Using Sustainable Materials For Renovations

Before we can fully understand the use and importance of sustainable materials in renovations, we have to learn what it is first and why is there such big fuzz about its use.

What are sustainable materials?

These are green materials. A perfect example of sustainable material is the bamboo. This means that once you use them, they will be able to replenish or generate their kind. Thus, it will not compromise the environment. However, you should not leave the replenishing to the materials alone. You have to take part in its development by ensuring that as they regenerate themselves, they have the necessary nutrients to grow strong and healthy.

Why use sustainable materials?

A lot of groups have been encouraging the use of these materials. You might ask why? So what if the materials you use are unable to replenish themselves, at least you get the chance to use them, right? Wrong! If everyone thinks this way, just think of how the world will look ten years from now? We are slowly experiencing the wrath of nature because most of us failed to take care of it. If we do not do our share today, the results in the future could be catastrophic.

You can contribute in saving our environment by using sustainable materials whenever you can. Using such materials during renovations is a big help. Just think of how many people renovate their homes. There are few aspects of sustainable you can consider to ensure that you are environmentally responsible. Some of them are identified below.

If you are to renovate your home, use locally developed sustainable materials. It has to be found in your localities to reduce the travel time, expenses and energy. Keep in mind that transporting materials will still create problems in the environment. Automobiles use gas and it emits toxic substances that harm the environment.

You also have to keep important points in mind when choosing materials for the renovation. As much as possible, it should create minimal damage to the environment. They should not only be renewable, they have to be non-toxic as well. Most importantly, they have to be recyclable. Bear in mind that the renovations you make will not last forever. Other changes will be made in the future. The materials you will use should not add more waste. Instead, other people should find different means to use it.

If you are having a difficult time figuring out what to use, consult Green Architects. You will be surprised with the number of choices they have available for you. They can even look around your property and find materials that you can use for the renovation. They can also help you find a supplier. Finding the right supplier is essential to ensure that you get the materials you want. You have to let them know what you need. Most suppliers are not used to sustainable materials. This is why homeowners should help in raising awareness.

All of us have to be environmentally responsible. Our choices will help make that happen. The use of sustainable materials will help restore our natural resources.

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Sustainable Architecture Building Materials - Know The Benefits

Sustainable architecture is a growing trend in today's eco-conscious world. The use of sustainable building materials promotes a healthier home or office as well as a cleaner, better preserved environment. There are many great benefits to designing spaces that use sustainable products and it does not have to be a difficult task.

Definition

What are these? These are products that are made from renewable sources, things that can be replenished and re-grown. They are distinguished from non-renewable ones in several ways. For example, they are classified distinctly because they help conserve things like water, air quality, energy and natural resources.

Typical Ones

Sustainable architecture uses the philosophy that resources are precious and should be used efficiently. So these might include things like products containing recycled elements, or wood products like bamboo that grow back very quickly.

Water saving faucets and plumbing design are certainly part of the "green" movement as are landscaping techniques like drip systems that use as little water as possible. Green materials also include products that are grown or produced locally so that less energy and resources are used up in the transportation of the goods to the building site.

It is also popular to use materials that can be recycled or reused whenever they are no longer functional or necessary in the building anymore. And finally, those that are durable and long-lasting are considered sustainable because they will not need to be replaced often and will thus conserve resources over time.

Advantages

Using "green" ones in sustainable architecture provide advantages to both the environment and those living or working in the new space. They can help reduce the amount of energy needed to power a home or office. They are also safer for the health and productivity of the people in the building as non-green ones often contain harmful toxins. In some cases, green materials can lower the long-term costs of maintain a building and replacing certain features.

And as for the environmental benefits, using sustainable products helps to protect natural raw resources like forests, water, and clean air. According to one study, over 3 billion tons of raw materials are consumed each year for construction and remodeling and using green materials helps to reduce the toll of this consumption.

Sustainable architecture is a smart way to build for the future. It is environmentally responsible and can also be the most economical choice in the long run.

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Natural Stone, The Timeless Sustainable Choice Of The Experts

They used it some 4,500 years ago as the primary building material for one of the most awe-inspiring of the world's seven wonders, the Giza plateau pyramids of Egypt. And about 2,000 years earlier in Britain they used it to build one of the world's greatest enigmas, Stonehenge. Natural stone, the timeless sustainable choice of experts is not a new idea, but it is still being avidly used as a building material today.

