Remodeling and Paint

We selected Yolo Colorhouse paint when we did our remodeling. It is Green Seal Certified. They produce zero VOC paint and primer in a variety of beautiful colors.  As Yolo puts it – VOCs are bad for people and the environment. You can smell them and they easily off gas throughout your home and into the atmosphere. They cause health problems and may be depleting the Ozone.

This part of green affects people directly as you inhale any chemicals coming from the paint in your home.  The cost premium was only a couple dollars a gallon. Yolo also has poster sized color swatches with actual paint on them. No need to buy wasteful small sample cans.  You can also reuse the swatch as gift wrap. Quality of the paint was decent and there was no need for many coats.

The next time we needed to paint a room, Benjamin Moore had a line of no VOC paint that we purchased. The Natura paint line has virtually no odor and no VOCs. Even if you have your paint tinted, it will still retain a no VOC rating unlike other paints.

Most paint lines including Benjamin Moore and Kelly Moore now include zero or low VOC paints, so look for them when shopping.  Large chains such as Lowes even carry zero VOC paints.

VOC limits are set for 250 grams per liter (g/l) for flat paints, 380 g/l for others by the US Government.  California limits it to 100 g/l and 150 g/l. Los Angeles limits it to 50 g/l.

Keep in mind that a base paint color might be zero VOC but any color tints added to a base color usually will add VOCs.

Green Seal approved paints have VOC levels of 50 g/l or lower for flat paints, 100 g/l otherwise.

Quality make be inferior and more coats may be needed with these paints when compared to ‘regular’ paint, but is it worth inhaling chemicals to have a longer lasting finish?

Eco Friendly Green Exterior Paint

Eco friendly Green exterior paint has different attributes to look for when compared to interior paint.

Exterior paints have fungicides. The best choice for an exterior paint is one that has zinc oxide as the fungicide. Next best choices are zero- to very low-VOC paints, acrylic or latex paints, and recycled water-based paint. Avoid oil-based paints because of their high VOC content, as well as paint from old cans that may contain mercury or lead. California’s VOC rules have forced most paint manufactures to reforumate paint for all states.

AFM Safecoat makes a low voc All Purpose Exterior Satin. Yolo Colorhouse makes a zero VOC exterior paint. Be sure to tint them with zero voc tints.

Consumer Reports Indoor Paint Review

Consumer Reports has a new issue entitled Best TVs with a great review of indoor paints including an independent review and discussion of low and no VOC paints.

Low VOC paints contain no more than 50 grams per liter of VOCs. At one time indoor paints contained almost 400 grams per liter of VOCs.

The top rated paints were low VOC with zero VOC ones rated lower. Some of the zero VOC paints that did well in Satin and Flat finishes that we have encountered in the past are Olympic Premium from Lowe’s. This paint is very inexpensive and available nationwide.

BestDealMagazines has 1yr subscriptions to Consumer Reports sold at a steep discount. Normal newsstand price is $77. Use 15% off coupon code in our right side column to save even more.

Elastomeric paint – Never paint your home again?

A recent radio commercial was advertising Elastomeric paint. They claim that you would Never have to paint your home again. You could laugh at your neighbors painting their houses every spring and summer. Money would be saved on painting as well as a reduction in all the chemicals and pollutants used in the processes. It was time to repaint our home, so we decided to look into this type of paint.

Elastomeric Paint Plusses

• Waterproof
• Available in most brands and colors
• Fills small cracks and holes. Great for masonry
• Flexible, Expands and contracts in response the weather changes. Good for wide temperature changes
• Limited lifetime warranty often available

Elastomeric Paint Weaknesses

• More costly. May cost up to 5 times more.
• Each can covers far less area than conventional paint
• Latex paint is good enough for smooth surfaces such as interior trim, Sheetrock, or smooth wood
• Spraying it on is required
• Not for use on steps, floors, or glazed brick
• Clean, dry and dull finish must be achieved before applying
• New concrete or stucco surfaces must wait up to 90 days before painting

With a typical paint job lasting up to 10 years, it would take a long time to make back the price differential. If you were to sell your house, there is the distinct chance that the next owner would want to repaint it to their color scheme, negating any price premium.

Recycling Paint

Paint cannot be simply tossed into the trash or drain. Check with your local hazardous waste disposal department, as most will help you recycle paint. Paintcare has established hundreds of drop off sites to help you recycle extra paint. This program covers interior and exterior coatings sold in 5 gallon or less containers.

California required the paint industry to develop a new program to recycle post consumer paint waste. This program was created in response to this.

Granite counter tops are desirable upgrades for many remodeling their kitchen.  We investigated green, eco friendly alternatives like Icestone, Vetrazzo, Richlite, Paperstone but did not find any finishes to our liking.  Also the price for the granite we liked was less that all these. We could buy granite and donate the extra money to charity or carbon offsets.  We tried to buy granite that was from more responsible countries, so we excluded China, India, Iran. We tried to buy ‘local’ American but only a salt and pepper color was available.

