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New Resource Group Forms: Dallas Green Building Alliance

Last year a group of contractors, while working together on a sustainable/green/resource-efficient residential project on Walnut Hill, started hanging out together to talk about sustainability, how to make their projects more sustainable, and how to support each other in those efforts.  After months of once-a-week conversations, they decided to start a new group, the Dallas Green Building Alliance.  Their mission is to be a resource for homeowners, Realtors, builders–anyone with an interest in learning more about building and remodeling in a sustainable way.  Their brand-new website is absolutely loaded with information, technical and otherwise, on heating and air conditioning systems, low-VOC finishes, solar, projects, etc.  Yes, they are looking for business, but they have definitely drunk the Kool-Aid and they are really committed to this.  Check it out.

Dallas Real Estate Remodeling:Popcorn Ceilings Prior To 1978 May Contain Asbestos

A while back, someone asked about getting rid of a popcorn ceiling — a bumpy, uber-textured dry wall ceiling finish that was the cat’s meow in the 1960’s and 1970’s, some even getting glittery. (Or rosy.)  Well, I didn’t know that some popcorn ceilings installed prior to 1978 contain asbestos. If you have a popcorn ceiling or want to remove one, please read this article: asbestos causes mesothelioma and is carcinogenic, but the asbestos particles are only dangerous if released. If you want to save the ceiling — and Lord knows, with the mid century modern craze, popcorn ceilings may return — sealing it with paint will seal the asbestos. But if you remove it, well, be careful. Be very careful.

Question: if you buy a home with a popcorn ceiling installed prior to 1978, does that have to be listed on the Seller’s Disclosure Statement?

Toxic Ceiling Syndrome, Ctd.

Say adios to popcorn ceilings: a reader from one of my social networking sites suggests this trick. Mask off and cover everything in your house with plastic — floors, walls, everything. Then lightly spray water on the popcorn finish and scrape it off.  The process leaves an incredible mess, so be very compulsive with the cover up. You are basically giving the ceiling a microderm!

Toxic Ceiling Syndrome: How Do You Get Rid Of Popcorn?

I will never forget walking into a home in San Antonio and almost dying. It had a toxic ceiling. Not just popcorn like I’d never seen popcorn, but gold-flecked, bedazzled popcorn. Worst: it wasn’t twenty years old, it was fresh. Someone had actually recently created that ceiling and was proud of it!

A reader sent me this photo — please do not tell me this is a pink popcorn ceiling — and says he has a special challenge:  not only is this ceiling heavily popcorn-ed, it is twelve feet tall and sports a four foot skylight on the staircase. What short of a nuclear explosion can this homeowner do to get rid of this awful toxic ceiling syndrome?

Building or Remodeling? Formals, Wine Cellars Are Out

Toured several new homes in Dallas yesterday, including a new, gorgeous $2.9 million spec home that has no formal living room. According to the architect/designer, Don Caperton, Caperton Johnson, two things are out: formal living rooms and wine cellars. The formal living rooms are considered a waste of space and building dollars. Unsaid but widely known: they also keep the Dallas Design District afloat and serve up to many a Dallas husband heart-attack-sized design bills. Wine rooms are also over-rated, costly to install, a legal nightmare if you have teenagers, and people never end up filling the cellar with all that wine.

They just drink it.

Next thing you know, people will be filling their swimming pools.

Could TRCC Dismantle Lead To Higher Building Costs?

Many consumer groups felt the TRCC was so builder-friendly,  it just gave victims an even bigger nightmare. But builders say letting everyone duke it out in court will  lead to higher costs for everyone. So who should regulate the home building industry: the state or the courts?

HBA of North Texas Surplus Sale

Is coming up, June 18. Remodelling? Fabulous way to pick up some high-quality construction items, everything from wood, cabinets, tile, carpet to insulation. Details forthcoming.