Plywood Sheets | Renew Resources

How to: Improve Your Eco-Friendly Home Building

On average, every new construction project produces 3.9 pounds of waste per square foot of building area. With mainstream media focusing on lowering CO2 levels for the passed 5 years, it’s easy to get caught up in the mass media hype; forgetting about the other alternative ways to reach a healthly environment; such as, alternative construction-waste management solutions.

This is not to say that everyone who builds a new office or new home plays a “dirty role” in deforestation, or our drinking water crisis, or our “dangerously high CO2 levels.”

Don’t get me wrong, there are trendsetting companies, cultural influencers, and individuals out there who have discovered innovative ways to help both the environment while reducing living expenses.

How?

Easy.

1. Minimise Your Materials. Go Standard Size: Make sure your architect and construction manager commit to your Green building agenda from day one. Let them know exactly which materials you want to minimise and discuss how both parties can prevent wasteful building habits. In other words, you don’t want to build a mansion when all you need is the average-sized Canadian home of 1,800 square feet.

A good idea is to suggest dimensional planning and design rooms based on 4-foot multiples that conform to standard-sized wallboard and plywood sheets. You also want to recycle demolition materials so you can use to build a base for your driveway or sidewalk.

2. Use Recycled Materials to Build Your Home: It takes 400-board-feet of lumber to build a three-bedroom home of 1,500 square feet. A great way to save trees is to simply implement recycled building materials to maximize your Green agenda. So when pieces around your home eventually fall a part or break, you’ll be able to recycle them. Baleboard, Polyboard and Eco-friendly lumber are excellent examples of Green building materials that do an equal–if not better–job than regular wood/lumber.

3. Water Conservation: The drinking water crisis is a story many people simply ignore, and water conservation is bigger of a deal than “high CO2” levels.

Preserve water by installing 3-G or more water pressure limiting devices. I’m sure you’ve heard of 9-year old Mason Perez, who saved his community thousands of gallons of water and money through his science project by simply reducing water pressure. If a nine-year-old can do it, so you.

4. Passive Solar design: Build high windows and invest time and research on passive solar design. Passive solar design helps your home customize to your local climate and naturally heats your home in the winter and cools it during the summer. You’ll also want to position your home where it maximizes natural breezes, shading, and you can even build skylights on your roof to help you reduce heating and air conditioning bills.

5. Safe Floors: Try to limit the amount of stairs in your home. Many houses build stairs for aesthetics alone. By eliminating unnecessary stairs, you’ll invest in safe floors where you can minimise the amount of materials you use. Also, it helps you plan for your future; making it easier for you to get from point A to point B in your home as you age.

Summary

It’s a fact. Construction waste makes up for approximately 40 percent of our landfill. Luckily enough building environmentally conscious abodes isn’t as inconvenient as it was a few decades ago.

With basic online research you and your architect can find Green companies that provide eco-friendly building materials/services. Ultimately, you’ll improve your overall energy efficiency, save a ton of money, and a lot trees.