Eco Friendly House And Garden

Some simple tricks can stop your heating bill spiralling out of control and wasting all that energy!

Remember visiting you grandparents house and there were a few things that you didn’t have at home that you thought were funny.  Well some of them were totally eco friendly and we never took them on board.

Nans had these funny things as there wasn’t such a thing as central heating, so all of these were used simply to keep warm and stop cold draughts blowing aroundthe house.

Now of course, they can save energy, money and the environment too - so maybe I can take you on a walk around my nans house and see what you can do today.

Plastic Sheets: 18% of heat is lost through your windows.
In the colder rooms that weren’t used so often had tight plastic sheets taped over them on the inside.  Double glazing was unheard of so putting in your own secondary ‘glazing’ was the way to go.

If you didn’t want to open the windows through the winter, then why not seal them up for the colder months.  These days of course you can buy actual double glazing, retro-fit secondary glazing - or even buy an eco friendly equivalent of the old plastic sheeting called Eco Glaze which is acrylic sheets that are attached to your window with magnetic strips so you can put them on or take them off when you want!

Maybe even consider triple glazing in bad areas or just the leakiest window!

Giant Velvet Curtain: 15% of heat is lost through doors.
My nan had the most amazing thick red curtain on the back of the front door.  It was on a great big rail and it was more than twice as wide as the door and at least a foot too long - great for hiding behind!

By making sure that there was more than enough curtain to block any breezes made it all the more worth having.  I mean if you are fitting a curtain in the first place, it’s a bit pointless if it is too short or too thin.  Spend the extra pennies and get it right first time.

Maybe consider fitting a simple porch to buffer the outside and inside spaces.

Long Tube Of Socks:
Along the bottom of the lounge door when we were all sitting inside was a handmade tube of old socks and rags.  I suppose it could be made into a comedy sausage dog if you sewed ears on!

It was the perfect way to stop draughts coming under the door when you were heating just the one room.  Just like today - when you have the log burner on the go in the one room, keep all the heat in there too.  Modern equivalents can be plates you screw on to the bottom of you door with a furry edge - but I quite like the idea of making my own sausage dog!

Over-Patterned Rugs:  8% of heat is lost through floors.
Now, you don’t have to go an buy a bright swirly rug or a heavily-pattered dark red rug to stop cold air coming through your floorboards!

These days you can fill the gaps on old floorboards with man-made natural fillers, buy nice plain rugs in all sizes, or fit carpets with thick underlay to make sure that your home stays warm!

Maybe consider fitting underfloor heating if you are having other work done in your home.  This is a much more efficient way to heat your home than traditional central heating and means you can put your furniture where you want it rather than having to fit it around huge radiators…….. 

So, go round to your great aunts house or your friends nans and check out their energy and money saving tips!

photo credit: comedy_nose

If you live in what is called a ‘hard water’ area, you may consider changing to ’soft’.

Now it’s not like you can change the bedrock of your house, so it would mean fitting a water softener to your existing water pipes to make the change.

But why would you go to that trouble and expense if you didn’t really have to - I mean the water still runs like normal, is clean to drink and washes dishes etc?

But there is a massive difference between the 2 types of water - and the soft water option can help you to live a more eco-friendly life.

How Can It Really?
Well, hard water contains magnesium and calcium that it picks up from the rocks on it’s path from falling as rain until it reaches your tap.  And these minerals can cause some serious damage to your plumbing and smaller white goods in the kitchen - not to mention your boiler and washing machine!

This build up of minerals in the water is then transferred into your pipes as it sits there waiting to be used - and can reduce the amount of water getting into an appliance, and cause permanent damage to the pipes as well.  Replacing either is a squeeze on natural resources and a costly exercise to boot!

And, with the capacity for water flow reduced, this can sometimes cause the appliance or boiler to have to work harder to keep the same level of function - or use more energy but give a poorer performance!

Soft water doesn’t contain any of these minerals, so leaves your pipes clean and working at their best!

How Can I Tell The Difference?
It isn’t immediately obvious which water you have got based on watching your boiler or feeling your clean clothes - but just using the water from your tap will show which water you have.

These minerals show themselves in water residue in the form of ‘lime scale’, so if you have a white patchy deposit on your shower head, grey residue left on your glass shower curtain, blobs of white ‘chalky’ stuff in your kettle, the list goes on…..

Sound familiar?

Now think of all the chemicals, cloths, scourers and time you have to spend keeping your bathroom and kitchen clean - then think of all that chemical waste!

And, think about washing your hair, hands and body.  Washing in soft water creates a lather more readily using less toiletries - and gives a more thorough clean.  People say that washing in soft water makes their skin feel better and hair look shinier!

How Big Is A Water Softener?
They will easily fit under your kitchen sink in smaller flats, or anywhere in a larger home - even a garage will do.

Basically it works on the main water pipes going in to your home or offices and changes the composition of your water before it enters your home.

Most water softeners are easily fitted and will pay for themselves within around 5 years due to the better efficiency of your heating and hot water systems, as well as in the reduced reliance of cleaning chemicals and toiletries!

And your appliances will last longer and stay efficient throughout that lifespan - and don’t worry about your appliances if you have been using hard water - as the softened water running through will eventually clear all the existing limescale!

So, taking the minerals out of your water could save you a lot of time and money.

It’s not always easy to pick a company to renovate your home that you can trust.

When you are thinking of changes to your home, you need to make sure that the company you choose will work closely with you on your designs, will respond to any changes you have along the way and of course they must offer the standard of work that you are hoping for.

If you are making eco friendly or even innovative changes to your home, then you really need to select a company that have many experience but also a company that other people have used and approved.

If you have certain requirements for your extension or re-fit, then you need to be able to trust your building company to carry out these wishes - for example sourcing materials that you specifically request - or offering better alternatives for the job that you hadn’t thought of!

One Such Firm:
There is a building firm in Australia that offer just this service for their customers.  These Sydney home builders show you exactly what they offer on their website - and have some great images of their past work for you to get ideas from.

They work very closely to match the requirements of their customers and make sure the finished product is better than their expectations!

The most important page is the aptly named ‘Word of Mouth’ section, easily reached from the home page.  Here there are testimonials from previous customers which really speak for themselves.

They aren’t a selection of 1-liners taken out of context and wrapped up in all fancy boxes - they are long and descriptive testimonials about how much they want to thank this company: Heddons, for the level of service and the finished product.  You can’t get better than that……

…….apart from the fact that these customers have also agreed to speak to anyone considering using this company for their first floor addition, in the Lower North Shore or their bathroom renovation, Mosman!

They also have a page dedicated to their project architects - it’s not just left ot the builders, it’s all overseen by certified professionals - so you don’t have to worry about finding one yourself.  There is a list on the website for you to choose from that they have preciously worked with. 

This ensures that work gets started fast and efficiently, as these 2 parts of the renovation team know how each other work through their past experience - so it cuts out all the paperwork and shortens the whole process for you - leaving you to think about what you want in your home, rather than who you want to do it!

The End Result:
When you decide to take on a large project for your home, you want to get the results you expected - and the only way to achieve this is to be able to communicate with your builder and for them to respect your choices.

From suppliers, to staffing, to materials and machinery - even through to the disposal of building waste - you can make sure these are all to your standards and that your new home doesn’t have a negative impact on others.

You can always get a cheaper price if you cold call local builders, or search online for: Home Builder Sydney (or wherever you live) - but you take the risk.

Trust your friends.  You can’t get a better service than from a recommended source!

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