Feature
by Erin Podlipnik
Innovative architects, designers and project managers throughout the Bay Area are using sleek, new recyclable products to create environmentally friendly, healthy homes. As the budding “green” product industry continues to grow and city-sponsored ecologically sound building practices come online, remodeling an apartment with bamboo floors or formaldehyde-free paint is just the beginning of a sea of sustainable materials now available for apartment owners to choose from.
The Carpet and Rug Institute estimates that 4.7 billion pounds of carpet are thrown into American landfills each year. New Ecological Home reports that 60% of U.S. timber is cut down for building purposes. Industry leaders are now stepping up in an attempt to reverse these troubling, wasteful trends. Dozens of companies have come up with novel ways of creating materials that have an environmentally harmless pre- and post-production life, and architects are at hand to implement them.
Organizations like the San Francisco Department of the Environment and the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) work with local architects and vendors to bring sustainable housing practices to the city. Title 24 energy requirements (which mandate energy efficiency in all new construction), as well as PG&E rebates for products including Energy Star appliances, insulation, solar power roofing and efficient water fixtures, ensure that green-friendly building has already begun paving a path at the city level. “People are starting to realize you can do green building on a conventional budget, and it doesn’t have to cost more,” relays Mark Palmer, municipal green building program manager at the Department of the Environment.
Apartment owners can utilize basic methods to remodel buildings with sustainable surface products. According to industry representatives, by looking at alternative options when installing water-regulating devices, replacing floors or painting walls, you can save money, receive a tax credit or rebate, and benefit both the environment and your tenants’ health. These remodels can provide the largest impact because they play an important role in the apartment. “The worst things for your house are the things all over your house, like products that seal wood floors and carpeting, because you might put an unhealthy material in a lot of surface space,” claims Greg Van Mechelen, a Berkeley architect and sustainable building lecturer.
Mignon O’Young, a project manager for the 98-unit low-income apartment complex Folsom Dore, believes that using sustainable surface products is a great first step, and that it should be the most basic step in every remodel. Folsom Dore and the environmentally friendly, prefabricated model “Now House” serve as examples of how sustainable products are just the first step to creating an overall sustainable living space. “Green building is very trendy; there is a certain business culture emerging because the products are not only priced reasonably, but also play to our collective social consciousness,” says “Now House” architect Toby Long.
When choosing green materials, Daniel D. Chiras, author of The New Ecological Home, advises customers to remember three key elements: how much time is needed to replenish the resource, how much energy is used and waste material accrued, and how efficiently is the product transported. Keeping these elements in mind, there are many ecologically conscious products that surpass everyday materials, not only because they are more durable, nontoxic and efficient, but also because they are often even less costly than traditional building materials.
Hot Water for Less
San Francisco apartment owner Bob Mayer is currently in the process of installing water pumps that provide on-demand hot water within 30 seconds, holding back the flow of water until it is heated. By recycling the extra house-temperature water back into the water tank, a significant amount is saved throughout the house (see “Standard Plumbing Diagram” on page 10). “It’s a good product for dealing with the ever increasing water bill,” Mayer reports. “You can install these pumps on existing systems, putting five apartments on one line.”
Metlund D’MAND offers three styles of pumps, depending on the distance from your water heater to your faucet, ranging from $200 to $700. If 20 gallons of water are saved per day, an owner can save $242 a year in electricity, water and sewage costs.
Sustainable Flooring
A much larger remodel often necessary in older apartments is flooring. Flooring occupies a large space within the apartment; and it can make a big difference to use sustainable, health conscious materials. If you are worried about durability, keeping it clean, health issues or the acoustics, you will not be limited when choosing a sustainable floor. Choices range from the well-known bamboo to cork, linoleum and recycled carpeting.
