Building Green - Getting Started Part III

Building Green - Getting Started Part III

          Here is the green picture for the day; it is a picturesque sunset illuminating some drifting clouds. Sunsets like this are commonplace out around country farmland. What is the most perfect sunset you have ever seen?

 

Picturesque Sunset

       

           Try This!

          Sometimes, we might find solutions to problems in the most obvious places, right outside our windows in fact. Energy efficiency is a major part of green building, and some great opportunities to increase the energy efficiency of a building, are in the categories of heating, cooling and lighting. Try this: use the Sun and windows to your advantage. Open the blinds, curtains and drapes during the day and let that natural light shine in. Natural light is very healthy for us and can reduce lighting costs by up to 60%. Also, this sunlight will provide passive solar gain heating, which means when sunlight strikes the surfaces of the inside of your building, this sunlight heat energy will be absorbed, and then radiated back into the air in the building's interior. This will heat up your house and can reduce heating costs by up to 50%.  

Let Natural Light Shine Through Windows

          Also, try slightly opening your windows in the evening at dusk and then leaving them this way throughout the night. Excess heat that has built up throughout the day will escape and leave your house cool for the next morning.

          Sometimes, solutions are simple, we just have to look in the right places for them. At the end of this post, there will be links to some helpful resources.

Structural Steel

          Using lumber for the main structure of a building is the traditional method of construction for residential buildings. Lumber is inexpensive, and is easily worked with, shaped and installed. Lumber has been the choice structural material for decades. However, lumber is also subject to cracking, splitting, warping, twisting and rotting. 

Rotting Structural Lumber

          From an environmental perspective, structural lumber is manufactured as dimensional lumber, which means that structural lumber is solid wood, and is cut from a tree log that is the same length as the lumber, or longer. This fact means that old-growth trees are the desired source for this lumber. Most mature, old-growth trees are not a sustainable resource, and their depletion means old-growth forests are declining as well.

 

Structural Lumber Is Cut From Mature Trees and Forests

          Old growth forests provide habitats for very specialized species that cannot live anywhere else. These forests provide: fallen logs, old tree stumps, shaded forest floors, hollow tree cavities and high treetop canopies, among other micro-habitats. Iconic wildlife like hawks, owls, woodpeckers, deer and chipmunks need these habitats to survive.

Forest Wildlife Needs Protection

        Steel and aluminum structure members are great green alternatives to dimensional lumber. These metal alternatives do not crack, split, warp, twist or rot, and are lighter than dimensional lumber. Steel members can be made from up to 50% recycled content, and can be recycled. Aluminum members can be made from up to 100% recycled content and can be 100% recycled. 

Metal Structural Members For Interior Structure

           Metal members are great for interior structure, however, do not use metal members for exterior structure. Metal members are very conductive of heat, and can reduce the heating and cooling energy efficiency of your building, by allowing easy escape, or infiltration of heat. 

          When you use metal structural members for the interior structure of your building, you can greatly reduce the amount of structural lumber that goes into your building, and contribute to the overall "green-ness" of your building!   

Links To Helpful Resources

         
          For all Canadian  and U.S. residents, here is a website about Bailey Metal Products Limited. This company is a supplier of metal framing members.

http://www.bmp-group.com/

          For Western Canada and U.S. residents, here is a website about SCAFCO Steel Stud Company. This company is a supplier of metal framing members.

 http://www.scafco.com/


           For all Canadian  and U.S. residents, here is a website about Imperial. This company is a supplier of metal framing members.

http://www.imperialgroup.ca/

          Thank you for reading, I hope you learned something new. Stay posted for more sustainable building information and helpful resources on the Belac Construction Green and Sustainable Building Blog!

What a great post! Encore! Encore!

Building Green - Getting Started Part II

Building Green - Getting Started Part II

          Here is  the green picture for the day; it is a beautiful lily flower resting effortlessly on a pond's surface. It reminds me of the hikes I used to go on when I was younger, through creeks, ponds and lakes.

Beautiful Lily Flower

          It is amazing how much you can learn when you search for ways to enhance or improve upon a traditional way of doing something. You will find that you learn much more about the tradition itself, the principals behind the tradition, as well as alternative ways of performing the same tradition which in many cases is easier, cost-effective, efficient and brings us more benefits than if we had not look for these ways. New ideas and innovations are born this way. 

