green-space / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Crawl Spaces or Slab on Grade Foundations?
Foundations and Basements

Slab on grade or crawlspaces, which is better?

What is the difference between a slab on grade & a crawl space? A slab on grade, or ‘frost protected shallow foundation’ is exactly that, a slab of concrete on the ground. There’s more to it of course, but let’s start with a ‘win’ in the comprehension department shall we?  A slab on grade rests directly on the gro...

Installing Siding Correctly
Exterior cladding

How to install siding

Siding installation The walls of your home are an environmental separator. Their job is to keep the inside in and the outside out. Exterior cladding or siding is your first line of defense against weather elements, and its job is to allow interior control layers (ie. the building envelope) to do their jobs without bei...

The Third Space Commons building UBC
Zero Carbon Building

BC's Budding carbon zero building ambitions on track for success at UBC...

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, a portland cement / concrete-free build and extensive use of innovative green building materials like hemp and hempcrete ...

Insulating crawlspaces as part of home renovation
Crawl spaces

How to insulate crawlspaces properly as part of renovating an older home

Crawlspace insulation - be careful to get it right A crawlspace comes with all the downsides of a basement, but it is just too low a space to be functional either beyond the folded plastic christmas tree and a couple of boxes of baubles. Unless there is a good reason for it, going through the process of pouring a footi...

Under bed storage
Interior design and furnishing

Storage ideas for small spaces

From underneath a bed, under a subfloor or the underside of the staircase, there are many underutilized areas in a home that can make life in a small home a lot less cluttered. Here are some ideas on how to transform dead space into storage space. Use the bottom of the bed as a storage with drawers on wheels. There...

Crawl Spaces or Slab on Grade Foundations?
Crawl spaces

Should I Build on a Slab on Grade Foundation or a Crawl Space?

What is the difference between a slab on grade and a crawl space? A slab on grade, or ‘frost protected shallow foundation’ is exactly that, a slab of concrete on the ground. There’s more to it of course, but let’s start with a ‘win’ in the comprehension department shall we?  A slab on grade rests directly on the groun...

Charging Ev's - the options for charging in public places
Commuting

Charging EVs without a private parking space or on the move - the best options

Any of us who've owned gas powered vehicles over the years know how convenient it is to be able to jump in, turn it on, make a quick assessment of the gas level and how far we're going and get on the road knowing that we have enough fuel for the journey, or that we can get what we need with a quick stop en-route. The t...

Net Zero Energy Homes Pilot Canada
Green building certifications

Net zero energy homes Canadian pilot results

Net Zero Energy Homes pilot program goals The goal of the R-2000 Net Zero Energy homes pilot program in Canada was to improve the performance standards of homes, and to raise awareness of energy-efficient green home building techniques among builders. Through participating in this pilot project, every builder became li...

Green building certifications

Powerhouse: the new standard for positive energy design

Powerhouse Paris Proof is a relatively new building standard that originated in Norway that is based on the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°Celsius  target. The standard lists maximum and total CO2 emissions per square metre, which includes the construction phase, energy in operation, material use and disposal. The standard spec...

Net Zero Homes - Canada's first certified Net Zero House in BC
Green building certifications

The first Net Zero-labelled homes in Canada

Net Zero Homes - the design & certification process In May of 2017, the Canadian Home Builders Association [CHBA] officially launched its Net Zero Home Labelling Program, following the successful completion of a 15-month pilot project to validate technical and administrative procedures for building net zero homes i...

Leed platinum plaque
Green building certifications

All about green home certification programs and rating systems for USA & Canada

Why pay for a green home certification? As more people pursue high efficiency green home rating certifications, they become increasingly well known and trusted. Consequently, more people seek them out. Developers build smarter homes when consumers demand them, and the existence of certification programs raises the bar ...