Eco House Renovations

Whether you live in a town house, a village colonial, a country barn, or a coastal saltbox, you can convert your old house into an ecologically sound new house. This design book provides inspiration for aesthetically pleasing and practical renovations that can change the environment one house at a time. Starting with a section on basic planning, this guide walks you through some major considerations necessary to the success of an eco-renovation. Tour 45 projects around the country, including homes that have been reconfigured, renovated, added to, or otherwise redone to address everything from the size of the building's footprint and energy needs, to its use of sustainable or even reused materials and its pollution emissions. Illustrated with nearly 300 photos and building plans, and complete with design resources, this is a great reference for anyone considering an eco-renovation.

Laid out in an easy-to-follow format with step-by-step instructions, special tips, and material guides, this reference makes it easier than ever to remodel, renovate, or decorate a home without hurting the planet.

A guide to ecological renovation that explains simple steps people can take to make their homes more ecologically friendly and offers practical suggestions for project planning.

Sustainable living is gaining in popularity as people develop an ever-greater commitment to preserving the Earth's resources. This practical guide, now available in paperback, contains an illustrated reference section covering all aspects of sustainable building and decoration, from insulation to solar panels and from light bulbs to kitchen countertops. Thirty case studies featuring sustainably built homes from around the world, from an ambassador's official residence to a rooftop extension, offer inspiration. The informative text takes a balanced and realistic view of the techniques employed, and explains the decisions made in the construction of each building. Generously illustrated with photographs and plans, The Sustainable Home will appeal as much to anyone designing an entirely new eco house as to those seeking to spruce up or extend their own home.

An encyclopedic how-to of all you need to make your home green Whether because of changing lifestyles or simply because houses are becoming outdated, millions of North Americans are renovating their homes every year, spending more money annually on renovation than on new home construction. But renovations can be fraught with unintended consequences like indoor air pollution. How do you remodel in a healthy, environmentally friendly way? Green Remodeling is a comprehensive guide. It first points out the advantages of remodeling. Buildings are responsible for 40% of worldwide energy flow and material use; so how you remodel can make a difference. Upgrading furnaces, cabinets and toilets means less fossil fuel pollution, reduced resource depletion, and fewer health risks. Green remodeling is more energy-efficient, more resource-conserving, healthier for occupants and more affordable to create, operate and maintain. The book then discusses simple green renovation solutions for homeowners, focusing on key aspects of the building including foundations, framing, plumbing, windows, heating and finishes. Room by room, it outlines the intricate connections that make the house work as a system. For example, how new windows may affect the structure and mechanical systems of the rooms below, the health of the family, and the future of old-growth forests. Then, in an easy-to-read format complete with checklists, personal stories, expert insights and an extensive resource list, it covers easy ways to save energy, conserve natural resources, and protect the health of loved ones. Addressing all climates, this is a perfect resource for conventional homeowners, as well as architects and remodeling contractors.

How should we go about making old houses energy efficient without devaluing future sustainability or the appeal and character of old homes by the use of inappropriate solutions? This practical and essential guide to retrofitting for energy efficiency seeks to provide answers to this and other the questions homeowners of old houses are asking. Whether your house is medieval and timber-framed or a Georgian, Victorian or Edwardian terrace, it can be made more energy efficient and sustainable, and this practical and comprehensive handbook will show you how. Revised and updated throughout, and with a foreword by Kevin McLoud, Old House Eco Handbook includes chapters on the building envelope; roofs and ceilings; windows and doors; walls; floors; paints; energy, airandwater; plus a brand newchapter on retrofit materials. In association with The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, this is a must have for owners of old houses looking to make their homes more energy efficient and sustainable. Chapters Include: 1. Old houses can be green 2. Old house to eco house 3. The building envelope 4. Retrofit materials 5. Roofs and ceilings 6. Windows and doors 7. Walls 8. Floors 9. Paints 10. Energy, air and water 11. Old house for the future

We all want a more environmentally smart home, but many of us worry it will cost too much, be too difficult to fix or maintain, and not worth the bother. Not so. This book identifies the practical path to a more sustainable household. Because your situation is unique it focuses on strategies that you can readily adapt to your circumstance. It helps you to develop a familiarity with the issues so that whether you do the work yourself or hire experienced professionals, you can turn your ideals into reality. Good environmental practices need not be intimidating or expensive. This book, part of the Self-Counsel Press Green series, shows you the way.

Eco-Renovation, published by Chelsea Green's U.K. Green Books, is organized under four main heading energy, health, and materials. The book guides you each of these fields, and prioritizes choices according basic ecological principles of recycling, self-sufficient renewability, conservation, and efficiency. It includes checklist for making an ecological assessment of you and detailed appendices that will enable you to lo greener products.