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Recycled Metal Countertops

Recycled Metal Countertops published on 3 Comments on Recycled Metal Countertops

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Alkemi is actually recycled composite material as it’s composed of 60% post industrial scrap aluminum and polymeric resins. Internet photos do not do it justice. You have to see it in person to appreciate it. Best way to find a dealer is to contact the company directly.

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Eleek manufacturers tons of cools home fixtures, but we’re focusing on countertops today, so let’s not jump ahead of ourselves. Their recycled aluminum countertops, backsplashes and tiles are made up of at least 70% post consumer product. The entire company is run with sustainability in mind. The website lists Virtue Tile in Summit, NJ as the closest distributor.

Dream Homes: Hobbit Dwelling in Wales

Dream Homes: Hobbit Dwelling in Wales published on 1 Comment on Dream Homes: Hobbit Dwelling in Wales

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FRODO NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD

I’ve been eying this baby on Crib Candy for awhile now. The home was built by a young family with virtually no money to spend on housing. It took 1000-1500 man hours and £3000 to get it to this point. Even better than the cost is the fact that it’s a low impact dwelling.

The Simondale Website is fascinating. These folks are involved with the Lammas project, the first of it’s kind eco village in Pembrokeshire. Do we have anything that cool in the US? Let’s start one! Ok, who’s with me?

High Efficiency Toilets

High Efficiency Toilets published on

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Toto’s Clayton.

We didn’t have time to research this stuff during our renovation. We pretty much ran out to Lowes and bought the nicest looking toilets we can find within our budget. Hopefully, we’ll make up for our own water consumption by educating others on making wise choices.

As with the energy star label on appliances, look for the Water Sense label on toilets. Because there are so many different models to choose from, we won’t go through all the specs of each toilet, but rather lead you to the manufacturer so you can come to your own conclusions. One problem we have with these is that many of them are too modern looking for our taste.

Toto seems to be the best known in the dual flush category. We’ve heard mixed consumer reviews as far as upkeep and repairs. Tip: try looking on Ebay for bargains.

Caroma USA has a decent selection of dual flush toilets.

Kohler announced this June, the introduction of 9 new toilets bearing the Watersense label.

American Standard’s FloWise Toilet meets EPA requirements.

St. Thomas’ Mariner II is a not too modern looking pressure assisted toilet.

Check out Terry Love’s site for everything you’ve ever wanted to know about toilets. Comparison charts, forum and tips.

Recycled Floor Tiles

Recycled Floor Tiles published on

We came up with 4 companies in our search for recycled ceramic and terra cotta floor tiles. All of these companies manufacture glazed wall tiles as well, but we’ll cover that in a separate post.

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Fireclay Debris

Fireclay’s Debris series is a terra cotta tile containing 50% post consumer and post industrial recycled materials. Their standard sizes are 8×8, 12×12, 8×16 and 16×16, as well as geometric patterns. Finishes are available in unglazed, antique and dark antique. It’s best to contact them directly for Debris sales questions.

naturalhues.jpg Quarry Tile’s Natural Hues

Quarry Tile’s Eco-Body line contains approximately 34% recycled solid waste which was previously going to public and private landfills. All of the recycled waste products are recovered from within a 350 mile radius of their manufacturing plant. Several Dal-Tile locations carry Quarry Tile.

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Terra’s Traffic

Terra Green Ceramics, which has been around since the late 70’s, manufactures 7 lines of recycled glass and/or ceramic tile. All tiles are made with 55% post industrial glass. Stone Source is the local NY distributor for Terra Green.

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EcoCycle Pine Barren

Crossville Porcelain Stone offers their Eco Cycle Line, containing 40% recycled ceramic content. This “stone-look” series comes in 8 colors. There are several locations in NY that carry Crossville, including Bergen Tile. Be sure to check if they carry this particular line.

Cement Based Recycled Countertop

Cement Based Recycled Countertop published on 3 Comments on Cement Based Recycled Countertop

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Ameé Quiriconi founded Squak Mountain Stone in 2003 after preparing an assignment for her Master’s Degree. The assignment: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age.

What is Squak Mountain Stone? From the website: “A Fibrous-cement material comprised of recycled paper, recycled glass, coal fly-ash and Portland cement. Material is hand-cast into “slabs” as an alternative to natural or quarried stone. Resembles soapstone or limestones. ”

Be sure to check out the “Oops” factory seconds link on the product page!

Local retailer: Bettencourt Green Building Supply

Porta Potty

Porta Potty published on 2 Comments on Porta Potty

Items You Just Can’t Live Without

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Nobody likes to talk about it, but we all need to do it. So, what if you’re renovating a bathroom and it will take days, weeks or months to complete? Yeah, a bucket works fine, but indulge yourself in the luxury of a porta potty!

We bought ours on Ebay from a company called Short’s Marine. The Thetford 135 model is less than $100 and will last about a week before you make your husband empty it. Camping World also sells them, along with the chemicals to go with it.

The chemicals that break down the waste do contain formaldehyde. Supreme Green is eco friendly, but, unfortunately, it doesn’t work as well as those harsh chemicals.

Green Brooklyn, 07

Green Brooklyn, 07 published on

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We’re giving you a day’s notice! From Green Brooklyn’s website:

“The 3rd Annual Green Brooklyn Conference, coordinated by Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, is Brooklyn’s largest showcase of green and sustainability issues, programs, and products. A full day fair and symposium, Green Brooklyn brings together the community, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies to share ideas with the public about how to live greener in our everyday lives.”

