Sheetrocking too expensive and time consuming? Answer = Yes. One alternative is to build a wall with doors. Much more interesting than sheetrock and takes a minimal amount of skills.
Posts tagged eco-friendly
Reclaimed Wood Walls
Car (or Van) Sharing
Want to take a drive to the country for the weekend? Beach for the day? How about obtaining a van for renovations? Car rental companies can be pretty pricey in New York, so it’s no surprise that car sharing options such as ZipCar have gained in popularity.
Disclosure: I’m just doing some internet research because I’ll soon be needing a van for renovations. I’ve never actually tried a car sharing company. If you have, please comment with some feedback!
It would seem that the daily price of car sharing is comparable to rentals; however, gas and insurance are included in the share. We all know that insurance is what can double the price of that rental. Let’s also remember that location, location, location is everything. Looks like car sharing may be a tad more convenient than schlepping to a rental company to pick up a car. Also, if you only need it for an hour to two, that’s cool.
If you only intend to use the car once or twice a year, car sharing may not be worth it as there is a membership fee involved.
Let’s have a look at some local companies, shall we?
ZipCar is the best known. You’ll be spending $85 to participate. $60 for the annual fee and $25 application fee. Hourly weekend rates are $14 or $125 per day.
Hertz didn’t get to where they are by making bad business decisions. They’ve entered the game with Hertz on Demand and it’s pretty competitve. There are no membership or application fees. Insurance and gas are included and weekend rates run from $8 per hour or $108 per day.
Mint Cars on Demand waives the membership fee for the first year and charges $40 annually after that. Weekend rates for an economy car are $12 per hour and $107 per day with the first 180 miles free, then .45 cents per mile after that. As with the other companies, gas and insurance are included.
Carpingo just launched in Brooklyn. Like this month. Since they are quite new, the information isn’t really out there yet, but here’s what I came up with: The founders are Brooklynites whom have been in the NYC car rental industry for 30 years. They do have cargo vans as well as cute little cars like the Fiat 500. Don’t know if this is a start up offer or they are keeping these rates, but membership is free and the application fee is waived. Gas, insurance and 180 free miles included. I see $8 per hour on a postcard I received but I don’t know if that’s weekday or weekend. Also, the postcard announces $75 in free driving if you join now. Coupon code CPG100.
Then, for my purposes, there’s always UHaul or big box hardware store truck rentals starting at $19.95 per day plus expenses. Or….man with van including a helping hand. The problem with that is getting someone reliable enough.
There are also ways to earn money by sharing your own car and of course you can rent from the following places as well. Personally, I’d feel kind of awkward messing around with someone’s privately owned vehicle rather than a large faceless company.
From what I gather, the car providers must have OnStar and the rates vary according to owner. It’s the Air BnB of car sharing.
If you are interested in offering your own car or renting someone’s private vehicle, check out these companies:
World Water Day
World Water Day is coming up. The annual event is held every March 22.
Much of the world faces a global water, sanitation and hygiene crisis. The UN and the global community participates in World Water Day to remind us that it is everyone’s obligation to pitch in. Let’s try to reduce poverty, disease and hunger by helping to improve sustainable access to safe drinking water and better sanitation for millions around the world.
How can you help? Here’s a list of events by region. You can also donate your voice by linking your Facebook or Twitter accounts to World Water Day.
Water Tank Art
The Water Tank Project is coming to an NYC rooftop near you for three months in the spring of 2013. Word Above the Street’s public awareness campaign aims to inspire millions of people to be more responsible with their daily water usage.
Select rooftop water tanks across the city will be temporarily wrapped with original artwork, the subject matter being water. Students, emerging and established artists will take part in the project.
The Water Tank Project will also promote New York City’s high quality drinking water and highlight the role of the world’s major cities in leading the way to responsible stewardship of water.
How can you help? Donate here. Or…on March 1st shop at Whole Foods as 5% of the sales will be donated to the project. Or…got a tank? Let them use it!
Via Cool Hunting
Woodstock Sanctuary B&B
Spent a romantic Valentine’s evening at the Woodstock Sanctuary B&B, not with my husband but with my friend Deb. We went upstate to look at some properties and although we didn’t get to spend too much time at the sanctuary, we got to see what it was all about.
The B&B is a fairly new addition to the sanctuary. Because of it’s non-profit status, you have to be a member to book a room. The profits go to the care of the rescued farm animals, so go early and go often! Membership benefits include discounts to some serious vegetarian restaurants both upstate and in the city.
Before renovations
The farmhouse is a lovely restored pre-Civil War home. Because of the newness of it, I was afraid to touch anything, but it was definitely comfy and homey. Images of the farm animals hang from the walls and even the claws on the tub are painted like a rooster.
