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Home & Garden Articles
Three Green Home Improvements You Can Make Today
Tue 15 Sep 2009 - 12:00
Three Green Home Improvements You Can Make Today
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Joe_Cline]Joe Cline
Making your home more eco-friendly can be easier than you think. If you though that in order to have an eco-friendly home you'd need to re-build from the ground up, you'll be happy to know that there are several simple changes that you can make in your home that will save you money, make your home more "green" and increase the resell value of your home. These days having an eco-friendly home can be a great selling point.
One of the first improvements you can make is with eco-friendly paint. Painting is one of the easiest home improvements you can do. Today, there is a wide choice of eco-friendly paints that have low VOC levels. These paints don't have the harsh chemicals that can harm the environment. The three basic types of eco-friendly paints are milk based, clay based and recycled latex. These paints can be used on a variety of different surfaces.
Milk based paints are completely natural, but they need to be mixed with water in order to be used. It's the most expensive option and it remains porous after drying. Clay based paints are very durable and are great for faux finishes. Of all three eco-friendly paints, recycled latex is the most prominent since it can be purchased at most major home improvement stores. It has the most colors available and doesn't require natural wax to prevent stains like the other options do.
You can also go eco-friendly with your flooring. Natural flooring materials have a beautiful finish and they have low environmental impact. The most common types of eco-friendly flooring are cork and bamboo. Cork is durable and very comfortable to walk on. It is used with non-toxic adhesives and comes in many different colors. Bamboo flooring is also another eco-friendly option. It is very similar to traditional wood flooring in its look. What makes it eco-friendly is that bamboo grows much more quickly than traditional hardwood floors.
If you have the budget for a large eco-friendly home improvement project, you can replace your regular roofing with a more eco-friendly roof. Solar roof systems are the most well known of the eco-friendly options. These roof systems take the light from the sun and convert it into energy that can be used inside of the home. Although these roofs are not made from recyclable materials, the energy savings make them eco-friendly. A solar roofing system will last for approximately 30 years.
Another option is reflective roofing. This option involves covering your roof with a white colored fluid that is applied with a paint roller. This roofing reflects the suns rays and helps reduce energy bills inside the home, especially during the summer. It reduces ultraviolet deterioration of the roof. Roofs made from recycled metal are also a very energy efficient and eco-friendly option. Metal roofs can reflect up to 35% of the suns' rays. As an added bonus, metal roofs are resistant to both fire and pests.
Any of these eco-friendly options will make a great addition to your home, whether you are planning on living there for decades or will be moving in a few years.
Joe Cline writes articles for [http://www.joecline.com]Austin Texas real estate. Other articles written by the author related to [http://www.affinityproperties.com]Austin real estate and Round Rock real estate can be found on the net.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Cline http://EzineArticles.com/?Three-Green-Home-Improvements-You-Can-Make-Today&id=2908929
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