GreenWave Solutions » Buckhead painters

The Go Green Expo is Coming to Atlanta

Dan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:05:15 +0000

The eco show, Go Green Expo, has announced its 2009 tour locations. The event kicked-off earlier this year in New York City during Earth Week. The Go Green Expo will continue to Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

The Go Green Expo is a business to business and consumer show which features green living products and services. In addition to showcasing Earth-friendly products and services, the event will include educational seminars and panels. The Go Green Expo focuses on business, electronics, energy conservation, recycling, home building, food, and more.

In preparation for The Go Green Expo, organizers are taking steps to reduce the “carbon footprint” and the amount of waste generated. These measures include compostable and biodegradable trashcan liners and table cloths, recycled flooring and signage, biodegradable banners, and soy inks. “There is no question that the time to act is now,” says Bradford Rand, president and CEO of Go Green Expo. “By bringing this forum for showcasing sustainability to multiple cities we hope to encourage and empower more people and businesses to take action for a better planet.”

Who, What, When, Where….

The Go Green Expo is going to be in Atlanta on June 26^th-28^th, 2009. Ticket information and exhibit application information is available The Go Green Expo website.

Source – ENN

This blog is brought to you by GreenWave Solutions, Atlanta’s First “Green” Paint Contractor. We specialize in using LEED Certified, VOC-compliant paints and coatings. We are Atlanta painters, Alpharetta painters, Buckhead painters, Brookhaven painters, Cumming painters, Chamblee painters, Dunwoody painters, Midtown painters, Marietta painters, Roswell painters, Sandy Springs painters, and Vinings painters. GreenWave Solutions does residential, commercial, and light industrial painting. Call us for a free Estimate – 678-491-2963.

Eco-Friendly Atlanta Hotel Offers World-Class Luxury

Dan — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:13:55 +0000

As Atlanta continues the renewal of Buckhead, developers are following the strengthening trend of green building. The 1 Hotel & Residences is true evidence. The project, which broke ground earlier this year, features unparalleled luxury combined with sustainable building practices. Barry Hotel Partners and Starwood Capital Group’s design plans for the project include pursuing LEED Certification.

1 Hotel & Residences includes 100 luxury condominiums, 175-room hotel and world-class spas and restaurants. In order to successfully marry luxury and sustainability, Barry Hotels and Starwood called upon The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to be their environmental advisors. In addition to attaining LEED Certification, 1 Hotel & Residences will donate 1% of its annual revenues to local environmental organizations. Their goal is to set a new standard for high-end environmental excellence and a positive example for the hotel industry.

Barry Sternlicht, the Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital says, “Buckhead is a premier luxury location attracting some of the finest retailers and restaurants from around the world, making it a perfect fit for 1 Hotel and its unrivaled ability to combine exquisite living arrangements with an environmental conscience.” During Sternlicht’s tenure as CEO, he has master-minded wildly successful concepts such as The W Hotel chain. The 1 Hotel & Residences is his newest endeavor and its aim is to become the world’s first “eco-friendly” luxury hotel brand.

1 Hotel & Residences is part of a larger project called The Streets of Buckhead. The Streets of Buckhead is a mixed-use development in the heart of Buckhead. As it is planned, the upscale community will have over 600,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, four hotels, 1000 luxury condominiums, and 300,000 square feet of office space. Butch Ross, executive director and founding principal of Atlanta-based Barry Hotel Partners, says, “Atlanta has grown up a lot the last several years and it is ready for the level of luxury shopping, dining, lodging, and living that The Streets of Buckhead will offer.”

1 Hotel & Residences and The Streets of Buckhead are scheduled to open in 2010. This is the beginning of a newer, greener Atlanta. More on Streets Of Buckhead.

Architect’s models of Streets of Buckhead.

Sources:

The Environmental News Network

Roswell's Sweet Apple Village Builds Rainwater Collection System

Dan — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:51:17 +0000

The Sweet Apple Village open-air mall in Roswell, GA has $400,000 in its construction plans. There is one problem. Georgia is in the midst of a historical drought. Between the lack of rain and state-wide water restrictions, developer Robb McKerrow of Cornerstone Development Partners, LLC, had to make sure that the nearly a half million dollars of foliage will survive. Before the foundation of the $21 million project was poured, McKerrow built a 60,000 gallon cistern and a gray water filtration system.

Besides the 60,000 gallon cistern, Sweet Apple’s water collection system features two water retention areas. Before the reclaimed water is used to irrigate the mall’s landscaping, it will be cleaned by large water filtration system.

Sweet Apple’s cistern will be filled by water that is collected by the 71,000 square foot roof. The rainwater collected by the roof will be carried to the filtration system by a series of gutters and piping. After the water has been cleaned, it will be stored in the cistern until it is used in the irrigation system. McKerrow says that just 1 inch of rain will yield enough water to fulfill a week’s worth of landscape irrigation needs.

