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On this Earth Day, Green Your Garage

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happy earth day 2017 nuvo garage design renovation great toronto areaEarth Day is the perfect time to reflect on our garages.  Here are a number of ways to “go green” in the garage.  One way to celebrate the day is to get your garage in order again after a messy winter while implementing two or three of these green initiatives to your garage.  Prepare for Earth day this April 22, 2017.

Energy Savings found in the Garage

A good place to start is by checking the exterior door from the house to the garage.  It should be a solid core exterior door with full weather stripping like any other exterior door of the house.  Assure the weather stripping is in good shape and that it prevents drafts as well as fumes from leaking into the house from the garage.  Not only will the right door and weather stripping save energy but it’ll assure the air quality within the house remains low in pollutants and toxins.

Just by emptying the central vacuum and changing the filter regularly, you’ll be able to optimize the performance of your central vacuum cleaner and minimize the energy consumed by the household.

Next, if a refrigerator is something you own in your garage, upgrade to an ENERGY STAR refrigerator.  With the changing temperatures of the garage, the newer fridges with better seals and improved energy efficiency will help you reduce energy consumption significantly making it easier on the pocket book and better for the environment.

Green the Garage Door

The garage door is typically the largest single door to the outside. If you’re looking to replace the garage door, the new garage doors can be made of sustainable and recycled materials.  The new garage door materials not only make the door lighter but they provide improved insulation value over the original aluminum or wood doors.

The new garage door materials use modern paints and finishes that are baked on or powder coated leaving stronger and more durable coatings and finishes.  These newer materials last longer and the industrial strength finishes won’t chip and wash off into the local water system like the older garage door paints.

Finally, when selecting a new garage door, pair it with one of the new door openers which run more efficiently than older models.  This means energy consumption savings over some of the older door opener systems and improved safety features for your loved ones. 

Green the Lighting within the Garage

These days LED lighting can be found in all types of light formats including pot lights, floodlights and standard bulb formats.  Not only do LED lights last 20,000 to 50,000 hours which is 5x more than any comparable light bulb, but they use even less energy than CFL or incandescent light bulbs. 

LED light bulbs run better in cooler temperatures.  Choose an outdoor LED light for the sconces outside the garage.  LED lights are far less appealing to bugs so they don’t attract bugs the same way that CFL or incandescent bulbs attract swarms of flying insects.  Save energy while improving the aesthetics of your outdoor light sconces.

Protect the Air Quality around the Home

Clean out your garage regularly of hazardous wastes such as paints, solvents, pesticides, fertilizers, old batteries, empty oil cans and other solvents which may emit undesirable or toxic fumes into the air within the garage. 

Start a recycle centre area in the garage for hazardous waste and bring them to a local hazardous waste depot regularly.  To find a depot, check out these websites:

  1. For single-use batteries, pressurized cylinders, antifreeze/coolant, empty oil containers, oil filters: http://www.makethedrop.ca/
  2. For medications and sharps syringes: http://www.healthsteward.ca/returns/ontario
  3. For paints, pesticides, fertilizers, solvents: http://www.regeneration.ca/

To reduce the amount of pathogens from entering your home, add an external floor mat in front of the door to the house from the garage and then a runner or floor mat just inside this external door.  This allows family members to travel a longer distance with their shoes so more particles are left behind on the mat. Just 5 steps on a runner or mat will significantly reduce the amount of particles and oils tracked into the house.

Green Your Garage Floor

Upgrade your basic cement garage floor to a polyaspartic coated garage floor or add garage floor tiles. These flooring materials make them easy to clean and don’t absorb oils or chemicals like the typical cement floor.  Nor do they chip like painted garage floors so family members don’t drag in paint flakes or dust from the exposed cement when they walk through the garage.

Polyaspartic flooring is also UV resistant which means the coating does not disintegrate under the sun and provides many years of durable floor protection.  Clean up is a breeze meaning that slush, snow and vehicle fluids sit on the surface and allow for removal instead of soaking down into an uncoated cement floor which makes cleaning and removal much more difficult.

When the garage floor can be cleaned easily and regularly, family members don’t carry the fluids, oils and multitudes of particles left behind by car tires, vehicle leaks or exhaust fumes with every footstep. 

Get the Whole Family Involved

When greening your garage, get the entire family involved.  Explain the changes and their value to the family as well as the impact to the planet.  Get involvement from the entire family to make new initiatives a reality for the entire family.  Celebrate your “green” garage initiatives with pride and make it contagious throughout your entire neighbourhood.

