Author name:  Tristan Roberts Blog Category:  GreenSpec Insights

Windows are a big investment, and while they may look great on paper, how well do they hold up once installed? Do they meet your performance specifications? How responsive was the company to answering your questions and responding to complaints?

Windows are a big investment, and while they may look great on paper, how well do they hold up once installed? Do they meet your performance specifications? How responsive was the company to answering your questions and responding to complaints?

The GreenSpec team has already combed the world of windows available in the U.S. and Canada for manufacturers that can meet our tough performance specifications.

One might think that an unfinished wood floor is devoid of synthetic chemicals. It sure looks that way--but toxic preservatives may lie in plain sight.

Moist lumber is susceptible to fungal staining. This staining does not cause physical decay, but it looks bad. Commonly called "blue stain," the offending fungi may be yellow, orange, purple, gray, or red in addition to shades of blue. The stain penetrates into the sapwood and cannot be removed by resurfacing.

High-VOC content is still the norm in clear wood finishes, but depending on the application you can minimize exposure and maximize durability.

Clear finishes help bring out the natural beauty of the wood, while protecting it from aging and the elements. Photo: Vermont Natural Coatings

Clear finishes can help protect woodwork against aging, scratches, moisture, and the chemicals found in common cleaners.

Here's the same space with the SageGlass roof in the tinted state. Photo: Sage Electrochromics. Click on image to enlarge. This atrium space at Ball State University has SageGlass in the glazed roof--shown here in its clear state. Photo: Sage Electrochromics.

Free LEEDuser Webcast

Thurs. April 26, 2012 | 3 p.m. EDT

As we've seen from the LEED 2012 drafts and public comment periods, major changes are underway for the LEED rating systems. So many changes resulted from the 3rd public comment period, in fact, that USGBC announced a 4th public comment period, to run May 1–15.

National Architecture Week is gone but not forgotten. Our readers have immortalized the occasion in green building poetry.

I wonder if all that detail work has paid for itself yet.... Photo from Friar's Balsam on Flickr.

We need to create buildings and communities that are more resilient to natural disasters and other shocks. These building products can help.

Damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008, this 19th-century house in Galveston, Texas, was moved, elevated, and renovated to LEED Platinum standards. In addition to insulation, solar panels, and rainwater cisterns, the house features natural ventilation via operable transom windows and a restored breezeway.

[Editor's note: Today's guest post is authored by Bill Walsh, Executive Director of the Healthy Building Network.]

When building products carry different green certifications, how do you know which product is best? Maybe there is a way to compare apples and oranges.

As green certifications and labels have proliferated, so has greenwash. Even among legitimate certifications, conflicts and inconsistency have made them hard to understand.