LEED Gold animal shelter opens in Los Angeles
Los Angeles’ North Central Animal Care Center has officially become the first LEED Gold certified animal shelter in the United States. An extensive remodel of the center, [...]
Green Remodeling
Brad Pitt’s New Orleans recovery creates world’s ‘biggest green community’
A project helping New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina, fronted by Hollywood actor Brad Pitt, will build what's being dubbed as the 'largest and greenest [...]
White House to push for easier financing for home retrofits
U.S. homes waste a lot of energy, but who has the money to remodel? The White House is pushing for financing mechanisms to ease the burden. Joe Biden wants to remodel your [...]
Sheryl Crow To Help Open USGBC’s Greenbuild With Chase Field Performance
A performance by environmental advocate and nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow will help open the Greenbuild 2009 Conference, which will be held Nov. 11 to 13 in Phoenix. [...]
‘Ruins of the Second Gilded Age’
Not too long ago, a photo essay was posted on the New York Times website, and then quickly removed. And that means you probably didn't see it. The title was [...]
Are solar panels ugly?
In Santa Monica, California, home of the really pretty people, solar panels are fine as long as you hide them from view. That is according to a blog posting at the L.A. [...]
Get out of house with Chinese drywall, doctor tells family
From CNN: Yorelle Haroush fled a million-dollar South Florida home this week — chased out, she said, by drywall made in China that's emitting vapors that smell like [...]
45 ways to green any home, whether you rent or own
From the U.S. Green Building Council: KEY: UPFRONT COST: $ Low or none | $$ Moderate ($50-$500) | $$$ High ($500-plus) RELATIVE BENEFITS: Modest benefits | Moderate benefits [...]
Q&A: What tax credits can I get for fixing up my home?
Question: How has the new Stimulus bill affected the tax credits for energy efficient home improvements? Answer from Energy Star: On February 17, 2009, [...]
Q&A: What tax credits can I get for fixing up my home?
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What’s up with the blue wood?
If you've noticed some houses in your area being built or fixed up with blue- colored framing lumber, roof trusses and sheathing panels, you may think the Smurfs came in [...]
Home’s green remodel gives mother and daughter space
See all photos Charles Darwin might have found an interesting research subject in the Burke family's Goleta, Calif. home, which has evolved over the last 47 years as the [...]
Eco-decorating is suddenly hip
I guess my friend and co-author Kitty Bartholomew is a visionary. For many years, long before it was eco-hip, she was finding new uses for old things that have served their [...]
If you are a ‘cultural creative’ who votes with your dollars . . .
. . . you might be interested in an earth-friendly company named Gaiam. Take a [...]
Video: Green remodeling with Entourage’s Adrian Grenier
I didn't really want to like this guy, but he's pretty cool. His own house has denim insulation, reclaimed wood floors and reclaimed beams. He says these things are [...]
The ipe conundrum — green or not green?
For several years, ipe (pronounced EE-pay) decking from Brazilian hardwood trees has been the darling of green builders. This beautiful wood looks like mahogany, and it does [...]
Will bamboo save the world?
Meet the woman leading the push for bamboo as a building material: Embedded video from CNN [...]
Rebuilding green in New Orleans
Last year, New Orleans was the setting for the National Assn. of Home Builders' national green building conference. The conference included a tour of green homes, [...]
Bathroom makeover was due
My latest Pardon Our Dust feature in the L.A. Times, about a small bathroom in Venice, has the most gorgeous photos ever to accommodate one of my articles. Check out [...]
Where there was darkness, I brought light
This morning, as I walked down the hallway toward the bathroom, I felt startled when I saw light coming from there and I thought: “Darn it. I left the light on all [...]
Tank water heaters better, this green builder says
Over here at the Robinson/Price-Robinson abode, there has been a standoff concerning the new water heater we need so badly. Ours is likely 20 years old and not very [...]
Peel-and-stick solar panels
See a fast-motion video showing 2.25 kilowatts of Lumeta solar panels installed in 34 minutes. These will be featured at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference June 24 to 27 [...]
My new shower curtain: Should I toss it out?
I was so excited about this new shower curtain, which was a gift for my husband. It was at about 35,000 feet, breathing airliner air, when I saw in a magazine this really [...]
Mammoth-area cabin earns silver LEED certification
A two-bedroom cabin at Tamarack Lodge, overlooking Twin Lakes in the Mammoth Mountain area, has earned silver certification from the LEED green building program. LEED stands [...]
Stopping the catalogs
The worst part about ordering a home-improvement item or sample online is that you know you’re going to be receiving catalogs in the mail that you may not want, even if [...]
