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Searching for
Green
Living Supplies
to use inside an Eco-friendly, toxic-free Home?
How
we choose to live makes up a big part of us going
green; whether we recycle, use energy efficient light
bulbs, or support sustainable eco-friendly farming,
every component that we choose to commit to adds up to
make a huge difference for our earth and our own
lives. But what about where we live those
lives? The greatest portion of our lives are spent in
the dwellings we call home, so it isn't so much of a
surprise that a good portion of the carbon output the
world over, comes from those same domestic dwellings.
On top of being generally inefficient, the majority of
modern spec style homes are creating more and more
living environments that are devoid of individuality.
Luckily, there's a sprawling variety of building
styles in the eco-friendly home movement, allowing the
home owners to express exactly what they feel
concerning their personal living environment; and also
allowing them to keep their goal of minimal impact on
the eco-system a heavy priority. The importance of how
our living space effects how we feel from day to day,
often gets brushed under the rug. From every level of
perception, our home can shape our state of mind and
our health, from how the walls are situated, to the
color the are painted, to the fumes we inhale because
of that paint. What's so awesome is that since where
we live is going to shape us on a psychological and
physiological level, it very well may be the most
proactive, external tool we have toward achieving a
state of genuine well being.
Let's begin with a blank slate and approach the
process from the point of view of a home builder at
square one. What kind of house do you want?
Options are the least of your worries when it comes to
choosing an eco friendly home. The styles range from
conventional suburban with complete solar power
capacity, to freeform organic with full functioning
off-grid independence. The possibilities are only
limited by your own imagination, since you can
incorporate any of the eco-elements that you are the
most passionate about with a synthesis of your
favorite design styles. How about a passive solar
heated Mediterranean inspired cast earth home with an
internal courtyard that helps to filter air and feeds
off of your grey water drain off? Or, imagine your
very own sleek and contemporary modular home on the
seashore - complete with a solar roof, recycled
material construction, and a deceivingly low price tag
to match! You get the idea. It's mix and match at its
best! So how 'bout I get down to describing the
oh-so-green parts of this earth and eco-friendly home
building equation!
In the
beginning, there was Cobb
In the beginning....there was Cob...and Adobe, but
we'll get to that later. If you're like me and you
heard this term for the first time and had an image in
your head of a building made of corn cobs and mortar
(something like a picnic themed log cabin), you'd be
wrong. Cob is one of the very oldest earthen styles of
home building. It utilizes a mixture of clay, sand and
straw that is capable of being extremely freeform in
construction. This is due to its system of applying
the earthen mixture - not in bricks - but in big,
organically shaped globs - or as they called them back
in the day - "Cobs". These "Cobs" would eventually dry
to form thick insulating walls due to the straw pieces
within the earthen mixture. This component - cob's
insulating properties - is what makes this particular
form of building better suited for extreme weather.
The English and Irish countryside are dotted with cob
structures that remain standing and inhabitable after
hundreds of years, thus testifying to the endurance
and validity of these resourceful straw and earthen
dwellings.
The internal walls of cob structures are often made
with a cob variant named "light clay", which is mostly
straw tossed in a clay slip, much like romaine in a
Caesar salad dressing. This material requires a timber
frame because it's not load bearing, but is highly
insulating and very useful for keeping internal rooms
cozy through a cold, Celtic winter. Cob can be shaped
to portray any type of architecture that your
imagination can project, though the most prevalent
examples of cob are in the "countryside cottage" style
with thick sloping thatched roofs, green painted
wooden doors and shutters, with the cob itself
whitewashed and rough in texture. Incredibly charming
and incredibly practical and earth friendly.
Adobe
Okay, so back to the beginning again...Adobe makes up
some of the very oldest recorded structures in the
world. We're talking millennia here folks. The
thriving Egyptian civilization depended on these
trustworthy clay, sand and water bricks. With their
seemingly inexhaustible supply of materials, and
adobe's perfect fit in a warm, arid climate, the
Egyptians built an empire out of this early match made
in...uhm, earth. The adobe bricks are mixed within
their molds and allowed to dry in the sun before being
stacked on top of one another. Aesthetically, adobe
can also be used to plaster the outside of the bricks
to create a smooth surface, or as flooring that is
then buffed and cured with natural oil. The major pro
of adobe is its wonderful ability to retain heat and
release it very slowly, thereby keeping homes colder
in the day and gently warming them during cooler
nights.
Rammed Earth
Have
questions on the longevity of a house made out of
dirt? Well, just take a look at none other than the
Great Wall of China. That's right, the most impressive
piece of architecture built by man is made from rammed
earth. Rammed is constructed in pretty much the way
it's name describes. The downside to this process for
some is its use of heavy mechanized equipment in most
cases. But the upside is a stunning, layered pattern
in the sediment that occurs and can give any home a
unique and organically occurring artistic touch. Also,
rammed earth homes tend to have a very solid and
peaceful air in its interior while also providing
passive solar heating and cooling properties. It is
recommended that an insulation is applied for climates
with more extreme cool temperatures. The process
consists of a frame being built with approximately 18"
to 24" in fill width and then the earthen mix being
compacted with a pneumatic process.
Poured Earth
Poured earth offers many of the similar benefits as
concrete. It is easily mixed and transported in much
the same way ordinary concrete is. The primary
difference lies in that instead of using sand or
gravel, poured earth uses specific soil types. This
difference gives poured earth a much more organic and
natural feeling that still offers all of the passive
heating and cooling benefits. One added benefit is the
materials highly resistant nature toward the elements,
so it ends up being a much wiser choice for areas
prone to inclement weather. Poured earth's ability
to...well, be poured, also allows you to have a steel
insulating grid in place within the wall, which helps
with the structure's thermal mass and general
strength. Granted, with pluses like low maintenance,
conservation of materials, and fast construction, it
is no surprise that cost could end up being anywhere
between 10% to 20% more than standard home building.
