Category Archives: Reduce Reuse Recycle

Featuring recycled/reused materials and products.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore

Posted on April 10, 2012 by ellen

Denver Metro Restore! Throughout our Arizona remodeling work we have become fans of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore both for donations of items we have replaced and for finding materials that have been donated by others. We have purchased light … Continue reading →

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Deconstruction–Step Two

Posted on April 10, 2012 by ellen

Not only does Habitat for Humanity build affordable houses for people, since 1998 Denver’s Habitat has been building LEED certified homes that save the homeowners more each year that energy costs increase. Habitat has a lot of experience with recycling … Continue reading →

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Labor Day Labors (Plus 10 days)

Posted on November 16, 2012 by ellen

The walls fall away and begin to reveal the amazing interior spaces of the house. It was fun getting to this point but there is still a lot to get done before the floor can come out.

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Repurposed Materials

Posted on November 17, 2012 by ellen

Mark Benjamin, of Crown Jade, recommended this very imaginative business in Denver as a source of the R-15 insulation I needed for the perimeter of the foundation.   Repurposed Materials is mostly dedicated to reusing industrial materials in new, imaginative … Continue reading →

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A Light in the Attic

Posted on March 9, 2014 by ellen

After all I had to take a work light up into the attic so I could see to install the recycled/reused insulation from the deconstruction to increase the R-value in the small attic over the back bedroom and bath. The … Continue reading →

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Web of Wires

Posted on April 12, 2014 by ellen

Last spring when hopes were high for progress on the house, I had a couple of electricians give bids to rewire the house. We had hoped that by last fall the house would be ready for the rough in wiring. … Continue reading →

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Home Comfort (in an unfinished house)

Posted on August 21, 2014 by ellen

We are pretty comfortable here in this unfinished house. When we moved all our stuff to the garage, we decided to bring some furniture inside. Some of the old hickory was out in the garage and it is better to … Continue reading →

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Used Energy Star Refrigerator

Posted on October 28, 2014 by ellen

Energy Star has been around long enough that it is now possible to buy very efficient appliances on the used market. Craigslist is an amazing marketplace for this. It takes a lot of vigilance, but eventually many good deals can … Continue reading →

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Used Energy Star Dishwasher

Posted on October 28, 2014 by ellen

Inherently a lazy housekeeper, I am a big fan of dishwashers. I started researching portable models because they are in a covered cabinet and our log cabinets are open below. Our style seems to be a variation on new age … Continue reading →

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Used GE Advantium Wall Oven with Speedcook Technology

Posted on October 30, 2014 by ellen

This is the second week of kitchen set up. We are waiting for a Jenn-Air gas cooktop from someone who is using it until their new kitchen is installed. In the meantime seemed like the next item needed was an … Continue reading →

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Used Gas Cooktop

Posted on November 9, 2014 by ellen

About the same time I was shopping on craigslist for kitchen appliances, I found a 30″ gas cooktop for sale. The owner wanted to wait until it was taken out for their remodel, so we waited until just last week … Continue reading →

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Polyiso Insulation Boards

Posted on November 12, 2014 by ellen

The polyiso insulation boards have been going up on the ceiling! We purchased a “bunk” of recycled boards from Repurposed Materials. Or it may have been two bunks–or about 60 4×8 sheets. This is the same recycling business that sold … Continue reading →

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Sconce Lights Craigslist Find

Posted on December 7, 2014 by ellen

I’ve been working on the electrical layout and planning to keep wiring from the outside walls and inside the thermal envelope. We have one large wiring chase across the building ceiling and plan to have all the rest of the … Continue reading →

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Re-Used Polyisocyanurate Ceiling

Posted on December 13, 2014 by ellen

Dave has almost finished the 1.5″ polyiso layer on the ceiling. This is the insulation that we bought from Repurposed Materials. The extra insulation on the ceiling is to eliminate the thermal bridging in the wood rafters. The walls of … Continue reading →

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Track Lighting

Posted on March 20, 2015 by ellen

We noticed that our living area is very dark at night. This could just be the contrast with how light it is during the day, or it is because the clerestory is so high that light gets lost in the … Continue reading →

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Moving the Fish

Posted on April 22, 2015 by ellen

So today was spa moving day! We hooked up the new trailer, stopped by Arvada Rent-alls and rented a Gin Pole and a set of 8 ton rollers. We also had filled up the truck with tarps, bubble wrap, tape, … Continue reading →

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Two Loads of Rubber Tile

Posted on April 30, 2015 by ellen

I will add another project to the list. Build the front patio with these rubber tiles. These are recycled rubber tiles that I found in a craigslist ad. The guy had two pallets and wanted to sell them all at … Continue reading →

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Tarnished Energy Gems

Posted on June 9, 2015 by ellen

It appears that SERI had a good deal of influence in the 80’s in the Denver area. I say this because I purchased a solar hot water system from a couple in Centennial who bought a foreclosure that has a … Continue reading →

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Reused Outdoor Lights

Posted on June 10, 2015 by ellen

These were the original lights at the doors. They may have been homemade as they were cedar like the siding with white plastic covers. They were much the worse for wear, with the wood cracking and breaking and the lights … Continue reading →

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Novan Solar Hot Water System

Posted on June 10, 2015 by ellen

I have been searching on craigslist for a hot water solar system for some time.  A month or so ago, I went to look at one that was $800 for three panels, a control system and tank that all needed … Continue reading →

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