The experts who designed and built such potent edifices in Scotland as the Scottish Parliament, the Weston link at the National Gallery of Scotland, and the Museum of Scotland all chose natural stone as a predominant building material. Its unembellished beauty always shines through and its timeless enduring quality sustains down the ages.

A stone is "a piece of rock or hard mineral substance (other than metal), of small to moderate size," according to The Oxford English Dictionary. However, that does not tell us that there are many different types of stone, born from many different kinds of lithification, or rock making, processes, such as sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic stone.

Over the centuries stone masons have discovered which type of stone is best suited for a particular task. Some stone types like granite are best suited for pure strength, while limestone and marble work well for decorative and aesthetically pleasing uses.

Stone can of course be broken down into little pieces and become gravel. A crushing process breaks the stone down until the pieces are more or less the same predetermined size. This allows for a uniform covering for driveways and paths, for example, though gravel has many more uses. It is a satisfyingly low maintenance material that is relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

Natural stone is increasingly becoming popular as a flooring material. It works well with underfloor heating, retaining the heat and thereby making it a very cost-effective choice. It is a naturally durable type of floor covering requiring little maintenance and looking extremely elegant almost forever.

It also works well as the base of a patio, especially in a damp climate where a wooden deck can warp. It doesn't need annually painting or protecting and it will fit right in with the general landscape, which of course is where it came from originally.

Natural stone is an inspired choice for a large open fireplace surround. There's nothing quite like an open fire on a cold evening to bring out the best in people. Relaxing by an open fire as the flames lick lazily up the chimney while sipping a glass of something strong is a great time to appreciate the expert workmanship of stone in such a fireplace, and it is indeed a shame if it isn't there.

This article could go on and on about the virtues of natural stone; there's hardly a situation where it cannot be used to some extent. It is completely sympathetic to the environment, it looks great, it needs little time and effort to maintain and it is relatively inexpensive. Surely that alone is enough good reasons to love it, and certainly why it is the timeless sustainable choice of experts.

David A Robinson
Help and information about using natural stone for domestic and commercial buildings.

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Sustainable Views And Fabric Structures

With Sustainable Design as the most important issue in Architecture today, designers are not only focusing on environmentally friendly materials but also educating their clients on the benefits of their design approach, their use of materials and their method of construction for reaching "Green" status.

The essential aim of Sustainable Design is to produce places, products and services in a way that reduces the use of non-renewable resources, minimizes environmental impact, and relates people to the natural environment. Architectural Fabric Structures have been in use since first introduced by Frei Otto in the early 1960's for temporary expositions. The major benefits were its minimal impact on the environment, its ability to enclose large spaces with little material and, of course, its aesthetic quality. Essentially, these early structures were fine examples of Sustainable Design. Over time, these structures have proven themselves as a permanent building material having been used in retail malls, airports, and sports facilities to name a few.

Everyone (Owner, Designer, Consultant, and Contractor) has an opinion on sustainability and when it comes to fabric structures one could argue that these view points can be broken down into three major components: Design, Materials and Construction.

When it comes to design, it is very important to understand why one wants to be sustainable. Some times it can be a philosophical approach from the owner's point of view, it could be mandated by market segment or there could be financial implications (banks, energy, etc.). I always like to say Design takes time and Green Design takes more time. Make sure your client realizes that too. Current design benefits of fabric structures directed at clients include: day lighting which reduces the need for artificial lighting, UV protection which reduces the risk of skin cancer, water collection which is then used for irrigating plants and other services, solar shading which reduces energy on a building's mechanical system and rarely considered but a growing trend of incorporating a fabric structure as an educational tool that teaches people about UV protection, recyclability, etc.