But, with growth in the demand, prices are expected to
wane.
Cast Earth
Cast
earth may very well be the best of both worlds of all
the earthen structure options. Developed by a chemist
who longed to create an easier and more accessible
version of the adobe home he grew up in in Arizona. He
wanted to take a process that, in the past, had been
painstakingly labor and time intensive and put it in
hyper speed by being able to cast set the earthen
mixture instead of slow-forming individual bricks or
compress bit by bit. His answer came in the form of an
earthen mixture complemented by a Plaster of Paris
that has been treated with a retardant in order to
delay the setting process for up to eight hours,
thereby making larger scale projects possible. Cast
Earth is also much more forgiving when it comes to the
variety of soil able to be used, plus it even has a
greater tinsel strength than that of adobe and rammed
earth. Another helpful plus is that cast earth is less
likely to crack, since it expands while setting, as
opposed to shrinking. The organic designs that result
from pouring cast earth are also an attractive
consideration, not to mention that within only one day
your walls would be poured and setting - ideal for
time sensitive projects. As for thermal mass, cast
earth is right up there. And for added insulation
needs, an internal layer of insulation is easily
incorporated into the wall's width before the earthen
plaster mixture is poured.
Earthbag
It
sounds a little bit like a space aged putdown, but
Earthbag is truly a form of sustainable construction.
The idea is simple enough...it's a house made of
bags...full of earth. It also happens to be extremely
strong, insulating and expensive. Back in the day,
burlap was the bag of choice, but now long
polypropylene bags ensure a long lasting earth holding
material. First, a tranvh is dug as foundation, then
earth bag filled and layered in place using barbwire
as an interbag stabilizer. A coat of plaster, shot, or
papercrete finish and protect the outside of the bags,
giving the homes a lovely adobe-like appeal with
gorgeous curves and arches detailing the structure.
Since Nadar Khalili at the Cal-Earth Institute began
experimenting with Earthbag's potential, interest in
this eco-minded technique has grown exponentially.
Strawbale
The
number one reason most home builders end up going with
a type of strawbale construction is its superior
insulating properties, plus the fact that straw is an
extremely sustainable and renewable resource. The only
hindrance is that most areas that allow for strawbale
within their building code will only allow for post
and beam style building with strawbale as insulation.
Still a wonderful alternative, this technique,
however, will only save about 15% of the lumber that
would be needed in building a tradtional house.
Structurally using post and beam is the safe route
given that when strawbales are used for all the load
bearing there could be potential shifting once the
bale has been compressed under weight. The cost ends
up exceeding that of a traditional house once custom
labor is thrown in , like the plastering of all the
walls. It is a good idea to cover the bales with a
breathable and durable material and not something that
would be a complete moisture barrier that may
eventually cause condensation and then rotting of the
straw. This is also why strawbale has become extremely
popular in the dry desert southwestern states.
Earthships
Earthships were created by former architect, now
biotech, Michael Reynolds in response to the litter
crisis that took place in the 1970's. He focused on
designing structures that were built using recycled
materials and completely self sustainable. He
incorporated passive solar heating and cooling, solar
power panels, the recycling of grey water, rain water
collection, waste composting, indoor gardens and much
more. What started out as humble brainchild has grown
to whole communities prescribing to the earthship
design. The expressive nature of the earthship
attracts a lot of people, and the complete off-grid
nature of the structures seal the deal in the end.
Over the years, the design has become more efficient
and has worked out some of the original kinks from the
early 80's. Reynold's Taos, New Mexico based Biotech
business has made several options for construction,
from hybrid earthships, modular, or completely custom.
Cordwood
Cordwood is, in a way, the cooler wooded regions
answer to the southwest's adobe. Using easily
available scrap wood and Portland cement, this style
of building is highly resilient and offers both
thermal mass and excellent insulation. Cordwood also
makes a lot of sense for an eco friendly home builder
living in an area like Washington or the Smoky
Mountains where scrap, firewood sized pieces of lumber
are in abundance and considered waste for the most
part. As opposed to a desert climate, where dirt is
vast and easy to find, and wood is much more scarce,
adobe ends up being a much better choice for those
regions. Cordwood also has a charming appearance that
only requires an outer clear seal, as opposed to
strawbale, which needs full plastering over. Cordwood
is also probably the easiest and the least skill
demanding technique and probably the best for
inclement and cold, snowy weather.
Rock
Also
one of the most ancient forms of building, rock homes
can be some of the most beautiful and enduring around.
Rocks can either be dry stacked or mortared with
cement and offer excellent thermal mass. The act of
building with rock is an extremely Zen and vision
driven talent as the builder creates and solves the
puzzle before them. It is needed to insulate and
plaster the interior walls of the rock in order to
maintain the internal temperature of the home. There
is also an undeniable feeling of security and being
grounded when inside a rock home.
To
sum it all up, there are endless possibilities on how
one can incorporate eco friendly home design into
their next home. You can piece together aspects of all
your favorite and build an eco-hybrid home. Or,
you can go with easy and affordable eco minded
modules. Even a shot-crete dome home could be just
what your eco dreams are leading you to, not to
mention a standard home, simply built to LEEDS
certification and full of green appliances and
features. So, have fun and let your dreams be your
blueprint!
Interested in learning about what else you can do to
turn your home into a greener eco-friendly
home...inside and out? Then catch up with our
Tips for a Green Home
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