CASA Concept Inc.

Rain Harvesting in Green Homes

noemail@casaconceptdesign.com — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:00:00 GMT

Water is the new gold. This may be news to you, but it's a concept that has been in the making for a while. The bottled water industry, which continues to outpace the market each year, is part of the story; your water bills is another telling sign; and the ultimate telling sign is that the state of Georgia is undergoing dramatic and perhaps irreversible changes in its topography and economy, due to the extreme draught that it has been experiencing.

Rain harvesting, to the typical American urban dweller, is a new green idea. The country folk of Texas, New Mexico, Latin America and the rest of the world don't need a treatise on such notion, or an internet link to a water harvesting tank with special features. Water harvesting is back, and, as easy as it is to go at it low tech, it is a winning design entry at the Venice Biennale of 2007. The water wall is a high idea, that could go low tech if in it's final permutation can be applied to any house.

The idea of using rainwater as an insulator and the skin of the building as a reservoir for gray water use is genial. But for the purposes of forwarding sound notions of green design and living, it should be stated clearly that a rainbarrel at the end of a downspout will serve the purpose.

Entire communities can implement water conservation by harvesting rain water. One does wonder: why hasn't it been done systematically? Perhaps we could not see the need, like New Mexicans clearly see, at an average yearly rainfall of 3". In Houston, the average yearly rainfall is 50". You may ask why are we making any deal out of water conservation?

It's about the carbon footprint for those of us priviledged enough to have ample supply of water. I'm not talking about water, I'm talkign about potable water. Water that has been processed, treated, and which uses up chemicals. Potable water= Carbon footprint. Rain water=0 carbon.

For the purposes of planning your new home project, perhaps part of the greening of the project should be the reduction of use of potable water. The following are steps to take:

-Look into cisterns and above ground rain harvesting containers. These can and should be recycled containers

-Plan for these in your landscape, drainage and position of downspouts so that they can become part of the design and can handle the overflow

-Insist on having these around the site during construction for industrial use during the construction

-Discuss the capacity of the rain harvesting containers with your landscape architect and landscape irrigation contractor so as to make the reduction of potable water and the rain harvesting work.

-Increase the permeability of landscape and hardscape areas, using crushed granite, or other permeable materials

-Place a rain harvesting container by your driveway to use for mop cleaning, car washing, and other outdoor activities

It's a better world when we can be a part of green change, and make a difference in greening our community and our earth.

20-Nov-07 3:00 PM

FSC Certified Wood is a New Green Standard

noemail@casaconceptdesign.com — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:00:00 GMT

Jumping on the GREEN high-speed train is relatively easy, but landing in the train that is going in the right direction and sitting in the right wagon.. is tricky at best. Learning the lingo of real Green is perhaps a good way to discern which train and what wagon to take. Considering that wood, in all its forms, comprises the largest amount of natural resources used in the traditional building of homes, it is important to start by knowing that when it comes to building or remodeling GREEN, one must use FSC certified wood.

FSC is not an insider's terminology of something complicated, it simply stands for Forest Stewardship Council, which is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests. Why world? Because so many of our wood products, from exotic wood veneers to our 2x4 lumber, come from important ecological regions of the world, such as the Amazon Basin. If wood is FSC certified, and it is stamped as such ( not piece by piece of a truckload of 2x4's being delivered at your site, but a few random pieces that are stamped will denote that that batch is certified), you are greening your construction project.

What can you do to insure that FSC certified woods are being used in your Green new construction or home remodel? Start by reading more about FSC (follow my links) and ascertaining that this is an important value for you. Ask your architect to include it in her/his specifications. When meeting with your contractor/builder make sure she/he is on board with that requirement before ordering any wood, and ask to be given a verification of this throughout the duration of construction, in the form of copy of invoices that denote wood orders as FSC certified.

What is the additional cost of getting on this green train? "There is no extra cost to the consumer", according to Todd Vogelsinger, Director of Marketing, Plywood Division of Columbia Forest Products, North Carolina. When I visited with him at the 2007 Greenbuild Conference and Expo in Chicago, it was clear that the contractor's price of plywood for cabinetry- I looked at maple and oak in particular, given that I had recently purchased truck full loads of these for the Casa Concept Home in Houston- was equal to non FSC certified plywood of the same species. “Our FSC certified plywood which uses our Purebond proprietary formaldehyde-free process, puts us at the top of the green materials marketplace". We will be working with Todd to develop modern, affordable cabinetry that uses formaldehyde-free FSC plywood, a healthy and responsible green alternative to what 97% of all homes use for finishes and cabinetry.

