Green Real Estate Appraiser

Study watches a family in a net zero home for a year to determine challenges

Posted on April 10, 2015 | Leave a comment

DAVIS, calif. — There are no flying cars in Susan O’Hara and Stuart Bennett’s garage, nor robot servants waiting to fetch their slippers and a martini when they arrive home.

Here’s what the ultramodern house with the shed-style roof lines and lapstrake (overlapping planks) siding in this central California town has that you won’t find in a subdivision near you:

• Reclaimed wood for all the trim and furniture, as well as reclaimed nails. Even the concrete is sustainable. The foundation and polished-concrete floors contain pozzolan, which comes from volcanic ash and is used to reduce the amount of Portland cement needed. Making Portland cement requires lots of heat, and thus produces a considerable amount of carbon dioxide.

• This being drought-stricken California, the house is designed with the state’s high environmental protection and water- preservation standards in mind. Runoff water goes into a bioswale on the property, avoiding sewers that eventually empty into the Sacramento River. The collected runoff is used to water plants in the yard, saving fresh water in this drought-ravaged state.

• The house gets all its power from the sun, but remains connected to the grid. In a pinch, an electric car parked in their garage can power the house.

New Water Restrictions for San Diego Unveiled 4-8-2015

Posted on April 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

New San Diego water restrictions and incentives unveiled on Wednesday could leave some neighborhood parks brown, prompt more residents to tear out their grass and create a small army of workers combing the city to spot people wasting water.

• Reviving turf replacement rebates

• No more watering of medians

• Less water for small parks, municipal golf courses

• Stepped up enforcement of Nov. 1 restrictions.

Summary of Nov. 1 restrictions:

• Limit watering to three days a week

• No watering within 48 hours of rain

• Immediate repairs of leaks

• Restaurants serve water only by request

• Hotels clean linens only by request

Under proposed rules unveiled Tuesday by the state, water agencies would be assigned conservation targets depending on their previous use of water. If the rules are adopted as proposed, San Diego will have to shrink its usage by 20 percent.

Creative Ideas for Decorating a Boy’s Bedroom

Posted on April 8, 2015 | Leave a comment

When it comes to decorating kids’ bedrooms, boys’ spaces can get short shrift. Unlike the volumes and catalogs of styles for girls, only a few predictable themes seem to come up frequently when creating a bedroom for boys.

1. Keep it simple: The older a boy gets, the less he cares about filling every inch of the room. The longer he is in sports and activities, the more awards, trophies and memorabilia he will collect, which will, by default, become decor.

2. Encourage creativity: For some children, not everything important to them fits into a tidy theme. Chandler’s middle son wanted to have not only a theme, but also a way to express other interests such as displaying Minecraft posters, class photos and old license plates. “As parents, sometimes it’s hard to let go and allow our children to express their creative side because it doesn’t ‘go’ or match,” she said. “However, it’s his room, and he is the one living in it, after all.”

3. Pick a theme that will grow with your child: For their youngest son, Chandler said they finally learned they should choose a theme that would last beyond his toddler years. They chose a timeless option, vintage airplanes, that doesn’t scream “baby.”

read and see more at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/parenting/sns-tns-bc-home-boys-bedrooms-20150330-story.html

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Study watches a family in a net zero home for a year to determine challenges

New Water Restrictions for San Diego Unveiled 4-8-2015

Creative Ideas for Decorating a Boy’s Bedroom

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