Goodwin Heart Pine

The greenest building is the one that’s already built. Quoting American architect Carl Elefante, “We cannot build our way to sustainability; we must conserve our way to sustainability.” We must all of us make wiser use of what we already have.

Former host of PBS’ This Old House Steve Thomas, speaks on sustainability and historic preservation as the opening speaker at Restore Jacksonville Saturday, May 5.

The event is free to the public at the Jacksonville Main Library Conference Center, 303 North Laura Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202.

Attendants will learn how to formulate a plan for maintaining their historic homes and gain valuable information about the local resources, both public and private, that can help them achieve their goals. There is also an emphasis this year on energy efficiency for historic homes. Saturday you will find the educational sessions, film screenings, and rehabilitation resources. Sunday features sustainability tours and a special ULI Jane’s Walk Tour, exploring the legacy of urbanist Jane Jacobs.

A special offering includes a two-day workshop for contractors and other professionals in the building industry to reinforce preservation standards and discuss energy efficiency for historic homes in hot and humid climates.

Goodwin Heart Pine will be an exhibitor at the Restoration Resource Expo Hall.

Now that facebook has become an important part of many people’s lives, here is a energy saving page you can subscribe to, to get tips to share with your friends and family,  http://www.facebook.com/energysavers.gov.  Every home is different, so you may want to browse www.energysavers.gov to get many more ideas.

Here are a few simple things you can do for starters:

· Sealing a home’s exterior can save 10-25% of heating costs. You’ll want to focus on the common places for leaks and various types of caulks, weather-stripping and foam gaskets for exterior wall electrical outlets and light switch plates.
· A shaded outdoor Central AC condenser unit can save up to 10% on cooling, but make sure airflow is not restricted. Clean out leaf debris taking care of the coils and keep the large line well insulated.
· Each degree adjustment on your thermostat can save up to 4% on your energy bill. Preferred settings are 78 degrees Fahrenheit in the Summer time and 68 in Winter. Ceiling fans on when you are in a room will make the temperature feel more comfortable.
· Refrigerators use more energy than any other appliance. Clean the coils at least two times a year under the unit to save energy and keep the unit working well longterm. A long brush from the home supply store makes this easy.
· Adjust the hot water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or Medium and drain the unit once a year to avoid sediment buildup.

The national and international celebration of Arbor Day started many years ago.  The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872, and an estimated one million trees were planted that day. When do you celebrate Arbor Day? Well, it depends on which state you live in:

Florida and Louisiana (January); Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi (February);  Arkansas, Arizona, California, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee (March); Alaska, Maine, North Dakota and Vermont (May); Hawaii (November); and South Carolina (December). Similar events to encourage the planting or care of trees are arranged in many countries around the world. The dates are usually chosen to coincide with the optimal season for planting or caring for native trees.

Remember to consider replanting the longleaf pine if you’d like to carry on with the great energy from Arbor Day. These trees, because of their great size and strength, formed the foundation of the industrial expansion that happened across the USA in the early 1900s. Because of over harvesting, only a few natural stands of longleaf pine remain. Read about planting and growing longleaf pine at Auburn University website here,

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/forestry_wildlife/longleafalliance/landowners/forestrestoration/plantingb.htm

More Arbor Day Fun and Facts…

• Plant a Tree in Haiti for Arbor Day by Taking This Facebook Quiz
• Doctor who planted 750K trees gets Arbor Day weekend salute …
• The GREEN MARKET: Arbor Day Business Partners

What will you do to celebrate Earth Day?

Randy Sarafan has found  a unique way to express his concern over energy use. Many celebrate Earth Day by switching off of lights for one hour, or making new earth-friendly resolutions, while others go the extra yard in their effort to show that they care. While we are not so sure if Randy Sarafan seriously wanted to conserve energy or if there is underlying sarcasm in his creation, there is no doubt that we would all love to play around a bit with a lamp that switches on and off as you blink. Your eyelids become the switch that controls the map and while its practicality might be questionable, the idea and its execution are pretty cool.

Ok, we know that more energy is used to turn the lamps on and off, but sometimes we need a laugh too! Happy Earth Day everyone, Enjoy our beautiful blue and green playground!

 

We wanted to share a very interesting website with you that makes learning about hidden household dangers interactive and fun. Visit myhealthyhome.com and take the healthy home tour. After all, we spend the majority of our time in our own homes. If our home-health is not good, then how can we expect to improve our health through things like diet and exercise? Health begins in a healthy home!

We love hearing about the excitement and improvements that families experience when they  learn about the benefits of using wood in their homes. Enjoy this testimonial from one of our satisfied customers….

When our grandson was born his bedroom had new carpet and fresh paint. I gave my wonderful daughter the Lung Association’s Healthy House book and thought we were doing better.

Two weeks before our granddaughter was born her room suddenly had to be painted pink. And the paint store didn’t offer my daughter the low VOC paint!

This spring the family replaced the carpet with Precision Engineered River Recovered Antique Heart Pine wood floors in both grandkids rooms.

We are all breathing easier… literally. So far, so good. I’ll keep you posted.

Love wood floors and grandkids!