summer time, and the livin' is LAZY

23 days between posts... my, aren't I turning into quite the lazy-butt!

In my defense, things are moving quite fast in all this heat, so fast it's hard to keep up.

I have decided to rent out the Graybar condo. Despite all the remodeling we did (and how darn cute i think it looks!), we were unable to sell it and frankly, folks, I'm just ready to move on. I'll be moving over toward the 12 south district (walking to the frothy monkey and the devi clinic? yes, please!) and two very sweet girls will be moving into Graybar.

Needless to say, moving out is taking up a lot of head space! Mixed in with all of that are money-thoughts. The Prius has been the "biggest" green thing I've done, and it has been cause for lots of thinking about both my place in the big world and my little concerns about money and quality of life.

The past 8 months have been a time of great changes for me in the way i think about my life and my goals about how i want to live it. Living like a hotel guest in the condo while it's been on the market has been at the center of these thoughts... one big thought was "should I sell the Prius?"

Cons:
- I only have to fill up once a month most of the time
- what am I gonna buy to replace it? some old clunker that breaks down all the time? I've been using the Prius to drive to Memphis & Chattanooga for my new job and it really pays off b/c the company reimburses mileage at $0.505 a mile!
- if i get a bike, what the hell am I going to do when it rains? when i have to look nice (i.e. not sweaty?)
- I just bought a new set of tires for it
- I am seriously attached to the cute little thing

Pros: (here's where it gets interesting)
- According to the Kelley Blue Book site, I could actually private-party sell my car for just $1,413 less than the loan i took out on it originally... that's $2,554 more than I currently owe on the loan. What i boils down to is that I could basically sell the prius and it would have only cost me $6K to use it for 17 months.
- If those numbers are correct, I could get a bike and stop using gas pretty much altogether (just renting a car when i need to drive out of town - and if those numbers are correct, I could rent a car 40% of the year.)

So.
I'm really having a hard time with this.
Given that the condo has not sold, while the renters will be covering my mortgage costs, I still have the debt i incurred in remodeling the little beastie. Not having a car payment would mean i could pay those suckers down much faster than I will currently be able to.
But, I whine to myself, I like her so muuuuuuuuch...

Well, a happy Friday to you all. I'm looking forward to a weekend of a little packing (I probably have 2 boxes of stuff in addition to the furniture) and a lot of taking advantage of my last weekend to be blissing out on the back patio. This time next week, chickadees, I'll be out of that condo until at least July 31 2009.

Green remodel follow-up

I've been enjoying the bamboo floors for 6 months now, and stumbled upon an article on Slate.com today that had me revisit the decision.

If I'm remembering properly, this is the flooring that we bought.
I have searched and searched but I can't find anything about this company on the internet. Next time I'm at HD, I'm going to look for the company's number on the box... although it's possible i'll have to call HD instead.

I'm still pretty happy with the floors. They're easy to clean and haven't undergone any real damage since I've been using them daily. I wonder, though, about the points cited in the Slate article.
What kind of sealant is on there? what kind of growing practices were used on that bamboo?

In the end, i guess, there's only so much we can do. There are only so many hours in the day. I hope that, like my Prius purchase, my buy will spur others to also buy bamboo products and make them more popular and prevalent. But I can't spend all day, every day researching the minutae of different companies. It feels exhausting.

I'm doing the best I can, I guess, and ultimately I'm happy with those floors b/c they were the best decision I felt I could make.

And they are just so pretty...

Green Remodel phase 4: on the market!

Well, folks - the two-week (unplanned) hiatus has come to an end - after much effort, sweat, sawdust, paint and adrenaline, my Graybar unit is on the market!

You can check out the official photos here.

Notice all the cool enviro-friendly stuff - those toilets are dual flow (according to Dad, you don't need the second flow - the small one is enough... thanks for the TMI, dad), the floors are solid bamboo, the a/c control is digital. We left in the original cabinets but repainted and re-hardwared them, and we left in the kitchen countertops and matched the rest of the countertops to them (reuse is one of those three Rs!).

Also, I took a video of the place while it was still in progress (with all intentions being to post it last week - ::sigh:: this remodel really got the better of me!)



As for me, I'm camping out in Murfreesboro with the dogs and my very gracious, very patient brother. I'll keep you updated - my next post, I think, will be about Nashville's Lipscomb U, which is one of a handful of universities that has been chosen for a green-test pilot program.

