Vol. 6, No. 10), we reported that K&M Bamboo Products, Inc. refused to provide details about their products. We have since received this communication from them, with documentation indicating that their products are indeed similar to most of the others in performance.Like the... Read more

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Concrete pier foundations offer several advantages over full-height frost walls, including greatly reduced concrete use. While most commonly used for decks, outdoor stairs, and the like, pier foundations are also sometimes used for the entire building foundation.

Now pier foundations are easier to install. F&S Manufacturing, Inc. of... Read more

by the Rocky Mountain Institute, produced by CREST. Version 1.0, November 1997, Windows™ and Macintosh™ compatible. Available for $7 plus $3 shipping and handling from: Rocky Mountain Institute, 1739 Snowmass Creek Road, Snowmass, CO 81654-9199; 970/927-3851, 970/927-4178 (fax), www.rmi.org.

Green Development:... Read more

A late January meeting in Hesparia, California brought together a large and diverse group of building professionals working to remove regulatory barriers to more sustainable buildings. The “Planning Summit for Sustainable Building Codes” is an important milestone in an ongoing effort spearheaded by contractor and activist David Eisenberg,... Read more

This issue has a heavy focus on products, inspired by a rather grueling three-day traverse of the NAHB Builder’s Show this past January in Dallas. Some of the products reviewed are items that caught our attention at this massive show—some 11⁄2 acres of exhibit space. Others, such as the Waterless Urinal® (see Big Savings from Waterless Urinal... Read more

The first load-bearing straw-bale home in the State of Washington is now offered as the prize of an essay contest by Michael and Spring Thomas of the IronStraw Group. The home, which has been monitored by Habitat for Humanity International for their research on affordable, straw-bale houses, consists of two structures situated on a seven-acre... Read more

After seeing the torchiere review in your November issue (EBN

Vol. 6, No. 10), I confess to cringing slightly when I saw the problems you had with the torchiere [from Energy Federation Inc.]. You were shipped one of the first production units, before we had even assembled some demo units for our lobby.

This house may not win any architectural design awards—its boxy, utilitarian design echoes the Yankee values personified by its designer—but the “Hanover House” is indeed ground-breaking. Designed for a middle-aged couple without children by mechanical engineer Marc Rosenbaum, P.E., of Meriden, New Hampshire, this residence has about the lowest... Read more

The first load-bearing straw-bale home in the State of Washington is now offered as the prize of an essay contest by Michael and Spring Thomas of the IronStraw Group. The home, which has been monitored by Habitat for Humanity International for their research on affordable, straw-bale houses, consists of two structures situated on a seven-acre... Read more

Cellulose insulation should now be easier to specify in wall cavities with the release of a new “Standard Practice for the Installation of Sprayed Cellulosic Wall Cavity Insulation” from the Cellulose Industry Manufacturers Association. Until now each manufacturer had its own guidelines, varying in length and quality, according to the December... Read more

The widely used plasticizer DEHP (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) might be causing asthma, according to a recent study by Norwegian and Danish scientists published in the September 1997 issue of

Environmental Health Perspectives. DEHP is used extensively as a plasticizer in PVC building products. Vinyl sheet flooring, for example, contains... Read more

Roughly four billion pounds (1.8 billion kg) of old carpeting are landfilled each year. Comprised of different materials—nylon, polyester, latex backing, etc.—the stuff is inherently difficult to reprocess back into carpet (see EBN Vol. 6, No. 6). So how ’bout simply shredding the stuff and turning it into a fiber insulation material? That’s... Read more

Your July/August cover article (EBN

Vol. 6, No. 7), “Residential Siding Options,” characterizes vinyl siding as “inexpensive, easy to install, virtually maintenance-free, and generally quite durable.” My members, producers of vinyl siding and suppliers to our industry, are pleased that

EBN recognizes these important benefits of... Read more

Roughly four billion pounds (1.8 billion kg) of old carpeting are landfilled each year. Comprised of different materials—nylon, polyester, latex backing, etc.—the stuff is inherently difficult to reprocess back into carpet (see

EBN

Vol. 6, No. 6). So how ‘bout simply shredding the stuff and turning it into a fiber insulation... Read more

Interface, Inc., Atlanta, GA, November 1997. Copies available at no cost by contacting the company at 770/437-6810. Oversized paperback with the cover printed on a distinctive recycled banana fiber stock, 34 pages.

Interface Sustainability Report is a different type of corporate report. Much more than an environmental progress report... Read more