          Sustainable building innovations are born each day, as we have found that our traditional building methods cause many environmental problems. By searching for alternative ways of building, we have developed new products that are less harmful, are recycled and can be recycled. Traditional products have even been designed to do their job much better. Lights that bring more light with less energy, insulation that keeps more heat in and let less heat escape, lumber products that are stronger and straighter. We have benefited from these innovations, but so will the environment and the wildlife that inhabits it. At the end of this post, there will be links to some helpful resources.

Crystal-Clear Pond

Curious Blue Jay

 

Butterfly Get-Together

Sheathing 

          Sheathing comes in four major types: plywood, oriented-strand board, gypsum board and fiberboard. There are unique benefits to each of these types of sheathing.

Plywood 

Plywood

          Plywood is a great green option. Plywood has the potential to come from a sustainable source if you choose bamboo plywood or poplar plywood. Poplar, like bamboo, grows quickly and so, is renewable; there is little energy used when plywood is manufactured; plywood is a very natural product, and so, there are no toxic chemicals used in plywood manufacturing; and, to top it all off, plywood can be recycled.  

Oriented-Strand Board

Oriented-Strand Board

          Oriented-Strand Board is usually made from aspen, and recycled wood waste. Aspen is also a fast-growing tree species, and is a renewable source of wood. However, oriented-strand board consumes much energy in manufacturing and uses a chemical called phenol formaldehyde in most products. Phenol formaldehyde can off-gas and be harmful. There are products that do not contain this chemical, however. So look for formaldehyde-free products.

Gypsum Board

Gypsum Board

          Gypsum Board is highly recyclable. The gypsum in the board can be reused, most often back into other gypsum products, but can also be used in concrete production. Also, gypsum board has the highest resistance to degradation. Gypsum board uses much energy in manufacturing, but not as much as oriented-strand board.

Fiberboard

Fiberboard

          

          Fiberboard is made from high amounts of recycled fiber and wood materials. However, fiberboard consumes much energy in manufacturing and uses a chemical called urea formaldehyde in most products that can off-gas as well. Also, fiberboard is difficult to recycle because of the chemicals used to manufacture it.

           

          Of the above choices, plywood is the most sustainable type of sheathing. Gypsum board comes in a close second.

          When looking for green sheathing products, remember to check for Forest Stewardship Council Certification. Their certification label is shown in Building Green - Getting Started Part I of this blog. This label ensures that you are getting lumber products from well managed forests.

          Sheathing accounts for a large portion of a building's construction materials. Choosing sustainable sheathing plays a major role in creating a green building!

Links To Some Helpful Resources

             For all Canadian builders, here is a site about Taproot Distribution. This company is a Canadian supplier of bamboo panel and sheathing products, including plywood.

          http://www.taproot.ca/

          For Western Canada residents, here is a site about the Canadian Plywood Association. This company is a Western Canadian supplier of bamboo panel and sheathing products, including plywood.

          http://www.canply.org/english/

          For all Canadian and U.S. builders, here is a site about CertainTeed. This company is a sustainable building materials supplier, and is a provider of gypsum board among many other green products.

          http://www.certainteed.com/

          Thank you for reading, I hope you learned something new. Stay posted for more information and helpful resources on the Belac Construction Green and Sustainable Building Blog.

"I think our nest dropped down there."

Building Green - Getting Started Part I

Building Green - Getting Started Part I

         Building green is a creative process that involves taking a new and fresh approach to building design. Whether you're a new home constructor, renovator or re-modeller, green building techniques can be implemented in a variety of ways. At the end of this post, there will be links to some helpful resources.

          When designing, we must consider the goals of sustainable construction, which include:

• using building materials made from more sustainable sources; 

• creating ways to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, and/or ways for buildings to use less energy; 

• minimize the impact of construction waste, toxins and other impurities on the environment

         Sustainable sources often means renewable sources, or sources that can "grow back" quickly. The building materials that use these sources may include:

• lumber for,
• wood framing, flooring, furniture, trim and cabinetry;
• sheathing for,
• exterior walls, roofing and flooring;

•  structural steel for
• framing, flooring and roofing;

•  masonry materials (brick, stone, blocks, concrete etc.) for
• foundation, walls, exterior finish and landscape;

• roofing materials
• doors and windows
• insulation
• paints, caulks and adhesives

           In addition to using sustainable sources, we must consider using materials that are bio-degradable; this means that the earth is able to easily "digest" the materials, once we dispose of them.

