"Bathroom"

Bathroom / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Bathrooms

Faulty toilet flappers are the leading cause of leaking or running toilets, here's how to fix them

...bathroom at the cabin - made worse by us being off grid and only having a relatively small amount of water available in our outside rainwater catchment tank. Over this long dry summer, our water supply kept on running out, so we became very aware of how precious every single drop of water can be. But I confess, that th...

Bathrooms

How to fix a Leaky Faucet for under $1 (and stop that tap dripping!)

Why fix leaky faucets? One of the jobs that sat on my honey-do-list for quite a while longer than I care to admit has been to fix the leaky and dripping older-style faucet in the bathroom at the cabin - made worse by us being off grid and only having a finite amount of rainwater available in our outside catchment tank....

Bathrooms

DIY bidet installation video

...bathroom tissue! The first hurdle to jump is to realize that this no longer means a second toilet-shaped throne in your bathroom to where you move your bottom after you’ve completed the first step of your mission – to successfully jettison all unwanted materials. You can purchase bidet add-ons that fit to existing toi...

Interiors

Are laminate countertops good for a sustainable green home?

Are laminate counters good? Laminate countertops were a long-time staple of residential kitchen and bathroom construction, but they started to fall off in popularity around the time rockstars stopped wearing spandex, which was somewhere in the 80s. A trend started at that time towards alternatives to laminate counters,...

Bathrooms

EcoVéa: recycled and cleaned shower water

After recently posting a story sharing the brilliance that is the Swedish Orbsys water and heat recycling shower, it was brought to our attention that there is a homegrown Canadian variety as well. The EcoVéa shower by Reveeco is made in Quebec, Canada, and works based on the same principles as the Orbys we recently wr...

Bathrooms

Efficient toilets for LEED homes

...bathroom chores will understand that it is not only about the look, but also for ease of cleaning. There is a lot to consider in high performance building, and details like performance toilets are not minor, they are a big part of delivering homes that will keep everyone satisfied - and it's also important to know how ...

Flooring and stairs

Slate tile installation - video

...bathroom counter, floors and shower stalls with a dark slate tile. Slate is a natural stone, so its surfaces have more character and inconsistencies in texture - and at times in thickness - than manufactured tiles. This can mean a bit more effort on the part of installers, but a more natural look with the finished prod...

Plumbing and water heaters

Plumbing & water

Home water consumption in Canada: On average, Canadians use over 300 litres of water per person, per day. Compare this to consumption in the UK of 200 litres per day, and 150 litres per person per day in France. Hopefully, as we see the beginnings of water shortages hit closer to home, this serious issue will garnish m...