Green Remodel phase 3: cleaning up and health concerns

With the floors nearly completed and all the plumbing stuff ordered, last week we reconnoitered to clean up what had quickly become a dust bomb. The sheetrock dust, sawdust and good ole people dust had combined to make the 1,000 square feet of condo look like a war zone.

Thank goodness mom arrived with her organizational skills (and, of course, a healthy dose of guilt for us about how messy we've been). We got that place clean and empty in just one afternoon. That freed up space to finish off the floors, and now we'll move on to the painting while our tile guy flies through the bathrooms and we await the arrival of toilets, sinks and countertops.

But getting the rest of my stuff out of the place and trying to quell the dust cloud (which resulted in both Matt and Dad hacking and horking) got me interested in how to stay healthy when you're remodeling. Obviously, you can't help making dust & dirt or disturbing what's already there. Not only that, but sometimes you're forced to use supplies that aren't exactly carbon-based-life-form-friendly.

Case in point is the experience of laying the bamboo floors in the back two rooms. We had to take up the carpet & pad that was there and then lay the floor directly on the concrete. In addition to the nasty dust created while trying rip up the carpet and then scraping bits of padding off of the slab (the padding was originally glued to the concrete with god-knows-what-kind-of glue), we then had to saw the flooring to fit where needed and then glue it down (whereas in the rest of the house we could nail it to the existing wood floors). Not only do you have a lung issue (ack - concrete dust and wood dust?!), but you have the problem of how to remove glue from your skin (Dad, that health nut, uses turpentine).

So - what can you do to stay healthy while remodeling? How can you keep your lungs safe? What can you use to clean so you don't burn off your skin? Here's some stuff I've found that can see you through any remodeling project.

Dust is oft-encountered and rather benign-seeming at first - from sheetrock, wood, etc. One of the first projects we did was opening up the wall to create a bar area between the kitchen and living room. This resulted in sheetrock removal, repair... and DUST.

Different kinds of dust cause different reactions, but in general, inhalation can lead to allergic reactions, asthma, diminished lung capacity, and cancer. Check out the CDC NIOSH report and the section about wood dust on this site.

There are lots of facemask options at out there, ranging from super-cheap to luxurious. And, if you're going to be kicking up dust in a localized, interior area, check out this super-cool toy called a ZipWall! I really wish we'd had that!

As for the glue, dad looked and looked, but could not find one that was non-toxic.
We bought this. When you're using this glue, it's best to wear a mask against the fumes and chemical-resistant gloves. When you need to clean glue off the wood itself (or your skin... if you didn't wear the aforementioned gloves... DAD), you CAN get something less corrosive than turpentine (which ) - try these wipes made by a glue company.

However, as I was looking for safety information, I came across this glue that is 100% green! MAN, I wish we'd known about this! It's DriTrac EcoUrethane. ::sigh:: I just have to remember that this *is* a learning process.

In my search for safety-related information, I also stumbled upon a very in-depth document provided by the CDC NIOSH about ergonomics for construction workers! Although my focus in terms of health was about avoiding poisonous stuff, I was intrigued that this document exists! It focuses on tools that help avoid physical stress as well as educates the reader a little bit about ergonomics.

Anyway, all of this continues to be a learning process! I will certainly be happy when the messy part is over, and we can finally get this puppy on the market. For now, though, I'll just have to content myself with digging into all this new information!

Green Remodel phase 2: bathrooms & painting

Obviously this remodel is getting to me - three days late on posting! Last week we tore up the carpeting in the back bedrooms. It was only 2 years old, and with the exception of about 5x11 feet in one room, was clean and totally usable. I put in on Freecycle and within 4 hours, found someone to come get it that same night! Freecycle is AWESOME.

Anyway, we are now laying the bamboo flooring, so my mind is of course looking forward to the next project: bath fixtures, toilets, countertops + sinks, and painting!

First of all, i did not know it, but you can replace the face of a shower fixture without actually having to install a completely new set-up. I was looking at something like this, but then decided that, since the plumbing is perfectly fine, it would be better to look to replace the rusty facing on the shower fixtures. We're still looking for a place to buy them.

