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Book Review of The Northwest Green Home Primer

If you have picked up the NW EcoBuilding Guild’s Green Pages, then you should probably go and get your own copy of The Northwest Green Home Primer, by the Guild’s very own Kathleen O’Brien (first elected Board of Directors 1993) and her co-author, Kathleen Smith. Both Kathleens, of Bainbridge Island, WA, offer their own personal green building stories, along with dozens of other green building case studies from new construction, and remodeling, to affordable housing. All the case studies are local and offer practical tips for any Northwest project.

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A Best Practices Manual by Hammer & Hand

by Sam Hagerman, Hammer & Hand. In the spirit of collaboration we have recently made available our company’s Best Practices Manual — a guidebook of field-tested construction details, many shaped by our high performance building and Passive House construction experience.

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New EPA LEAD Rules to Effect Residential Renovations

Lead-based paint was used in more than 38 million homes until it was banned for residential use in 1978. For those renting, buying or renovating a pre-1978 home, receiving a copy of the EPA's Lead Pamphlet is federal law, and duly warns against things like letting your children chew on the windowsills. Lead has been shown to affect children's brains and developing nervous systems, causing reduced IQ, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems, and is also harmful to adults. Lead in dust, which is often invisible, is the most common way people are exposed to lead.

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House As A System

How can your choice of a clothes washer affect the quality of air inside your house? Of all the decisions made during a residential construction project, this one seems trivial. However, in modern houses, individual elements are related in ways that you may not think about at first. Getting the complete picture requires that you think about the "house as a system". Systems thinking is essential to design and build a home that is energy efficient, comfortable, durable, and healthy for people and the planet.

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