In a world where going green is in vogue, even redoing a kitchen can show support for the planet.
Instead of ripping out solidly built cabinets and trashing them in a landfill, refacing them with sustainably harvested woods can save money as well as trees and energy, says Igor Crook, owner of Bothell-based Ewco Kitchens.
That eco-friendly trend will be evident at next week’s Tacoma Fall Home & Garden Show, where Eco Kitchens will be among many home improvement exhibitors with a good-for-the-environment bent.
Complement those refaced cabinets with counters made of recycled materials, then surround them with eco-friendly floors and homeowners can feel good about their efforts to tread a little more lightly on the environment while creating an updated kitchen.
“I figure we save at least 50 cubic feet of landfill per kitchen,” said Crook, who has been refacing kitchens for six years and started Eco Kitchens in March. By replacing only doors and drawer fronts, covering the cabinet boxes with veneers and adding a few new cabinets if necessary, Crook figures each project also saves at least one 45-foot-tall, 50-year-old tree.
Refacing has been around for years, but the environmental benefits resonate with homeowners today, he said.
The quality of the home environment is also considered in each Eco Kitchens project. All the stains, finishes and adhesives used are water-based, so there’s no off-gassing, Crook said. The doors, drawer fronts and other wood parts are factory-varnished and aren’t shipped until after a short period when vapors are released.
“We make sure it is released in the factory before we install (the product) in the house,” Crook said.
Besides saving landfill space by refacing cabinets, “We make a very strong effort to recycle all the materials that we take out,” he added.
Generally, refacing is about half the cost of a good-quality replacement kitchen, Crook said. Cabinets can be added or subtracted to improve layout and function, but refacing often can be done in five days or less and the result can be just as dramatic as a tear-out.
Eco Kitchens (www.ecokitchensnw.com) offers a wide variety of wood species and countertops (including granite and solid surfacing), but these are three of its more environmentally friendly options.
Sustainable woods: All of Eco Kitchens’ wood products are sustainably grown and some are plantation raised, Crook said. Lyptus, a Weyerhaeuser product, is produced from eucalyptus trees grown as a crop and harvested every 14 to 16 years (www.lyptus.com). Even the cherry wood available through Eco Kitchens is grown by a company that plants more trees every year than it harvests, Crook said.
Recycled countertops: Who knew that countertops made from recycled materials such as paper, glass and cement could look so great? Eco Kitchens offers three recycled products, all produced close to home, which means fewer transportation impacts. Squak Mountain Stone (www.tmi-online.com), made in Woodinville, resembles soapstone or limestone. PaperStone (www.paperstoneproducts.com) has a solid-surface appearance; it’s made in Hoquiam from recycled paper and petroleum-free resin. Fuez (www.fuez.com) uses up to 80 percent recycled materials, producing slabs that are speckled or solid; its Portland factory runs entirely on wind power.
Eco-friendly floors: At the home show, Eco Kitchens will introduce a new line of engineered flooring featuring exotic woods, all sustainably manufactured, Crook said. Customers can also choose from WilsonArt laminate floors that use 80 percent recycled materials (www.wilsonartflooring.com).
Tacoma FALL HOME & GARDEN Show
More than 250 home and garden exhibits and vendors, seminars, a hay maze and pumpkin painting for the kids.
When
Oct. 9-12; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Where
Tacoma Dome
Admission
$8 adults, $6 seniors (weekdays), free for children 12 and younger; weekday discount coupon available at otshows.com/TFHS
Parking
$8 per day home show highlights
You can find ideas for green building, a contractor to complete that dream project and products for winterizing the house and yard when the Tacoma Fall Home & Garden Show kicks off Thursday.
Here are four things you shouldn’t miss:
ROCK DISPLAY
See a 5,000-square-foot garden grow, one rock at a time, during the four-day show. Marenakos Rock Center of Issaquah and the Washington Association of Landscape Professionals will demonstrate how to incorporate stone, lighting, irrigation and water features into the landscape.
SOLAR POWER
With rising energy costs, solar energy is trendy again. Stop by the Solar Water Group booth to learn how a solar water heater can provide 65 to 80 percent of a home’s hot water needs over the course of a year. And there’s still time to take advantage of a federal solar tax credit; www.thesolarwatergroup.com.
SMALL BATHROOMS
Stuck with the standard 5-by-8-foot bathroom? Author and contractor Steven Katkowsky offers do-it-yourself tips for creating plenty of new, usable space without the expense of knocking down walls. Catch his seminar at noon and 3 p.m. (noon only on Sunday).
GARDEN DISPLAY
“Think Green” at the 3,600-square-foot display garden crafted by SK Landscaping of Tacoma. Check out the rustic cabin with an insulating roof of grasses and perennial groundcovers, rain gardens to funnel storm water and a power-generating water wheel.
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