As for the toilets, I think this might be my favorite 'green' item of the moment - a dual-flush (or "dual flow" or "european") toilet. These toilets let you use only a little bit of water if a big flush isn't necessary. This is so much better than letting something "mellow"! This should really be a visible 'green' upgrade, so I'm anxious to see if people like it. (if you search eBay for "dual flush toilet", bunches will come up - I think we're going to buy this one)

On to the countertops... we're still not sure what we're going to be replacing the bathroom sink countertops with. There are three options: silestone (what's in the kitchen), granite (a piece from the salvage yard), or "vetrazzo". Vetrazzo is the brand name (like Kleenex) for a concrete + glass slab. We are in the process of getting an estimate from 3D Concrete Design down in Murfreesboro. The concept is really cool - use recycled glass and concrete to make a really stunning, unique countertop. Check out their site for an idea of what i'm talking about.

On top of the countertops, we're going to have vessel sinks, the kind that sit on top of the countertop like a bowl. They have perfect ones at Southeastern Salvage, but they didn't come with the fixtures (which are insanely expensive at Home Depot), so we bought them off eBay instead.

Lots of 'green' stuff is about being healthy, and the paint we're going to use is more on the 'healthy' side than the truly green side. Dubbed "low VOC" (VOC meaning "volatile organic compounds"), it will smell less and release fewer harmful chemical compounds. Low-VOC paint is new - not recycled (which you can get but isn't good for interior surfaces) - but it is specifically formulated to not have that "off-gassing" effect that a lot of products have. Check out this article for more information.

So, that wraps up today's remodeling post - I'm sure there's more to come, as we are neck-deep in jazzing this place up. Next post, I'll talk about keeping your body healthy while doing a remodel - not an easy feat in many places, where demolition can be quite a rough ride!

Green Remodel phase 1: floors, tiling & lighting

So, we're getting pretty gung-ho about this green remodel!

Admittedly, some of the stuff we have done thus far has not been very green - we did buy standard lumber to finish out the header in the kitchen/living room (to create a bar pass-through from the kitchen to the living room, creating an actual dining area), and we have used standard sheetrock to finish it out. The door we put in to replace the window in one of the bedrooms was just a normal ole door - nothing really special except that it should be MUCH more insulative than that old drafty window that was there.

Still, we're working on some really big projects that ARE green, including flooring, tiling and lighting.

The flooring is what i have been most excited about for the longest time - we have 100% bamboo sitting in boxes ready to be laid. We looked for a long time for a product that was not veneer - I do love the look of bamboo, but what really flips my skirt up is the fact that bamboo is so very sustainable. Yes, taking out the old flooring to put in new isn't exactly 'no impact', but the idea here is to do a remodel, which buyers want, while also being as low-impact as possible. We are planning to 'freecycle' the old floors if possible, so ultimately i hope that someone will get some use out of the old wood floors.

The bathroom tile we're using is standard ceramic tile, which is made out of mud and then baked in ovens. There are tiles that are sun-baked, but they break easily; one of the perks of using ceramic tiling is that, if you get a quality product, it should last for a really long time (scroll down for the meaty part). We were able to buy this at the closest Home Depot, rather than have something specially shipped (I'm going for the least of any evils here while being on a tight budget, so I grudgingly went to HD for the purchase). We will install this ourselves in a few days, over the existing, broken/gross tiles. Sadly, Home Depot does not offer any overtly 'sustainable' tiling (they have this promo going called "Eco Options," so I thought they might, but the store associate we talked to didn't have ANY clue about this. If you're going to shop big-box, you've definitely got to come prepared and know exactly what to ask for. Sure, our tile is made of mud, but what about the grout compound? and what about the manufacturing process?)

We have already had the new lighting installed; we purchased 'Radium' track lighting from ikea - this replaces the old tracklighting, and it's only mildly green. First of all, they're halogen lights, which are the gluttons of the lighting world. However, these halogen bulbs have a lower-wattage than those used in the Home Depot version of the fixture. So, you get the same pretty lights without as much of an energy sink. We will also be reusing an old tracklight set for above the bar area, and reusing some old pendant lights. The rest of the house will be outfitted, where possible, with CFL bulbs (there are already a few).

So, that's it for the biggest projects - next up, I'll talk about the bathroom counters & sinks, dual flow toilets, and re-painting. Also,

If you're still hungry for more info, check out this site... I am finding it incredibly useful!