Looking to hire a green pro but don't know where to go? Let the National Association of Home Builders help. As of last month, 1,500 people have earned the designation of Certified Green Professional (CGP) under the NAHB National Green Building Program. The CGP designation recognizes builders, remodelers and other industry professionals who understand how to incorporate green building principles into homes and provide green building expertise for consumers.Consumers can find Certified Green ...

We here at BobVila.com wish you a wonderful new year. Turn to us throughout 2009 for all the information you need on all your home improvement projects. And if you have suggestions, please add a comment below. We love hearing from you!

BobVila.com is now on Twitter! Fans can now receive news on promotions, Web site updates and seasonal home improvement advice via the popular social networking site. If you have a Twitter account, add the BobVila Twitter account as a friend. Signing up for a Twitter account is easy and can be done at Twitter.com.

With a recent government survey showing at least 36 states are anticipating water shortages by 2013, it's more important than ever to conserve water. With that in mind, the EPA has launched a new WaterSense widget for Web site owners to inform their visitors of water conservation tips. All Web site owners need to do is enter a small snippet of code to their site and voila(!), a little banner that provides water conservation tips for visitors is created. There is no maintenance required as ...

Which city receives more solar radiation, Fargo or Louisville? (Answer: On average, Fargo receives more solar radiation than Louisville.) Knowing the answer to this question is important if you are looking to install solar panels. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has compiled 30 years of data to create an atlas illustrating how much energy different regions of the U.S. can expect to generate from the installation of solar panels. Using their online form, users can see maps of ...

With the spike in foreclosures across the nation comes a spike in foreclosure scams. With that in mind, the Federal Trade Commission has issued an outline for identifying and avoiding cons. The three most commonly reported cons are: The foreclosure prevention specialist: a phony counselor who does some paperwork on behalf of the homeowner and then charges outrageous fees. This counselor provides a false sense of hope while doing nothing to save the home. Make sure people hired on your ...

After reading the horrific story of a man who tried to teach his six year old how to use a table saw (the boy lost a good portion of his thumb), I was again reminded of the thumb-saving technology of Saw Stop. This technology, which stops a table saw instantly upon contact with human flesh, was recently profiled on the Discovery Channel. In the clip, they discuss the mechanics involved and at the end, the inventor shows his confidence in his invention by sticking his own thumb into the table ...

BuildingGreen, LLC, publisher of the GreenSpec® Directory and Environmental Building News®, announced the 2008 Top 10 Green Building Products at the U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild Conference in Boston last month. The seventh annual list includes a large number of interior products such as the first FSC-certified and formaldehyde-free bamboo flooring, a line of zero-VOC paint and a line of organic fabrics. Three of the products this year save energy, including an affordable solar ...

All of us here at BobVila.com want to wish you and your family a very merry Christmas. Enjoy your day! The home improvements can wait until tomorrow, and we'll be here to help with all the information you need.

It used to be simple: When you wrote a check for your mortgage, it went to the bank that gave you the loan. But now that check most likely makes a journey of a thousand miles, according to this MSNBC article. Because of changes in the banking and mortgage industries, thousands of investors around the world get a piece of your monthly mortgage check. The article explains how this change happened and how the market for 'mortgage-backed securities' has grown to $6.8 trillion. It's a good read ...

I love it when people make something amazing out of discarded items. And that includes this office unit resembling a spaceship built from discarded waste such as washing machines, fridges and car tires by architect Jan Korbes, who specializes in designing buildings made from discarded items. You can see other examples of his work here.

President-elect Barack Obama recently proposed an economic recovery plan that would put 2.5 million Americans to work building roads and bridges, refurbishing schools and building wind turbines, solar panels and fuel-efficient cars. Looks like the country could help itself get back into the black by going green.

One of the more unique communities in the world lies just off the coast of Miami. It's called Stiltsville, and it's a collection of architecturally interesting homes standing above the water on stilts. Built over time since the 1930s, the homes were threatened with demolition in the late 90s until a petition drive saved the community when it was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places. You can read more about Stiltsville on its Web site, Wikipedia entry or simply look at the photos.

Are you a dedicated builder who thinks your job is tough? Imagine being the man seated in the crane atop the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. Because it takes so long to descend back to the ground, the crane operator, Babu Sassi, has taken to sleeping in the tight confines of the crane at night. Just thinking about that makes my hands sweat. One commenter in a chat room quipped, "[Sassi] must be a real expert at cranes or totally insane." I'm going with the latter.

Cool video of the manufacturing of commercial solar panels from Solyndra:

You've read all about solar panels and now you're gung-ho to get them installed on your home. Well, slow down there, sunny. Safety is a priority on any project and solar technology requires a wide knowledge of specialized technology. To see if you are qualified, Solar Today magazine has put together a list of 10 questions you should be able to answer before you start (on page 66) : Are you familiar with volts, amps and watts? Can you find the tangent of 22.6 degrees? Can you ...

There isn't a do-it-yourselfer in America that couldn't use a $500 gift card to The Home Depot. And now one lucky subscriber to Charles and Hudson's monthly newsletter will receive a $500 gift card to the Home Depot as part of its Hardware Holiday Giveaway. Subscribe to the newsletter between December 15 and December 20 and you are eligible to win. It's a win-win as the newsletter contains lots of remodeling tips and news on home products. Enter now.

The "American Dream" of home ownership has been restrained this year due to the economy and credit contraction. But builders, in order to stay in business, have to entice those buyers who are in the market to buy their homes. This has forced many of the builders to do things to stand out of the crowd. Some have gone cheap, using lesser materials and building to the bare minimum of construction codes. Others have gone green by building homes that may cost more upfront but will be stable, ...

It's time to start thinking about holiday safety once again. These tips are brought to you by CableOrganizer, a provider of cable, wire and equipment management solutions. Lights and Decorations Only purchase UL-listed electrical decorations and extension cords. Make sure all decorations placed outdoors are rated for outdoor use. If you are not sure, check the color-coded UL mark on the product package. A green UL mark indicates indoor-only usage and a red UL mark indicates the product ...

Although it resembles a film you saw in elementary school, this 10-minute clip on how to build an igloo is entertaining and informative. The narrator runs through the basic history of igloos and shows how Eskimos create one using nothing more than snow and a knife. >I didn't realize the difficulty in creating the spiral pattern with the snow blocks. Building one takes true skill. With winter upon us, could this be a project for your backyard?