Trilite Stone

Here are 10 considerations for making your home remodeling project more environmentally friendly

1. Replace older appliances with energy star rated appliances and equipment. Use less energy and water and get a tax break
2.  Use Low flow fixtures.  You can dramatically reduce water consumption on your sinks and showers by replacing fixtures with low flow valves.
3. Fix all Leaks: Even more important than new fixtures, just fixing the faucet dripping and the slow leaking toilet can save 100’s of gallons of water.
4. Energy Efficient Lighting:  Compact fluorescent light bulbs last significantly longer and use 75% less energy than traditional incandescent lighting. 
5. Plan on Ambient Lighting:  Consider using skylights or sky domes and/ or larger windows to reduce the need for artificial lighting.
6. Insulate:  Add proper high R-rated insulation as part of your remodeling project to reduce your heating and cooling bills.  Make sure you are caulking and sealing to reduce drafts.
7. Use Long Lasting Materials:  Sometimes with just a few more dollars you can get more durable and longer lasting materials, reducing the need to replace them.
8. Use Recycled Materials:  There are a number of websites that sell recycled building materials, even if you don’t buy from them, you can get some good ideas.  Most home improvement stores have a large selection of recycled materials.
9. Paint:  Many paints are now reconstituted from recycled paints.  Often times, just cleaning your walls can give it a fresh appearance and avoid painting all together.
10. Project Planning:  Disposing of remodeling waste often is the biggest impact item for the environment.  Spending a little more time planning and working with your material suppliers can dramatically reduce the “extra” materials and even reduce project clean up.

View Trilite Stones’ policy on green building construction

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS, IT’S ABOUT JOBS YOU I…..T

You all may recall that mantra being used in some past elections, and all of us in building products can relate all too well. While the economy is showing some signs of more than a pulse, the construction industry is still in the doldrums. Yet, as evidenced by the attached link to a recent ABC News report, some of the jobs/construction fix may not be that far off to “nail” down. How can that be? Well for starters, all too many products available come from other countries and take away from USA based manufacturers. Even a 5% greater use of USA based companies can achieve an increase of 250,000 more jobs. What about 10%, or more? The numbers start to grow, and as we know from consumer economics 101, as jobs grow, spending grows, and so on.

So, all we can do is ask, right? We’re asking every contractor, remodeler, subcontractor, distributor and architect, to think USA first. In the vast majority of cases the costs will be comparable if not less expensive, and the end-result will be a huge multiple of that investment. Check out the link and make your own conclusions, but we’re convinced you all will come to the same place.
http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_04vzdsr5/uiconf_id/5590821

DON’T FORGET TO PUT A CHECKLIST TOGETHER TO WINTERIZE YOUR HOME!!!

Like most Americans, our time is used up with so many day-to-day obligations. Where do we find the time to do something as mundane as winterize our homes, right? Yet that old adage, an ounce of prevention….is worth a few more bucks every month…or something like that, is still relevant, and even more so in today’s world of high energy prices.

As I try to keep abreast of things related to TriLite Stone and our industry, I still run across a number of things in trade readings that are great to share and helpful to everyone. And if the remodeling work done may lead to using a little stone, well, that’s great too.

The biggest thing in winterizing is simply to think it through and put together a quality checklist. Below is a very good listing of those identifiable topics and processes to make that job easier for you. We are sharing it forward and hope it still catches everyone in a timely manner.

 “The U.S. Department of Energy estimates 45 percent of your utility bill goes to pay for heating and cooling your house. Making your house more energy efficient cuts your utility bills, giving you more to spend on holiday cheer. That makes money spent winterizing your home a good investment.

 Some tips for winterizing your home:

•  Hire a professional to inspect your furnace. After all, unless you live at one of the poles, it has been months since you last fired it up. You want to make sure the system is running efficiently and, more importantly, safely. A gas or oil furnace may produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
• Find leaks. Cold air works its way inside in many unexpected way. Tighten your home for leaks on a windy day by holding a lit incense stick next to windows, doors, plumbing fixtures and electric outlets. If the smoke travels horizontally, air is seeping inside.
• Fix leaks. Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows. Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring creates a path for outside air to travel. Great Stuff insulating foam and similar products are handy for keeping cold air outside. Installing foam gaskets behind electrical outlet plates and light switch plates is easy.
• Windows. Windows bring the outside world in, but they also let out the heat. Installing storm windows over single-pane windows is a cost-effective alternative to replacing your windows. You can also tape a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames. Insulating drapes may also stymie any drafts.
• Shut the flue. Fireplace chimneys are designed to suck hot air up and out of the house. Make sure the fireplace flue is closed when not burning a fire. Seal flues in fireplaces you don’t use.
• Clean the gutters. Now that the leaves have all dropped, make one last trip atop the ladder to clean your gutters. Clogged gutters contribute to the formation of ice dams on your roof and ice dams can lead to serious water damage of your home.
• Wrap the pipes. Wrap pipes nearest exterior walls and in crawl spaces with pipe insulation or with heating tape. Make sure you know the location of the main water valve and the valve on your water heater – and how it works – should a pipe freeze and burst and you have to close the valve under stressful conditions.
• Prepare for the worst. Winter can be disastrous. Just ask the people in Connecticut left without power for more than a week after an October snowstorm. Put together a 72-hour emergency kit (details can be found at Ready.gov) and make sure you have on hand a supply of rock salt or sand, a snow shovel and a backup heating source.”

Len,

 I just wanted to let you know that we absolutly love our fireplace! I was just not sure what to expect and I think that it could not have turned out better. I also was very impressed with Steve’s  professionalism and attention to detail while installing the stone, mantel and hearth. He put in a very long day on Wednesday and i appricate that it was completely done when he left. It made it so exciting to decorate for the holidays. In addition our christmas photo will definatly be infront of the fireplace this year! I posted a photo on facebook and used the companies name and how happy we are. If you want me to post a review someone online just let me know!

 Also, Steve needs a promotion…he said that he spends most of his days in the office but he needs to be training all of you employees so they can live up to his ability ! If your other installers are as good as him your business will continue to be sucessfull even in these drowning economy.

Thanks again,

Kerry

Time keeps passing so quickly. I think it has something to do with always looking forward. In our world of construction here in 2011, it is proving to be a much better year for us at TriLite Stone, and we certainly hope it is proving true for all of you as well.

We’re also in the midst of The Great Minnesota Get Together, our globally renowned State Fair. The activity and interest at our booth has never been greater. It seems to suggest a few things:

• People’s interest in home improvement remains very high and stone continues to play a key role in that thinking
• TriLite’s association with Applebee’s and a major push to re-fresh the area stores in Minnesota/Wisconsin has caught a lot of attention
• The introduction of several new colors is also catching the eye of consumers and contractors

The pace and activity has been great, and long in coming. Our take is that more and better things are happening that are not getting the attention of the press, and that is unfortunate. But, like we said, we keep looking forward.

Check out the special blend we’ve applied to the Applebee’s project (still working on a name, so any ideas………send them out!). And, a couple of new color ideas that we’re introducing too.

We’re in the process of re-freshing our website too, so check it out when you have some time.