McKerrow estimates that using rainwater for landscape irrigation will save Sweet Apple Village approximately $80,000 per year on water. In addition to the money savings that this system provides, it will reduce Sweet Apple Village’s demand on the municipal water supply by about 2.2 million gallons a year. With a total cost of $160,000, this rainwater collection system is going to pay itself off in only two years and help the entire City of Roswell for years to come. Sweet Apple Village is expected to be open in May of 2009 and is located at the corner of Hardscrabble and Etris Roads.

Environmental advocacy groups like Southface and The Sierra Club are praising Cornerstone and other developers that are using sustainable solutions in their projects. It is encouraging seeing that builders in Atlanta are recognizing that we have a water shortage and taking environmentally responsible steps to help.

Daniel Macris

Reference article http://www.ajc.com/green/content/business/stories/2008/09/16/sweet_apple_cistern.html

GreenWave Solutions is Atlanta's Home Restoration Painter

Dan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:45:42 +0000

Do you live in an older home? Do you have years and years of old paint on your home that is peeling and cracking? In the paint world, this is known as alligatoring. Not only is this unsightly, but it is also detrimental to the integrity of your home. When the paint starts chipping off to bare wood, this wood is exposed directly to the elements. This allows for moisture intrusion, insect attacks, and sun damage.

GreenWave Solutions has begun using the next generation of acrylic products to restore homes in this condition. To restore homes in this condition, we pressure wash and scrape off as much of the loose paint as possible. Then we will apply an acrylic XIM bonding/surfacing primer. Finally, we will topcoat everything with Resilience, a premium coating with a lifetime warranty. All of the products that we use for exterior home restoration contain less than 50g/L voc and are LEED certified. Also, our crews will clean up all of the old paint chips that have been removed rather than leaving them to litter the soil and groundwater.

GreenWave Solutions’ exterior home restoration painting is ideal for older homes in Atlanta, Chamblee, Decatur, Grant Park, Downtown, Midtown, Marietta, Alpharetta, and the rest of Metro Atlanta.

Another use for the soybean.

Dan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:26:00 +0000

Recently, I have been reading articles stating that the soybean is not as good for us as they have been telling us. Personally, I didn’t care either way. I would eat tofu if I felt like it or order edamame if I was feeling yuppie. In short, the soybean was not a staple in my diet or life. But now, I have a found an article that says that we can do something better with soybeans than eat them. We can use them to make insulation. No kidding. Soy products are already being used as roof coatings at an aquarium in Chicago and elavator grease at The Statue of Liberty. Soy products are hitting the construction scene by storm. Reasons for this is that they increase indoor air quality, contain no urea, formaldehyde, or VOCs. As foam insulation, soy products are resistant to mold and mildew and sprayed on just like the cellulose insulations. The United Soybean Board says that soy foam insulation is as good as or better than standard insultions in 4inch walls with 6inch stud construction.

The article didn’t mention if these soy foam insulations would count towards LEED certification, but I would guess that if you write a narrative to the USGBC explaining the benefits of using this product, you may be able to earn a credit somewhere.

You can read the whole article and see the links here.

USGBC is beginning to release details about LEED 2009

Dan — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:37:19 +0000

Here is a press release from The U.S. Green Building Council about LEED 2009.

contact: Ashley Katz

Communications Manager, USGBC

202.742.3738

akatz@usgbc.org

Certification Bodies Announced for LEED Green Building Rating System

Move will expand service, eliminate backlogs and comply with ISO standards

(Washington, DC) July 29, 2008 – As a part of the broader vision for LEED V3, the

certification bodies for the LEED Green Building Rating System were announced

today. Well-known and respected for their role in certifying organizations, processes

and products to ISO and other standards, they are:

ABS Quality Evaluations, Inc. (http://www.abs-qe.com

BSI Management Systems America, Inc. (http://www.bsi-global.com

Bureau Veritas North America, Inc. (http://www.us.bureauveritas.com

DNV Certification (http://www.dnvcert.com

Intertek (www.intertek-sc.com

KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc. (http://www.kema.com

Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Inc. (www.lrqausa.com

NSF-International Strategic Registrations (http://www.nsf.org

SRI Quality System Registrar, Inc. (http://www.sri-i.com

Underwriters Laboratories-DQS Inc. (http://www.ul.com/mss

In the spirit of the most successful LEED projects, this evolution in the certification

process is being undertaken as an integrated part of a major update to the technical

rating system which will debut in January as LEED 2009. The update will also include

a comprehensive technology upgrade to LEED Online aimed at improving the user

experience and expanding its portfolio management capabilities.

Currently, all LEED project submissions are reviewed by USGBC with the support of

independently contracted reviewers. In alignment with its vision of market

transformation, beginning in January 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC),

developers of LEED, will move administration of the LEED certification process to the

Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), a non-profit organization established in

2007 with the support of USGBC. Working together with the selected certification

bodies, GBCI will deliver a substantially improved, ISO compliant certification process

that will be able to grow with the green building movement.

