- my resource binder
For many years I have been collecting magazine photos of rooms/features I like, along with flyers and all manner of information I’ve picked up. This binder’s contents are in a constant state of flux, as I add new info and discard old stuff I no longer favour (such as quotes for materials that we won’t be using after all.)
Also, on my computer I have a building directory, to which I add all the references I’ve got: contact information, tidbits of information someone has passed on or I heard on the radio.
The other bible is the blue notebook, where I record notes from interviews, phone calls, meetings, trips to the lot, sizes of things, etc. etc. I lost an earlier edition of this essential notebook, and I’m still kicking myself over it.
I have spent hours this evening following threads on this excellent website: www.greenbuildingtalk.com
There are many relevant discussions and often complex technical information provided by people in the industry and non-professionals alike. A strong bias toward Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) and there are some really exciting products that are not approved in Canada yet, such as Structural Insulated Sheathing (SIS, a Dow product to be used in place of plywood sheathing on the outside of the house and creates a thermal break.)
The other general resource that’s good is the Light House Sustainable Building Centre. I took a Building Green 101 course there that was not very helpful, because it was designed for people who really haven’t started their research yet, and I was well on my way. What the Light House does have is an excellent resource library. It has moved to 6th and Pine, in Vancouver.
I will be adding other resources as they come up under other headings, but these are ones I wanted to share now.
