Category Archives: Green Building / Sustainable Common Sense Building & Remodeling

Resources from SLS Construction for those considering building or remodeling “Green”

Are you up to the Challenge – the Building America Challenge?

BA_PartnerSince 2008, hundreds of builders in cooperation with DOE, the NREL and numerous other parties have taken up the Building America Challenge to build thousands of high-performance homes. The end goal is to too help all builders reach the Net-Zero mark by 2030 as economically as possible. Since 2008 the target has been set at
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LEED Habitat: Let the concrete flow

2012-01-16-alc-concrete-ksu(UPDATED: Video added from WKU’s trip at the bottom) As you may recall the original schedule called for the concrete to be poured last Friday, but alas the best laid plans… and the weather said otherwise. At least today that wouldn’t be an issue and the weather was being nice as it was relatively warm
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LEED Habitat: Weather & Scheduling

2012-01-13-alc-icf1In our last post on “Let’s get this project rolling” we caught up with the project & mentioned some of the weather that was liable to make life a little difficult. When I left the schedule & weather forecast stood as follows: Monday:  Official kickoff (Invite news crews, etc…) Tuesday: Start laying up walls &
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LEED Habitat: Let’s get this project rolling

2012-01-10_alc-signIn our last article, we introduced you to a program where Habitat affiliates can team up with local professionals looking at becoming LEED AP’s and also obtaining LEED Certifications on their buildings (at no cost to them).  In this series we are going to take you through the EverBuildPRO process & the actual construction of
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10 Point Quick Start Guide to Solar

solar-panelFor many people thinking about solar, it can be pretty easy to get confused or overloaded with all the information out there. With that in mind, we created a simple 10 point quick start guide that covers many of the basics & things most often left unsaid. The type and size of a system depends
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Becoming a LEED AP: Habitat for Humanity, BOULD, and You?

leed-ap-homesSo you have decided you want to earn or become a LEED AP. There is just have one small issue, unless you have or are working on a LEED project, just how are you supposed to gain the experience & show documented involvement on a project registered or certified for LEED? (AKA a letter of
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Going Off-Grid in the 21st Century – Water

abaco-bahama-blue-holeAs a brief recap, in our on-going series about going off-grid in the 21st Century, we have covered numerous options from powering ones home to handling waste. This has led us up to one of our most basic needs: water. For our first article in this series, I am going to turn it over to
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Ten Rules of Roof Design: Really?

metal-roof-issueJust like clockwork, this last Friday Martin Holladay posted his weekly blog article under the by-line of Musings of an Energy Nerd on Green Building Advisor. While I generally am always looking forward to seeing what he has to say, I was particularly looking forward to reading this one on Martin’s Ten Rules of Roof
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Air Sealing: The Duct System

sealing-flex-ductsFor many the easiest way to describe HVAC / Forced Air system is to equate it to one’s own heart. With that in mind, the duct system in one’s house is comparable to the veins & arteries in your body. The supply ducts bring nicely conditioned air to all the parts of the house that
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Going Off-Grid in the 21st Century – Putting the Pieces Together: Handling Waste

clivusmultrum-m54-trailheadWhile not glamorous or something people tend to consider when going off the grid, it none the less is important and can majorly impact your wallet and success of your project if not considered up front. With that in mind we covered everything from ways to handle normal household trash to waste water; namely means
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