GInstitute Home Improvement and Remodelling

Artificial grass or artificial turf is a surface treatment that helps the environment although it is synthetically made. Artificial grass looks and feels like the real thing but it needs no watering, mowing or cultivating for it to look green all-year round. Aside from that, artificial turf needs no pesticides or fertilizers. By using artificial turf or grass, you can:

Conserve water

Watering an average-sized garden with natural grass can use up approximately 40,000 gallons of water per year, a big amount of water that can contribute to freshwater depletion especially in areas with depleted water supplies. When using artificial turf, you can conserve considerable amounts of water that can be used in more important things.

Prevent water contamination

Fertilizers and pesticides that are used to maintain natural grass can penetrate deep into the ground and contaminate groundwater supply. Nitrate in fertilizers can get mixed up with water sources such as lakes, rivers, and underground water. The rise of nitrate content in water sources can be harmful to human health and to the environment as well. Water wastage and water contamination will never happen when you use artificial grass.

Eliminate greenhouse gas emissions

Lawn mowers consume fossil fuels that, when emitted, can destroy the ozone and thus, hasten the effects of global warming. A typical synthetic artificial turf comes with an 8 to 10 year guarantee, but if properly installed and maintained, it can last up to 20 years. For these 20 years, you can save a big amount of water and money and you help the environment as well. At the end of its lifespan, instead of just throwing away or dumping the used artificial grass, you can still re-use it for other purposes like laying it for your backyard path.

Artificial turf is known all over the world as being used by professional sports arenas for baseball, rugby, football, soccer, and other field sports. And aside from being used in residential areas and gardens, artificial turf is now popularly used in school grounds and children’s playgrounds. Large artificial lawns for children’s play areas are made of the highest quality with the safety of your child in mind. If you look at it, artificial grass helps the environment more than the natural grass can ever do. So if you are planning of a home improvement and landscaping project for your garden, artificial grass is your “green” choice.

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Hazardous household wastes are household products that give off waste and by-products that have the potential to harm humans or the environment, either now or in the future if not disposed of properly. There are many options to dispose of household hazardous wastes safely, protect the environment and keep your home safe. Recycling programs are available for some hazardous waste if needed.

Although recycling programs have increased, but so has the amount of waste being generated, including the quantity of hazardous waste.  The average household stores many hazardous substances or products that contain harmful elements. It can be dangerous to dispose of hazardous wastes just through regular rubbish collections. Examples of household hazardous waste include:

• Solvent-based paints.
• Pesticides and other garden chemicals.
• Batteries (car, mobile phone, and regular household batteries).
• Motor oil from vehicles or mowers.
• Petrol and kerosene.
• Cleaning and polishing chemicals.
• Swimming pool or spa bath chemicals.
• Pharmaceuticals of all types.
• Thermometers, barometers, thermostats, fluorescent tubes, and CFL’s.

To handle hazardous waste at home safely you should:

• Keep the goods in their original containers if possible. If containers are leaking, use new containers but never use food containers like softdrink bottles.
• Don’t mix chemicals when decanting a substance into a new storage container.
• Make sure all labels, including warning labels and manufacturer’s instructions, remain intact on the packaging.
• Store goods upright with lids secured tightly and out of the reach of children.
• Keep all ignition sources, such as matches, well away from the storage area.
• Keep the storage area cool and dry.
• Buy the smallest amount for your needs.

What happens when you don’t dispose of dangerous waste properly?

Buried in the garden – dangerous chemicals and poison can leach into the surface or groundwater. This can affect the soil, plants and water for a long time.

Tipped down the sink – wastes may corrode the pipes or block storm water drains and cause problems at water treatment plants.

Put into the regular garbage – this can put the health and safety of garbage collection workers at risk. It may also pollute waterways and drinking water if sent to normal landfills. Hazardous waste should only be stored in specially designed landfills.

Plastic shopping bags – these can create an ugly litter problem if not recycled or disposed of properly. If these bags get into waterways, they may be a threat to wildlife. Most supermarkets now collect plastic bags for recycling.

Illegal disposal, dumping or misuse of wastes is a serious offence and subject to federal or state penalties.

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Insulation is one of the key components of a sustainable home design as well for home improvement in the home’s later years. A well-insulated home reduces energy bills by keeping the house warm during winter months and cool during the hot spring and summer days. Also, cutting down carbon emissions linked to global climate change at the same time allows you to save money on electricity and heating bills. In terms of energy efficiency, investing in high quality insulation materials for your home is more cost-effective than investing in expensive heating and cooling appliances and technology.

It is thus, worth taking the time to choose the right insulation materials in the framework of the whole home improvement home design. Loft insulation is the most commonly used materials to maximize energy efficiency and improve the acoustics of your home. Among the various materials used in this category includes glass fibre insulation loll or rolled loft insulation and multi foil insulation rolls. Insulation materials are made from petrochemicals and include fiberglass and multi foil materials. These materials are widely used because they are inexpensive to buy, manufacture, and install. Plus, there is an assumption from the building industry that the performance ability of the loft insulation materials is higher compared to that of plain walling and roofing materials.

Loft insulation materials work by resisting heat flow measured by an R-value. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulation. This R-value varies according to material type, density, and thickness, and is affected by thermal bridging, unwanted heat flow that occurs at joists, metal stud, and rafter beams. For instance, for fibreglass or rolled loft insulation, they provide a thermal conductivity of 0.040 W/mK and a thermal resistance of between 2.5 – 5.0 m2K/W. If you want a tear resistant, rot-proof insulation that does not weaken over time, the multi foil insulation is one of the perfect loft insulation choices.

With loft insulation, you are contributing to a greener environment at the same time reducing the cost on your energy bills. Rockwool insulation is another material usually used for cavity wall insulation and can also be installed as part of the ceiling, usually after the inner segment is built and before the building of the external brick outer portion. For the internal partition wall insulation, insulated plasterboard is normally installed for acoustic insulation purposes rather than thermal insulation. Insulation boards prevent sound from being transmitted and to provide thermal insulation to walls within a home.

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