concepts-design / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Design basics for flexible housing: Depending on the stage you are at in your life, you might have kids, they might be gone or you might want to have some in the future. Design floor plans that work for you right now but can be easily adapted to accommodate different family dynamics in the future. Flexible housing star...

Water and moisture wreak havoc on homes, affecting function, durability and our health. Given that kitchens and bathrooms are the main source of humidity, we need to put extra thought into designing these rooms so they consume less, last longer, and help us maintain healthier homes. Durable water resistant surfaces wil...

Homes heated by the sun's free heat! Passive Solar Houses are aptly named because there are no wires, panels or batteries and nothing to break down. It's just about design, and it isn't a new concept. Humans around the globe have been incorporating passive solar design features into their homes for thousands of years. ...

The  principles of green building: High performance, energy efficient homes may include features like geothermal heating, wind power and solar panels, but these are not the defining features of green living. They come in second, and some you can even do without. A green home starts with being well-designed, well-insula...

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...

The U.S. Green Building Council and the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning released a landmark report Feb. 29 that describes how green buildings advance resiliency in disasters. “Green Building and Climate Resilience: Understanding Impacts and Preparing for Changing Conditions” ...

Have you ever noticed that at times you can feel cold in your home even though the air temperature is exactly where you like to keep it? That's because, contrary to what most of us think, air temperature is not the main factor that determines human comfort in a building. To illustrate a point, let's start outdoors. I m...

Design-build companies are as simple as the name suggests, they bring together the design and construction elements of homes under one umbrella. With design-build firms you deal with one project management company, so it keeps - for good or bad - all the responsibility and accountability in one set of hands.   The cons...

Why build a frost protected shallow foundation using prefabricated foam forms? Building a frost protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is a well-proven alternative to building deeper, more costly foundations in cold regions with seasonal ground freezing and the potential for frost heave. Traditional foundations for cold c...

Choosing between vented and unvented roofs: a homeowner's and pro's guide A lot goes in to choosing a roof design. There is energy efficiency to consider, durability, ease of maintenance, and curb appeal. The roof you choose can make or break the aesthetic appeal of your home, so a roof design you enjoy looking at is a...

Future-proofing homes Our society seems to have a collective (but misplaced) trust in its commercial building industry to provide us with homes that meet realistic standard of resilience. They do to an extent, but a very minor extent. Assuming the climate putters along with relative normalcy, your home will keep you wa...