Just like buying organic food at the grocery store, you can buy organic products for your home but it can get really confusing, with so many green terms that mean similar yet different things. Just ask a simple question … is bamboo organic?
- Most bamboo is grown organically because it requires no irrigation or fertilizers.
- Bamboo is natural but the processes used to convert it to fabric determine whether the products are natural. A mechanical process creates bamboo linen which is natural, but most bamboo fabric is made using chemicals and not considered natural.
- Fair trade has developed for commodities like coffee and tea. Fair trade crafts are growing but it's difficult to maintain uniform fair trade standards for the production of crafts. Fair trade products are produced by artisan groups offering fair wages, like the hammocks recently profiled in our homeowner library.
Offer – A proposal outlining terms and conditions for the purchase of a property that may be accepted, rejected, or countered by the seller. If accepted, the offer becomes a contract.
One-on-One – The application of a single ply of roofing over the substrate, followed by the application of a second single ply over the first (phased application).
On-Grade – Pertaining to the location of a finished floor with no portion below ground, and with the floor and the ground in contact or separated by less than 18 inches of well-ventilated space.
Open Valley – Method of valley construction in which shingles on both sides of the valley are trimmed along a chalk line snapped on each side of the valley. Shingles do not extend across the valley. Valley flashing is exposed.
Option – The right to purchase a property under certain terms and conditions, usually for a specific price and during a specific period of time.
Organic – Composed of hydrocarbons or their derivatives, or of plant or animal matter.
Origination Fee – A fee charged by a lending institution for processing the paperwork on a loan. This is in addition to any points which the lender may charge. See also processing fee.
Oriented Strand Board (OSB) – A structural panel made of wood strands sliced in the long direction and bonded together with a binder under heat and pressure.
Outbuilding – A structure in the yard that's related to, but not attached, the main building.
Overhang – That portion of the roof structure that extends beyond the exterior walls of a building.
Overlay Shingle – A one-piece base shingle to which overlay pads, consisting of an additional layer of asphalt and granules, are applied in random patterns to simulate two-piece laminated shingles.
