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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.

Exposure to temperatures below 20 degrees can cause pipes to freeze and break. A few simple steps can help protect pipes from freezing or defrost them when they do.

Bob points out that Victorian cottages had camp-style exposed framing in the old days and Ryley is attempting to recreate this look with modern attributes. They are using straight grain fir for the framing as it is a higher grade than most framing materials and will hold paint better. Next step is bead board sheeting to look like Victorian paneling. On the outside where in Victorian days builders would have attached the shingles Bob is installing rigid insulation. He puts on two layers perpendicular to cover the seams. Then Ryley and Bob nail a layer of plywood sheathing to the outside.

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. U.S. Gypsum developed a way to sandwich plaster between two paper faces and make wallboard as early as World War I, but the manpower shortage of World War II is what really made it catch on. Before drywall, builders nailed lengths of wood, called lath, to the studs and then applied several coats of plaster to that for a smooth finish. As many of us with old houses can attest, lath and plaster walls can last a long time but they re hard to deal with if you re having rewiring, insulation and plumbing needs. Drywall comes in various thicknesses. For interior walls, one-half-inch works fine but won t stand up to heavy abuse. Five-eighth-inch is required for fire hazard walls like garages and basement entries. Standard paper-faced drywall is grey and comes in 4x8 or 4x12 sheets, designed to make it easy to cover from stud to stud with minimal cutting. But even cutting is made easy. Most drywall scores and snaps with a simple utility knife. Holes can be cut by hand with a short keyhole saw or a small rotary tool. Special fiberglass-faced drywall was recently introduced to help prevent mold problems that can develop when traditional paper-faced drywall gets wet. This new product finishes just like paper-faced drywall with tape and joint compound. Behind tile, in bathrooms and in other wet areas, it s important to use cement board. This denser product is waterproof and faced with fiberglass mesh that won t degrade or mold when it gets wet. In the past, some builders used a product called green board in bathrooms, but time has shown that this product is not a good substitute for cement board. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com