Home Building Blog - Eco-Friendly and Green
Small House, from the National Post
June 14th, 2008 by Ryan Johnston
Extract from The small life, by Kelvin Browne. Published by the National Post on Friday, June 13, 2008
Jay Shafer knows all about living small. The 42-year-old art teacher and now house designer has been living in less than 100 square feet since 1997. The experience prompted him to write The Small House Book and start his own company, Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, to provide plans and build small houses for others. Daring to think small in a country obsessed with everything big, he has become something of a guru to those who believe we won’t be able to afford energy-guzzling monster homes for much longer. Shafer will be a guest speaker at Toronto’s IdeaCity next week.
The way he tells it, idealism had little to do with his reasons for going small. “I was teaching drawing at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, 10 years ago. I was living in an average-size apartment, but it felt too big. I needed to spend too much time doing housework. I also didn’t like paying for space I didn’t need.”
Shafer’s solution was to buy an Airstream trailer. He remodelled it slightly and moved in. “Then I froze to death. There was hardly any insulation and I spent two long winters there.”
Rather than upgrade to a larger, better-insulated trailer or to a small apartment, Shafer decided to build his own house. “I knew what I wanted. I had been doing sculpture as well as drawing, so designing a house didn’t seem that odd.”
Read the rest of The Small Life at the National Post online
Consumer Reports - Tip of the day
June 11th, 2008 by Ryan JohnstonFrom Consumer Reports:
Deploying a dehumidifier in damp areas of your home is an easy way to not only boost your comfort but also to prevent a number of problems, including sickness, mold and mildew growth, and damage to your home and its furnishings.
My own “FOBFU”—find out by fouling up—lesson illustrates why it’s smart to use a dehumidifier. I stored a bunch of camping equipment in my basement, which tended to be very humid. When I went to retrieve a sleeping bag for a camping trip, I found it ruined by the damp environment. I immediately went online to read our recent report on dehumidifiers. It turns out you can get a capable model for about $140 dollars—and perhaps even less if you combine it with a rebate or tax credit by buying an energy-efficient version.
Read more about adding a Dehumidifier to your home here.
Tagged as: healthy, home, dehumidifier, rebate, tax credit, energy, savings