Happy Earth Day 2017!

Six Eco-Friendly Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

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Earth Day Canada has grown from a small movement 25 years ago to an event six million Canadians participate in each year. Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22nd by more than a billion people worldwide. However, the true power of Earth Day is its ability to prompt individual action and effect policy changes. With that in mind, let’s look at six eco-friendly ways to celebrate Earth Day this year.

Review Your Recycling Routine

nuvo garage earth day 2016 eco friendly green initiatives garage organization design renovationCanadians generate 31 million tonnes of trash annually, recycling only about 30%. There are 10,000 landfills across Canada. Yet, many are nearing capacity. As the contents of landfills decay, landfill gases—like methane and carbon dioxide—are produced, polluting air and harming the environment.   

Recycling is one of the simplest actions we can take to improve the environment. By complying with the convenient Blue Box recycling program available in most communities, we divert tons of glass, paper, plastics and electronics from being dumped in landfills.  

Review your home and work recycling habits. Create a dedicated recycling zone in your garage, if you haven’t already. Community recycling guidelines change periodically. Re-familiarize yourself with the guidelines at least once each year to ensure you’re in compliance. Maximize your environmental impact by recycling as many items from the list as you can. For an even greater impact, reduce the waste your household generates. For instance, using a water filtration pitcher or a refillable water jug can significantly reduce the number of plastic bottles that end up in landfills each year.

Reduce and Repurpose

We all have a stash of items that have outstayed their welcome lurking in our closets, the basement or the garage. Combine your Earth Day celebration with your annual spring cleaning and purge items you no longer use. Recycle or discard broken or outdated items. Give new life to items that don’t work for you now, by repurposing them.

Organize the remaining items in your garage by installing a wall organization system. Maximize storage by making use of wasted vertical space. Enlist a garage renovation professional to safely install overhead storage racks.

Safely Dispose of Household Hazardous Waste

We often think of hazardous waste in commercial settings. However, the average home and garage are brimming with hazardous substances, like automotive fluids, solvents, pesticides and household cleaners.

Do your part to keep the environment clean. Check with community guidelines to learn how to safely dispose of household hazardous waste in your home and garage. Don’t toss household chemicals or old electronics into the trash or pour used automotive oil down the drain or into the ground. Automotive oil can contaminate the soil and up to two million litres of water. Visit your city’s website to find out how to properly dispose of household hazardous waste.

Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

You’ll reduce reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels, like natural gas, oil and coal by making your home more energy efficient. Start with small, inexpensive changes that quickly pay for themselves in energy savings.

Install energy efficient CFL or LED bulbs in your home and garage. LED lights are ideal for use in the garage. They are resistant to cold and you won’t have to wait for them to warm-up to reach full brightness.

Weatherize your home and garage. Temperatures are rising now, but it’s the perfect time to seal drafty spots in your home. Apply weather stripping around the garage door and to the entrance between the house and garage. Seal around electrical outlets on exterior walls to prevent heat loss during winter and cooling loss during summer months.  

Reduce Carbon Emissions

Most households have multiple vehicles, increasing air pollution and the use of gasoline. If you live in a walkable community, bike to nearby destinations whenever possible. A brisk ride offers numerous health benefits, and you’ll have the added satisfaction of knowing you’ve reduced your carbon footprint. Keep your family’s bicycles neatly stored with a horizontal, vertical or overhead bicycle rack.

Keep tires properly inflated and perform vehicle maintenance, like oil changes and tune-ups, at regular intervals recommended by the manufacturer. When your vehicle is in top form it will run more efficiently, emit less pollution and use less gasoline. Store automotive accessories in a dedicated automotive zone in your garage. It will be easier to keep inventory of essential fluids and you’ll have everything at your fingertips when you need it.

Join Local Earth Day Initiatives

More than six million Canadians will participate in local Earth Day activities. Here are a few events happening in Ontario:

  • Clean Your Commute – On Friday, April 22nd, look for ways to reduce the impact of your commute. Carpool, bike, take public transit or work from home.
  • Earth Ball 2016 – Toast 25 years of Earth Day Canada at the Mill Street Brewery in the Distillery District. Celebrate Earth Day Canada’s impact on the environment through innovative campaigns and programming. Enjoy live entertainment and mouth-watering fare prepared by Chef Michael Stadtlander. Doors open at 7 PM on April 22nd.
  • Toronto Botanical Garden – Looking for a low-key, family-friendly event? Bring the family to the Toronto Botanical Garden on Saturday, April 23rd from noon to 4 PM. Enjoy a stroll in the Edwards Gardens. Take a guided hike. Make a green smoothie with ingredients from the garden, blended with a blender bike. Visit the Teaching Garden and enjoy a scavenger hunt and woodland crafts. The event is free. No registration required.

