Bob interviews Gwen Noyes about the Cambridge Cohousing development constructed with environmentally friendly materials.

Bob meets with Brian Eberle from Enviroshake of Chatham, Ontario, to discuss the environmentally friendly shake shingles which are being used on a portion of the modular home�s roof. The mold, mildew, and insect resistant man-made shakes are constructed of used tires, post industrial plastics, flax and hemp fibers. The composite shakes contain additional materials that protect them from UV degradation and provide coloring to replicate the look of cedar shakes. The shake starts out almost blackish brown but quickly weathers to the look of silvered cedar and stays that color for the life of the roof. The roof is installed with standard roofing nails and follows all the techniques of installation for a standard cedar roof. Unlike cedar shakes they have 50-year warranty and testing has shown they should last much longer. This maintenance-free roofing product is priced similar to premium grades of standard roofing.

John Picard, an environmental specialist, explains some of the features that make the Malibu house more environmentally friendly. Oriented strand board (OSB) used for structural wall sheathing is made from fast-growing aspen trees that reach harvest in only 12 years. The board is held together with resorcinol glue. Steel studs were used to give extra depth to some walls. Cold-rolled steel has a high-recycled content and can be recycled it self. Pre-punched holes allow wiring and plumbing to be installed quickly and easily. The extra wall thickness allows the walls to be super insulated. Nature Guard cellulose insulation, made from recycled newspapers, was used throughout the project. Material specialist Don Williams explains the advantages of Fiberbond wall board, which is used in place of drywall. Fiberbond is made from recycled newspaper. It's fire resistant, moisture resistant and provides good sound deadening. The joints don't need tape, just a special joint compound. Note, FiberBond was made by Louisiana-Pacific. That division has since been purchased by US Gypsum and the product's name has been changed to FiberRock.

At the Cobb Hill Co-Housing Project in Hartland, Vermont Bob meets up with Susie Sweitzer and general contractor Mark Albee, an experienced "green builder". Mark notes that except for the LVLs, all the lumber used in the home is from sustainable foresting operations grown locally in New England following selective harvesting practices. The heat source for the entire 14 building complex is a large gasifying wood boiler in a remote building which sends forced hot water to all the units. Each home also has a propane fired backup unit for winter heating and domestic hot water. Homes also save energy with a GFX drainwater heat recovery system.

Kevin Corcoran from Englert Roofing systems explains to Bob benefits of the company�s environmentally friendly (56 percent recycled material), maintenance free, metal roofing product. The product applied to the project house is made of carbonized steel and carries a 50-year warranty. The exterior is bonded with aluminum and zinc then coated with a layer of acrylic. The cost is generally less than stone or tile roofs, but higher than standard shingles. Mike Worsky and Jeff Smith from Al Smith Gutters demonstrate the metal cutting and crimping machinery brought to the job site. The portable roll former transforms a flat roll of steel to the standing seam panel in the proportion on the job site. Metal roofing is now being widely distributed across the US especially in areas where wildfires are an issue as metal roofs are much harder to light and may protect your home.

Bob Vila tours the modular home project in the Berkshire Hills in Western Massachusetts. Bob reviews the exterior skin products on the house. Starting with the multi-textural roof composed of environmentally friendly composite shingle shakes from Enviroshake, and with center portions constructed from carbonized steel from Englert Roofing. The siding is a Cedar Valley Shingle�s two-by-eight Western Red Cedar shingle panels and a lightweight Cultured Stone treatment from Owens Corning on the lower portion of the home and chimney wrap. Completing the skin are the Pella double-hung Architect Series six-over-one windows and a board and batten look created with Georgia Pacific�s Catawba engineered wood siding. On the back of the home, ChoiceDek from Weyerhaeuser completes the home�s environmentally friendly eye pleasing exterior.

Bob visits the Global Solar factory in Tucson, Arizona, to see how they make their unique solar-electric (photovoltaic) devices. Neil Holstad, president of Global Solar, leads a tour of the plant. The factory itself includes many environmentally friendly features, including abundant day lighting, recycled brick fascia, graywater recycling, concrete containing fly ash, rammed-earth garden walls and energy efficient windows. They go inside the ultra-clean plant and see the unique flexible photovoltaic devices. The flexible material allows the devices to be used in many applications, such as the solar shingles used in the Habitat for Humanity project in Yonkers. Robert Wendt, Director of Technical Operations, shows Bob the materials used to make the solar cells and one of the manufacturing machines they invented for producing them.

Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. As green building hits the mainstream, you ll continue to hear many new terms. One of them is LEED certification. L-E-E-D, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a set of green building techniques and standards that make it easier for state and local governments, builders, architects, designers and homeowners to build sustainable and healthy buildings. LEED rates the whole building in five key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. LEED-certified buildings conserve energy and water and cost less to operate. They send less waste to landfills and less greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Best of all, they re healthier and safer for the people who live and work in them. As an added bonus, LEED-certified projects also qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances and other incentives in hundreds of cities nationwide. LEED certification program standards are set by committees selected from all parts of the building industry and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. These standards can be used in both existing buildings and new ones. LEED certification doesn t just make homes, schools, commercial buildings and neighborhoods more efficient and healthy. It also makes them more profitable and enduring. So, hiring a LEED-accredited professional for your next big project can be a win-win situation. Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. It s not uncommon to find beautiful woodwork with coat after coat of paint obscuring its detail, especially in older homes. For a new paint job that does your woodwork justice, stripping the old paint is your best option. There are three ways to strip paint: mechanically by hand-scraping, burning it off with heat or with chemicals. The mechanical methods of scraping and sanding work only when loose or uneven paint needs to be removed before repainting. Just remember to do this work outdoors and with protection. Using heat to remove paint usually involves a blowtorch or a heat gun. The disadvantage of using heat is that it can be dangerous because of accidental combustion and harmful vapors. Also, you may still have to sand when you re done. Neither of these first two methods, mechanical or heat, should be used if any of the paint you re removing could be 30 years old or more since it s likely to contain lead. Instead, you should use a chemical stripper. Look for environmentally friendly citrus-based versions, which are becoming as common as the old caustic gel strippers. Brush the gel on, leave it to do its work and then scrape it off. Here s a quick tip: Sprinkle sawdust on the gel to make it easier to scrape off and throw away. For tough jobs, try a sheeted paste that peels away after dissolving the paint. You may not have to scrape much at all. With chemical strippers, you need to start and finish the same day. Dried gel can be very difficult to remove. The chemicals may affect the animal glues in older furniture, so avoid excess use around the joints. And you should always wear the safety gear recommended on the product label and work outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

Carpenter Bob Ryley and Jim Daniels of Woodport Interior Doors join Bob on location to hang a new door in the master bathroom. The pre-hung, six-panel door being installed is made from medium density fiberboard, an engineered lumber product made from wood chips. The chips are compressed to create a sturdy, stable product that is easy to paint.