Planning to build your own ‘green home’? Have you been considering using


sustainable building materials? Are you confused about what makes a building


material ‘sustainable’ or wonder whether it makes any difference to use them


in the construction of your home?




The building industry to date has relied very heavily on using


energy-intensive materials that have huge environmental costs.  It can cost


quite a lot to extract, manufacture or produce a building material let alone


transport and install it. Sustainable building materials on the other hand


are those that have the lowest possible environmental cost, having lower


production costs with less impact on the environment over their lifetime.




You can gauge how sustainable a building material is by evaluating the


amount of energy it takes (and the impact on the environment) to produce it.


Other factors that effect how green it is include how efficient it is in the


long-term and what it costs to maintain.




It’s possible to make a material more sustainable by recycling or reusing


it, reducing transportation costs, choosing alternative renewable materials


instead of non-renewable ones or using resources that have low energy


requirements. Using sustainable building materials helps the planet simply


because every aspect, from their creation, to their maintenance and disposal


has been carefully evaluated to have the minimum possible impact on the


environment.




There’s a fantastic array of sustainable building materials available today


for the eco-conscious home builder. Fly-ash bases bricks, baked earth,


bamboo, clay, wood harvested from sustainable forests, calcium sand-stone


etc. are some examples of popular sustainable building materials.




When you opt for choosing these materials you help in reducing the


consumption of non-renewable resources worldwide. Authorities estimate that


around 3 billion tons of raw materials are being used every year by


construction activities worldwide which works out to 40 percent of total


global consumption. (Roodman and Lenssen, 1995).




Aside of the impact on the environment using sustainable building materials


will benefit you as a home owner in many ways. It will help you to:




 * Conserve energy in the long run since you will be using energy-efficient


materials in the construction of your home.    




* Experience low or reduced costs related to maintenance and replacement of


materials over the building’s lifetime.




* Experience low costs with remodelling or space configurations.




* Feel the benefits in terms of better health since you will be using


renewable non-toxic materials.




* Be more creative with the design of your home.




So what do you need to look at to gauge how green a particular building


material is? Here are a few questions to consider:




1) Are the materials recyclable, non-toxic and safe for the environment?




2) How does this material contribute to the maintenance of the home in the


long run?




3) Is it possible to source this material locally? Is it easily replenished?




If you are working with building suppliers make sure that you specify your


desire to use local sustainable building materials or communicate that fact


clearly to your building contractor. You can also get really creative in the


design of your home when you use sustainable building materials. For


instance, if you live near the ocean, you could use stones and driftwood in


your home’s construction to give it a totally unique touch.




Using sustainable building materials not only contributes to a healthier


environment but also helps you create an earth-friendly home that’s a true


haven to future generations to come.



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