Planning & Designing Sustainable Green Homes

Planning and Design

Opinion: Canada must adopt Prefab Homes and different construction techniques to address the housing crisis

Traditional new construction in Canada mean site-delivered lumber and tradespeople turning up on-site to build a home from scratch - but this type of construction is unlikely to produce the 3.5 million homes needed by 2030, according to the CMHC. Housing affordability and availability are major challenges in Canada…

Healthy indoor air quality

How to identify and remove asbestos from homes

Asbestos in building materials is a health risk for humans when disturbed and particles become airborne. Protect the air quality of your home by identifying and mitigating risks of asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a mineral with excellent heat resistance and durability, leading to it being widely used in construction…

Waste management

Deconstructing homes: a sustainable approach to reusing and recycling building materials

We live in an age of rapid urbanization that brings with it an endlessly growing demand for new homes, which has impacted the quality and lifespan of the homes we build. The current fate of older homes is typically one of demolition, sadly, rather than deconstruction. The relatively low-cost of the industrial waste…

Real estate

Buying a home: Is a fixer-upper, new, or move-in-ready renovated property the best choice?

An in-depth guide with checklists to help make the best choices when buying a home, by outlining the advantages or disadvantages of buying a Fixer-Upper vs. Move-In Ready or New Property for sustainability, health and investment potential. The classic dilemma when buying a property is whether to buy new, to buy…

Architecture and plan design

3D printed homes: Is this the future of residential construction?

What is a 3D printed house? What are the pros & cons of 3D printing homes? Ecohome takes a detailed look at the printed home idea using new technologies and gives its verdict on this innovative construction technique that is very popular in the media. We've seen more and more headlines calling 3D Printed homes, "the…

Real estate

North America's top ten home renovation TV shows

A guide to the best home renovation shows for aspiring DIY enthusiasts and first-time home buyers and where to stream them. Are you considering buying a first home, a fan of home renovation shows on TV, and so perhaps pondering embarking on your own fixer-upper adventure? If so, you're somewhat in luck! North…

Lifestyle and environment

Simple and affordable ways to live more sustainably every day

Firmly convinced that we can make better choices every day (and that this would actually make a difference), here's an Ecohome checklist of easy ways to learn sustainable habits at home. Let's be inspired, every day According to a recent survey sponsored by Google of more than 3,000 Americans by using a type of AI…

Zero Carbon Building

BC's Budding carbon zero building ambitions on track for success at UBC...

Holistic design, recycled materials, hempcrete, pushing the boundaries beyond Net-Zero, all of this and more at the UBC Vancouver campus in the form of the Third Space Commons building by Third Quadrant Design. Officially billed as displaying the best of 'carbon minimalism', Third Quadrant Design's Third Space…

Wood and organic materials

Mid-rise construction time-lapse video with CLT & glulam beams

The construction of mid-rise projects with mass timber products like glulam beams and CLT panels is a quick, durable and cost effective way to significantly reduce embodied carbon in our cities buildings. See more in the mid-rise wood v concrete report. Located in the bustling Griffintown neighborhood of Montreal…

Lifestyle and environment

How to handle a power outage in cold weather

As North America accelerates the electrification of homes and reduces our reliance on fossil fuels like oil and gas for heating and cooking, this also increases the potential for power outages in cold weather to disrupt our daily lives. Why be prepared for power outages in cold weather? From celebrating holidays to…

Wood and organic materials

The construction of mid-rise residential buildings in Canada - wood or concrete?

In order to help the mid-rise construction sector, Ecohabitation our Quebec partners have conducted a large-scale comparative study in 2022 demonstrating that the construction of mid-rise wood buildings is a winner on all fronts for all stakeholders. The vision: a brighter future for Canada and North America through…