We are installing granite countertops and I needed to find an alternative to the epoxy that they use to glue the granite to the plywood put on top of our kitchen cabinets.  We were looking for Zero VOC or no VOC or low VOCs in adhesives and finishes.

I found Greenchoice Titebond Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive with a low 6.6g/L of VOC’s or volatile organic compounds. No oils to discolor items. At $3.19, it was not too costly. Alternates I found had up 47 g/L or more VOC’s.  My installer wanted to use epoxy, which is a commonly used adhesive.

Another possible adhesive Liquid Nails for marble and granite has even more VOCs at 115 g/L!

Pro Spec B150 is the epoxy adhesive alternative.  It does not have VOCs but does have BPA as an ingredient. So the trade off in using it is not clear cut.  Accept some VOCs or go for no VOCs with some ingredients not being too healthy.  At least the epoxy stays underneath and is not exposed.

Well we tried epoxy on a large section and after wards, the smell was so bad we had to leave the house for 6 hours.  Be warned that that the fumes are overwhelming. Once past this initial phase, air quality is fine. Someday a water or soy based adhesive will be available.

Indoor air quality is an important part of being Green as it affects you directly.

Some possible alternatives to epoxy:

Geocel 3500 Tile Adhesive Sealant at 0.09 g/l VOC (May need to clamp it after installation for a couple days)

Make sure you seal your granite counter tops with a water based sealer like low voc Aqua Mix Sealer’s Choice Gold. (4% voc)

Alternative to granite countertops, Concrete countertops

American builders have recently welcomed making concrete countertops at their home sites, reducing costs, and creating a new green building technology. An average 50 square feet granite countertop costs around  $2000, with a comparable concrete countertop costing around $1100.

Be sure to check out our post on Radioactive countertops

Also consider a recycled tile backsplash to add some color to your kitchen or bathroom. You can install this directly on the wall when mounted on a removable board.

Richlite Green Eco Friendly Countertops

Richlite makes paper-based kitchen countertops. We considered them when we needed a new countertop but moved on when we saw the high cost and limited finishes. It is made of recycled paper and does not off gas, but it is also made with a petroleum based resin. It is hard to find a material that is 100% green. Using salvaged materials is much more green, but takes a lot more effort.

Granite Counter Top Fabrication

Once you select a slab of granite for your new kitchen counter top, a granite fabricator needs to step in to cut and form it into the desired dimensions. These are often different companies than the stone yards that sell the granite. Many of these firms are obscure small local companies so visibility is very limited.

We managed our firm well, ensuring they used more eco friendly sealers and glues that are low in VOCs. We also looked at the leftovers and had them create a round top for a table. Most people do not realize that extra pieces are left over, so do your homework.

Radioactive Granite Countertops

photo credit: avidtile
New York Times had an article that started a scare for myself and others shopping for or possessing granite countertops. It warned about the dangers of granite containing high levels of dangerous uranium or other radioactive materials, which would also release radon gas as it decays. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.

Because we were going to purchase granite countertops, we felt it wish to purchased a Geiger counter for a couple hundred dollars to ensure our future countertop was safe.

We found that the better stone companies had geiger counters themselves and rejected stones that did not meet their standards. The lesser companies did not do this. Pieces from developing countries or exotic colors may be more likely to need testing. While the likelihood of buying a ‘hot’ piece of stone exists, it is not very likely according to the stone dealers.

Eco Friendly Green Kitchen and Bathroom Tile

What type of attributes should one look for when purchasing new tiles for their bathroom or kitchen? The following list is what we looked for when purchasing new tile:

• Local manufacturers. Less fuel used in transport, helping the local economy.
• High recycled content. Some ceramic tiles contain 100% in house manufacturing waste. There are 100% recycled content glass tiles from vendors such as Bedrock Industries.
• Neutral colors. We have seen some cool designs, but fear they would not stand the test of time.
• Easy to clean tile with minimal outcroppings.

Eco Friendly and Green Grout

Grout is used to seal up the spaces between tiles. There are not a lot of options in grout. As with most other building materials, we are looking for products that do not off gas toxic VOC’s. StarQuartz is one of the few products that utilizes urethane grout and fulfilled our requirements. Be aware that they recommend non vinegar and none acidic cleaners be used on this grout.

Also remember to use a green grout sealer. AFM makes such a product that we used in our last remodel. AFM also makes a good adhesive for gluing the tiles on to the wall.

