What's so green about your house?

We get this question all the time from friends and family and after having read our first post, I think it is time to take another look at what makes our remodel green. I feel it important to state for the record that we are not die hard tree huggers. We are simply doing what we can to make our house safe for our kids and use materials/practices that are safer for the earth.


What makes our remodel green:

1. Reuse existing materials from old house into new as much as possible--things like windows, red oak flooring, existing bathroom, concrete pieces as pavers
2. Recycle existing materials for reuse with someone else--cabinets, hollow core doors, appliances, sliding door, windows, water heater, fill dirt, landscape plants, red oak flooring, garage doors
3. Recycle of various other materials diverting approx. 2 tons from the landfill--drywall, clean wood, metal, cardboard, fill dirt
4. Use of salvaged or reclaimed materials--all interior doors and hardware, maple floors, red oak floors, bricks
5. Use alternative materials that are less damaging to the environment and us--denim insulation, rigid insulation, bamboo veneer cabinetry with low VOC finish, recycled paper countertops (Paperstone), low VOC/no VOC paints (Dunn Edwards and YOLO Colorhouse), MDF trims, energy efficient windows produced in CA
6. Energy efficient appliances (I find this ridiculous to add as green because almost all new appliances are energy efficient due to federal regulations--thank God)
7. Fluorescent lighting where possible, LED lighting on exterior, halogen everywhere else
8. Solar panels--2.2 kW photo voltaic system
9. Tankless water heater
10. 2 heat pumps to enable us to "zone" our heating needs (upstairs versus downstairs)
11. Xeriscape landscaping with drip irrigation
12. Mulch and wood chips made from materials recycled at the dump
13. Organic vegetable and herb garden beds and compost

I'll have to add to this post as I remember more things but that's all for now, or as they say in Hawaiian "pau for now".