River City Referrals

Subliminally, Earth Day made me do it. Consciously, I was simply replacing a small, built in, wooden medicine cabinet in our downstairs bathroom. I took out the wood framing carefully--- intending to reuse it. We had a mirrored-door medicine cabinet from our recent bathroom upgrade in the attic that would fit the whole in the wall perfectly. Thanks to my Mom, I rarely throw anything “usable” out. If I could get rid of the mirror part on the front I could glue the wooden door on it and make a faux wood panel. With a little elbow grease the mirror part came off. It was fairly easy to glue the wooden frame to the existing plastic cover with construction adhesive. It was secured into place, and voila---a new medicine cabinet recycled into a larger and much more attractive one for free. Who wouldn't love that?
Money House

That's when it hit me---I reused and recycled on Earth Day! It was easy, cheap, attractive and felt great! Wow.

Green remodeling can be simple, but like me, many Richmond homeowners and clients have no idea what it really involves. I didn't set out to do an Earth Day project per say. We just needed more storage and I could hear my Mom's voice saying "There is nothing wrong with that cabinet in the attic- reuse it!” (Did I mention she is the master recycler/reuser?)

So I set out to find out what defines green, environmental, eco-friendly, organic, energy-efficient...okay, you get the point. What I found is there is no such thing as a right or wrong way to be "green".

We started by simply recycling our trash at our home. It means less in the landfills, more things recycled and reused and a $25 savings each month for us on trash pickup. Scrap wood from our recent bathroom upgrade was pulled out of the trash pile, and went into our fireplace during cold weather. Then it spread to the office, and so on, and so on.

Building and remodeling green is a thinking process, not a contest to see how many green things you as a homeowner can incorporate into your home. Do what you can within your budget and personal motivation. Lots of things are free or save money. Some are more expensive in the short run. Lots are energy efficient. Most look no different than traditional building or decorating.

The hardest part for area homeowners we spoke to is deciding just how "green" they want their rooms or homes to be. When it comes to green remodeling, you don't have to do everything green, but anything you do will help. For example, some of our customers are updating older homes. How about using recycled or salvaged wood from Eco Supply Center on Roseneath Road here in Richmond? Are you adding more space because of a change in lifestyle? How about insulating with fabulous new cheap alternative- recycled denim? Yes, blue jeans. It actually holds more heat and absorbs more sound than traditional insulation. It’s available at Nature Neutral in Charlottesville. Are you simply tired of your wall color and want something new? Check out Sally Fretwell's low VOC paint on Ridgefield Parkway? It's great quality, comes in lots of colors and costs no more to apply. Using products that are locally or regionally produced also supports the local economy, and requires less energy and fewer resources during production and transportation.

And if you haven’t heard, Richmond is a proud new location for EarthCraft House (which we are proud to be associated with). EarthCraft House is an innovative new green building program that serves as a blueprint for healthier, more comfortable homes reducing utility bills and protecting the environment. More and more builders in the area are getting certified as EarthCraft builders. It follows in the footsteps of LEEDS certification and Energy Star certification. Tankless water heaters, green roofs, tight HVAC installation, energy efficient windows and more are hallmarks of these homes. The best part is that the exterior and interior appearances of these green buildings don't look any different than other conventional buildings. The majority of differences can be seen only as improved energy efficiency and air quality, which are all built within the structure of the home---fabulous!

We at River City Referrals are committed to providing our customers with alternative green contractors, builders and designers we’ve already begun by joining the James River Green Building Association. We’d love to take you along for the ride and make sure we all get our greens today. Won’t you join us?

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