Stripping paint from the old hardware (hinges, knobs, etc.) in your house is easier than you think and is one of the cheapest ways to give your aging home a major face-lift. Often, the temptation is to replace hardware that has spent years under multiple layers of paint. Surprisingly, that old paint is hiding hardware that is very often of better quality than anything you can affordably buy new. I first learned the following method of removing paint from hardware many years ago from Bo Sullivan at... more

Making a splash in the bath — while using less water — is increasingly the goal of “green-minded” homeowners embarking on a bathroom remodel. And with good reason: According to WaterSense, a voluntary public-private partnership program sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, each American uses an average of 100 gallons of water per day at home. By installing water-efficient fixtures and appliances, usage can be dropped by about 30% — which shaves an average of $170 per year off... more

With energy bills on the rise, water conservation is a major concern for homeowners. Did you know, toilets make up about half of a home’s water consumption? Americans flush nearly five billion gallons of water down their toilets each day. To help conserve water, years ago the federal government required builders to install toilets that used no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Although these new toilets met the government’s requirement, they often performed poorly. When low-flush toilets... more

With the available information about design and green building practices, homeowners are becoming increasingly aware of the different certification processes for Energy Star, Earth Advantage, and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.) While there is value in pursuing these certifications, there are everyday opportunities to incorporate green features into your home just by looking in your own backyard. These two success stories reveal easy ways to add sustainability to a home improvement... more

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is known throughout the world as the great American architect who designed such icons as Falling Water, the Robie House, and the Guggenheim Museum. His most influential accomplishment may well be his series of small and practical Usonian houses built between 1938 and the 1960s. Many features commonly found in mainstream home styles of the 1950s and 1960s were first popularized by Wright in his Usonian prototypes: one-story horizontal plans, walls of windows (often opening... more

Have you considered building a rain garden in your yard? Many of us in Portland, OR have seen the swales being built all around the city to manage storm water runoff and protect our rivers. Did you know that you, too, can do the same thing in your own yard? When we build swales in our yards, we call them rain gardens, and they are just as effective at capturing runoff from the roof and driveway. Above is an example of a faux riverrock stream that the rain water from the roof is redirected towards. What... more

Small, unique, family-owned, intimate, and wildly busy, are the terms that best describe Portland OR-based Truax Builder’s Supply. Founded in 1946 as a wood window manufacturing and sales establishment, Truax today remains a family-owned business. A fire in 2004 led to the construction of a new showroom, but the company is still located at 10949 SE Division Street. Small in that it resides in two modest buildings with only 17 employees, Truax is not small in scope when it comes to... more

More than 80% of all decks in the United States are built entirely or partially with pressure-treated wood. While the market for composite, low maintenance, decking materials continues to grow, the posts, beams, and joists are usually made from pressure-treated wood — known for its structural strength. An unprotected deck absorbs water, softening and swelling the wood fibers. The sun’s heat dries the wood, which makes the wood shrink. Without protection, even the wood of a pressure-treated deck... more