Site visit

Went out to Michigan on Wednesday and met the builder, designer, and augercast-pile guy at the site. It was great to be back, as we haven't been in 3 months. There were sandhill cranes, deer, turkeys, and the marvelous trees. A chickadee landed on the empty feeder and called, as if to say "how come you're not filling this up right now?"
Anyway, we looked at the lay of the land, the position of the septic and well, the condition of the driveway (sketchy), and discussed what was needed to minimize damage as the building comes down and the pile foundations are laid. We also labeled all the things that we want to re-use or to remove and donate to Habitat for Humanity (they take building materials and sell them in their "ReStores.")
On Thursday we visited a couple of cabinet makers in Grand Rapids. Some cabinet lines are using FSC wood and low volatile glues, non-formaldehyde plywood and take other measures to make them greener, like using locally-sourced materials. Van Beek's can incorporate pieces of sunflower board (made of sunflower shells, they have an interesting pattern as well as being a use for what would otherwise be waste). They seemed to be very environmentally conscious. We also visited William's Kitchen and Bath, a larger operation with a wider range of products. Here you have to ask carefully to find the greener things, but they do have a line that is more environmentally friendly. All of the cabinets are solidly constructed and should have a long lifespan.
It is worth it to track down the green cabinet makers in your area!

(And today I called to have the septic tanks pumped, so there should not be a nasty surprise when they take the old one out ...).