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Hudson Historic Preservation

Hudson Historic Preservation published on

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Copied and pasted this from my inbox. How lazy am I?

The Hudson River Heritage has been asked by the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to help bring people out for a very important meeting that will ask residents to provide input for the State’s 2007-2011
Historic Preservation Plan.

The goal is to identify how to incorporate historic preservation into cost-effective environmentally-friendly community improvement and economic development activities, such as the redevelopment of existing resources, energy,conservation and smart growth initiatives.

A Mid-Hudson Valley meeting will be held in Kingston on November 15, 2007, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, 2nd Floor
Common Council Chamber, 420 Broadway.

OPRHP is planning a second set of meetings to be held in New York City, Cold Spring Harbor, Ithaca, Waterford, and Yonkers, to be announced soon.

NYS Preservation Planning

DIY Green Bamboo Countertop

DIY Green Bamboo Countertop published on 1 Comment on DIY Green Bamboo Countertop

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From Apartment Therapy: Green.

It’s green AND it’s DIY! Teragren is a manufacturer, as opposed to an importer, of bamboo. This means they can control quality and know exactly where the wood is coming from. Furthermore, their butcher block panels are formaldehyde-free and food safe. The panels can be finished with tung oil or other FDA-approved food safe oils, such as mineral oil.

The installation tips seem fairly straightforward. It is only a piece of wood, which is not as scary to work with than other materials. Table, countertop or custom sizes are available.

Atlantic Plywood, with a few locations in the tri-state area, is listing as their local distributor. Other distributors here.

Recycled Iron Grates

Recycled Iron Grates published on

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Yet another find from Materialicio.us. Too bad I can’t come up with my own material. (Get it?)

These decorative cast grates by Iron Age Designs can be used as trench drains, catch basins or tree grates. They are made from recycled products and are ADA compliant.

I use antique grills for some of my “creations” and always prefer to go with original salvaged pieces when I can. But then I had a look at Iron Age’s prices. Why am I spending hours taking paint off of something that costs nearly as much? You don’t have to answer that.

Historic Green Restoration

Historic Green Restoration published on 5 Comments on Historic Green Restoration

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Jean over at I Love Upstate hooked me up with Howard Hall Farm. I had never heard of them, but what a great find!

My husband doesn’t realize how easy he has it with our tiny home renovations! In 2005, Nora and Reggie purchased the 1780’s stone house overlooking the Hudson in Athens, NY on a whim. The home was in terrible disrepair due to years of neglect.

Howard Hall Farm is not just a restoration project. The Federal style home has become a vehicle for educating people on sustainable restoration techniques. Classes and workshops are taught on site (Really….are they just trying to get people to help work on their house?) and a TV may be in the works.

And for anyone doubting living through their own renovations, here’s a positive take on things from Reggie… “We sometimes struggle with the amount of work, living among the dirt and workers, chaos and squalor, but imagine someday we will too be past this phase with a beautiful restoration to show for it, and another slice of important Hudson river history preserved for posterity.”

Sink Positive

Sink Positive published on 5 Comments on Sink Positive

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I saw this on Low Impact Living. Although it seems kind of icky to me that you’re washing your hands with toilet water, I’ve gotta admit it’s a cool idea.

The hose is directly attached to the supply line, so it’s not water from the tank. When the toilet is flushed, the water that is normally used to refill the tank will come out of the faucet. This becomes grey water after washing hands, which is then used to fill the tank.

I still wouldn’t want to brush my teeth with it though.

Sink Positive sells for $89 and $109 for the deluxe.

No Paint ‘Til Brooklyn!

No Paint ‘Til Brooklyn! published on

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Nicole over at Brooklyn Based gave me the heads up on a new zero VOC paint which will be hitting the market in November.

Ivy Coatings will be available in 4 finishes, plus primer. Not only are all color tints zero VOC, they contain no formaldehyede, ammonia, crystalline silica or ethylene glycol. Price per gallon will be in the mid $30’s and it will be sold at Green Depot. The company is also coming out with a low VOC, low odor concrete floor coating.

Brooklyn Based article


Used Building Material: Resources

Used Building Material: Resources published on 11 Comments on Used Building Material: Resources

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We’ve covered salvage quiet a bit here, but what if you’re not looking for an 1890 mantle? Maybe you just need some metal studs or new windows. Hold off on your trip to Home Depot. Here are some resources for used building supplies.

It’s hit or miss with these places, because every builder wants plywood, sheetrock or hardwood flooring. You’ll have to be quick or lucky to come across these items, but you should check them out if you need cabinets, bath fixtures, windows, doors or molding.

