Not so green clients - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

LaurieC · 03-27-2008, 06:39 AM

Did all of my research (everyday for a few hours for a week), found out that because CA has Title 24, and SFC laws a large % of our building pracices are already "greenier".

Then I met with the clients last night. Brought 50 samples of "green" cork, marmolium, no voc paint, all the eco tiles you could imagine. Their reaction..., "oh, those are ugly. Choices...Granite, porcelain tiles, glass accent tiles (just happen to be 85% recycled), low VOC paint, regular bat insulation (owens corning Green Guard). I believe they call this "green washing" when people claim to be green, but their really not, unless it's cheap, and easy...

**Double-A** · 03-27-2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurieC

I believe they call this "green washing" when people claim to be green, but their really not, unless it's cheap, and easy...

Cheap, easy and green? Sounds like a date for St. Patrick's.

Milhaus · 03-28-2008, 01:36 AM

Research is the best part of this whole deal. I love learning about the green. The silly clients suck, but you came away with all that research and knowledge. Next time, it will be on the tip of your tongue and you'll impress that one person that can change your world. Yeah, I'm an idealist and a dreamer. Bad combo????

I've been researching til the wee hours of the morning quite often. It's going to pay off someday. Good for you being prepared.

mark

LaurieC · 03-28-2008, 06:43 AM

Mark- thanks. I put a lot of work into the research, and like you said. I can use it next time. We are doing some pretty cool stuff. Solar panels, furnace that runs off of the solar panels. Reclaiming and reusing their (E) wood floors (not sure this will work, they're nail down). And LED lights everywhere. So it wasn't a total bust.

Double A- LOL

MALCO.New.York · 03-28-2008, 11:18 AM

Solar and LED are the answers to a large part of our problems!!!!! That is as "green" as it gets.

As I posted in the other thread.......all you realize through research today equates to more $ tomorrow .

dougchips · 03-29-2008, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurieC

I believe they call this "green washing" when people claim to be green, but their really not, unless it's cheap, and easy...

Going Green somehow means saving money. Most people use green products to save money or because they are forced into it because of local laws. For example, people in my area recycle because it saves them money on their garbage bill. Low flow toilets and shower heads are only used because it's hard to find the really good water wasting ones.

I started a Green Home Improvement Blog a month ago in order to provide people with a resource for finding out about green products and green home improvement projects. It's odd how the green blogging community are promoting green products more than most of the companies that make the products.

MALCO.New.York · 03-29-2008, 11:44 AM

NO! Most people today go "Green" to be Avant Garde. It is still an Elitest attitude.

Most "free-thinking" persons are so wrapped up in their beliefs that they become separated from the "rest" of us!

Sooner or later America WILL come of age and do what needs to be done to make changes in our attitudes.

LaurieC · 04-05-2008, 07:40 AM

Doug- ok, love the site...but I have 1000 questions about the green roofs. How do you mow it, if you don't have goats handy? What about water damage? I can see the sod, even a few veggies...afterall, their roots are pretty shallow. But trees? come on now. We all know the damage roots do to sidewalks, I can't even imagine the damage that could happen when placing a tree on your roof. Love to know what your thoughs are.

dougchips · 04-05-2008, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurieC

Doug- ok, love the site...but I have 1000 questions about the green roofs. How do you mow it, if you don't have goats handy? What about water damage? I can see the sod, even a few veggies...afterall, their roots are pretty shallow. But trees? come on now. We all know the damage roots do to sidewalks, I can't even imagine the damage that could happen when placing a tree on your roof. Love to know what your thoughs are.

You must of clicked on one of the links on my blogroll. The site with the pictures of the "green roofs" is http://blog.food2gro.com/ . Before I saw her article, I always thought of a "green roof" as something made from the metal coated shingles, the plastic fake slate or in some cases real slate.

Laurie, try it on your home and put a site sign on your roof, I'll bet that you will make the front page of your local news paper. You can rent goats by the day if you don't want long term pets. Here's a goat site with another picture of them on the roof (same author) http://goatstories.blogspot.com/.

milancole · 05-28-2008, 11:49 AM

I just took a class in Green / Eco roofs. I think they make the most sense on commercial buildings with "flat" roofs. However, they can add a nice aesthetic to homes as well and can be done on steeper roofs with some soil retention designing.

Apparently the plants that do best on the shallow soil of an eco roof are suculents, specifically varieties of sedum and some grasses as well. The benefit of the suculents is that they are fairly low maintenance and don't tend to grow that big.

jmgrahamjr · 06-13-2008, 10:26 PM

You can grow trees on roofs as long as the trees root system is restricted. The best way is to leave it in a large pot or create your own pot with cement. With the root system restricted the tree will not grow much bigger and there is no place for the roots to grow. Just make sure that the roof is built to handle such a load. Don’t forget to include the weight of the water while watering.