In light of climate change and other environmental disasters, it’s more important than ever to adopt an eco-friendlier lifestyle. What we do individually may seem insignificant. However, when considered collectively, even small changes to our daily routines make a difference.

Review our past articles on green initiatives for your home and garage. Then visit EarthDay.ca to learn how you can join efforts with fellow community members to increase your positive impact on the environment.

Five Ways to Go Green for Earth Day and Beyond

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eco-nuvo-garageWith Earth Day fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to take a look at the impact we’re having on the earth and our environment. Reducing your carbon footprint and protecting the environment might seem like overwhelming tasks to take on. However, even the smallest changes can have a huge impact when incorporated daily. When those changes are made as part of a larger, environmentally-conscious community, there is a ripple effect that can have a measurable impact on our environment.

Not sure where to begin? Well, here are five simple ways to go green, starting in your own garage.

Revisit Recycling Habits

Recycling glass, plastics, paper and other materials keeps tons of trash out of the landfill and diverts it to centers where it can be reused. The Blue Box recycling program in most communities makes recycling quick and convenient. Review the recycling guidelines for your community and recommit to recycling as much as you can. Keep the guidelines posted in an accessible area, near your recycling containers. This will make it easy for family members to consult the guidelines, whenever in doubt.

Purge and Re-purpose

Earth Day is the perfect time to reduce the items you currently own, repurpose whatever you can and recycle the rest. Attack the spaces where junk tends to accumulate: the garage, attic and basement. Eliminate items you no longer need. Re-purpose items, like an old dining room table, that might serve another purpose, like a craft space in the basement or garage. Sell or donate items that are in good shape, but you no longer need or want. Properly dispose on damaged, out-of-date or otherwise unusable items.

Park the Car and Use Pedal Power

Even in communities where everything is conveniently located, we often hop into the car whenever we need to zip to the convenience store. However, walkable communities were created to help reduce the carbon footprint of each resident and the overall community. Ride your bicycle or walk to neighborhood stores and restaurants, whenever possible. You’ll reduce your gasoline usage and improve the environment. The additional exercise will also help boost your health.

Increase the Fuel Efficiency of Your Vehicle

Keep your car in tiptop shape, and you’ll increase the efficiency with which it uses fossil fuels. Even something as seemingly inconsequential as properly inflating your tires can increase your mileage. Get regular tune ups and change the oil at the manufacturer-recommended intervals. If you change your own oil, be sure to use the type of oil recommended for your vehicle to get the best results.

Properly Dispose of Household Hazardous Waste

The garage often becomes a collection reservoir for a wide range of household hazardous waste, including automotive waste, pesticides, solvents, household cleaners and unwanted electronics. These items don’t belong in landfills. They should be disposed of properly.

For instance, used engine oil should never be poured oil down the drain or in your lawn. According to Environment Canada, if a single litre of oil leaches into our waterways, it can contaminate up to two million litres of water. Protect soil and waterways by properly disposing of engine oil drained from your vehicle, oil containers and used filters. Visit your city’s website to find out how to dispose of the household hazardous waste (HHW) lurking in your home and garage. (See Toronto’s HHW guide here.)

There are countless ways, big and small, to be more environmentally-conscious every single day. Check out some of our past recommendations for living greener on Earth Day and beyond. Visit EarthDay.ca to learn about local events and initiatives designed to help improve our environment.

Seven Ways to Make Your Garage More Green

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Today, the world is celebrating Earth Day, a day for renewed appreciation of the earth and the environment. It’s also an excellent time to examine ways that we can live a more earth-friendly lifestyle. We often consider how to make our homes greener. Yet, an important part of our homes is often overlooked: the garage. However, there are several ways, big and small, that we can incorporate our garages in the plan to make our homes more eco-friendly.

