The next segment in the My Design Partner series is water heating.

All water heaters are created equally correct?  I wish. Unfortunately they are not, and making a bad choice in a water heater can cost you a lot in operating costs.  The water heater is the second largest consumer of energy on most residences. more…

Some of our neighbors here in GA trying to get out of the water

When I was a kid- I could remember my mom singing” rain, rain, go away- come back another day”  As I was driving to work on Monday and saw the Chattahoochee flooding several local businesses I found myself singing it in my head.

GA was in drought,now we are in a flood. A friend of mine owns a rain harvesting business. Even his green clients are not in the mood to talk about collecting rainwater until their basements and crawlspace stop collecting rain.

Let’s not beat up the rain harvesting guys right now- they are part of the solution. Water is still a huge problem. There is either too much or not enough and we are on watering restrictions. If you manage your own reservoir, you could eliminate the peaks and valleys.

Since my company deals with energy efficiency, we tell people the same thing. You cannot control prices of energy from your provider, but you can control how much you use and will not be affected as much if their is a price swing if you home uses less energy.

All this talk about rain gets me on a rant about basements. As a home performance contractor and owner of a design/ build firm, I cannot see how any contractor would build out a basement without dealing with water. If you had a basement that flooded recently, I am truly sorry. Some of them would have flooded no matter what, but most of them could have avoided flooding it designed and built properly.

Here are some considerations that we do on every basement design:

1. Address bulk water on the outside of the house- most of the water comes from runoff from gutters or improperly sloped yards.   Gutters should discharge at least (if not more than) 5 feet from the house.  Most gutters dump the water on the foundation.  The code for the grade on the house is that for the first 10′ the grade should drop at least 6″.  Gutters can be easily fixed with extensions that you can do yourself, or that you can buy at your local hardware store.  Fixing the grade is not as much fun.
2. Water proofing- not damp proofing. For some reason GA thought that it would be OK to dumb down the building code, and allow damp proofing for many years, instead of water proofing.  The last few days here we did not have “damp” we had “water”.  If your basement flooded- thank the State of GA for not requiring (in the past)- water proofing.  If you are building a new home- insist that your contractor waterproof.  Here are some of the products that we have used in the past: Delta Dry
3. On an existing unfinished basement- water proof from the inside. Water will always find a way in.  Either through humidity or cracks in the foundation.  As a good contractor- I need to give the water an opportunity to “get out.”  On our basement specification, we always insist on water proofing the basement before finishing it.  If we don’t do this and the basement floods- there will be mold, rot and other unpleasantness that will come about.
4. Pre-treat for termites, mold.  Seems obvious, but why not just make the conditions not so friendly for what we don’t want around.  We vaccinate our kids so they don’t get sick.  Why not vaccinate your home to prevent a sick home?  We prefer to use non toxic chemicals that do not make you sick when they “off gas.”
5. Use mold resistant materials. Most of the mold grows on the paper in the drywall.  There is a product call DensArmor Plus that we use that does not have paper- instead it uses a fiberglass covering that is stronger and will not mold since it is not organic.
6. Whole house humidity control. Instead of a stand alone dehumidifier, installing an extra dehumidifier that runs through your HVAC duct work is much more effective.  Not only does it pull more water out, it pulls it out faster since it is able to condition all of the air- not just the air around the machine as a stand alone unit does.  We use the April Air systems in our client’s houses.

To see one of our case studies where that is used in the green training manual for the National Association of Remodelor visit:  ReGreen Guidelines/ Hoots

To learn more about our parent company where you can get your own water resistant basement and crawlspace visit: The Hoots Group

If you have had flooding in your home, get the water out ASAP!!!

I heard that you cannot find sump pumps at any stores right now so use a shop vac instead.  Take the filter out so the water does not saturate it and start sucking up the water.  Most shop vacs have a drain in them so yours could drain the water out as you are cleaning up if possible.  As soon as you get the bulk of the water up- dry the area out.  If there is mold growing- stop and contact us us for a reference to remediate the mold.  If there is not any mold present- then use fans and also turn down the AC- your AC is a giant dehumidifier and can help get the humidity down so mold does not start growing.

We are still in a drought here in North Georgia despite all of this rain.  Even if it continues to rain and we have plenty of water, these conditions could happen again so we need to be prepared.  You have 2 options for helping our region save on water.  1.  Collect rain water or grey water for reuse which helps reduce the impact on local water supplies.  2. Use devices on your home that use less water on the inside and use plants that do not require as much water (if at all) on the outside of the house.

One of the brands that we use at the Hoots Group is Kohler.  They have put together a list of all of the water rebated here in GA where you get paid to go green with water!  Visit Kohler to find out which rebates are available to you.

As part of our energy audit, we also have a water audit to show you where you can save money on water!  For more information visit Fresh World.

Atlanta is currently in a Level IV drought.  Luckily the citizens of Atlanta are looking for ways that they can make a difference.  We can’t water our plants in most areas with tap water so many people are looking to rain barrels, rain-harvesting and grey water.  Many of our clients are quite receptive to these techniques and actually are expecting us more and more to offer them as a responsible options for them.  I asked one of the local experts (Mark Brown) to elaborate on the difference in the various ways to collect and use water legally and safely.

Guest blogger- Mark Brown Raincatchers

People are always asking me about grey water or they are using the term grey water interchangeably with rainwater.  Like most rainwater harvesting people, I cringe each time I hear rainwater referred to as grey water.  They are two completely different types of water with very different characteristics.  Here are a few points to help clarify:

1. Rainwater is water that is generated from a precipitation event, while grey water is generated from dishwashing, clothes washing, general sink usage, and bathing.  Please note that if grey water has high levels of food waste, certain harsh chemicals, or “you know what” (Doodie), it can no longer be classified as grey water and would be considered black water (term to be covered by someone else at a later date).

2. Rainwater is high quality water that is just beneath U.S. drinking water standards only because of the low level of contaminants it picks up in the air and through its conveyance.  Grey water has detergents, small food particles, and other pollutants picked up through its usage.

3. Rainwater can be used for any type of water demand depending on the level of filtration or purification.  With basic filtration removing the particulates, rainwater is suitable for storage and use for any nonpotable need, such as irrigation, toilet flushing, clothes washing, pool and pond refilling, auto and building washing, cooling towers, and fire suppression.  If purified using the proper systems, rainwater can be used for potable needs, such as drinking, cooking, and bathing.

Grey water can be used for subsurface irrigation if used immediately and the local codes allow this,  however federal law prohibits the use of grey water for above ground irrigation.  With the use of grey water recycling systems grey water can be used for toilet flushing and clothes washing in the home, however It cannot be purified and used for potable water needs.  Grey water should not be stored without first being treated, because its contaminates decompose so quickly.

4. Well designed rainwater harvesting systems using the highest quality products require very little maintenance.  Grey water recycling systems require constant maintenance and repair.

5. The main benefits of a grey water recycling system are the reduction in the amount of water going into our sewer system and the conservation of our water resources.  The benefits of rainwater harvesting systems include the conservation of our water resources, a significant reduction in pollution of our waterways, and the reduction or elimination of storm water runoff.

As you can see these are two very different types of water.  Both are beneficial to our environment and will play an important role in how we handle this important natural resource in the future.  As water is quickly moving up the list of important issues our country and world must deal with, these systems will continue to improve and ultimately will become a normal part of existence.