Your Questions About Green Living

Betty asks…

What is the best material to do false ceiling for a house with tiled roof?

The material should be economic, eco friendly, termite free and long lasting. The roof is clay tiles paved on steel truss work.

The Expert answers:

I am not quite sure what you mean by “false ceiling,” but you may mean a t-bar ceiling, also known as a suspended acoustic ceiling. These are often used in commercial office and retail projects, and on occasion in garages in residences.

If this is what you mean, then google t-bar ceiling of check out this site:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4502537_install-tbar-ceiling.html

The materials used in these systems (light-gauge metal for the grid and hangers, gypsum tile for the panels) is long lasting and termite free, but eco-friendly is in the eye of the beholder…

Steven asks…

Everyday Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide?

I never realized the many uses of hydrogen peroxide! I cleaned my tile floors and windows with it for the first time and was impressed. Although my fingers did turn an ashy white, temporarily. Its a cheap, eco friendly way to go! What everyday uses do you have for hydrogen peroxide? Also, share your good/bad experiences with it. Thanks!

The Expert answers:

I have also used to remove blood and other protein stains from fabric; as a tooth whitener (swish in mouth for a few minutes a day after brushing, or mix with baking soda & use to brush teeth); to induce vomiting in a dog (the vet emergency clinic suggested that I try this after my mother’s dog ate a lot of dark chocolate- do not use for animal that has ingested anything caustic).

William asks…

Pleeease do this little survey. Takes about 8 seconds =]?

Sex:
Age:

Since the growing awareness that our earths resources are running out which of the following have you done:

1. Bought a hybrid car

2. Remodeled or built using ecofriendly material(ex.countertops, tile, flooring etc)

3.Replaced lightbulbs with compact flourescent bulbs

4.Replaced showerheads with low flowing one

5. Bought a product because it was ecofriendly

You can just say what numbers!!
(for a paper)

The Expert answers:

Male, 61
2, 3, 5 I intend to purchase a hybrid for my next car. Sorry about the shower heads – I like my full-flow showers too much. We have replaced the old water heater with a tankless heater. We are currently re-landscaping our entire yard to go with low-water plants. One of our next projects will be a solar heater for the pool and solar electricity for the house.

Maria asks…

Painting Color Schemes . . . ?

Hi, Im painting my room and im a bit stuck at a point. Ive painted my room gray and white i.e one wall gray and the rest white, the problem is the ceiling. You see my ceiling is not your average cemented ceiling. Its tiles and bars. Ive painted the bars black and I cant figure a proper combo color for the tiles. So please suggest something suitable. Also the furniture and the flooring are brown.

Here is the link of how bars look like:
http://www.google.com.pk/imgres?imgurl=http://images-en.busytrade.com/4932960020000200/sell-Ceiling-T-Bars.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.busytrade.com/selling-leads/463428/sell-Ceiling-T-Bars.html&usg=__xFxJFPBzhluSXrkzfqu6cOcY7rY=&h=200&w=200&sz=6&hl=en&start=20&zoom=1&tbnid=nXPtWQwfc4QOsM:&tbnh=153&tbnw=153&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dceiling%2Bbars%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D816%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=328&vpy=101&dur=13&hovh=160&hovw=160&tx=75&ty=90&ei=pending&oei=AN8YTcCLMpGsrAfQwL3BCw&esq=2&page=2&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:20

And here is the tiles view (it looks something like this)
http://www.google.com.pk/imgres?imgurl=http://arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/in-house/wp-content/uploads/ceilume_tiles-300×299.jpg&imgrefurl=http://arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/in-house/renovations/ceilume-introduces-ecofriendly-ceiling-tiles&usg=__p_csKAGER75_7-HHiFe2-hGuo38=&h=299&w=300&sz=33&hl=en&start=95&zoom=1&tbnid=leeFMFA8CtRLPM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=151&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dceiling%2Btiles%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D816%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=335&vpy=331&dur=2435&hovh=224&hovw=225&tx=117&ty=108&ei=ut8YTcmJOY_5cdj4xcsK&oei=l98YTZPANYSqrAeXr_zICw&esq=5&page=5&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:95

There are total two bars on the ceiling in my room and three rows of tiles. My room isnt that big. its 10ft x 10ft x 10ft.

The Expert answers:

You could go brown with ceiling tiles or you could just leave them alone – which is what I would do. In a room that small, you’ll feel smothered if you do anything other than the white they already are.

The other thing you could do would be to staple posters or other pictures to the tiles to have something fun to look at while in bed. I’ve also seen these covered in fabric to lend another texture to the room.

Laura asks…

For people who know about cork flooring?

I am designing a master bathroom and am trying to be as eco friendly as possible, so I’m considering using cork.

What (in your personal opinion) are the pros and cons of that material? Also, I have heard that the cork tiles dent over time. Is that true, and if so, how long until that happens? What happens if the bathtub overflows? Etc etc…

Thanks so much in advance!

The Expert answers:

All wood floors, including cork, can be damaged by water, and dented.
Cork is quite resilient and resists denting well. Dropping the corner of something heavy on your floor is going to dent it no matter what kind of floor you have.
If your bath or toilet leaks, the floor will be damaged. Many cork floors come in large tiles or sheets and these withstand water better because they have fewer joints.
Bamboo is another option for someone interested in an eco friendly floor. In a bathroom it will be best to use unfinished bamboo or cork and poly or finish after installation. Prefinished floors have small bevels on the edges which trap water and dirt and allow water to seep between the boards.

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