When it comes to materials and fabric structures, designers look to the three basic components: the structural members, the membrane and the perimeter tensioning system. The structural system is primarily made of steel but aluminum and wood are being considered more often. These materials all have many recyclable attributes and can be specified to be manufactured locally to the site. However, the most important factor in looking to be more sustainable with the structural members is in documenting your work. Saying something is recyclable and having the certified documents to prove it are two different things. It is hard to go back to the origins of the material if you intend to go for a LEED certification or need it for rebates and tax cuts. The perimeter tensioning system which includes tie downs and catenaries can be made with webbing belts, ropes of different compositions or wire rope depending on the load imposed on the structure. The membrane can come from all over the world and fabrication shops varying depending on the material chosen. Some materials have short life spans while others are made of recyclable materials. You can also find materials with 20 to 30 years life spans and are more environmentally friendly than ever before. The same can be said for the membrane as it is for the structural members; document your work and certify its origins. More research needs to be done on the amount of energy required to both make the material and fabricate the finished membrane. I think one will find another added benefit to fabric structures and sustainable design.

Lastly, construction benefits and fabric structures vary from location, place where components were manufactured and what is required to install these structures. Most tensioned fabric structures are designed, engineered and fabricated by "form finding" which means they are designed to be not only structurally efficient but manufactured and installed with little to no waste and energy. Architectural fabric is considered one of the lightest building materials and can create the largest building envelope. The result can have significant impact from plant to site. Less weight and packed to move, membrane, structural steel and components can be shipped to site with fewer trucks and erected with lighter equipment. Properly designed fabric structures may have little impact on the ground with smaller concrete foundations for compression loads and the use of utility cable anchor technology for tension loads. These efforts can have significant saving when the site is being used for temporary structures or deployable structures where reuse is inevitable.

Remember, sustainable design and the use of fabric structures is most successful when ALL three components are considered just keep in mind the views of others.

About the Author:
Samuel J. Armijos, AIA, is Architect and Vice President of FabriTec Structures, a brand of USA Shade and Fabric Structures. He is author of Fabric Architecture: Creative resources for Shade, Signage and Shelter. He resides in Fairfield, NJ. http://www.fabricarchitect.com

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Ecologically Sustainable Building Materials - Options For You To Check Out

Because of the growing impact of the green movement in recent years, more and more people are looking into ways of incorporating sustainability with the construction of homes, buildings, and cities all over the world. The real estate world as a whole has constructions that can occupy up to 2 million acres each year. Because of this, the effects on the environment are not only great, but are also beginning to affect the lives of people themselves. One of the ways of reducing the impact of construction on the environment is through ecologically sustainable building materials. Here are some of the commonly used materials that the real estate industry is beginning to look into.

Bamboo
One of the primary advantages of bamboo as a construction material is its availability, cheap price, and its flexibility. Many Asian countries have long discovered the many uses of bamboo, not only for building homes, but also for medicine and even food, because young bamboo shoots can be cooked for food or turned into herbal medicine. As a construction material, however, it is especially useful in creating homes that can resist natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and hurricanes. This is attributed to the pliant nature of the bamboo. Bamboo can also be formed into certain shapes and patterns by manipulating the shoots from a very young age.

Stone
Another great option to choose from among ecologically sustainable building materials is stone and clay. Stone materials create less pollution when used in construction since they only need to be processed into smaller blocks. These also do not make use of the chemicals which are often incorporated into cement mix. For optimum environmental protection, however, you should make sure that the company from where the stone and clay are bought clean up the site where they quarry the materials.

Wood
Wood is also another of the best sustainable building materials. They are very strong and they are renewable in wholly environmental ways, and are also very visually pleasing, making them aesthetic as well as utilitarian. Depending on the type of wood use, these are also some of the most durable materials, since some types of hardwood are known to live for thousands of years, and can last twice as long. Unlike cement, wood does not tend to crack.

Issues
There are, however, several issues that you must keep in mind in order to improve sustainability and the environmental friendliness in construction through the use of these types of materials. One is to ensure that the wood and bamboo are harvested from wood farms and not from old-growth forests, which threaten the ecological systems that are present in these forests. Also make sure that ancient trees are not used and that the loggers have the appropriate permit to operate in a given area. Although these materials are more sustainable when compared to the steel and cement which are often used in construction, it is still essential that the means used to create them are equally sustainable and in line with environmental protection policies. Through use of these ecologically sustainable building materials, you get not only better real estate properties, but are doing your share of caring for Mother Earth.

About the Author:
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