When we start noticing the amount of wood that goes into the construction and finishing of a house, it is vital that we obtain the assurance that the wood is coming from renewable forests, with long term and short term reforestation plans, best ecological practices, and living wages for workers in the forestry and logging industries. In short, by consuming FSC woods, we are approaching sustainability of communities, forests and the ecosystem. If you're already on the Green high-speed train and your project is or will be registered as a LEED for Homes project, you will aready be using FSC certified material. If you're thinking about getting on this train, consider using FSC certified woods to lower your impact on the environment.

18-Nov-07 3:00 PM

Best energy savings features in homes

noemail@casaconceptdesign.com — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:00:00 GMT

Clients, homeowners and friends ask time and time again what makes house energy efficient.

The answer is: what sells billions of home magazines: terraces, verandas, balconies, outdoor vestibules, indoor/outdoor spaces, shaded patios and poticoes, courtyards.

The ultimate energy saving spaces in our Casa Concept are the outdoor rooms. BECAUSE THEY AREN'T CONDITIONED SPACES!

Wishful thinking would have it that these spaces are cheaper to build than indoor areas, but it remains wishful thinking. On the contrary, they could be more expensive given that the materials to be used are all exterior grade: stucco instead of sheetrock, exterior light fixtures, aluminum or vinyl clad doors to prevent mildew, among other finishes.

But it has NO Air condiitioning! That's worth a lot. Take the courtyard entry of our Casa Concept: it's not just a stylistic element of this modern Hacienda type home, but it is an outdoor vestibule, foyer, or entry. It has a partial roof cover for shade and rain, and it's a 100% exterior room. This courtyard is an integral part of the house, visually through the glass doors and windows that open into it, and usage wise, gilrs selling girl scout cookies never want to leave! All those conversations that go on at he entry door-many wasting the air conditioning, happen outdoors, in a beautiful space that transcends Houston and the neighborhood.

If you are thinking of building or remodeling your home, consider adding the ultimate energy saving spaces to your house. These don't only sell home magazines, they sell your home!

9-Oct-07 5:00 PM

First Casa Concept Home Passes ENERGY STAR Certification

noemail@casaconceptdesign.com — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:00:00 GMT

Can you aspire to owning an Energy efficient home? DO

Our first Casa Concept home is an ENERGY STAR certified home. It's a new world of home construction and design, the world of Green Building, Sustainable Design and Energy Efficient Construction . What does this all mean? Stay informed with Casa Concept. Does it apply to all homes? Absolutely. Where do you begin? Follow our guideline step by step below. What do you gain? For starters anything from a tax credit to an Energy Efficient Mortgage rate, to up to 50% savings in your utility bills.

Can home remodels be Energy Star certified? The answer is yes, but that goal has to come up early in the process of design and construction. The plans and specifications have to be reviewed by a certified HERS rating company, and the plans have to be put through a software analysis for energy consumption. This has to be done before anything is done on the house. Once construction begins the rater will conduct site inspections that will verify that the construction follows specifications and plans. The last of the steps is to put the finished house through an air leakeage test, in order to certify that it passes the minimum requierements to become Energy Star certified.

Many home developers have committed to building Energy Star homes,at all price ranges in the market. It's due time they do, because the burden of having to pay large energy bills due to energy inefficient homes disproportionally affects the lower and middle income homeowner. If developers can build tight enough houses, then you should be able to tell your remodeler that remodeling your home as Energy Star is a non-negotiable standard, and that the burden is on him/her.

The truth is that in any construction project, be it new home or home remodel, it is you -the homeowner- who is responsible for everything that happens in the project. Arguably, it shouldn't be because you have hired a contractor to guarantee that you will end up happy, but the buck always stops with you! This is most definitely true when it comes to setting the goal and standard for your project as an Energy Star project:

1- It has to be your personal goal to make your house an Energy Star home.

2- This goal has to be clearly stated to the architect/designer and contractor/subcontractor in order for all parties to make the right decisions early in the design and specification process.

3- Know that there is a cost associated with this certification process. Don't assume the contractor should include it in his price. Assume that you will see the cost in a line item as soft costs.

4- Also know that implementation of Energy Star requirements, such as double insulated windows, or tightly sealing thresholds under all exterior doors, are more expensive than their inefficient counterpart.

5- Ask your contractor early for a preliminary schedule of certification steps, and ask to be informed when they are scheduled and the results.

6- Ask for the certificate at the end of the process and keep in your home files.

If developers can reach Energy Star, so can you! If you're even thinking about it, it's because you'd rather have a well built, energy efficient home, than throw away money every month in large energy bills. Be sure to e-mail us if you have questions about the process. We are committed to Sustainable design developments and to informing you on how you can make a difference.

9-Oct-07 4:00 PM