If you’re looking to replace or upgrade your existing siding, cement fiberboard is a great material to consider. Less maintenance than wood, more durable than vinyl (and less toxic) and guaranteed for over 25 years. Sound too good to be true? Made primarily from cement, sand and recycled wood waste fibers cement fiberboard siding (also known as fiber cement or hardi board) is a solid green siding alternative. More

The RE store is a well-known Seattle resource for donating and purchasing used goods. While the focus is on salvaged building materials (like doors, hardwood flooring and clawfoot bathtubs), there are plenty of funky and unique finds to keep things interesting!

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Backyard decks are often constructed using pressure treated wood, a process that injects chemicals into soft woods, making them suitable for outdoor use and resistant to termites and rot. While safer preservatives have replaced toxic arsenic and creosote, wood treated with chemicals cannot be recycled or burned. There may not be a perfect decking product, but there are better options - find out more after the jump! More

In a busy, urban setting of this Upper Westside co-op a former superintendent's apartment was turned into a modern oasis for the Zizmor family. A clever means of screening off their open plan living space from neighbors in close proximity, while forgoing traditional window coverings. Rather, they have spider plants, herbs and English ivy to help maintain a sense of privacy. More

A couple of years ago for my sister's wedding my family and I made tons of cake stands using salvaged plates and wine glasses. The result was beautiful and perfectly matched her event. Then we came across this neat tutorial on how to make cake stands using table legs and a few common building supplies. More

Furring is used to create non-load bearing partition walls, or as in insert between brick and concrete when hanging drywall. EcoStud furring is made from 100% recycled plastic and has some impressive efficiency properties: it has a low mess DIY installation, dampens sound, reduces thermal bridging and is light to transport. More

During Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Obama told the story of Michigan roofers who are now manufacturing solar shingles thanks to a government loan. This made me think: I'm only slightly educated on the topic of photovoltaic shingles and since we'll be in the market for a new roof later this year, why not check out what Re-Nest has to say. More

I stumbled across this amazing example of creative reuse at The Growing Gardens Project. It is a community garden at Deen City Farm, London, run by project coordinator Louisa Loakes and a regular stream of volunteers. In May of last year the residents of the community of Merton volunteered their time to turn 5000 plastic bottles into a roof! More

I spent the last several days at the Greenbuild conference learning about new products, meeting some of the best professionals in the field, and sitting in on some great seminars. One of the highlights was learning what well-respected publication BuildingGreen chose as their top products for the year — something I look forward to hearing about every year. All of the chosen products are from the GreenSpec directory and are evaluated on criteria that has been developed over the last 18 years. More

While these two "building materials" won't stand up to the scrutiny of the local building authority, they might just work for for a shed, doghouse or patio. And while plastics and vinyls aren't green on their own accord, keeping them out of the dump landfill certainly is. More