Friday, September 21, 2007, 11 am- 4pm
Brooklyn Borough Hall, Brooklyn, NY
Free and open to the public

Exhibitors include Bettencourt Green Building Supplies, Council on the Environment of NYC and Go Green, Inc., among many others.

Dream Homes: Wing’s Castle, Millbrook, NY

Dream Homes: Wing’s Castle, Millbrook, NY published on 7 Comments on Dream Homes: Wing’s Castle, Millbrook, NY

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I visit Wings Castle whenever I’m in the area because it’s an inspiration to any DIY fanatic. I mean, they built this themselves! With reclaimed materials! The swimming pool is a friggen moat!

When I found out Wings Castle was for sale, I started saving my pennies. Currently listed at $5,850,000, I still have a few more years to go before I can afford it. I’m taking donations if anyone wants to see me finish the ongoing 30+ year project started by Peter Wing.

Dupont Castle

Recycled Paper Countertops

Recycled Paper Countertops published on 4 Comments on Recycled Paper Countertops

The look: A cross between soapstone and formica, if that makes any sense.

We’re aware of 3 companies that manufacture recycled paper countertops.

shetka.jpg Shetka: Shredded Counterfit $

ShetkaStone has a 100% sustainable life cycle. Products are manufactured from pre and post consumer waste paper and all by-products can be recycled back into the manufacturing process. ShetkaStone is made from all types of paper, including magazines and telephone books. The color selection is limited, but this seems to be the “greenest” of the paper based countertops.

paperstone.jpg PaperStone

*Note: At the time of this writing, Paperstone’s website was hit or miss.

Paperstone Certified, by Kliptech, uses 100% post consumer waste paper. The resin is water-based and petroleum-free. PaperStone Organic contains 100% bamboo fiber and a 90% organic resin made from cashew-nut shell oil. Paperstone has a wider color selection than Shetka.

richlite.jpg Richlite

Richlite is primarily paper treated with phenolic resin and baked to create a solid sheet. The paper comes from pulp that is derived from trees, which are harvested from certified managed forests in North America. Richlite is less expensive than PaperStone and has the sleekest look of all three, but it’s the least enviro friendly. Go figure.

Take the Trash Challenge!

Take the Trash Challenge! published on 2 Comments on Take the Trash Challenge!

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We heard this over the weekend and we are intrigued! Tess Vigeland of Public Radio’s Marketplace has volunteered to spend 2 weeks hauling her household trash around with her. She writes in her blog “This is something of an opening salvo for a project American Public Media shows have been working on all year. It’s called Consumed, and it explores whether our consumer culture is sustainable. The series launches this fall.”

Good luck, Tess! We would join you, but we have, uh, prior commitments.

Tess’ Trash Blog

Building Materials: Get ‘Em While You Can!

Building Materials: Get ‘Em While You Can! published on

This was posted on the forum yesterday. Since I haven’t yet figured out how to allow folks to post photos, I asked her to send me some pics so I can post here. Looks good!

Selling off contents of a modified Post and Beam house in Greenwich, CT. Walls/ceilings of knotty pine, white oak and red oak floors,fir stairs, lofts, loft railings,, Exterior/interior doors, Anderson casements, picture windows, Velux sky lights, French doors, double French doors XO, 6 ft sliders, Trane XL 80 gas furnace, ducting, 40 gal gas hot water tank, toilets, bidet, whirlpool tub, frameless shower doors, electric garage motor,amd more. All materials in EXCELLENT condition. Buyer removes. Cash only.

Also have materials in 9 other houses, includine 4 gorgeous kitchens which are on my website and available NOW. All in EXCELLENT condition. Contact Cathy @203-869-5365 or deepdiscount@optonline.net

If you are a “Dumpster Diver”, and you know if you are one, get to know me! Check out my web site www.deepdiscountdemolition.com, email me your address and I’ll add you to my list for notice of sales. Let me know what you need, if I don’t have it today, I will soon. Recycle, get great stuff at “deep discount” , Thanks

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Silent Paint Remover

Silent Paint Remover published on 4 Comments on Silent Paint Remover

Tools I Can’t Live Without

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A friend turned me on to the Silent Paint Remover only after I finished stripping 3 floors of my brownstone. With a whole room of wainscoting to go, it was still worth it for me to give it a shot.

Unlike a heat gun, the SPR heats a 5″x12″ area at once, so it goes lickety-split. You’ll still need the heat gun or chemicals for small corners and clean up, but I’d highly recommend this tool to get through large areas with multiple coats of paint. It can save days, maybe weeks, on large projects.

If you’re working on a flat surface, you can move it along to heat the next area while you continue to scrape. For vertical surfaces, I invested in the hands free kit, which saves my arms, but isn’t much faster as it is inconvenient to make adjustments each time you move along.

Although it’s more environmentally friendly than harsh chemicals, you still need to wear a mask and gloves if you are working with lead paint. You must be mindful of your wood with this tool. Don’t leave it in place too long. It WILL burn your surface! When you see smoke, it’s time to remove it.

For more details and where to purchase, see following links.

House in Progress
Silent Paint Remover
Air Nailers
Eco Strip

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