Building Green

It's been a long time since Kermit sang, "It's Not Easy Being Green." They say that today, it's becoming easier all the time to renovate or build your home using "green" or eco-friendly products.

I've always wanted to have a solar powered home, and I read in this week's paper that they have new solar roof shingles that are less obtrusive than the huge panels of yore. The catch? They cost a fortune, even with the federal tax break you get. Experts say that as time goes on, the price should drop because the technology will be more prevalent. We'll see. For now, it's outta my price range. Regular roofing shingles cost an estimated $7 square foot, while they say that the solar shingles can cost $30 per square foot! Yikes! I know you'll save money on utilities in the long run, but who can afford to pay all that up front? Not me, I'm afraid.

On a more reasonable level, I read that paint manufacturers now have paint formulations that have low odor and less chemicals. One brand costs about $30 a gallon, which isn't that much more than some of the more decent paint brands like Sherwin-Williams. (I know SW isn't rated very highly by Consumer Reports, but I like it better than some of those paints that top their list.)

As I'm thinking about painting the drum room in the near (hopefully) future, I would like to try one of those newer paint formulations. I've hated the smell of paint ever since they repainted my grandfather's apartment building interior in the '60s. The smell made me sick for over a year. And since I'm the one who normally does the painting in this household, I'm the person who gets the biggest jolt of chemical smell from the stuff. I'll have to write a review once I try the new formulation. But don't hold your breath--see the previous post and all the projects that have to be finished first!

In the meantime, I guess I can buy some more green plants to keep inside the house and "clean" the air. After all, my husband's the one who does all the plant watering :-)