Can This Home Be Greened: Getting Older, Getting Better

(Page 3 of 3)

September/October 2006
By Robert Politzer 
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The best way to keep down contractor costs is to manage the fear factor by finding a builder who’s experienced in green-building methods and materials. Or find someone who wants to enter this growing field and educate him or her on the project’s green details.

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COST: Expect to pay 10 to 30 percent more for green products than conventional. But within the total project, product costs typically are much less than labor, so this price increase shouldn’t represent more than a 5 percent increase in total project cost.

Rx At Your Home 

Eliminating Lead-Paint Hazards  Lead-based paint is likely to lurk in any home built before 1978. Removing lead hazards and stripping lead-based paint safely is tedious work. You can hire specialists or save money by doing the worksite preparation and final cleanup yourself. Here’s how.

•Step 1 - Before disturbing suspected lead-based paint, protect floors, furniture and objects in work areas from lead-containing dust with two layers of heavy, 4-millimeter plastic sheeting. 

•Step 2 - Spray-mist all materials with water before demolition to hold down dust. Buy plastic spray bottles, and instruct the work crew to use them.

•Step 3 - When removing lead paint, use a product such as Peel Away paint stripper, which doesn’t contain methylene chloride, a known carcinogen (DumondChemicals.com)

•Step 4 - Place all dust and debris in heavy contractor bags, twist the top and seal with duct tape. Place bags in a secure location until they can be removed and taken to a household hazardous-waste collection site.

•Step 5 - Clean afterwards with a HEPA vacuum and a lead-specific cleaner such as Ledizolv (Ledizolv.com).

•Step 6 - Make a thorough, post-construction, lead-dust cleaning at the project’s end. Follow with dust-wipe sampling to confirm proper cleanup.

RESOURCES:

Icynene
(800) 758-7325
Icynene.com
foam insulation

Owens Corning
(800) 438-7465
OwensCorning.com
Greenguard certified blown-in fiberglass insulation

Environmental Construction Outfitters of New York
(800) 238-5008
EnvironProducts.com

Environmental Home Center
(800) 281-9785
EnvironmentalHomeCenter.com

Green Building Supply
(800) 405-0222
GreenBuildingSupply.com

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  • AppleP 7/1/2009 12:58:47 AM

    Its great to live in green house. One may feel so fresh.The term "green" is on everyone's minds these days, whether it's getting more green as in making more money, or going green environmentally. The need for more green technology and practices is definitive, as the impact on our environment from our appetites for fossil fuel machinery and methods of generation electricity have taken a toll. An effort does have to be made to repair our planet, but many consider the loss of amenities to be too great to surmount. However, there are ways of getting by: solar water heating devices, electric high speed trains getting installed for public transport, and so forth. If you start going a little more green, it's like giving a cash advance to the Earth.Read more click http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/06/20/day-green-lane-turned-red-saved-money/

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