carbon-monoxide / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Carbon monoxide prevention and detection: protecting your air quality from dangerous gases Carbon monoxide (CO) is often referred to as the silent killer in homes because it is an odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas that can reach lethal concentrations inside a home without occupants ever realizing it. For homeowner...

Mold in homes is a bad sign, so how to get rid of it or prevent mold in drywall? Mold and mildew in homes develop in conditions of high humidity, most often in bathrooms, kitchens, and basements, unless caused by roof leaks and other building envelope failures. Along with affecting the durability of your home, mold and...

Best practices for attached garages: a homeowner's & pro's guide Designing an attached garage requires a sophisticated approach to building science to ensure that convenience does not compromise indoor air quality or thermal performance. Because these structures share a common wall and often a ceiling with the prim...

Home fire safety: a homeowner's and pro's guide Ensuring your home is safe from fire is one of the most critical responsibilities for a homeowner and a key consideration for building professionals. A home fire would no doubt be emotionally devastating, but with the right preparations and design choices, the risk can be...

Unused chimney? How to seal it successfully... That charming old chimney in your home might be a major source of heat loss, acting like a permanently open window that costs you money every single day. An unsealed chimney is one of the single biggest sources of air leakage in a home's building envelope, leading to uncom...

Low-carbon concrete - green cement at last?  One of the most essential and commonly-used building materials in home construction, commercial buildings and city infrastructure is concrete, which has an extremely high carbon footprint, with cement production accounting for 7% of global carbon emission. This problem is c...

EC3 - Reducing the carbon footprint of buildings EC3 Tool – The background - The interest in the environmental impact of buildings is not new by any means: scientists and building experts have been studying the life cycle analysis of buildings for several decades, particularly for certain materials such as the impact o...

Wood, steel and concrete each have specific structural advantages, each with their own characteristics. The following is a life-cycle comparison conducted by the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute (ASMI) of the materials only, and does not include any considerations of how they each affect thermal performance, vapo...

Officially billed as displaying the best of 'carbon minimalism', Third Quadrant Design's Third Space Commons building combines the best of sustainable design with intelligent recycling of materials.  It includes a portland cement / concrete-free build and extensive use of innovative green building materials like hemp a...

A new cement block manufacturing process developed by an American company named Solidia Technologies® produces 40% fewer emissions during manufacturing than conventional concrete, resulting in a dramatically lower environmental footprint. Solidia’s concrete is formulated with less lime and is cured at lower temperature...

  SAB: What does the CaGBC hope to achieve with the Zero Carbon Buildings Initiative? Mark Hutchinson: The CaGBC launched the zero carbon building initiative in 2016 to champion the move to lower-carbon commercial, institutional and high-rise residential buildings in support of Canada’s efforts to mitigate the effects ...