Several years ago while renovating a landscape for an older home being flipped by a realtor, my whole thinking about lumber completely changed.
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Radon: If Only It Smelled Like Sulphur
Portland, Vancouver, Salem, and points between have a radon issue--one that has been here for thousands of years--and one that is not going away.
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Five Reasons Why an Environmental Site Assessment is Important
(If You Are Looking to Buy a Commercial Property) Investing in commercial real estate can be risky. Returns on the investment are dependent upon the constantly changing real estate market, natural hazards, loan terms, and/or the success of tenants, to name a few. One of the biggest risks can be related to the potential for environmental liabilities related to a property. Environmental liability can have enormous financial ramifications for an owner, and can feasibly affect the ability to lease or utilize a property. Therefore, environmental due diligence, specifically a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), is a critical step in choosing the right property. Investors and users alike may focus…
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Building Green Made Simpler
Choose Your Level of Green Construction To a lot of people, building green means costly, complicated, and confusing, but it is getting easier as designers and builders find simpler ways of doing things. Structures NW llc of Vancouver, using their 10 plus years of experience building with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), has come up with a unique system that makes building green simpler. They created a three level system of pre-designed green construction templates that fit the Northwest climate zone; Green, Greener and Greenest. Green uses a 6” SIP wall that provides a true R-21.7 whole wall R-Value as determined by the Oak Ridge National Labratory. Combined with a 10”…
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Modern Earthen Floors
Earthen floors are ancient. They were the predominant floor from the time people first built homes until the mid 1300s, and are still found today in many parts of the world.
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A Platinum Home for the Golden Years
Part I: Planning Introduction In his book Reinventing Fire, Amory Lovins realistically shows how the U.S. could eliminate the burning of fossil fuels by 2050 using the technologies that are available today. A growing number of forward-thinking people are already moving towards a fossil-fuel free lifestyle by making use of photovoltaic panels, electric drive cars, super efficient homes, and by walking, bicycling and using other alternative transportation options. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), our homes and apartments accounted for 23% of the total energy consumed nationwide in 2010. The bulk of this energy is produced from the burning of fossil fuels, and its cost averaged out to…
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Turning a Brown Field Green
The land at NE 82nd and Siskiyou has a checkered past. It is a former landfill, capped in 1982. Many of those living and working in the Madison South and Roseway neighborhoods have seen this area attract unwanted activities and attention. The site has remained derelict, despite its tremendous potential for the neighborhood, city and region. The Dharma Rain Zen Center, a Soto Zen Buddhist temple, sees great potential in the Siskiyou property for a new campus that is sustainable, beautiful and benefits their congregation and the neighborhood alike. They plan to create an attractive, compatible, low-impact campus that serves the community. They will: Restore the 14-acre parcel to a…
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Simplicity Is the Way
When I started my journey beyond the borders of my upbringing, I learned that simplicity was the way. I built a cabin on the back of a flatbed truck with a six-cylinder engine. You know, the kind of engine where you could see the parts and knew what they did. I found my way to a cabin in a canyon with a spring, a cow and an outdoor shower. I learned to make bread in a wood cook stove, to churn butter and raise honeybees. I went to work and came home tired from a day well spent on producing something tangible. I know simplicity is the way, but like…
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Creative Houses from Reclaimed Materials-Watch this Ted Talk
The Columbia Gorge ReBuild-it Center pointed out this great Ted Talk by Dan Phillips which shows examples of thecreative houses he has built from reclaimed stuff that would have ended up in the landfill. Along with inspiration for being creative and individualistic, his talk gives us some interesting insights about the houses we live in and why they are the way they are. Dan’s company Phoenix Commotion in Huntsville, Texas builds affordable homes for single parents, artists, and families with low incomes, creatively and with reclaimed material! Sources: Gorge Rebuild-it, Phoenix Commotion, Ted Talks
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Local Sources of Reused Wood
Compiled by Gary Munkhoff As the demand for wood and products made from wood increases, the world’s forests will, at some point, no longer be able to sustainably grow all the fiber consumed. Reducing our demand for wood, reusing wood products that already exist, and recycling the disposable wood products such as paper and cardboard are all steps that must become the norm. In the Portland area there are numerous businesses that offer wood products that have been in use at one time and are now available for reuse, often in a totally different way. Columbia Riverwood This company’s wood is derived from classic “boomsticks” that made up the perimeter…
