Harvest your rainwater. Northern California weather patterns limit rainfall to the winter and early spring. A cistern, tank or 50-gallon barrel fed by your home’s downspouts can store rainwater for irrigation during the dry months – and save tap water for other things.
Deconstruct, don’t scrape. A sizable tax deduction, feelings of well-being and interesting experiences selling items such as counter tops and doors can await homeowners who choose to have an old home appraised, carefully taken apart and salvaged.
Use fly-ash concrete. Cement used in traditional concrete requires a lot of energy to extract and prepare limestone, sand and gravel. By having your contractor use fly-ash – a waste product of coal-fired power plants – instead of cement, you can increase the strength, durability and water-resistance of your concrete (though it may take longer to cure).
Optimize your framing. Reducing the redundancy and over-building common with conventional framing in a new or remodeled house can save you around $1 per square foot. Where possible, lay out your building with studs and joists on 24-inch centers, use double 2X lumber for window headers, and use drywall clips instead of corner studs.
Build decks with sustainable materials. Plastic lumber or plastic-wood lumber are low-maintenance, cost-effective alternatives to redwood, which can be irresponsibly harvested – and the use of which contributes to the loss of California’s coastal old-growth forests. Use redwood from forests managed to biodiversity, or consider a stone or brick patio.
–Source: San Mateo Countywide Guide Sustainable Buildings, February 2004