Get Green Garage Doors

If you have an attached garage, a significant amount of heating and cooling energy escapes your home through the garage. A lack of insulation in the garage door, coupled with its frequent opening and closing, can make your garage extremely cold in the winter and uncomfortably warm in the summer. Any room sharing a wall with your garage will experience energy loss. However, an insulated, energy-efficient garage door can mitigate the temperature difference, reducing energy loss by more than seventy percent. This results in considerable savings on your energy bill.

home electric car charging station garageEnergy-efficient garage doors are more expensive. So do your research and check the R-value of any door you’re considering. This number represents the door’s ability to resist heat flow (in or out). The higher the R-value is, the stronger the door’s insulation properties. In addition to being energy-efficient, many green garage doors are made of recycled material.

Use Solar Power to Light Your Garage

Looking for a way to reduce your energy bill while also keeping your home safe? Install solar-powered floodlights and/or lanterns on the garage exterior. Install solar-powered spotlights along your driveway. These energy-saving lights are reasonably-priced at a local big box store and can be installed fairly easily. Solar-powered lights will make your home safer and more beautiful. The energy savings you’ll enjoy can quickly recoup the cost of the lighting.

Make the Switch from Incandescent Bulbs

You might not be prepared to invest in solar-powered indoor lighting. Yet, there’s another way to go green with your indoor lighting. Make the switch from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent (CFL) or LED bulbs. CFL or LED bulbs will cost a bit more than incandescent light bulbs. However, an incandescent bulb lasts for about a year while a CFL bulb can last up to ten years and an LED bulb can last up to twenty-five years. CFL and LED lights are also more efficient in their energy use, unlike incandescent bulbs which waste up to 90% of their energy consumption on heat, rather than light.   

Use Lighting with Motion Detectors

Take the energy-efficiency of your outdoor and indoor lighting one step further by incorporating motion detectors. Exterior lighting with motion sensors provides an additional layer of security to your home. Inside the garage, lights with motion sensors will automatically shut off when there is no movement in the garage. This eliminates the energy waste experienced when someone inadvertently leaves the lights on inside the garage.

Mind the Gaps

Another place where energy is lost in your home is through the gaps between the walls and floor of your garage. Over time the garage settles and the spaces between the floor and the walls widen. Heating and cooling is lost through these gaps as air escapes into the garage. This can be resolved with a relatively simple and inexpensive fix. Get some caulk and a caulk gun and fill in the spaces. Talk to the clerk at your local hardware store to ensure that you purchase the appropriate caulk for the job.

Put your hand near the perimeter of the door between the house and the garage. Do you feel a draft? If so, cold air is seeping into the house through the gap around your door. Close this conduit for drafty air with inexpensive weather stripping. It’s an incredibly simple job that you can do in less than an hour with a few simple tools. Weather stripping will make your home warmer and more comfortable, plus you’ll see a reduction in your energy bills.

There’s one more gap that needs minding. Since there isn’t a visible gap around your electrical outlets and lighting fixtures, you might not realize that air can also seep through the spaces around them. Additionally, carbon monoxide fumes can escape from your garage into your home through those fixtures. To remedy the situation, simply buy an inexpensive package of fire-resistant foam seals made for this purpose. Remove the faceplate. Place the seal. Replace the faceplate. Voila! You’re done. After you’ve sealed all of the faceplates between the house and garage, put seals on all outlets and light switches on exterior walls inside your home for maximum benefit.

Capture and Reuse Rainwater

Take your commitment to going green up a notch by capturing and reusing rain water for jobs that don’t require potable water. For instance, recycled rainwater can be used to water the lawn, wash the car or bathe the dog. Purchase a rain barrel and then install it in three easy steps. Measure the height of the barrel. Cut the downspout. Then install the elbow that will divert rainwater into your barrel. The next time it rains you’ll be collecting fresh water. The best part? You’ll be rewarded for your efforts with a reduced water bill.

Install a Car Charging Station in Your Garage

What better way is there to make your garage greener than to switch to an eco-friendly vehicle, like a hybrid or all-electric car? If you’re considering making the switch, there’s one more eco-friendly element you’ll need to add to your garage. You’ll need to install Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE), or what is often called a car “charging” station. This allows for convenient, overnight charging of your vehicle.

Doing our part to help the environment may feel overwhelming, at times. However, a greener lifestyle doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposal. Every little bit helps. Start by incorporating one or two green initiatives into your daily lifestyle. Do the options discussed here seem like more than you’re ready to take on alone? If you want to make your garage greener, but you aren’t sure how request a garage renovation consultation. Alternately, you can start smaller. Check our most recent post for seven easy ways to go green this spring.

