Building Green
Building Green is pioneering and entertaining lifestyle television with an environmentally-conscious twist. Its mission is to inspire homeowners to discover just how easy, cost-effective and healthy it can be to go green, while dispelling the myth that an environmentally-conscious lifestyle means doing without. Each week, host and show creator Kevin Contreras invites viewers to explore a range of green building techniques and alternatives, from the eye-popping green extreme to the green mainstream, while demonstrating that healthy choices don’t mean sacrificing beauty and comfort. It is at once timely, relevant and responsive to the growing demand for greener living sparked by such dramatic and impactful documentaries as An Inconvenient Truth and The 11th Hour.
Genre: Documentary
Get Email UpdatesMore information: IMDB
Watch Building Green Season 1
Episode 13
The Finale
aired: Fri, Dec 22, 2006
Completing the project; other green projects around Santa Barbara, Calif.; the future of green building.
Click here to watch on cbs.com The process started off slowly due to limited information resources and understanding about green building.
Episode 12
Interior Design
aired: Fri, Dec 15, 2006
Antiques for vanities, doors and closet; Italian designer kitchen cabinets; natural fabrics; recycled house.
Click here to watch on cbs.com Kevin invites Victoria Miller, a Feng shui expert, to get her opinion of his architectural plans before he begins building.
Episode 11
Landscaping
aired: Fri, Dec 8, 2006
Landscaping with minimal maintenance and water; shower water drains directly into the garden; tropical section; rainwater collection.
Click here to watch on cbs.com What's the greenest garden of all? One without any green -- a rock garden.
Episode 10
Water
aired: Fri, Dec 1, 2006
Solar-heated water feeds a superefficient boiler; radiant floor heating; using the sun.
Click here to watch on cbs.com Building Green health expert Alyssa Alvord explains why clean water is so essential to our health.
Episode 9
Lighting
aired: Fri, Nov 24, 2006
Installing electric wiring in straw-bale walls; photovoltaic solar panels; low-voltage halogen and fluorescent lighting.
Click here to watch on cbs.com Building Green health expert Alyssa Alvord explains that electromagnetic frequency is all around us and discusses the dangers of low-level exposure.
Episode 8
Floors and Closets
aired: Fri, Nov 17, 2006
Radiant floor heating; formaldehyde-free plywood for closets; prefab steel tool-cabinets for drawers; healthy carpets.
Click here to watch on cbs.com Because Kevin has chosen the concrete slab as the primary flooring on the first floor of his new green dream home, he will need to finish it with nontoxic stains and sealants.
Episode 7
Interior Finishes
aired: Fri, Nov 10, 2006
Natural earth-and-gypsum plaster; plaster showers instead of tile.
Click here to watch on cbs.com While the straw bales are the envelope of Kevin's dream home, plaster will be the skin. But Kevin isn't looking for just any plaster, he wants earthen plaster.
Episode 6
Exterior Finishes
aired: Fri, Nov 3, 2006
Natural earth and lime plasters.
Click here to watch on cbs.com Kevin's straw bale dream home is progressing nicely, and now it's time to start the plastering process.
Episode 5
Doors and Windows
aired: Fri, Oct 27, 2006
Designing windows and doors for natural light and airflow; using wood from Forestry Stewardship Council managed forests and recycled wood.
Click here to watch on cbs.com The most responsible way to build using wood, a dwindling natural resource, is to not use too much of it. Fortunately, because Kevin is building a straw bale home.
Episode 4
Straw Bales
aired: Fri, Oct 20, 2006
Straw bales are shown to be a healthier, more energy efficient alternative made from a farmer's waste material; preparing for windows and doors.
Click here to watch on cbs.com Kevin's first step is to find dry, structurally sound straw bales, transport them and then move them to the center of the house so that they don't get wet.
Episode 3
Framing and Roofing
aired: Fri, Oct 13, 2006
Steel framework provides earthquake protection; steel roof serves as the collector for the rainwater catchment system.
Click here to watch on cbs.com Kevin visits green architect Eric Corey Freed to discuss the environmental differences between using wood and steel for the post-and-beam structure of his new home.
Episode 2
Foundation
aired: Tue, Mar 20, 2007
Green aspects of slabs; earthen and concrete floors.
Click here to watch on cbs.com In this episode dedicated to foundation planning, host Kevin Contreras explains, "Today we're going to talk about straw-bale building before preparing and pouring the foundation."
Episode 1
Breaking Ground
aired: Fri, Sep 29, 2006
Basic principles of green building.
Click here to watch on cbs.com Join host Kevin Contreras over the next 13 episodes, as he builds his green dream home in Santa Barbara, CA.
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