Our Favorite House Plant

Fiddle leaf ficus, Ficus Lyrata, is by far the favorite house plant at Forrest Glover Design.  The big leaves look great in the bushy form but also make a spectacular tree when pruned up.

Home Decor Ideas

Occupancy Sensor Switches

I recently installed occupancy sensors in my pantry, workshop, bathroom closet, and upstairs bathroom.  I don't normally leave a room with the lights on, but it has been a pleasant change to have the lights turn on and off automatically.  Who knew such a quick and easy upgrade would be so exciting?  Occupancy sensor switches can be install where the current light switch is in about ten minutes.  Please be sure to work safely around electricity and call an electrician where required by law.

If you or your children have a habit of leaving the lights on, you can save a lot of energy by installing these simple switches.  Closets, bathrooms, laundry rooms, garages and children's rooms are great places to install occupancy sensors.  Sensor are available in many price points and options.  Most include adjustable settings for length of time the light is on.  Others include dimmers and on/off override switches.  There is a great selection of switches from $15 - $50.  Dimming an incandescent bulb by just 10 percent can save up to 20 percent on energy and greatly increase the life of the bulb.

Home Energy Savings

Metal Roofing

Though metal roofs have a great amount of embodied energy and cost more up front.  There are many advantages to them.

• Serviceable for 50+ years
• Recyclable and many are made from up to 95% recycled materials
• Superior energy efficiency in both heating and cooling seasons
• Perfect for rain catchment systems
• Fire resistant
• Provide maximum wind resistance
• Leak resistant
• Solar panels can be installed on them without drilling into the roof deck
• Beautiful and complementary with many architectural styles

Home design for fire protection

Advanced Framing

Optimum Value Engineering (OVE) or advanced framing is a framing technique developed in the 1970s.  It can reduce the amount of lumber used for framing by 20 percent and preforms better thermally.  

• Instead of 2x4s 16in on center, the building is framed with 2x6s 24in on center.  This allows for more insulation and less thermal bridging through the studs.
• Corners are framed with two studs rather than four.
• Headers eliminated in non-load bearing walls and sized according to their specific load in other walls.
• The foundation generally calls for poured slab on grade to reduce wood for first floor framing.
• Floors are framed with I-joist.
• Roofs are built with trusses, eliminating a significant amount of wood used in conventional framing.
• Insulation rigid foam is applied to the exterior plywood to further reduce thermal bridging

When building a new home or adding an addition, consider advanced framing to save framing cost and create a space that is less expensive to heat and cool.

Poor framing technique:

For more information or contact info visit Forrest Glover Design - Home Remodeling.

Natural Swimming Pools

 

 

350 Home & Garden Challenge - May 12 & 13

Join your neighbors in Sonoma County to save water and energy, grow food, and build community.  Removing your thirty lawn can save more water than replacing all your interior fixtures.  Plant vegetables, herbs, or create a beautiful native garden.  Daily Acts has more information about the successes of the challenge since 2010.  Some actions they suggest:

• convert your lawn (or patio/balcony) to grow food
• plant a fruit tree
• create an herb garden
• grow a row for a local food bank
• start a worm bin or compost
• install low flow
• set up a greywater system

• harvest rainwater
• switch to drip irrigation
• hang a clothes line
• conduct a home energy audit
• unplug and tune-in to Nature
• have a block party and share stories
• help a neighbor meet the 350 Challenge

Forrest Glover Design  has recently joined forces with a wonderful native garden design and landscaping company to create stunning, earth friendly, and low maintenance gardens for your home or business.