Five Ways to Go Green This Spring

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Spring has finally arrived ushering in warmer weather and a desire for fresh new beginnings. You’ve probably already begun spring cleaning in your home, but what can you do to give your garage a fresh, new feel, too? Let’s look at five simple ways you can be more mindful of the environment as you prepare for spring.

Increase the Fuel Efficiency of Your Vehicle

Just like your home, your car needs a little attention after a long, hard winter. Keep your car tuned up and use the grade of oil recommended by the manufacturer to improve gas mileage. Another, simple way to increase gas mileage is by keeping tires inflated to the optimal pressure. Check the inside of your driver’s side door jamb to see the tire pressure recommended by the manufacturer.

Create a Recycling Station

Recycling prevents reusable resources from ending up in overflowing landfills. It also saves energy and reduces the consumption of raw materials in manufacturing. The convenient Blue Box recycling program in most communities makes it easy for everyone to contribute to cleaning up the environment. Make recycling even easier by creating a recycling station in your home or garage. Ensure that everyone in your home understands the importance of recycling, what items should be placed in the Blue Box and how to prep items before discarding them.

Repurpose Items or Donate Items

As you go through your home and garage during spring cleaning, you’ll probably discover items that you no longer use. Some of those items can be repurposed. For instance, an old, unused kitchen table might make a good craft or workshop table. Old muffin tins in the kitchen could make a great place to store nuts and bolts in the garage.

Other items have lost their usefulness in your home, but would be welcomed in someone else’s. Consider donating items that are in good condition, but just don’t fit your family’s needs anymore.

Reduce Water Usage

Conservation is critical to the environment. One of our most important assets is potable water. Review your family’s water usage and look for ways to cut back. For instance, can you reduce the frequency with which you wash the car? If you wash the car at home, don’t use the hose while washing your car. Instead, use a bucket of soapy water. This switch alone can save hundreds of litres of water each wash.

Water your lawn early or late in the day, rather than when the sun is highest, to avoid water waste through evaporation. Also avoid watering the lawn on a windy day. Deep water your lawn. This helps to establish a deeper root system and will allow moisture to reach the roots, where it’s most needed. Water your lawn only when it is needed. Skip watering on weeks when there is a good, hard rain. Another option is to install a rain barrel and reuse rainwater to water your lawn and wash your car.

rechargeable battery powered lawnmowerEco-friendly Lawn Care

A discussion about environmentally-conscious lawn care wouldn’t be complete without examining your lawn mower. Gas and electric lawn mowers require energy consumption. Your lawn, and the environment, can benefit from less frequent mowing. So only mow the grass when necessary.  When you do cut your lawn, don’t cut it too low. A height of six to eight centimeters will help retain water and establish a deeper root system.

If you’re in the market for a new lawn mower, electric lawn mowers are more environmentally-friendly than their gas-powered counterparts. Electric lawn mowers are cleaner and quieter. They are less polluting to the environment and don’t reek of gasoline. Neither do they require the maintenance necessary with a gas-powered mower. If the thought of navigating with an unwieldy cord in tow makes you hesitant to switch to an electric mower, opt for a battery-powered electric mower instead.

Properly Store & Dispose of Chemicals

In a recent post, we discussed how to properly store chemicals in your garage. Keep chemicals out of the reach of children and small animals. Store them in their proper containers. Make sure all chemicals are properly labeled. When disposing of chemicals, check the label first. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the proper way to dispose of the chemical. Pouring toxic chemicals down the drain is harmful to the environment and can be corrosive to plumbing. Instead, make use of household hazardous waste drop-off depots in your area.

Use No or Low-VOC Products

Whenever possible, choose no or low-VOC (volatile organic compound) products to get household jobs done. Many manufacturers offer lines of zero and low-VOC interior and exterior paints, primers, stains, coatings and sealants. These products are often low or non-toxic, making them safer for the environment and for your family.

Being mindful of the environment as you prepare for spring and summer is a great start to living greener. However, with Earth Day coming on April 22nd, we wanted to examine ways to make your garage greener, too. Check back later this month for seven ways to make your garage greener.

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Garage Tailors INC.
51-3176 Ridgeway Drive
Mississauga, Ontario
L5L 5S6

416.617.7551
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