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GREEN SOLUTIONS chicago 123 Remodeling is proud to be on the cutting edge of Green Remodeling. We can provide our customers with innovative solutions for a more energy efficient residential or commercial property as well as Eco friendly construction and renovation products.

Do to the great increase in customer demand for green solutions in the home improvement industry, we at 123 Remodeling have dedicated a specialized department in our company to handle our numerous Eco friendly projects and recommend green solutions when ever possible. Ask your 123 Remodeling representative for ideas on Eco friendly solutions on your next remodeling project.At 123 Remodeling, our interior designers have the vision to make your dreams come to life.....

We are proud to be able to provide our customers with the most amazing green solution designers in the Chicagoland area. Whether you know what you are trying to accomplish or have many thoughts running through your mind regarding your home improvement project, our innovative staff of interior designers are experienced, knowledgeable and will help you complete your remodeling project with complete satisfaction.

Sustainable or ‘green building’ design and construction is the opportunity to use our resources more efficiently, while creating healthier and more energy-efficient homes. Although there is no magic formula, success comes in the form a leaving a lighter footprint on the environment through conservation of resources, while at the same time balancing energy-efficient, cost-effective, low-maintenance products for our construction needs. In other words, green building design involves finding the delicate balance between homebuilding and the sustainable environment.

It's an often-repeated question: What is the definition of a green building? The answer, though wordy, is not really hard to understand.

Sustainable, or "green building," design and construction provide an opportunity to use resources more efficiently, while creating healthier and more energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings. Successful green buildings leave a lighter footprint on the environment through conservation of resources, while at the same time balancing energy-efficient, cost-effective, low-maintenance products for construction needs. In other words, green-building design involves finding the delicate balance between homebuilding and a sustainable environment.

Does It Pay to Go Green?

For many Americans, the idea of going green involves over-priced veggies, unaffordable hybrid cars, and expensive organic remedies.

So given the price of oil, the falling value of the dollar, and the price of most organic food (and food in general), how practical is itto go green on a budget? For those of us currently lacking cash, a few simple lifestyle modifications can leave us healthier wealthier, and wiser. You might be surprised to find that many of your daily activities are already eco-friendly, and the cheaper alternative. However, if you just can’t reconcile your green desire with an empty wallet, here are a few tips to help you save and go green at the same time.

As the green philosophy continues to grow, specifiers will increasingly face pressures to use or not to use certain products. In a handful of states, proposed regulatory language and tax incentives have already been introduced to incorporate, or not to incorporate, certain products based on “green” attributes. However, specifiers are cautioned to focus less on products, and more on a sum of the products as a whole.

The benefits of plastic, with its lightweight and airtight properties, provide specifiers an alternative to some of the hard-to-find raw materials. With a greater understanding of the variety of plastic compounds and products, specifiers will have new options for sustainable design efforts.

According to the World Commission on the Environment and Development (WCED), sustainability is “a form of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” But, sustainable design goes far beyond simply creating products that benefit consumers in terms of better air environment, cost savings and durability. Rather, effective sustainable design must illustrate a thorough understanding of a full-systems approach of products in their environment and interaction with other products, as well as the effect on many other factors.

Sustainability should be viewed as a process and not just a goal. That allows a broader evaluation over time, of the environmental, economical and societal impacts of building products. Each single unit and its “in-place” environment may need specifically tailored remedies, according to their geographic location and the presence or lack of water.

Viewing sustainability as a process is essential for “green designers” as specifiers are challenged to evaluate the full life-cycle of products. This is becoming feasible with the introduction of programs.

If you are interested in a sustainable hardwood flooring option for your home then you must consider bamboo. It’s easy to clean and has anti-microbial properties so you know it will be around for a long time. Bamboo is a fast-growing grass that is renewable, durable, and attractive. It is an excellent alternative to tree wood because bamboo can grow wood faster than any tree. Because bamboo is a rapid growing grass and not wood, it can be harvested every 5-7 years, unlike 15-100 years for many tree wood. This makes bamboo an extremely environmentally friendly product for flooring. A variety of bamboos products can be found in the market today. We recommend ‘strand woven bamboo’ which is made by weaving together strands of bamboo grass. The weaving process eliminates the needs for glues and formaldehydes that release toxic fumes into the environment over time.

Bamboo Flooring as an Alternative to Traditional Hardwood.

Eco-friendly bamboo flooring for pennies on the dollar.

Companies such as Teragren bamboo flooring, have a mission is to reduce dependence on dwindling timber resources by manufacturing flooring, stairs, and panels from bamboo sustainably harvested in the Zhejiang Province of China. Click here to find a Teragren supplier near you (http://www.teragren.com/where.php) Bamboo flooring Biz is a great resource with many useful links to websites with information related to bamboo, flooring and home improvements. (http://www.bambooflooring.biz/directory-index.htm)

Why We should go GREEN!

Approved by ANSI less than three months ago, the National Green Building Standard is off to a quick start with its land development certification of a 60-acre parcel in Northwest Indiana

Although it was not heavily emphasized in late January when they were approved by the American National Standards Institute, the benchmarks and certification protocols of the ICC/NAHB 700, now known as the National Green Building Standard, are as relevant to whole communities as they are to single-family homes, apartments and condominiums, and remodeling projects.

Compelling evidence of that is a 60-acre parcel in Northwest Indiana whose developer, T. Clifford Fleming, focused on environmental stewardship of the community by protecting environmentally sensitive areas, and by preserving existing vegetation and the natural water and drainage features on the site. Supplemented by thorough documentation, that effort earned the site the first land development certification awarded under the NGBS, the National Association of Home Builders announced this week.

The development, formerly a backwater of unused farm fields and commercial sites, is now called The Village in Burns Harbor and has more than 1,000 new homes, renovation projects, and subdivisions being scored for NGBS certification, the NAHB said. The community eventually will include a mix of 265 single-family, semi-detached, and multifamily homes and a town center with retail, residential, and commercial development.

Sixty homes have already been completed, NAHB added, including two single-family homes built by Coolman Communities that were certified earlier this year by the NAHB National Green Building Program.