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Gail | This Green Life

http://www.thisgreenlife.ca/author/gail

Organic gardening, DIY, crafts, recipes, philosophy, home decor. Skip to primary content. Skip to secondary content. 102 Easter Egg Dyes From the Garden. March 9, 2016. I bet some of them weren’t found until the spring thaw. We love to colour Easter eggs with plant dyes from the garden – such a fun craft to do with children. The time-honoured dye has got to be onion skins, but there are several other lovely, sometimes subtle dyes to be obtained by taking a walk in the garden or forest. Crafts a la mode.

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139) Stucco Over Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs)

http://www.buildinggreenbc.com/2011/09/26/139-stucco-over-insulated-concrete-forms-icfs

139) Stucco Over Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs). September 26, 2011. The studio finally gets some attention. Its finish is stucco. The good thing about ICFs is that the exterior finish does not need a rainscreen, as there’s nothing to rot, nor any way for water to get in. Regular stick construction would require the building paper, then rainscreen, then expanded metal lathe, then a scratch coat of about 3/8 mortar, then the acrylic stucco. With ICFs, the process is much simpler (and cheaper):. The mater...

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217) Rainwater Harvest Waterfall Feature

http://www.buildinggreenbc.com/2014/07/21/217-rainwater-harvest-waterfall-feature

217) Rainwater Harvest Waterfall Feature. July 21, 2014. Whenever we tour new visitors around our house and yard (quite a common occurrence here), there’s a lot of interest in our water feature. We have quite an elevation drop from the entry level to the back yard. So, to indulge. Myself with a luxury, we hired a rainwater harvesting contractor to build a waterfall and stone steps down to the lower level. But I have found some old photos taken by the builders ( Endless Rain. This photo shows the excavati...

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218) Fold-down Bed

http://www.buildinggreenbc.com/2014/08/05/218-fold-down-bed

August 5, 2014. As I mentioned in this post. We’re working up to twenty beds in This Green House. The studio has already been used as an add-on bedroom (see this post: Make Your Own Bed. But we wanted something more comfortable and permanent. After Rob the carpenter was here doing our “Sprint to the Finish,” I sent him back to his workshop with a detailed set of plans and the Lee Valley. Hardware for a Murphy Bed. After assembly, we took it apart so that I could paint it white. The Charm of Home. Buildin...

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220) Greenhouse at This Green House

http://www.buildinggreenbc.com/2014/11/11/220-greenhouse-at-this-green-house

220) Greenhouse at This Green House. November 11, 2014. We have finally built that greenhouse, on the concrete pad that was poured ‘way back here. We were gifted 25 plates of tempered glass from a condo balcony remodel that was headed for the landfill. Some of them were used in our balcony railings. And one was broken. Sixteen odd-sized pieces remain. WWOOFer Tim re-measured them, and we finally had the good sense to write the measurements right on the glass. We patched the saw-cut. In an effort to preve...

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216) Patio Plantings

http://www.buildinggreenbc.com/2014/06/24/216-patio-plantings

June 24, 2014. Our patio has been functional for a few months now, and we have even had a few pizza parties. I haven’t yet reported on the plantings around it, so this post outlines my rationale for the landscape design. It’s a challenging slope – maybe 50 degrees. WWOOFers ( WorldWide Opportunities on Organic Farm. How to prevent weeds from taking over again? I have started by spiking heavy-duty landscape cloth over the slope and a combination of cardboard and landscape cloth over the flatter sections.

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219) R.I.P. Bosch Angle Grinder

http://www.buildinggreenbc.com/2014/10/08/219-r-i-p-bosch-angle-grinder

219) R.I.P. Bosch Angle Grinder. October 8, 2014. Just as I was nearing completion of the stone facing on the greenhouse, my trusty Bosch Angle Grinder died. My masonry teacher, Serge, said I would go through 2 or 3 of these before the house was done. It has seen me through the masonry on the whole house exterior. Plus the pizza patio. Plus 19/20ths of the greenhouse. I have replaced her with a shiny yellow DeWalt. It doesn’t feel as good in my hands. She will be missed. Rust in peace, little friend.

buildinggreenbc.com

This Green House — Case Study: How two people (and legions of talented tradespeople) are building a new green home in British Columbia. — Page 2

http://www.buildinggreenbc.com/page/2

217) Rainwater Harvest Waterfall Feature. July 21, 2014. Whenever we tour new visitors around our house and yard (quite a common occurrence here), there’s a lot of interest in our water feature. We have quite an elevation drop from the entry level to the back yard. So, to indulge ourselves myself with a luxury, we hired a rainwater harvesting contractor to build a […]. Read the full article →. June 24, 2014. Read the full article →. 215) S.T.T.F. Final Day (11) Loft Beds. May 28, 2014. May 4, 2014. Of al...

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221) Merry Merry at This Green House

http://www.buildinggreenbc.com/2014/12/23/221-merry-merry-at-this-green-house

221) Merry Merry at This Green House. December 23, 2014. I’m wishing you a wonderful and warm holiday season with family, chosen family, and friends. A year and a half ago, I applied for a GST/HST rebate on our build. A few months later, I received an answer from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), telling me our rebate was denied, because the agent decided that our house was 90% finished about a year before I determined it was substantially completed. I tell the whole sad tale in this post. There’s a...