Excellent Renovation Advice

Here is some objective advice about hiring a contractor for your renovation. I often don't give this advice emphatically enough  because it appears self-serving to do so. I'll let someone else say it this time: hire a good general contractor, it's worth the money. PS: Be sure to read the first comment.

The Perfect Wall (wonkish)

I've adopted the (wonkish) tag from one of my favorite writers. I'll leave it to you to figure out who it is since he doesn't write about home design and it would be way off track to mention here. A different favorite writer, one who does write about home design although in a very technical way  is Joe Lstiburek of Building Sciences Corporation. I highly recommend that you visit the BSC site if you're interested in technical analysis of building performance issues. Anyway....this is a great article (in Joe's inimitable style) that helps to clarify the complicated interaction of  moisture, air, and heat.

Sustainable Cabinetry

Virtually all cabinetry is manufactured with industrial materials and processes that are resistant to sustainable practices. You have to look beneath the surface to evaluate the real story behind the hype. This article from EBuild magazine spells out many of the issues. Perfect sustainability is not possible. As a consumer, you have to think about what are the most important issues for you. Recycled content? FSC certified wood products? Low or Zero VOC finishes? Or do you want to look deeper into a particular manufacturer's process? How do they handle waste? How do they heat their buildings? Do you want complete lifecycle analysis?
ONe cabinet manufacturer we like is Holiday Kitchens, they have a good style selection and mid-range prices. Our friends at Terrene have checked out their sustainability practices and found them in line with best practices for the industry.

Universal Design, Aging In Place

I've  noticed that several of the young people in our office have cobbled together funky furniture arrangements so that they can work standing up. This was once thought to be something only old people had to do. I predict that in a few years everyone will be using stand-up desks (and there's more room for files below). Universal Design is simply good human-centric design as I've written before and it's rapidly becoming mainstream, not just something for old or disabled people. A good article from the NYT points out that you can spend some time and effort on good design now and create a home for your old age for less than a year's stay in a retirement home. Design for aging in place is no different than Universal Design. This Caring Home has great articles, ideas, and products related to interior design for aging in place.

Non-slip river rock flooring, a great idea!

Two visions of the future

There seem to be two different visions emerging for the future of housing. The community based model and the industrial model. Community based examples such as Earthship and the natural building movement that I've written about before emphasize the use of local, non-industrial materials and community "labor capital".

Earthship in Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico

 Another vision is the capital intensive version such as BluHomes that I have also written about. These visions are not necessarily competing or mutually exclusive. The industrial model recognizes that we live in an industrial community too. Many people who have capital resources do not live "close to the land" do not have access to "labor capital" and do not  have access to natural materials.

BluHomes affordable ecofriendly prefab