“During the past year, the dramatic growth in the number of LEED project certifications

challenged us to apply our mission of market transformation to ourselves,” commented

USGBC President, CEO, and Founding Chairman Rick Fedrizzi. “By learning from

ISO, engaging with world-class certification bodies, and focusing on our mission, we’ve

been able to create a solution that will expand our capacity to serve the community

while letting USGBC continue to focus on improving the LEED rating system and

delivering exceptional green building education.”

“Third-party certification is the hallmark of the LEED program,” added Alice Soulek, VP

of LEED Development. “Moving the administration of LEED certification under GBCI

will continue to support market transformation by delivering auditable third-party

certification. Importantly, it also allows UGSBC to stick to the knitting of advancing the

technical and scientific basis of LEED.”

GBCI currently administers the LEED Accredited Professional program, in alignment

with ANSI requirements for professional certifications.

About USGBC

The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision

is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes

corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit

organizations. Since USGBC’s founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than

16,500 member organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED® green building rating

systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry’s popular Greenbuild

International Conference and Expo (

www.greenbuildexpo.org), and a network of 78

local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups. For more information, visit

www.usgbc.org

About GBCI

Established as a 501c6 nonprofit organization in 2007 with the support of the U.S.

Green Building Council, the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) administers

credentialing programs related to green building practice. Programs administered by

GBCI support the application of proven consensus strategies for measuring and

improving the performance of the built environment, including the LEED Accredited

Professional program and the LEED Green Building Rating System™. For more

information, please visit

www.gbci.org.

I got this at http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/News/CBs%20072908.pdf

Western Governors Offer Greenhouse Emissions Plan

Dan — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:21:54 +0000

I read this an article that the AP released today. It’s pretty encouraging. Here’s a synopsis of it.

In Salem, OR, Seven western states are joining four Canadian provinces to propose a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions through use of a “cap and trade” system. The draft plan was released by Oregon’s governer’s office and is aimed at gradually reducing carbon emissions across Oregon, Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Washington.

The plan, which also would extend to British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec in Canada, is keyed to a cap and trade system on utilities and industries that are major sources of greenhouse gases. This system is putting a pollution cap on business which operate within these sectors. Businesses that cannot cut their emmissions because of technology or cost will be allowed to buy credits from other businesses who have lowered theirs. The plan was drafted by the Western Climate Initiative, a group created by Kulongoski with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire in February 2007. A final proposal is expected to be forwarded to leaders of the seven states and four provinces in September.

Global Warming advisor, David Vanthof, said that congress is working on “cap and trade” legislation, but the western states and Canadian provinces don’t want to wait. There is no certainty that that is going to be achieved” in Congress, he said.”

One environmental advocate, Jeremiah Baumann, said the draft proposal is “an impressive and important step,” to address global warming on a regional basis, but said the plan is in need of some revision.

“While the draft plan begins the cap and trade system for utilities and industries by 2012, the plan doesn’t cover transportation and heating fuels until 2015 even though both are major sources of greenhouse gases,” Baumann said.

Baumann added, “There are a few significant problems that, if not fixed, mean the program could miss out on the potential for global warming solutions.”

I am glad that states are taking initiative to clean up the environment. I can’t wait to read an article like this about Georgia. Let’s keep it up!

Atlanta Green Painters

Dan — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:34:58 +0000

When I started GreenWave Solutions, I would tell people that I am doing green painting or I am going to be Atlanta’s first green painter. The reactions that I got were hilarious. I had people tell me that it was a bad idea because green is an outdated color. I’m serious. These are educated people, too. It was when I began to get these reactions consistently was when I knew that Atlanta needed a green painter. I don’t mean a paint contractor that can “be green” if a customer requests it or says they are a green painter because they don’t leave empty paint cans on the side of the road. I mean an Atlanta Green Painter. A paint contractor whose core business is eco-friendly painting.

That is what caused me to start GreenWave Solutions. I have worked in the paint industry since graduating from the Univerisity of Georgia and I wanted to apply my knowledge to something cutting edge. All in all, the paint industry is not cool, fun, hip or glamorous. The green movement is, however. GreenWave Solutions is Atlanta’s First Green Painter and Atlanta most progressive painter. GreenWave Solutions is changing the face of paint contracting in Atlanta, Buckhead, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Vining, Virginia Highlands, and the surrounding areas.

GreenWave Solutions offers LEED Certified painting at prices only a fraction more than what regular painters charge to do regular work. Go to our homepage at www.greenwaveforever.com.s73089.gridserver.com to learn more about our products and services.

Thank you visiting GreenWave Solutions, Atlanta’s First Green Painter.

Buckhead Painting Contractor

Dan — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:20:46 +0000

GreenWave Solutions is able to provide Buckhead with its green painting services. We specialize in doing new homes, older homes, condos, townhomes, lofts, and commercial jobs. Remember, the products that we use are GS-11, or LEED certified. We are experienced in color and design trends. We do both interior and exterior painting. We can do any kind of painting – whether you are buying, selling, or upgrading a property. GreenWave Solutions will have a green painting solution for you.

Buckhead is growing very quickly and needs a green paint contractor. GreenWave Solutions is Buckhead’s first green painting contractor.

GreenWave Solution’s