          Sometimes, it is possible to substitute a material that is commonly used for a purpose, for another material with the same integrity, yet is sustainable. For example, framing members are commonly made from lumber. Conventional lumber sources, such as mature forests, are not a sustainable source. However, steel or aluminum framing members can be used for the same purpose, and are a renewable and recyclable resource.

Lumber   

          The conventional sources of lumber for construction are an issue that involves major aspects of wildlife and environmental degradation. A highly renewable alternative is bamboo. Bamboo can be used for most of the purposes of conventional lumber. Bamboo is highly renewable because it grows back very quickly.  Bamboo can be used for furniture, flooring, cabinetry, decorative purposes and structural purposes.

Bamboo Flooring and Cabinetry

          Also, consider using reclaimed wood or underwater lumber for decorative purposes, cabinetry and furniture. Reclaimed wood is wood that has been re-used; this wood comes mostly from old buildings. Underwater lumber is lumber that has been recovered from sunken logs.

Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

Rustic - Style Coffee Table Made From Underwater Lumber

          Using sustainable sources of lumber has a major impact on the "green-ness" of a building and in many cases, sustainable lumber looks better, cleaner, and can give a unique character to a building that other sources cannot.

          Also, remember to look for lumber products that are certified under an organization that gathers lumber from responsibly managed forests. Responsibly managed forests means forests that are not hap-haphazardly clear-cut. These forests' managers respect wildlife, biodiversity, species at risk, water and land quality, and ensure they do not cut down too much at a time. 

          The Forest Stewardship Council has a great certification system; their stamp looks like this:

FSC Certification Stamp

          

          When a lumber product has this stamp, it is certified under the Forest Stewardship Council, and has been gathered from well managed forests.

          When you consider the above ways to improve the sustainability of the lumber you use, you will be heading on a great and rewarding path to building green!

Links To Some Helpful Resources

         Here is a site for Ontario builders. This site helps you find green building products and services that are available in Ontario.

          ontariogreenspec.ca/ 

          Here is a site for Eastern Canada residents.‎ This site is about The Healthiest Home, a green building supplier, and the products they offer.

          http://www.thehealthiesthome.com/

 ‎         To learn more about the Forest Stewardship Council,

          https://ca.fsc.org/

          Thank you for reading, I hope you learned something new. Stay posted for more information and helpful resources on the Belac Construction Green and Sustainable Building Blog.

"Mom... did you know.... your fur is as soft as mine?"

        

Building Green - What It Means

         Building Green - What It Means

       
          Building green is not as challenging as it may seem, and is a rewarding process.

Building green considers implementing new, and/or altered designs into the common way of constructing, to create building structures that are environmentally sustainable;

• building green considers using building materials made from more sustainable sources; 

• building green considers creating ways to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, and/or ways for buildings to use less energy; 

• building green will minimize the impact of construction waste, toxins and other impurities on the environment

          The above goals can be achieved with patience, diligence and much research! Research plays a major role because with knowledge of how to effectively build green through articles, books and the Belac Construction Green and Sustainable Building Blog, and by knowing which suppliers offer sustainable building products, the process becomes much easier! Keep yourself updated and knowledgeable.

          Also, consider recycling as much construction waste as you can. Search for waste bin rentals and recycling services in your area. Recycling companies may require you to separate your waste, so make sure to inquire about their requirements. Recycling construction waste takes a huge burden off of landfill sites, which consist of over 40% of construction waste in some areas.

          In this blog you will find information on sustainable building and helpful resources.

Who Is Belac Construction?

          Belac Construction is a green construction company that values constructing sustainable and energy efficient buildings, while conserving natural resources. Through this construction method, we strive to improve human and ecosystem health. 

We specialize in Roofing, Exterior, and Wood and Steel Structure.

Contact: 226-239-0278 or Email: belacconstruction@contractor.net for a free estimate!