Green Building Tips for Romney’s New House

Published: August 22, 2011
By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon
1Comment

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney appears to be his own jobs creation machine. He’s planning to quadruple the size of his La Jolla, Calif., home. If his zoning request is accepted, he’ll raze his 3,009 sq. ft. house and replace it with an 11,062 sq. ft. manse.

Mitt Romney's house in La Jolla, California

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wants to tear down his 3,009 sq. ft. home in La Jolla, Calif., and replace it with an 11,062 sq. ft. house. Image: Meg Roussos/The San Diego Union-Tribune/ZUMA Press

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney appears to be his own jobs creation machine. He’s planning to quadruple the size of his La Jolla, Calif., home. If his zoning request is accepted, he’ll raze his 3,009 sq. ft. house and replace it with an 11,062 sq. ft. manse.

That will put a lot of people to work, though it’ll leave a big carbon footprint.

Since we at HouseLogic think green building is good for your pocketbook and the environment, we have some eco-friendly building tips that will help Mr. Romney save money and the planet:

Reuse salvaged building materials from the old house — hardware, wood flooring, newer appliances, and sinks. However, toss faucets purchased before 1997: They may contain lead.

Instead of buying new cabinets, reface or refinish the ones you already have. If you must buy new, chose cabinets with FSC-certified wood, which means the wood is produced with sustainable forest management practices.

Install under-the-counter water purifiers, which filter 10 times the amount of impurities as faucet-mounted purifiers.

To save water in the bathroom, install high-efficiency toilets ($250-$400) and low-flow shower heads.

What eco-friendly remodeling practices have you used?

Lisa Kaplan Gordon

is a HouseLogic contributor and builder of luxury homes in McLean, Va. She’s been a Homes editor for Gannett News Service and has reviewed home improvement products for AOL.

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We turned a portion of our old farmhouse kitchen cabinets into a wet bar for our new rec room in our converted basement. The kitchen cabinet base was the perfect height for storing items below the sink. For the counter top, we used and old oak door. We drilled a hole in the door to accommodate the sink. And, instead of paying for a new sink basin for the top of the bar, we converted an old kitchen pot into a sink by drilling a hole in the base and installing our own sink strainer and drain. It's turned out to be the perfect amount of "old" in our new space.
Posted by Kristin on August 22, 2011

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