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recycle: REALLY Recycled Housing! - 06/11/09 01:02 AM
In the process of working with a client who is dedicated to sustainable living, I discovered a really cool company in Austin, TX. These folks really know how to walk the talk. Their homes are built and then hauled to the site ready to be occupied. They are constructed from reclaimed materials.
The materials used are from deconstructed homes and would otherwise wind up in landfills. The utilize passive solar design, great insulation and thoughtful touches like single pitch roofs which makes collecting rain water much simpler. These are designed to be small spaces so they can be relocated but I can't imagine any … (4 comments)
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recycle: Recharge,Recharge,Recycle - 05/03/09 03:09 PM
I have been working on helping develop a recycling project as part of a program I am participating in through my local Realtor Association. I'm learning some interesting facts.
Americans use an average of 6 cordless products in their daily activities - PDA's, cell phones. ipods,tools such as cordless drills and screwdrivers, flashlights, etc. The average cell phone user has 3 cell phones in their possession More than 40% of those cell phone users replace their phone every 2 years Most rechargeable batteries can be recharged up to 1,000 times What happens to all those rechargeable batteries after they can no … (6 comments)
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recycle: Book Crossings - 03/20/09 10:46 PM
In these times all of us are looking for ways to save money. I have noticed that there are many of us who love books and reading can be an inexpensive pastime. For those with children it can be a great way to educate as well as to spend quality family time. Obviously, it is a great way to lean things that will help us be successful in business.
I will cofess to being great freinds with the USPS and Amazon.com. I always try to order used books for the recyling valu as well as the cost savings. The mail is … (5 comments)
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recycle: Recycled Housing a Definition in Three Parts- Part Two - Reuse - 01/29/09 07:10 PM
Reuse seems simple enough. I suppose you might be able to consider the difference between "reuse" and recycle so just to be clear, when I use the term "reuse" I mean using a space or an item over again in the same or similar manner as it was originally used.
The most obvious reuse, of course is person A's "old house" being reused as living space when it becomes person B's "new house". This is true for most cases including when there is slight to moderate renovation or remodeling to the existing space. In some cases this would include adding more … (1 comments)
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recycle: Recycled Housing A Definition in Three Parts - Part One- Reduce - 01/24/09 04:16 PM
Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. We have all heard the slogan and hopefully most of u do something to try to apply it to our daily lives. How does it apply to housing? When people ask me what I do, I tell them that I recycle houses. That is almost always good for some questions about what I mean. This series of three blogs will be an attempt to explain what I mean by recycling houses and it may give you an opportunity to look at things in a different way.
REDUCE - Seems obvious, doesn't it" Use less, Build smaller. Okay. On … (0 comments)
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recycle: 1968 revisited? - 04/26/08 11:46 PM
I went to a meet-up group today at one of our two remaining independent bookstores. There is a group that meets there every Saturday afternoon to knit and/or crochet. In the course of the conversation one of the other group members who is the same age as I am made a comment about how the last time she had been really interested in simple living, and doing things like knitting and spinning her own yarn (which how the conversation got started--someone is taking a spinning and weaving class) was "back in the 60's when we were hippies"...
Well, she and I were … (0 comments)
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recycle: Simple Green - 07/08/07 11:03 AM
No, not the cleaning product. Just some more ideas in the wake of the Live Earth Event.
Install motion detectors on room lights. That way the lights will automatically come on when you enter and will go off when you leave--no more yelling at people (or yourself) for forgetting to turn off the lightWork at home moreCarpool or walk whenever possibleUse public transportation whenever possible. If the mayor of New York City can do it, so can you, assuming you live somewhere that actually has decent public transitUse recycled paper and ink cartridges in your officeUse recycled paper stock for your mailingsPut recycling bins … (13 comments)
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recycle: Energy efficient homes - 06/10/07 11:09 PM
High efficiency appliances and energy efficient cooling and heating systems, tankess hot water heaters, good insulation and choosing the correct orientation and glazing are all excellent ways to improve the energy efficiency of a home. The single most effective way to decrease the energy use of a home is to have a smaller home.
