Green Remodel phase 2: bathrooms & painting

Obviously this remodel is getting to me - three days late on posting! Last week we tore up the carpeting in the back bedrooms. It was only 2 years old, and with the exception of about 5x11 feet in one room, was clean and totally usable. I put in on Freecycle and within 4 hours, found someone to come get it that same night! Freecycle is AWESOME.

Anyway, we are now laying the bamboo flooring, so my mind is of course looking forward to the next project: bath fixtures, toilets, countertops + sinks, and painting!

First of all, i did not know it, but you can replace the face of a shower fixture without actually having to install a completely new set-up. I was looking at something like this, but then decided that, since the plumbing is perfectly fine, it would be better to look to replace the rusty facing on the shower fixtures. We're still looking for a place to buy them.

As for the toilets, I think this might be my favorite 'green' item of the moment - a dual-flush (or "dual flow" or "european") toilet. These toilets let you use only a little bit of water if a big flush isn't necessary. This is so much better than letting something "mellow"! This should really be a visible 'green' upgrade, so I'm anxious to see if people like it. (if you search eBay for "dual flush toilet", bunches will come up - I think we're going to buy this one)

On to the countertops... we're still not sure what we're going to be replacing the bathroom sink countertops with. There are three options: silestone (what's in the kitchen), granite (a piece from the salvage yard), or "vetrazzo". Vetrazzo is the brand name (like Kleenex) for a concrete + glass slab. We are in the process of getting an estimate from 3D Concrete Design down in Murfreesboro. The concept is really cool - use recycled glass and concrete to make a really stunning, unique countertop. Check out their site for an idea of what i'm talking about.

On top of the countertops, we're going to have vessel sinks, the kind that sit on top of the countertop like a bowl. They have perfect ones at Southeastern Salvage, but they didn't come with the fixtures (which are insanely expensive at Home Depot), so we bought them off eBay instead.

Lots of 'green' stuff is about being healthy, and the paint we're going to use is more on the 'healthy' side than the truly green side. Dubbed "low VOC" (VOC meaning "volatile organic compounds"), it will smell less and release fewer harmful chemical compounds. Low-VOC paint is new - not recycled (which you can get but isn't good for interior surfaces) - but it is specifically formulated to not have that "off-gassing" effect that a lot of products have. Check out this article for more information.

So, that wraps up today's remodeling post - I'm sure there's more to come, as we are neck-deep in jazzing this place up. Next post, I'll talk about keeping your body healthy while doing a remodel - not an easy feat in many places, where demolition can be quite a rough ride!