We Know Renos.

One major trend that has been seen in 2013 and 2014 is that more and more homes are going green and becoming more economical. In fact, the number of new homes with an emphasis on becoming green has doubled. Part of this is due to people’s concern for the environment, while another part of it is due to new regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency, which has mandated triple-glazed windows, along with cannabis workplace training. Let’s take a look at some other changes that are taking place:

• Recent Changes

– Since production of incandescent light bulbs ended in the beginning of 2014, new homebuilders have been forced to turn to alternative means of lighting. Once such example is LED lights. LED lights are actually cheaper and can illuminate an entire room without large lights on the ceiling or lamps.

– Another move towards going green is to change the water heaters in the home to make them more efficient. Many changes for energy efficiency have been made to save homeowners hundreds of dollars a year on water heating.

– In fact, homes that are more energy efficient and green are actually cheaper and simpler to build. This is because energy efficient homes are easier to execute than homes with renewable energy, and due to the more inexpensive homes being built as a result, power companies will be able to monitor energy in the homes and give rebates to homeowners who use up less energy.

– The increased number of more affordable and eco-conscious homes has led to great rewards in terms of both treating the environment well and saving money for homeowners. New homeowners are making more practical choices like installing tile that’s made out of recycled materials, or choosing wood floors that are made out of formaldehyde. The most recent Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design specifications give points to homeowners who reveal what the materials in their homes are made out of. All in all, what we are seeing in new homes is something that we could have only dreamed about decades ago.

Anytime you are planning an expansion, new construction or adding an addition to an existing structure the septic system design is going to be one area where you begin to sweat. It isn’t so much about cost between tying into a system versus having an independent system, but you have to navigate local, state and federal regulations. With the drive on to be as green as possible, leach fields are becoming a subject of much discussion. Here are a few things to think about when considering home automation solutions like this.

Leach fields may not be allowed in your area

You may be looking at a large enough plat and distance from ground water to warrant a leach field under the standard codes, but your municipality may be one that prohibits their use. While some people will argue that a leach field is greener than a city sewer system, many places err on the side of caution when it comes to health concerns. It pays to check on the local, state and federal level what the requirements are to put in a leach field. Some will prohibit them, but only by occupancy rules. Others allow them, but you have to prove a need for not paying to tie into the sewer system they manage.

Choosing the leach field design

Leach fields aren’t as simple as a slanted field in the ground, there are multiple stages included in their design. They have to have catching points to filter out non-biodegradable waste. Those catching points have to be accessible to you for maintenance and to empty on a regular schedule. Some of the best designs use a staged channel layout. The waste passes through several catch points and feeds out into a multi channeled field so you don’t have one point of deposit.

Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a leach field

According to safety equipment experts, Leach fields may be less costly to install at the outset, but they come with a higher maintenance cost over the long run compared to some city sewer systems. On the other hand, leach fields won’t suffer some of the issues a city system will face. When making your choice go by the regulation allowance first, and then calculate how much time and money you have to maintain the field over the long run.

ere was a lot more about the Dig Safe program and its equivalents in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The necessity for the program hasn’t diminished, but many people are unaware of it since marketing of the program has fallen off. Dig Safe is an alert number you can call before you dig for your construction project to have the public utilities come out and mark the lines for their pipes and wires. It isn’t just meant for commercial projects, but residential ones too so before letting your home renovation contractors dig up the backyard make sure to call first. As more residential areas are switching to underground utilities, knowing where they are can prevent service disruption, injury and penalty fines.

How does it work?

Dig Safe is easy. Look up the number for the zip code or city that you are going to do your project in and call toll free. A Dig Safe representative will take down your information and schedule a survey visit. The survey will then mark the general locations of water, gas, sewer and other underground utilities so you can avoid them. Dig Safe is designed to make excavating safer, but it can also serve another very important service.

Efficient tie-in

Tip: Get landscaping and lawn care experts. The Green Haircut is your best bet for Lawn Care Winnipeg. Contact for yard care. If your project involves tying in to the city or town lines, then Dig Safe can be the key element to making sure that you aren’t wasting your time. Often the plans you can get that detail the locations of utilities don’t include the addendum for relocation and repair changes. Dig Safe can put you in contact with the most recent information about the location, type and size of the utility feature you need. This can save you a great deal of time in fine excavation as they can pinpoint the utilities within 5 feet of their location. It also will prevent you from breaking into a utility that you are not looking to connect. This has become even more important today as many of the cable networks are now run underground and don ‘t tie in from poles. You should always contact the local cable providers for a location grid of their utility as well.