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ecohaus Blog

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9th Annual BIG! Home Tour and Info Fair

Posted By ecohaus

Portland's Harpoon House

Tickets are on sale now for the City of Portland’s 9th Annual Build It Green! Home Tour and Information Fair on Saturday, September 25th!  

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This annual event in Portland, Oregon is a fantastic way to learn about the latest, greatest, and most inspirational things happening in green building in the Rose City! This year’s tour features 21 homes – each of which incorporate outstanding sustainable elements, from energy-savings to sustainable material use. These homes will be open for ticket holders to tour, and the homeowners will be on hand to answer your questions!   

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Among the homes open on the tour will be the super-energy-efficient Harpoon House (recently featured in the September issue of Portland Monthly) in which you can see the use of dramatic tigerwood flooring, rainscreen siding, and eco-roofs. You can also look around the newly retro-fitted Everhart home that is so efficient now that it no longer needs a furnace. Another “don’t miss” home on the tour is the Vermont Street Project , a timber frame home with walls covered in American Clay, and advanced mechanical systems for energy and water conservation.  To see a preview of all the homes on the tour click here.

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Tickets are available at Ecohaus Portland (cash only) or online. 

  • $15 Adults
  • $10 car free/students/honored citizens
  • Free for children 14 and under

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The BIG! Tour ends, as usual, with a fun, resource-rich, Information Fair in the Ecohaus parking lot! Enjoy music by the Wicky Pickers, taste free beer samples from Hopworks Brewery, see green building product demos and visit our varied exhibitors like:
    - The Oregon Native Plant Trailer
    - The Portland Water Bureau
    - Solar Oregon
    - and more!  

You will also be able to ENTER TO WIN a free dual-flush, one-piece Caroma Toilet!  

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For information on having an exhibitor booth please  contact susannas@ecohaus.com. Availability is limited. 

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Fun and Fundraising with the Storybook Playhouse Project!

Posted By ecohaus

Three Bears Cottage (photo: Jeremy Liebman)

Portland’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital is getting a boost this year from The Storybook Playhouse Project, a creative and fun fundraising effort! A group of Portland Architects, Designers, and Builders have created six wonderful playhouses based on storybook themes. Some of the completed playhouses will be raffled off, and the money raised will be donated to the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and efforts to help children with congenital heart defects. The Hospital will also get to keep a playhouse onsite for children to enjoy, while another will go to the Ronald McDonald house.

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Especially great for kids, all of the playhouses are made of eco-friendly materials. Yolo Colorhouse donated some paint for the houses and flooring came from Marmoleum.  Yolo paint was the first to qualify for strict new Green Seal 2010 Certification, making them a great choice for a kid-friendly structure. Marmoleum is completely vinyl free with linseed oil as the main ingredient – even better, it is naturally anti-bacterial, so it won’t harbour or spread bacteria.

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You can see all the playhouses on display, try them out yourself, and enter the raffle through August 16 at Bridgeport Village Mall in Portland, Oregon. There are also a bunch of special events scheduled for the Storybook Playhouse Village – visit www.storybookplayhouses.com for a complete list.

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The Wonders of Tropical Decking

Posted By ecohaus

Tigerwood Decking

Ah, Summertime! We are deep into deck-sitting season now so we figure it’s the perfect time to talk about our great, green outdoor material - tropical decking. 

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At Ecohaus, we have two kinds of decking in-stock: Ipe (also know as Ironwood) and Tigerwood. We carry these materials because they are naturally beautiful, FSC certified, rot resistant, easy to maintain, very long-lasting, exceptionally strong and cost effective on top of it all.

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Tropical hardwoods are very dense and resinous woods, full of tannins that will protect against rot and are often more dimensionally stable than local (to the Pacific NW) softwoods that are often used in deck construction. A deck made of Ipe or Tigerwood has a 25-30 year life span – unfinished! Tropical hardwoods also have high structural ratings (better  than most composite decking options) because they are not much affected by temperature changes. Decks with lower strutural ratings can require a lot more material for adequate support.

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Here at Ecohaus we prefer wood over wood/plastic composite decks for several reasons. Usually made of recycled plastics and wood flour or sawdust, composite decks often wear, exposing frayed wood fibers which will mold over time. Composites are also vulnerable to high temperatures, sometimes getting too hot to touch, and can bend or warp – also, if a composite deck actually catches fire somehow there is a lot more concern associated with the smoke from burning plastic than just plain wood. But, the biggest reason that we prefer wood over composite decking material is that at the end of it life composite material must end up in a landfill, whereas pure-wood decking material can be ground into mulch, recycled, or sent to the composter!
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If you are looking for a great decking material, search no further! We recommend you come to Ecohaus and see how gorgeous these tropicals are. We also carry Swan’s invisible Eb-Ty Decking System, so your deck boards can keep their good looks (without screw heads showing!)

Cottages Are Sprouting in Backyards Everywhere!

Posted By ecohaus

Microhouse has a range of backyard cottage plans.

In November of 2009 the City of Seattle voted to allow homeowners in neighborhoods across the city to construct accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on their property. These “backyard cottages,” as they are commonly known, have the potential to transform our communities in many positive ways. Not only do they offer individuals a way to create urban density, they can also provide housing for aging parents, grown children, and renters! Legal in Seattle and Portland, backyard cottages are also common in San Francisco, where vacationers can even rent them out by the week or weekend for a cozy retreat in the middle of town!

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Because by nature it  must be small, an ADU can provide a manageable opportunity to experiment with a building project that incorporates efficient and creative space design, sustainable practices, eco-friendly materials, and implement recent energy saving innovations! There are a number of architecture firms around that specialize in backyard cottages – and help with all aspects of the project, including the often-perplexing permitting process.

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Microhouse, a collaborative firm of architects, designers and landscape architects in Seattle, is even offering construction-ready plans which come standard with Ecohaus materials and finishes!

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You can see some other nice examples of backyard cottages in Seattle by clicking here.  

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