Good Green Remodeling Book

We’re doing remodeling and want to be as ‘Green’ as possible, so I found this book. Prescriptions for a Healthy House – It covers all aspects of a house in very good detail and includes lots of suggestions for alternative building materials. It covers everything from kitchens to bathrooms, tile to counter tops to flooring. Learn about Eco Label Tiles to Linoleum made from flax seed.

One problem is that some materials just are not very available. Several items were not stocked by any dealers in the entire San Francisco Bay area. At least I learned about qualities to look for in alternate products.

We also have Good Green Kitchens but find that book not as detailed.

Our Related posts include:

Green Construction – Building and Remodelling the Green way

California Green Remodeling Resources

Eco Friendly or Green Kitchen Cabinets

Reducing Construction Waste

Construction debris can make up over a quarter of a landfill. Here are some tips for reducing construction waste from our recent remodeling project.

We have covered donating unwanted items in the past. Craigslist proved very useful in giving away old kitchen cabinets, countertops, extra wood, and many other items. We also moved into our garage for much more organized storage.

Our contractor was instrumental in diverting old items toward for use on other projects he was working on. Many items went to a local church.

We were left with extra construction supplies such as adhesives and sealers, parts, etc. We returned as many as we could to vendors and gave the extras back to our contractor for future projects. No sense in adding stuff that would never be used to our storage space.

Here are some of the attributes we looked for when selecting eco friend kitchen cabinets earlier this year:

1. FSC certified Wood or wood from a responsibly farm source.  I actually spoke to the wood mill to understand where our wood was coming from.  Lyptus and Bamboo are rapidly making in roads.
2. Water based finish to minimize VOC emissions.  There were issues on finish durability in the past, but quality seems to have improved.
3. Water based glues to minimize VOC emissions.
4. Marine grade plywood or non MDF Medium Density Fiberboard particle board cabinet box. Also to prevent off-gassing emissions from formaldehyde, etc. Interlam and Topan make MDF without formaldehyde.
5. As local as possible a supplier to minimize transport costs and fuel use.

We also relocated many of our old cabinets to our kitchen and donated everything else for use in a local church.

Some cabinets including mines are KCMA certified, but frankly their rules are not very aggressive in the area of eco friendliness. (Emissions etc)  It is more of a cabinet industry association.

When we began our search in early 2007, we were educating stores on what green cabinetry was.  The main sources used to be boutique local small craftsmen shops. Today, we see firms advertising ‘Green’ cabinets. HGTV has a video on this are.

Also considered cabinet refacing. You replace the doors and a veneer is placed over your existing cabinets. This is much cheaper than replacing the cabinets. New drawer pulls and handles will also update your kitchen’s look. You will reuse the ‘guts’ of your cabinets, so they need to be in good shape for this option. Some companies have options to also replace drawers.

Eco Friendly, Green Coconut Palm Wood

Coconut Palm wood is an eco friendly and green flooring alternative to bamboo. It is a by product of coconut production and has even received FSC certification.

Smith and Fong makes palmwood flooring and palmwood plywood. We have flooring from this company and find it top rate.

When installing flooring, try to avoid gluing it down if possible. If you need to use glue, use a low or no VOC glue.

Growing Bamboo

Wouldn’t it be interesting to have bamboo in your backyard? It is environmentally friendly, grows fast, and can make for a nice property line wall. You can also use it for other projects. I did some research that made me realize that it is more than most people can handle.

The problem is that bamboo spreads relentlessly, is almost indestructible, and its roots are like steel. People have to setup physical barriers like metal flashing to prevent its spread. I think I’ll stick to bamboo flooring..

Fireclay Tile – Recycled materials and Sustainable manufacturing

Fireclay Tile is a tile company that utilizes Recycled materials and Sustainable manufacturing to produce high-quality ceramic and glass tile. They are based in based in San Jose, CA and make most products in the USA.

They recycle everything from glass bottles to porcelain toilets, vanities, and bathtubs are recycled into beautiful ceramic tile. They use a lead-free glaze and proved that recycled does not mean you have to compromise on aesthetics.

Eco Friendly, Green Zero VOC Wood Stains

As part of our remodeling, we need to stain a new door and some replacement wood flooring, to fix damaged areas. Our contractor usually uses Minwax products. The normal one they use has 500 g/L of VOC. Even their low voc versions contain a maximum VOC of 250 g/L. Way too high. We went looking for something more ECO friendly with zero or low VOCs for better indoor air quality. Amazon sells this wood stain for less than our local hardware store.

We found Bioshield Aqua Resin Wood Colors #33 that is a solvent-free water-based, Zero VOC, low-drip, resilient wood stain finish for interior and exterior applications. Colors are limited but you can always mix them. It is available at several ECO oriented stores in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Moving from 500 g/L to Zero VOC is a huge improvement.

We are trying to stain and air out items in the garage or outdoors to further reduce indoor emissions. It took about 3 days for the smell to go away.