Go green builders saves engery with Hunter Douglas Window treatments

Hunter Douglas is the worldwide leader in creating innovative, energy-efficient window fashions that save valuable energy resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As our products serve this larger purpose, they also make home interiors brighter, more beautiful, more private and more comfortable.

Significant energy efficiency improvements at the window began with our invention of Duette® honeycomb shades back in 1985. Air contained within the honeycomb cells proved to be an effective insulator, keeping heat inside in winter and keeping it out in summer.

The huge success of the Duette brand has spawned other energy-saving innovations — including Silhouette® window shadings, Vignette® Modern Roman Shades,Luminette® Privacy Sheers and Pirouette® window shadings. Our most recent creation, Duette Architella® honeycomb shades, takes energy conservation to a whole new level. The patented honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb design forms three air pockets to dramatically reduce heat flow at the window. If installed in every window of every American home, these shades have the potential to cut our annual energy consumption by 2½%. That may not sound like much, but it’s the equivalent of a 33% increase in fuel mileage for all passenger cars on U.S. roads — which would save about 450 million barrels of oil annually and reduce CO2 emissions by almost 200 million tons!

Go green builders is working with Carlisle recycled wood flooring

At the beginning of the year, Carlisle Flooring came to us, with their incredible story, and the need to find Quality dealer in the North County San Diego area.

When you here the term Reclaimed / Recycled wood flooring Carlisle comes to the top of the list. Carlisle offers a broad variety of wood floors including old growth heart pines, premier hardwoods, hand-sculpted woods and FSC Certified 100% Post-Consumer Reclaimed Antique woods. Put simply, Carlisle believes that the living surface they create inside your home should reflect and respect the living surface nature created outside your home.

Go Green Builders New Line, Eco-Leader by Refin Ceramiche

Keeping up with the latest efforts in "Green, Sustainable Building Products" is a 7/24 effort at Go Green Builders. It is with this ever-constant desire to “keep up” in mind that we made the choice to bring in one of our newest lines, by Refin Ceramiche, Eco-Leader.

Eco-leader is a color-body porcelain tile; manufactured using 40% pre-consumer recycled material. It is this 40% recycle content which enables Eco-Leader to meet the requirements for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the most important and strict American certification for conservation of energy and the environment.

Although many have tried, Refin is the first Italian factory to create a tile awarded LEED certification. It is this first step–and Refin’s commitment to their mission of becoming a forerunner of environmental policies through conscious consumption and production–which sets them apart from other tile manufacturers. Eco-Leader comes in four sizes and colorways, each taken from Mother Nature’s color book; Sand, Ink, Ground and Stone.

We at Go Green Builders appreciate all that Refin is doing for the earth and look forward to seeing the many places Eco-Leader will be installed.

Working with Broken Bottles at Go Green Builders

Glass Act: Broken bottles turn to polished pebbles

Tucked in an odd-shaped parcel of port property between railroad tracks and cargo ships sits a slice of inspiration.

At the Red Shovel Glass Co., trash becomes treasure. Tons of discarded bottles, otherwise rejected by recyclers, find new life as brightly colored "stones," perfect for paths and garden decoration.

Broken mirrors, unwanted doors and windows, chipped dishes and glass tabletops, fallen roof tiles, smashed flowerpots: All are reborn into polished pebbles.
Red Shovel Glass Company of San Francisco, turns old recycled bottles, tile and terra cotta into beautiful landscaping materials. The glass is tumbled in water and turns out like polished agate. It's become a big hit with landscape designers, who use it in paths, water features and other accents,

Tumbled smooth, the finished products sparkle like gems in colors rare in nature but common in trash bins.

"All this stuff would otherwise end up in landfills," explains Matthew Levesque, who oversees Building REsources and Red Shovel Glass Co., its recycled-glass offshoot.

This nonprofit operation grew out of materials that couldn't otherwise be recycled. That includes an awful lot of colored or tempered glass.

Recycled countertops in Solana Beach

Countertops are a great place to consider using recycled materials.

There are a myriad of choices for countertops for the modern kitchen — from granite to quartz to ceramic tile to laminate — but for those looking to build a green kitchen, recycled countertops offer an alternative to stripping stone from the earth. Countertops using recycled paper, glass and aluminum offer a variety of looks and price levels. Another alternative is a concrete countertop, which can be tinted and is popular for its durability.

I have been working with One Source Stone. One Source Countertops have many great edge details & product selection for green countertops.

Maintenance and Green Building in Solana Beach

Go Green today, before you come in to start your remodeling project review these simple ideas:

• Turn down the heat one or two degrees: Care2 writes that "each 1-degree drop for an eight-hour period reduces your fuel bill percent," saving you money and cutting down on electricity usage
• Use fans: If you can, install ceiling fans to cool down the library without overusing the A/C.
• Take advantage of windows: Strategically placed windows will provide natural light and may help with heating or cooling costs.
• Use eco-friendly light bulbs: Switch to eco-friendly light bulbs that save money and electricity.
• Use Energy Star products: Products with the Energy Star have been approved by the U.S. government as energy-saving products.

After you saved some electricity, how about coming in and let's talk about a solar installation?