It will need smaller systems and less insulation because there is less of it to insulate, heat and cool. PLEASE remember that oversize equipment uses more not less energy, therby decreasing its efficiency.A smaller homes obviously takes fewer materials to build. Of course, given my bias as a residential … (1 comments)
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recycle: REALTORS as Health Care Providers? - 02/04/07 07:31 PM
I know, it seems unlikely, but consider this. Current data shows more than 20.3 million asthma sufferers in the United States. More than 5,000 people die annually from asthma. Part of my concern is as an EcoBroker Part of it is as an asthma sufferer. My insurance company could save thousands of dollars a year if I could get off just one of my regular medications...What has this got to do with Realtors and the buying and selling of real estate? Plenty.
Indoor air pollution is one of the top five environmental risks to public health. http//:www.epa.gov. Indoor air quality can be … (0 comments)
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recycle: It Ain't Easy Being Green - 12/17/06 10:45 PM
Finding the perfect green elements in a home is akin to the search for the holy grail. There are many layers of considerations that must be mulled through. Nothing is necessarily the perfectmaterial for any given home.
What is the percentage of post consumer recycled content?Is the embodied energy involved in getting to me less than the total embodied energy of another product that may have less post consumer recyceld material?Does it replace a more harmful product?Is it appropriate for my climate?How durable is it?Is it less toxic than other materials I could use?Is it salvaged?Does it meet my needs?Does it help … (2 comments)
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recycle: WHAT NOT TO RECYCLE - 12/15/06 11:49 PM
I am an unabashed fan of recycling everything possible, however there are sometimes when you need to let things go. Old toilets, for example are probablybest used as planters or bases for sculptue.Toilets made prior to 1994 often use 3.5 to 7 gallons of water per flush while new models use 1.6 gallons or less. Leaks in old toilets can account for as much as 10% of residential water usage. Some newer models even match the water flow to the type of waste being flushed.Replacing a pre 1994 toilet with a new model can save 9,000 gallons of water or more … (3 comments)
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recycle: What Makes a House "Green" or "Sustainable"? - 09/16/06 11:10 PM
This is a question I get asked a lot as an EcoBroker. There is not one simple answer. Overall, a home that uses less embodied energy to build and to maintain and live in while providing a safe, healthy living space for its inhabitants would be the most general answer I am comfortable using. What that means is something else again. For example, which home is healthier? One made with standard materials that outgas toxic chemicals but has state of the art energy efficient appliances and HVAC systems that provide adequate air exchange and whose occupants use only non-toxic cleaning … (1 comments)
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recycle: GOOD OLD HOUSES - 07/31/06 11:58 PM
I just read an article in the August issue of National Geographic about New Orleans. I was struck by the photo of an 82 year old man who built his house with his own hands in 1953.. It said that when Hurricane Rita flooded the Lower 9th Ward in 1965 the water came almost to the top of the decorative archways that he had made himself. (He was a platerer by trade). Hurricane Katrina filled the house to the ceiling. It ruined his clothes but the house suffered no structural damage except a broken window pane. THAT IS A SOLIDLY BUILT … (3 comments)
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recycle: Small House Living - 07/15/06 09:30 PM
I am often asked why I focus my efforts on older, smaller homes and often in neighborhoods that are not "the best". I believe that everyone deserves a decent place to live. Not everyone can afford the ritzy neighborhood and some who can still choose not to live there. I try to mkake sure my clients find a home that fits their needs and their budget. AIf they must struggle to make the mortgage every month, they will not be happy in the home...they probably won't be there as much because they are working extra to make ends meet.
I focus … (0 comments)
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Deb Hurt, ABR, e-Pro,Green, TRC
Albuquerque,
NM
More about me…
Realty Pro Albuquerque
Address: 6700 Jefferson NE , Suite C-2, Albuquerque, NM, 87109
Office Phone: (505) 892-4400
Cell Phone: (505) 321-0562
Email Me
My blog is as much about a philosophy of life and living as it is about real estate as a business. E.F. Shumacher subtitled his book SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL "Economics as if People Mattered" In the real estate industry we realize that people matter and that where they live matters. We now also have a larger responsiblity, I believe, to get them to consider HOW they live. Everyone in the developed world using less energy and resources makes it possible for those who have access to neither to experience a better life and to make the difference between their being able to having a roof overhead or not or for their children to eat or not.
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