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Sustainable Construction Materials to Consider for Your Dream Home

Photo by: Bigstockphoto
Photo by: Bigstockphoto

What’s better than finally constructing the house of your dreams? Using sustainable, eco-friendly construction materials!

The fact is, building a home – or any structure for that matter – affects the environment negatively. Apart from the greenhouse emissions from large factories, construction companies destroy forests and quarry entire mountains for materials used to build homes.

On top of that, processing and transporting these materials from the factory and into different vendors require electricity, heat, etc. Essentially, all these activities are bad for the environment. You can do your part in preserving natural resources and reduce your carbon footprint by using eco-friendly construction materials. In today’s post, we are listing down some of the best construction materials to choose from:

Cordwood

Cordwood is a type of recycled wooden material that utilizes stubby, rounded pieces of wood stacked into a wall. The pieces of wood are held together with mortar, creating a solid surface with excellent insulation and heat storage properties. Cordwood looks like firewood but is more eco-friendly. Cordwood helps create an energy-efficient home. The material is lightweight and sturdy. Using cordwood also reduces waste materials that end up in landfills.

Adobe

Adobe is one of the oldest construction materials in the world. And part of adobe’s appeal is its low environmental impact. Adobe is a hard-wearing construction material. It can be used to fortify walls and add personality to any living space. Constructing adobe bricks might be labor-intensive but the durability and energy-saving benefits of this sustainable material make it an excellent choice for green homes!

Ceramic Earth

Ceramic earth is made from mixing adobe with clay. The mixture is then exposed to high temperatures to harden.  Ceramic earth usually comes in brick and tube form. As a building material, ceramic earth is waterproof, quake resistant and resistant to molds and mildew. Apart from its durability, ceramic earth is popular for its green processing.

Rammed Earth

Rammed earth is a technique used to make sturdy building material. The technique utilizes earth, chalk, lime, gravel, and other natural material and turns it into sustainable building construction. A portion of Portland cement is added to the natural material to act as a binder. The cement also boosts the durability of the finished product. Rammed earth is completely man-made and of course, totally eco-friendly!

Pneumatically Impacted Stabilized Earth or PISÉ

PISÉ is very similar in look and finish with rammed earth. But making PISÉ is less labor intensive than rammed earth. A one-sided form is applied over the building foundation and then earth and Portland cement are added. The mixture is then sprayed on the one-sided form over the foundation of the building.

Wood Foam Insulation

Did you know that insulation accounts for 50% of a home’s energy consumption? And that you could be wasting energy right now with a poorly insulated home?

A well-insulated home will save you thousands of dollars in utility cost every year! Using earth-friendly insulation material doubles the sustainability of your green home! Food foam insulation is more eco-friendly than your average insulation foams. Developed by German scientists, wood foam insulation is made from recycled ground wood pumped with gas. The final product is a material that reduces air leaks and heat loss just as effectively as standard insulation material.


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