The votes are in: coolest green building products
Each year, the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) holds a competition for the coolest building products. This year, 125 products were entered into the contest and were [...]
Dwell on Design conference June 5 to 8
If you want to stretch your design vocabulary, you might consider attending the Dwell on Design conference this week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Put on by the San [...]
Ask the Resident Builder: Is it time for an electric water heater?
Question: I need a new water heater, and because my home's gas bill is so high, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to get an electric water heater. My husband [...]
Santa Monica landscaper wins award for sustainable Malibu project
Pamela Burton & Co. won an Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects for the gardens and hardscape (seen above) at a Malibu beachfront home. At first, [...]
Keeping cool in Claremont
Deb and Vern Jahnke, pictured here, are way too nice to brag. So let me do it for them. Even on the hottest days, their home in Claremont stays cool and comfortable without [...]
Ready to reduce your home water use to a trickle?
Is it just me, or does anyone else see the connection between these two stories in the L.A. Times? May 8, 2008: Tejon Ranch pact would allow 26,000 homes on the range May 14, [...]
Green deal of the day: Ecopod recycling center
Engineered right here in Southern California by BMW DesignworksUSA, the sleek Ecopod is a compact recycling center that makes crushing cans fun! Just drop one in the top, [...]
Cushions you can compost
Does this bug you, too? You have a pillow, blanket or other textile that is clearly past its prime and too worn for the Goodwill. But you hate to see it take the slow ride to [...]
New limits on McMansions bring cheers, jeers from readers
Tuesday’s vote by the L.A. City Council to limit home sizes to 3,000 square feet on 5,000-square-foot flatland lots (a little larger on larger lots) was unanimous at 12 [...]
Nonprofit opens new warehouse selling salvaged building materials
The ReUse People, a facility where you can buy salvaged and new materials from deconstructed homes and other sources, is holding a grand opening Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. [...]
Seattle houseboat remodel
Another jewel in a series of amazing small spaces: Here’s what happens when a native of Japan and a native of the Netherlands, both with architecture degrees, remodel [...]
Problem with tankless water heater, seeking solutions
Reader Elise is having problems with her new tankless water heater: We purchased a tankless a few months ago and have had ongoing problems with low water pressure. The [...]
Are you ready for water rationing this summer?
I’ll admit I’ve been critical of water-saving schemes that conspire to take away my daily baths while the powers-that-be concurrently approve plans for more, more [...]
What blocks your views, poisons your neighbors and is slowly becoming illegal?
It’s your wood-burning fireplace, of course. And they’re slowing going out of style, much to the dismay of fire devotees (and I used to be one). Last weekend, I [...]
Want solar? This is the weekend to visit San Diego
The Solar 2008 convention will be held this weekend, May 3 and 4, at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego. The attendance fee for consumers is $5, [...]
Blend your own glass tile
Do you ever feel “terminally unique?” I do. And that’s why blending my own glass tile backsplash is so appealing. Oceanside Glasstile of Carlsbad offers an [...]
When bad solar fountains happen to good people
You don’t need to share with me the definition of insanity: trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Been there (bought junk), done [...]
Unbuilding rather than tearing down a house
Wall Street Journal columnist Nancy Keates is tearing down her house to build a new one in its place. But instead of taking a wrecking ball to the old house, she’s [...]
The Story of Stuff
I really want to wean myself from impulsive purchases of junky household stuff I don’t really need and that won’t last. One strategy is getting clear on the [...]
Green Builder Profile: DAD’s Construction (Orange County)
Company name: DAD’s Construction Inc. Website: www.dadsconstruction.com Principals: Dan Derkum and Lori Derkum Contact info: Lori Derkum, 25422 Trabuco Road, Suite [...]
Hey, John, what’s it like to live solar?
I caught up recently with John Park, who, along with his wife Erin, did an addition to their Burbank home and wrote about it at the Park Haus Addition Blog. Part of the [...]
Hot or not hot? Tin can wall covering
This wall covering made from tin can tops, as seen in the New York Times, has a certain appeal. But there’s something a little creepy about it, as well. Or is it just [...]
Enough already with the long receipts
This goes into the category of: Yeah! The blogger over at The House on Red Hill (Echo Park) wonders this: "Why does a receipt from Lowe’s for a single item [...]
The wonderful world of greenwashing
How many ways are there to greenwash home-improvement products? To make toxic junk sound green? To put lipstick on a pig? So very many! Here are a few: • The packaging is [...]
Big green weekend coming up in Santa Monica
You can see and touch alternative building materials Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, at the 5th Annual Alternative Building Materials & Design Expo (also known as [...]