Green Remodeling Products for Your Home

The remodeling industry is seeing a small boom as of late, even though new home building has dropped significantly due to the economy. Rather than buy or sell a home, many are choosing to remodel instead. Many of these remodelers are turning to green, environmentally friendly products when possible.

There is still some hesitancy, however, to chose and use environmentally safe home building products because of their past reputation. Remember the giant solar panels that popped up on many homes early on? These products were costly and extremely difficult to install. Maintenance was difficult as well, with competent technicians hard to come by.

Much has changed since then, with the prices on these types of products dropping, selection growing, and installation and maintenance of these green remodeling products becoming so easy they could become a do it yourself project! There are now green remodeling products for almost everything in your home! Even when the cost of some of these items remains high, it is usually a situation where the initial cost is high but the product in the long run will provide you with energy savings.

Several types of environmentally friendly flooring exist on the market today. Recycled wood, and wood that is grown from sustainable forests, like Bamboo, are an excellent green remodeling choice. Bamboo grows at an extremely fast rate, constantly providing an ample supply. Bamboo varies in color and grain and has a beautiful finish, however it is usually not recommended for high traffic areas because it is softer than most hardwoods and will show shoe dents. A tougher type of renewable wood flooring is Lyptus, a hybrid of two kinds of eucalyptus. This grows at a quicker pace than most hardwoods and meets the high standards of the Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification, a group that certifies sustainable forests. It is used for flooring, but can also be used for cabinets and lumber, and is offered in colors ranging from pink to dark cherry.

Paint has always been known to send out vapors and contain volatile organic chemicals. Paint can send out low level toxins for years after applying. Try tackling your green remodeling job using eco-friendly paint. Several brands are now available. These paints eliminate many of the harmful solvents and use methods that prevent the toxic emissions.

These paints look as good as, and are as durable as, regular paint. Clean up is easy on you and the environment as well!

Whether you are adding an addition to your home or repairing or replacing your old roof, there are plenty of green remodeling roofing products on the market. Composite roofing materials are extremely durable, similar to composite materials used for decks and steps in recent years. Composite roofing is guaranteed not to warp, crack, or fade color. Roofing such as this combine recycled plastics, rubber, and non toxic resins. Maintenance on these types of roofs is nearly a non existent chore and they are made to last much longer than conventional roofing materials. It's also one of the more affordable recycled materials one can find for their home.

One popular, energy efficient green remodeling product to try are insulated window shades. Shades like this come in all sizes and colors, and can be a great finishing touch to any remodel. Insulated, high performance style window shades will reduce noise, sometimes by as much as 30%. They can help improve the energy efficiency of your windows by blocking as much as 99% of sunlight, which can heat a room quickly. In the winter, shades such as these keep a room warm by keeping out cold drafts. Insulated light filtering shades will help to shrink your energy bill.

Replacing your appliances with a new energy efficient model is a smart green remodeling move. The biggest expense with a dishwasher is the cost to heat the water. Any dishwasher that uses water more efficiently will save money in the long run. Refrigerators and stoves are produced to use much less energy than their older counterparts. Finding the "Energy Star" rating on any appliance will guarantee and energy efficient model.

There are many benefits to choosing environmentally friendly products for your green home remodel. Long term energy efficiency will cut down on your utility bills, while you help to reduce "off gassing" emissions, conserve resources and possibly increase the worth of your home. With all the colors and styles of green remodeling products for every area of your home, and reasonable pricing, it's easy to create a healthy, eco friendly home.