tree-salvage / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

It's always a bit sad to watch an old and seemingly healthy tree come down. But if it must, it's great to do something useful with it. This 110 year old pine tree in Chelsea, Quebec that was looming over two homes started to show signs of rot. With a new building project slated to go right underneath it, it was time to...

As a kid growing up along the Gatineau River in Quebec, watching tugboats pulling log booms down the river was commonplace, and logs that got loose were a great source of entertainment and exploration. Any that were big enough to hold a bunch of kids for log rolling competitions were highly coveted. There were legitima...

Definitely one of the coolest pioneers of the Tiny House Movement in BC Canada, the Hemloft Treehouse is made entirely from free and recycled materials. After 2 months of filling his home with thousands of dollars worth of recycled materials donated through Craigslist, Joel Allen finally had all he would need to build ...

Using materials found on Craigslist and salvaged from the landfill, Jenine Alexander built herself this super affordable Tiny House. Since first building this sweet little home on wheels, she has actually completed two more. If you're interested in DIY Tiny House projects, be sure to check out her blog where she writes...

What is the free home energy audit? Breaking News: New Canada Greener Homes Grant Scheme 2021 announced - see here for how to apply and eligibility requirements  An energy audit is a home inspection that calculates the total energy consumption of your house, including all electricity and fossil fuels for lighting, appl...

Green Home Incentives: Net Zero Home Grants & Zero Interest Home Renovation Loans for 2020 Breaking News: New Canada Greener Homes Grant Scheme 2021 announced - see here for how to apply and eligibility requirements or see here for the $40 000 interest free home renovation loan scheme in Canada Whatever the politic...

Formaldehyde-free MDF made from rice - available at distributors in USA & Canada There is a natural and Formaldehyde-Free alternative to MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) made of rice straw hitting the green building market soon! That’s a reason to breath a sigh of relief (literally and figuratively) since a lot of p...

The Canada Greener Homes Grant scheme is investing $2.6 billion over 7 years to help up to 700,000 Canadian homeowners across the country improve the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce their energy bills with grants of up to $5,000 to make energy-efficient retrofits to their homes and up to $600 to help with t...

What is Passive Solar Heating & Cooling? Passive heating and cooling of homes is not new. The above image is of Mesa Verde National Park, the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in Colorado, occupied from 700 to 1300 AD. This early North American settlement was shaded from the summer sun, but fully exposed to the su...

Healthier kitchen components - countertops If you're into healthy green homes like we are here at Ecohome, there's a lot to think about when choosing a healthier kitchen. Firstly, some beautiful kitchen cabinets, preferably built from FSC certified woods and formaldehyde-free plywood boxes, and that's even before choos...

While walking through a home show not long ago I came across a product that has always intrigued me, the laundry wash ball, some kind of magic bean that washes clothes without detergent. Curious but skeptical, I circled in for a closer look.  As the Ecohome Network is considered a trusted source of green building and h...