Two of the rooms share the two hallway bathrooms and there is one room that is en-suite. We’re talking about $120 for a room but it was higher for Valentine’s. The vegan breakfast served in the morning gives you a selection of bagels, muffins and cereal with fresh fruit and non-dairy options. There’s a newly updated DVD collection, some books and of course, wifi.
The sanctuary asks that you remain respectful of their cause and refrain from bringing in any animal bi-products. This means leave your fur coat and Ugg boots at home. And don’t bring your McDonald’s in for lunch and say you couldn’t go a day without meat. Not that people staying here would do that, but you get my drift.
The owners live in this gawgeous home. Wins my award for “Best New Construction Evah”.
The sanctuary is located just off of Rt 212, somewhere between Woodstock and Phoenicia. We had dinner in Bearsville and made it back in one piece within ohh, maybe 15 minutes?
Great guest house but of course it’s all about the animals! We got to visit them and meet the farm staff the following morning. We hung out in the goat pen a bit and we were greeted by the pigs in their pen. We got to meet Dylan the giant grown up veal calf and the chickens and roosters.
So, if you’re looking for that perfect B&B in the country and you happen to be an animal lover, this is THE place. I’ll be back for sure. Perhaps I’ll even bring my husband for a real romantic evening.
And now….meet the animals! (Full set on Flickr)
Recycle Your Christmas Tree
Missed the Mulchfest this weekend? Do not fear. As long as you get your tree curbside by January 14th, it can still be recycled. Who wants to schlep their tree to a park anyway when you can just put it out with the trash?
The Department of Sanitation is asking residents to remove all stands, tinsel, lights, and ornaments before placing trees out for collection. Don’t place trees in plastic bags or tape them. Just-the-tree. They will be chipped into mulch that will be distributed to parks, playing fields, and community gardens throughout the city.
Get ‘er done. You really don’t want that thing up in your house until Easter, now, do you?
An Upcycled Craft Show in Gowanus
This past weekend I participated in Build it Green’s Crafted at the Canal in Gowanus. ‘Twas really nice to take part in a show where all of the goods were made out of recycled materials. Not only that, but it was my first time in BIG’s new Brooklyn location. OMG, it is huge! I’d say that have it only about 30% filled with used building merch as they only moved in about a month ago.
Anyway, back to the craft show, which will be happening again this weekend: Dec. 17th & 18th. 10am-5pm.
WoodKnot Design is a couple of extremely talented guys who know how to work old wood. It’s obvious the photos depict items made out of antique shutters and doors, but the medicine cabinet above was once an old swing set. Always impressive to hear about the past lives of objects.
Bespoke Glass Tile gets a percentage of it’s glass through a commercial recycling resources, including Build it Green. They are a green company, right down to their shipping supplies and web host. Ellen and Lesley create beautiful glass tiles for backsplashes and house projects, but I love their gifty tile creations made out of cabinet doors and sewing machine drawers.
I was severely crushing on these recycled t-shirt pillows by Tura Lura. This talented chick does gaw-geous crocheted and embroidered jewelry too, but she had me at hello with the old shirts. Darth Vader? Awesome. Superman? Who doesn’t want a Superman pillow?
So, y’all should swing by this weekend to support these and many other upcycled vendors (including myself). Need more persuading? Check out what Build it Green has on hand….
Too Cool for School
When I first saw a group of adults installing a garden at Leadership Prep on Macon Street in Bed Stuy, I thought they were building a movie set. Back in the olden days when I was growing up, NYC public school’s didn’t even have a patch of grass. Well, public schools have turned into fancy schmancy charter schools now and the the kids get to learn about stuff like gardening and catching rain water. It’s pretty awesome.
I thought this Bed Stuy school was special until I passed by Frances Perkins Academy in Williamsburg and saw their fabulous garden. They too, had a rainwater system in place. Wonder who gets to bring home the vegetables?
Upcycled Etsy Finds
There are only 53 days left until Christmas! And Hannukah starts even before that! Here are some lovely upcycled Etsy pieces for the home.
The garden faucet wine stopper from All Things Reconsidered is less than 15 bucks ($14.99 to be exact).
Howzabout a wall clock for that cyclist in your life? $149.99 from Upcycled Bicycle. Say that 10 times fast.
Swimming Deep created this starburst mirror out of recycled magazines. $25.
Chic Retro makes pillows out of old sweatshirts. You can send her your favorite old shirt and voila…a pillow! $19.99
Reclaiming Our Roots
Reclaimed Home is going back to its roots! After moving back to Brooklyn, where space is an issue, we stopped collecting larger salvaged items for reuse. Well, it’s time to expand again.
