fiberglass insulation manufacturers are taking steps to make their product more environmentally-friendly, using 20% recycled glass and minimizing off-gassing by using different binding agents. Pound for pound, Ultratouch is a greener product overall.

With Ultratouch our crew didn’t need to wear protective clothing or worry about aspirating stray fiberglass particles; indoor air quality is improved from the beginning, not just for our workers but for the homeowners as well.

Ultratouch is fire resistant; each fiber is treated with a natural fire retardant and is “flash-dried” giving it a Class-1/Class A fire rating; the fire retardant also acts as an excellent pest and mildew inhibitor. The fibers “breathe”, naturally shedding moisture instead of trapping it. This natural insulation was selected by the homeowners as part of the overall effort to make this remodel as “green” as possible.

UPDATE: GoGreen Home Project Underway

The Go Green Home is a 4,391 square foot home we are building in the Playa Del Rey area of Los Angeles. It is a living laboratory of green design, materials and innovation; check our website for more info at http://www.gogreencalifornia.com/. Today we met with Shellie Collier, our LEED A.P. (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design – Accredited Professional) who will guide us through the process of becoming LEED certified. We are aiming for Platinum, the highest rating granted by the United States Green Building Council.

Shellie documents the entire pre-construction and construction process, and at its conclusion submits a notebook to the USGBC for review and certification. This notebook details each step taken, from preservation of existing landscape to ordering of materials to installation of Forest Stewardship Council-certified framing products.

We are maintaining our own notebook to mirror Shellie’s, page for page, notation for notation. Every detail is documented: for example, one LEED requirement stipulates the home must be located near open space. This is established using Google maps; the page is printed, the URL noted and copies inserted into each notebook. LEED demands this same attention to detail for every aspect of the building that has the potential to earn points.

Shellie is an independent contractor working for Davis Energy Group, a USGBC-designated LEED for Homes organization in California. She is a designer-builder-project manager in her own right; check out her webpage at http://www.homeagedesign.com/.

UPDATE: Jobsite Reycling

When we started the Gregorio remodel on June 25 we implemented jobsite recycling -- it’s a basic component of our environmentally conscious philosophy. Since construction began we’ve diverted over 7.5 tons of construction waste, keeping it out of landfills. This includes copper – steel -- drywall – lumber – anything that can be recycled and reused in another form.

Our partners at this and other jobsites are the men and women of Looney Bins, Inc.; the actual sorting and recycling takes place at their Downtown Diversion facilities in East L.A. and Pacoima. Click http://downtowndiversion.com/ for an informative video on their award-winning recycling process.