{"id":13119,"date":"2011-07-22T07:04:01","date_gmt":"2011-07-22T13:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sustainablog.org\/?p=13119"},"modified":"2011-07-22T07:04:01","modified_gmt":"2011-07-22T13:04:01","slug":"green-remodeling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/green-remodeling\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Remodeling or No Remodeling: Which is more Eco-Friendly?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Kids_with_UT_large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13121\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2011\/07\/Kids_with_UT_large-e1311259658808.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"332\" \/><\/a>A friend of mine recently asked a green question. \u00a0She moved into an unfinished home and was very excited about using green materials. \u00a0We started to talk about insulation. \u00a0There is already exposed fiberglass insulation in her new home. \u00a0She wants to replace it with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bondedlogic.com\/ultratouch-cotton.htm\" target=\"_blank\">recycled denim insulation<\/a>, which is what I have in part of my home. \u00a0As we talked about the pros and cons of green insulation, she then asked if it was truly greener to replace what one already has?<\/p>\n<p>Reduce, reuse, recycle has been the mantra of living a greener life. Replace is not one of the three Rs. \u00a0Sometimes it makes sense to replace old energy inefficient appliances, but sometimes it does not. If it isn&#8217;t broke, don&#8217;t replace it can be a more eco-friendly considering the energy and materials used to produce a new item. \u00a0In fact, part of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenremodel.net\/articles\/planning.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Green Remodel&#8217;s<\/a> &#8220;Common features of greenbuilt projects&#8221; is<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>Reuse an existing structure rather than build a new one.<\/li>\n<li>Deconstruct rather than demolish, if all or part of an existing structure must be replaced.<\/li>\n<li>Reuse materials from the old structure where possible.<\/li>\n<li>Consider using <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/the-recycled-post-industrial-green-building-material-urbanite\/\">salvaged materials<\/a> from other sources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Consider the car&#8230;A Prius or \u00a0one of the upcoming EVs certainly is a more eco-friendly drive, but how much energy and materials is used in their production? \u00a0In some\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/id\/2194989\/\" target=\"_blank\">cradle to grave analysis<\/a>, the Prius wins; however, is your old car in the grave? \u00a0Does the same hold true for green building materials and appliances?<\/p>\n<p>The issue of toxic exposure is one reason a green remodel is a great idea, and it may be the most important. \u00a0Our homes are toxic places. \u00a0From\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.motherearthnews.com\/natural-home-living\/mercury-and-formaldehyde-found-in-drywall.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">mercury and formaldehyde in drywall<\/a> to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.healthybuilding.net\/target_materials.html\" target=\"_blank\">PVC in carpet backing<\/a>, there are many toxins in our homes that are a concern for human health.<\/p>\n<p>To green remodel or not to green remodel is a personal question. \u00a0Replacing existing toxic building materials may make sense from a health perspective, but it is not necessarily better for the planet if they are still in good condition. \u00a0Filling up landfills with toxic building materials and appliances present another problem altogether, but if you must remodel, then chose eco-friendly materials.<\/p>\n<p>Photo: \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bondedlogic.com\/ultratouch-cotton.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Bonded Logic<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"zemanta-pixie\" style=\"margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;\"><a class=\"zemanta-pixie-a\" title=\"Enhanced by Zemanta\" href=\"http:\/\/www.zemanta.com\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"zemanta-pixie-img\" style=\"border: none; float: right;\" src=\"http:\/\/img.zemanta.com\/zemified_e.png?x-id=0ed91c55-05d9-45c9-b133-febecf9d7b84\" alt=\"Enhanced by Zemanta\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A friend of mine recently asked a green question. \u00a0She moved into an unfinished home and was very excited about using green materials. \u00a0We started to talk about insulation. \u00a0There&nbsp;[ &hellip; ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":13121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[5177,3093,5178,15,5179,706,5180,3033,5181],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Green Remodeling: Do You Really Need to Replace?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Want to change out appliances, home features, or cars for greener options? 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Keeping a working item in place may be more eco-friendly than green remodeling.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/green-remodeling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-22T13:04:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Kids_with_UT_large.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"313\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jennifer Lance\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jennifer Lance\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/green-remodeling\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/green-remodeling\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jennifer Lance\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/2f463772fbf34b81cbb06761dbac14b7\"},\"headline\":\"Green Remodeling or No Remodeling: Which is more Eco-Friendly?\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-22T13:04:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-07-22T13:04:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/green-remodeling\/\"},\"wordCount\":375,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Construction and Maintenance\",\"electric vehicle\",\"Environmentally friendly\",\"green building\",\"green remodel\",\"insulation\",\"Polyvinyl chloride\",\"Prius\",\"remodel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/green-remodeling\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/green-remodeling\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/green-remodeling\/\",\"name\":\"Green Remodeling: Do You Really Need to Replace?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-22T13:04:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-07-22T13:04:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"Want to change out appliances, home features, or cars for greener options? 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