Starting a tiny home based business was a breeze. Starting a small business with a team is a bit more challenging. But you know what? It’s important that we do this now for a variety of reasons.
Saving building materials from the landfills. Mother Earth is screaming for help. Tons of demolition rubbish goes into dumpsters every day.
Presenting restoration options for folks of all income levels. We’re going through some rough economic times. Why shouldn’t everyone have the same access to beautiful architectural details and furnishings for their dwellings?
Preserve our history! Old homes are being torn down to make way for new construction. Historic details are discarded of during renovations. The skilled craftspeople who created these materials are long gone. Let’s give their work a second life.
Here’s what you can do to help us achieve our goals. If it can be recycled, please don’t throw it out! We’ll take reusable materials off your hands. If you’re doing a renovation or know of someone who is, contact us before you allow your contractor to destroy house parts and throw them in the dumpster. We’ll carefully remove the items for you so someone else can make use of them.
It will save you demolition fees. It will save you disposal rates. Most importantly, it will save our planet from overflowing landfills.
You can email us by hitting the “contact” link at the top of the middle column. We thank you and Momma Earth thanks you.
Sustainable Surfaces
I’m loving the look of Torzo Sustainable Surfaces, but even cooler than that is what their product lines are made from. Post agricultural recycled sorghum, sunflower hulls and hemp? Yeah, they use post industrial recycled fiberboard and chip board too, but it’s way cooler to say “Look at my hemp floor.” now, isn’t it? I mean, let’s get our priorities straight.
Torzo products aren’t 100% green. It’s tough to be fully green when you want a countertop or floor to last. Depending on the product line, 25%-50% of it is acrylic resin. The good news is that the resin used is manufactured by Torzo’s parent company, an Oregon based, family run, woman owned business.
Looks like Stone Source is the only place that carries Torzo locally.
Recycled Sukkahs
Sukkot begins tonight. For those of us unfamiliar with this Jewish holiday, it just means that alternate side parking rules are suspended this Thursday and Friday (Woot!). Sukkot is the shed holiday. Yeah, NOW you know what I’m talking about!
According to Rabbinical code, the sukkah (shed) cannot be located under trees, Stars must be visible from the roof, which must be made of material that is cut from the earth. For a better explanation, please visit the Babak Bryan website. They are the guys who created the Fractured Bubble sukkah above. The bubble is not really made from recycled materials, but rather invasive species that were picked from local wetlands. The design won People’s Choice in 2010’s Sukkah City and I love it too much not to include it.
Each image links to more info on that particular sukkah.
Past Sukkah post.
Fun DIY Projects with Wood
Yesterday we covered some plastic DIY projects you can do around the house. Today it’s wood! Inspirations from the Solar Decathlon.
Isn’t that inscription on the deck a lovely idea? It can be done on decks, siding or just about any old piece of wood you have around your house.
There are a couple of ways to go about the writing. You can burn it in. Remember those wood burning instruments we all had as kids? (If you’re over the age of say, 35?) Well, that technique is called pyrography. Thing is…do you really want to go out and buy that tool now? Perhaps you have a Dremel or router around the house. If so, then you can carve the letters out then stain them any color you want.
First you’ll want to line it up properly with a straight edge. Tape a stencil down and trace the outline. No, you don’t want to leave the plastic stencil there to be burnt or cut. The rest of it ain’t rocket science. You can figure it out.
Check out that cool shower base. You know what? I’m not even telling you to make it yourself. You can probably buy shit like that at Ikea and plop it right down. I just like it, is all.
I’m not quite sure if this is recycled shipping pallets or a piece made from scratch. Either way, it gave me the idea to do it with shipping pallets. A while back, I thought I’d be really cool and build a bunch of stuff made from the reclaimed wood of pallets. Well, it was crazy trying to take all the slats apart. So why bother? Just cut them down and build stuff out of them that way.
I’m feeling the love towards the bark! Ok, so bark siding is pretty pricey to purchase if you can’t find a tree that it’s coming off of. But I’m not talking about residing your whole home with it. Perhaps a 4×4 framed square to use as a cork board? Or as a backsplash in the your kitchen? An entire wall behind the bathroom sink? A line of bark shingles instead of chair railing? The possibilities are endless.
Green Day Today, NYC
Green Day in Union Square today! Psyched? Start lining up now for the time of your life!
GrowNYC presents NEW GREEN CITY in Union Square Park for NYC’s largest annual green event. (Sorry, Green Day fans. I know that was mean.)
2011’s family-friendly event features government agencies, non-profits, entrepreneurs and community & corporate partners at the forefront of environmental stewardship, education and awareness.
10am-6pm. Go learn about recycling, rainwater harvesting and more! Hello, there’s a scavenger hunnnttt!