Growing up to 47 inches a day, and still sprouting even after it’s cut down, bamboo’s 10-year harvest cycle is much shorter than the typical 50-to-100-year hardwood cycle. While it has a natural blonde color, it can be carbonized to a coffee tone (but will subsequently be 20% weaker). Choices range from strand-woven bamboo, which is known to be the hardest natural wood, or floating bamboo, which offers better soundproofing.
Bamboo flooring sells for around $5 to $7 per sq. ft. While it is more expensive upfront than linoleum or cork, it is less than comparable woods and is a pesticide-free option (pesticides are known to hurt bamboo’s growth). “Now House” architect Long used bamboo in the living and dining room, kitchen and hallways of the model home because he believes that a healthy home is the most important reason to remodel, as it affects your tenants directly.
Cork, used in the “Now House” bathroom, is also a healthy option. It is inexpensive compared to bamboo and is the preferable choice when looking for a floor that will absorb sound. Made from bark peeled off a cork oak tree, the sustainable material is recommended by Long because it is easy to install, durable, inexpensive, and sound and thermal resistant—it even gives as you step on it. Multiple colors and patterns are available and can be purchased off a roll or in tiles, costing on average $4 to $5 per sq. ft.
An even more durable cork option is available for $12 per sq. ft. “I’ve dropped pans on my floor and the dent hasn’t even lasted because the product will just swell back open and the dent will disappear,” says Paul Taylor of Albany Floor Dimensions.
Linoleum costs around the same amount as cork but is not as widely used compared to its less expensive rival, vinyl. According to Van Mechelen, going back to the linoleum used before the 1950s would be more sustainable than vinyl, the petroleum-chlorine product that has taken its place today. “People should absolutely get rid of vinyl; it has a synthetic chemical compound that has been reported to imbed itself in human tissue and is linked with cancer,” he advises.
Linoleum has a plant-base of linseed oil and pine tree sap, which bind together cork and sawdust. Van Mechelen notes that it lasts up to 40 years longer than vinyl and contains an antibacterial characteristic from the linseed oil. Starting at $4 per sq. ft. sheet, it is offered in tiles and an install-it-yourself style called “click.”
Another floor covering option that is heavily debated in the green industry is recycled carpeting. Although it is made from materials like used carpeting, plastic bottles and simple sugars from corn—and is even offered in squares to limit the type of waste found when using conventional carpeting—it is known to harbor dust mites and does not last as long as other flooring materials.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has received respiratory and neurological complaints from a large number of people about carpeting that emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs), like formaldehyde, which is used for backing glues and dyes, among other treatment processes. According to CPSC, the best carpets are made of natural materials and polyester-face fiber, with no backing. Beware of wool carpeting, as it is often treated with moth repellent pesticides. When putting in new floors, you must be wary of stains, finishes and glues that emit gases harmful to the occupant’s health.
Watch Your VOCs
When choosing interior paints, it is equally important to choose products with low VOCs. Painting with products containing high VOC levels can be even unhealthier than staining wood floors with a formaldehyde product. In the most basic cases, CPSC reported that gasses released from the compounds have caused dizziness, headaches and nausea. Globally, over 500,000 tons of toxic vapors are released into the air each year.
To address this, Benjamin Moore carries the Ecospec line, which is 100% acrylic and has low odor and VOCs. American Formulating and Manufacturing offers a wide selection of Safecoat paint and even offers some non-VOC options. Kelly Moore’s Enviro-cote, among the brands used in the Folsom Dore complex, ranges in price from $27.40 for flat to $37.50 for semigloss, which is an average of 40 cents cheaper than similar conventional paints.
Regardless of the space being remodeled, there are suitable green alternatives for every surface material to be replaced or touched up. An energy-efficient water pump and bamboo flooring may have high upfront costs, but industry representatives believe each product is important to tenant health, the environment and overall wellbeing. Organizations like the city’s Department of the Environment, Build It Green and SPUR can provide further details on where to purchase products and how to begin a green remodeling project.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Erin Podlipnik is a freelance writer who lives in San Francisco. Copyright © 2006 by San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.