So, this evening I attended a discussion held by our friend, Blue Crump, of Cityspace Construction at the new Whole Foods in Short Pump. I’ve been wanting to catch one of his classes for some time now, and he did a great job teaching attendees about residential solar options to help offset energy consumption (and costs). His presentations are down-to-earth and make green construction and renovation concepts easy to understand. Blue offers free classes there and at Ellwood Thompson’s to share green ideas with homeowners throughout the Richmond area.
Feel free to visit the Cityspace website for more information on this business and their free educational classes.
Digging around on the internet, I came across this clever video that demonstrates how to safely remove paint from metal objects around your home. This homeowner used a common household appliance to do the trick, and didn’t need to use any toxic chemicals.
We’re excited to share with you that Richmond now has its first green retail home-improvement store, EcoLogic!
EcoLogic is located at 1606 W. Main Street in the Uptown district of Richmond, and carries a variety of beautiful products available for making your home a better and healthier place. Among the products carried at EcoLogic are natural linoleum, salvaged hardwood flooring, cork flooring, soapstone and slate countertops, PaperStone countertops (yes, they’re made from paper), recycled glass tile, eco-friendly paints and earth plasters (our favorite, American Clay), and LED lighting.
At Dramatic Changes, we use AFM Safecoat products and American Clay, and we are thrilled that Fred and Stephanie have chosen to carry them in their store. These great products deserve all the attention they can get! For more information on EcoLogic, feel free to stop in their store for a tour, or you can visit their website here.
In our little paint world, it’s easy to think about the products we work with every day and forget about the bigger picture. Why are we driven to offer healthier products to our customers? There are a lot of reasons. In this entry, we share a lecture given by Alex Steffen during the 2005 TED conference. What is TED? TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Their annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).
In this lecture, Alex Steffen challenges us to look at our world through a broad lens. The small choices we make each day, including using healthy materials in our homes, can make a big difference…
I received an email today from the James River Green Building Council that referenced a recent article published July 18th on Richmond.com. It talks about the practicality of making our homes “green”, and whether or not it really is cost-effective. Many of the people I talk to feel like making their homes eco-friendly is unaffordable. Additionally, much of what we hear on the news talks about what’s happening in other parts of the country. What’s happening here in Virginia? This article references several local professionals who are working to make green buildings a reality for homes and business spaces alike.
For resources and supplies for making your home a healthier place to live, consider a visit to EcoLogic, a green home supply store that’s slated to open in mid-August on Main Street in the City of Richmond.
I get this question all the time. I was talking with a contractor earlier this week, and I told her that paints are one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways you can use healthier products in (or on) your home. In a market where people are becoming increasingly aware of green alternatives, we offer reassurance that painting doesn’t have to be a home improvement that breaks the bank.
There are over 10 different brands of low- and no-VOC paints and wall-coverings available here in Richmond. There are even more within an hour’s drive. Most people are surprised by this, and they’re even more surprised when I tell them that these paints not only rival the quality of traditional products, but they’re also cost-competitive. If you buy paint from a reputable local paint store, you’re probably looking to spend between $30-40 a gallon. To purchase an eco-friendly version, you’ll likely spend between $32 and $45 a gallon. This also means that our painting quotes reflect a reasonable materials cost for work within your home.
If you’re looking for healthier paints in Richmond, feel free to contact us. We can help you find the right product for your home improvement job.
I was recently introduced to an organization that brings issues related to sustainability and eco-friendly living called Back Porch Initiatives. As you’ll see on their site, Back Porch is a non-profit organization working with communities to cultivate local responses to the national and global issue of energy consumption. The Back Porch team is committed to collaborating with communities on existing resources, leveraging new ideas, and developing practical, economical and environmental solutions.
Back Porch has extended an invitation for us to present during one of their weekly community conversations on Monday, July 21st, 2008. We’ll be speaking about healthy paint options available here in Richmond, and will also likely discuss the local green-building resources. We will be at Globehopper Coffeehouse at 2100 E. Main Street in Richmond’s historic Church Hill. This event is free and open to the public.
If you aren’t free to attend this coming Monday’s conversation, please know that Back Porch holds these talks every Monday evening from 7-8 pm at Globehopper.
It’s a buzz-word we’ve heard a lot in the paint world over the last few years. When I’m talking to customers, they often don’t understand what “VOC’s” mean, just that fewer of them is a good thing when it comes to paint. Simply put, VOC’s are gasses that contaminate the quality of the air inside your house. Among other things, it’s not uncommon for formaldehyde (you know, the stuff used to preserve our bodies after we die) to be present in the air following a paint job, and not just for a few days. There are plenty of other chemicals, and up to 50% of the toxic gasses and carcinogens from traditional paints leak into your home up to six years after it dries on your wall. You can often tell a traditional paint from one that has been produced without these same hazardous preservatives - It smells like chemicals, and most people want to get out of a freshly painted house as quickly as they can. The most noticeable side effects are those that are immediate, such as headaches or light-headedness.
Many manufacturers have chosen to remove these unnecessary chemicals from their paints, without sacrificing quality. When you use a paint that has ingredients proven to keep your air cleaner than traditional competitors, it’s a good thing. It’s important to note that not all low- or no-VOC paints are created equal. Be a smart consumer - When you hire a paint contractor, whether it’s Dramatic Changes or someone else, ask questions about the products they use. Request information, and look them up on the web. Most products nowadays will have frequently asked questions, contact email and phone numbers, as well as MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) posted online to make it easier for people to learn about the products available for their home.
Now in its 38th year, Earth Day is a special time set aside to recognize ways we can actively improve and care for our environment. By now, we’ve all heard the magic words to live by when it comes to healthier living: reduce, reuse, and recycle.
When it comes to truly understanding the impact of your lifestyle on the environment, though, do you know where to turn for resources? The Low Impact Living website is a great place to start. The Low Impact Living Calculator will ask you about such things as the square footage of your home, the type of heating and cooling systems you use, and will ask how much you recycle. You can calculate your environmental footprint here in less than 5 minutes.
My score is a 40. What’s yours? More importantly, what do you plan to do about it?
Feel free to contact us if you’d like to know about local resources for eco-friendly living. We’re happy to help!