Habitat For Humanity has “Re-stores” in almost every state, including one in Bridgeport, CT and several in New Jersey.

Build It Green, in Astoria, is THE place for used building supplies in the city. They currently have a large selection of pretty decent kitchen cabinets (not top of the line, but not the worst: think Ikea), high end appliances (Viking refrigerators for $4400, $2000 off the original price), some stone remnants and many other items housed in the huge warehouse.

Green Demolitions has 3 locations and re-sells everything from oak staircases to high end kitchens. They often hold sales and there is one on now until November 30th.

Online, Freecycle and NY Wastematch are two organizations where members can list items for exchange. And don’t forget the Craigslist material section!

Hudson Valley Materials Exchange in Newburgh is a great source for used building materials and art supplies. They are moving soon and will be closed for the winter. Please call first and make sure they are open.

The Green Room

The Green Room published on

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Lemme just regurgitate someone else’s news for a quickie post here.

Via Alternative Consumer:

Last month The New York Design Center launched a showcase and resource center featuring products that have been created with sustainability in mind. The Green Room will feature 10 exhibits which will change each month. The project is being brought to us by “Verdant” magazine and “Cottage and Garden” publications.

The Design Center is located at 200 Lexington Avenue.

Recycled Bottle Houses

Recycled Bottle Houses published on

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Oh yeah! You know I want one of these! I saw this on Treehugger originally and then found a few other fascinating sites from that post. So fascinating, in fact, that I’m inspired to work on some new projects.

Web Urbanist featured the bottle house, along with 4 other types of recycled architecture. The bottles are my favorite because they look like jewels. The oldest known bottle house was built in 1907. Since then, many bottle homes have been built around the world out of necessity where building supplies are scarce.

Agility Nut has links to many of them.

Eco Friendly Shopping

Eco Friendly Shopping published on

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Shopbcue has launched! Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, a local nonprofit that provides innovative environmental education programs throughout New York City, announced the news on Friday (or at least that’s when I got wind of it).

Shopbcue is not just another green shopping site. They link to sustainable stores and a percentage of sales helps fund public environmental programs in New York City.

So far, vendors include Vivavi, Design Public , Viva Terra and Ebay, among others.

Green MLS

Green MLS published on 2 Comments on Green MLS

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Justin at Materialicio.us is good. I believe he was the first one to catch the new Green MLS. At least that’s where I saw it. Listed Green is the MLS for green, sustainable, energy efficient homes and developments worldwide. They screen the listings before they are placed on the website to assure the dwellings are indeed green and not just fake green. You know what I mean. Currently, there are only 2 listings in New York.

DIY Energy Audit

DIY Energy Audit published on

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Winter is coming! Ok, maybe not. But just in case, go ahead and check out the Energy Star website for some helpful tips on properly sealing up your home.

The site gives advice on insulation and heating, ducts and appliances. But here’s the fun part…you can do your own energy audit. You’ll need 12 months of utility bills, but once you put in a few hours finding those (I know I’m not the only one who doesn’t file), the quizzie itself takes about 5-10 minutes.

If you want to call in a pro for the audit, they list partners.

Related: Get tax credits for efficiency!

Build Your Own Sustainable Home!

Build Your Own Sustainable Home! published on 3 Comments on Build Your Own Sustainable Home!

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Dream Green Homes is fabulous site for anyone doing research on building their own green home. The site is laid out so even an A.D.D. person like myself can find their way around. It’s broken down into styles, materials and functions. House plans can be purchased in the store. I want the packaged earthship.

Kelly Hart, the site’s host, is also the guy behind Green Home Building. Very similar subject matter. Loads of info. Here, you can sign up for training programs and buy informative books.

Call me a cynical New Yorker, but it looks like these folks drank too much kool aid. I’m not used to seeing shiny happy people. I just wanna say….if they’re affiliated with some kind of cult, I am not aware of it.

Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure

Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure published on 5 Comments on Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure

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Finally, a new product for our store! We’ve been concentrating so much on our posts that it’s taking us ages to create lovely reclaimed home fixtures to sell. Which is how we’ll make money. So we can keep this blog going. Get the hint?

The siding on this prototype is made with 100% reclaimed wainscoting from an 1865 farmhouse in Poughkeepsie. The cedar framing is new material. This is the second prototype we built. The first one didn’t work out so well. We thought it would be a great idea to use discarded shipping pallets. Well, if someone knows of a way to take pallets apart EASILY, please let us know. In the meantime, we cut them down for our much smaller kitty litter box enclosures (not built yet).Continue reading Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure

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