Eco-Home, Indie Budget

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Framing, Trim Work and Walls

By opening up the attic for a third bedroom, the couple was able to turn a small bedroom downstairs into a music practice room for Mike's drum kit and another bedroom into Julie's studio space. Their second-floor attic remodel didn't require another heating unit because it was designed with a spiral staircase, which cuts through the middle of the house, venting heat upward.

Although they couldn't afford FSC-certified wood for framing and had to take what the local lumber yard provided, they did use eco-friendly trim in the form of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) with high recycled-wood content. They haven't done much painting yet, but Julie has purchased Rodda low-VOC paint for two rooms. To repair walls after removing partitions, they used drywall made of recycled materials.

Flooring

In the kitchen, Julie and Mike are installing no-adhesive, no-VOC cork flooring. For the attic remodel, they also bought Interface Flor carpet tiles made of recycled carpet. And they used low-VOC finish on their hardwood floors (see Resources).

The couple looks forward to their Housewarming Bash, at which Mike's jazz band will entertain out back. For now, though, they're knee-deep in the new cork flooring they just bought for their kitchen space—an expense they saved for by scrimping elsewhere. As for the housewarming, "It's perhaps a month away!" vows Julie, and after that the wedding.

—with additional reporting by P. W. McRandle

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