safe-paints / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

There is a current trend towards limiting the production of solvent-based paints, replacing them with solvent-free or water-based paints. The move towards safe paint has led to a noticeable improvement in indoor air quality since the mid-seventies, and better even in the last decade. But paints based on petrochemical s...

Making Eco-friendly paint at home is easy when you know how If you want to decorate your home with healthy No VOC paints and finishes, you're in the right place! If you’ve ever stepped inside a natural building or a home with natural paints or plasters, you can tell instantly. Natural earth pigment colors and textures ...

No matter that engineers and architects long ago debunked it, insulating paint still occasionally finds its way into buildings. Powdered ceramic chips that can be added to any paint are said to reflect heat in or out of a building and reduce heat loss by staggering amounts. I was under the impression that this had been...

Removing source contaminants and moisture from homes helps keep air healthy for occupants, and helps keep home humidity down. Excess humidity in houses can cause moisture damage, but what is not often considered is that added energy consumption involved, as heating moist air requires significantly more energy than hea...

Given that we spend about three quarters of our time indoors (counting both home and work), it is essential that we work to ensure clear indoor air quality. Contrary to what many people believe, indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air. How is inside air worse that outside air? The air you breathe inside orig...

Pallet Beds - cool but potentially dangerous! We've all seen these rustic shabby-chic pallet wood beds & headboards on social media - these days it seems we can't get enough of being creatively frugal and independent - but while certain pallets are a great source of rustic wood with character for repurposing, other...

Why is Radon a Problem in USA & Canada? Radon gas is cancer-causing radioactive, invisible, odourless and tasteless in water and air, and we are surrounded by it without knowing at all times at some level. It is present in every breath you take, hopefully in very, very small quantities, but then how do we know? Rad...

What do whales listen to?      'Pod' casts...   Talking of which, I listened to a fascinating podcast recently explaining how the carbon capture potential of whales and supporting international efforts to restore whale populations around the world is one of the simplest ways to fight climate change. The podcast was hos...

What is a smart lock for a home? Smart door locks are deadbolt front door locks that can be operated in a number of ways - either with a smartphone, a fingerprint reader, passcodes and combinations, or with voice command to Alexa or google phone to activate smart door locks. Everyone has probably at some point locked t...

Construction is a dirty business, and living in a home under renovation can aggravate asthma and other respiratory illnesses, it can also lead to issues developing that people didn't suffer from before. Air that is full of dust and chemicals can cause respiratory irritations even among adults who don't suffer from such...

How to price a sustainable kitchen countertop? As a professional cabinetmaker, I have often been asked how much a kitchen costs. There is no accurate answer of course, though when pressed, I would have to say somewhere between $18-30,000. The size of your kitchen, material choices and your taste in finishing makes it i...