In relation to tiny homes, the question we are asked most often is "Can I park a tiny house on my property legally?" - Often fueled by needing an additional living unit for family members, or even for visitors during these strange times. Getting tiny houses approved as habitatable dwelling units on your property…

Build with Strength is partnering with Habitat for Humanity International to supply the concrete for affordable and sustainable housing in 16 locations across the U.S. Due to the significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come with the production of Portland cement, Ecohome has long promoted alternatives to…

Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health challenge, which is accelerated by the overuse of antibiotics worldwide. Increased antimicrobial resistance is the cause of severe infections, complications, longer hospital stays and increased mortality. After the last year I think we can all use  some good news…

Carbon negative concrete CMU blocks, available soon across North Eastern America & Canada, a huge step forward & a significant impact to the carbon dioxide production of a standard cinder block or concrete masonry unit. Production just started in Quebec of a ground-breaking CMU block that is carbon-negative, thanks…

What is interstitial condensation in walls or roofs? How to know if it's happening, & how to fix it if it does? We're glad you asked, as it can cause serious & costly damage within the structure of our homes. As a precursor to a new post exploring everything you wanted to know about Dry Rot but were afraid to ask…

Tiny Homes, Tiny Houses on Wheels (or Thows), Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU's), Coach Houses, these are all variations on a theme for affordable, less impactful homes. The main issue to date has been Building Code which was unfavorable to Tiny Homes. Living in a tiny house in California is getting easier all the…

Roofs - all homes have them in one form or another, and they're a potential cause of all manner of problems effecting the durability and performance of homes. Roof ventilation needs to be adapted to the type of roof and the climate. It is pretty much inevitable that at least some warm, moist air from living areas…

Frost heaving of home foundations, basements, decks & garden walls in cold climates can cause issues - especially in clay soils that hold water - Ecohome built to prevent frost heave recently, here's what we did. Frost protected foundations - essential in cold climates Protecting homes and buildings in cold climates…

Ecohome tested eco-friendly detergent-free laundry soap balls, read our review and see the results in the Ecohome Building Guide. 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…

We dislike product "Greenwashing," so it's music to our ears that the CMA in the UK will investigate descriptions and labels used to promote products and services claiming to be ‘eco-friendly’ with Worldwide implications. So what is product greenwashing? Greenwashing eh? Heard the one about the 'natural Insulation'…

Toronto's Woodgreen Project leads the way for energy retrofits in affordable green housing in achieving the Investor Ready Energy Efficiency (IREE) certification. Efficiency Capital’s energy efficiency retrofit project across several WoodGreen Community Housing buildings is the first project in Canada to achieve the…

Total state + federal incentives in California for buying or indeed leasing a new electric vehicle are now up to $13.5K. There's some good news (finally!) for the Californians among us who want to drive Electric Vehicles in 2020! As you may have already heard, California has created a “Clean Fuel Rewards” program…

High-performance suspended-film insulating glass windows may offer the perfect solution of window performance, window cost & window weight. As early versions of suspended coated film windows had issues, we took another look & review the LiteZone units. Why suspended-film insulating glass windows may be a…

One of the questions we're often asked is about noisy baseboard heaters. They click, they bang, they tick, tick, tick constantly, and most of all, electric baseboard heaters or hot water heated baseboard heaters keep people awake. So, how to fix that. Noisy baseboard heaters -yeah, it's a thing... Over the years…

What does 'FSC Certified' mean on wood and lumber products? Choosing FSC Certified lumber and paper products means it comes from sustainably managed forests and helps to protect old growth forests - which is good. What is FSC certified lumber? The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international, not-for-profit…

As so many searches are done online for Radon Gas Maps, Radon Gas safe levels and Radon Maps by State of USA or Province of Canada - We decided to stress the importance of testing for Radon gas in homes as November is Radon Awareness Month. Radon gas maps - levels by State or Province Radon maps show where the risk…

We were told about the PowerPod compact home wind turbine appearing on a Kickstarter campaign, but having seen a fair few home wind turbines in the past that failed to deliver on their promises, Ecohome decided to investigate. Countless inventors are stepping up to the plate with the latest and greatest green…

Ecohome has a number of awards for building groundbreaking sustainable homes, but Passive House projects on this scale are breathtaking in the way they are pushing the boundaries - Hats off to Architect Tom Wright. Vancouver, Canada established their place as a leader in reducing carbon footprints of cities and…

Everywhere we look online we see cool & beautiful furniture like beds & headboards made from recycled wood from shipping pallets - but could they be slowly poisoning us? Here's how to keep pallet furniture safe. Pallet beds - cool but potentially dangerous! We've all seen these rustic shabby-chic pallet wood beds &…