Construction is an important industry and continues to grow each year in the United States of America. While we tend to think of construction as projects involving massive buildings or upgraded roadways, it also includes the smaller projects needed for home renovation, like building a deck or putting in an addition.
Whether you are building for a general contractor or building in your own family room, it is important to consider the materials you are working with. Some materials are sustainable and come from green production practices while others have a more harmful impact on the environment when they are made.
Eco-friendly construction is a practice that helps preserve the Earth’s resources and minimize the negative impact of building on the environment. Let’s take a look at some of the recent innovations in sustainable building materials that should inform your next project.
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Renewable Materials
The first metric to determine how sustainable certain building materials are is renewability. Essentially, can the material that is taken from the environment to make it be replaced through natural processes? The most obvious example of a renewable building material is lumber, since trees can be planted and grown to replace those used for construction.
Some materials, even if they are produced with sustainable practices in mind, may not be naturally renewable, such as concrete, plastic, aluminum, and glass. The net effect of using these materials is fewer resources in the natural world, whereas wood can be replenished, along with recycled materials, biomass, and even agricultural waste.
Efficient Construction
Efficiency is another key aspect of sustainable building. While some materials may be better for the environment, using higher quantities to build could make it not worth it in the end.
For example, let’s say you are putting up a pole barn for your agricultural business. Wooden trusses for the roof have to be pretty hefty and can take up a lot of space, resulting in higher material usage. However, if those 24-foot trusses are made of steel instead, then far fewer materials will be required for construction.
As an added benefit, there will be more headroom in the building for storage, so you may not have to build as large of a structure, damaging less land. Sometimes sturdy and efficient materials have an advantage over more natural materials like lumber.
Environmental Testing
Safety should be a priority whenever you are tackling a construction project, whether it is a massive structure or a small bathroom renovation. Fortunately, there are plenty of simple testing methods that you can access yourself without having to hire professional services.
Before starting a project in your home, you can get an at-home asbestos test kit to see if the area you will be working on poses a danger to air quality. You can also test for lead in your paint or piping before a project to see if lead-infected dust could cause health issues during demolition.
Focusing on environmental testing before construction can save you a lot of hassle and unforeseen health issues once the project begins.
Unique Building Materials
We all know about the basic construction materials like wood, metal, concrete, stone, and even clay. Recent innovations in sustainable construction have uncovered other unique materials that are eco-friendly and can still get the job done for your projects.
First, there is the always-reliable method of upcycling. Upcycling is a simple way to ensure your yard is eco-friendly and your home has a smaller environmental impact. Rather than throwing away all old materials, try turning them into something new, like transforming old barrels into patio chairs.
There are plenty of alternative building materials that make for eco-friendly construction as well. Cob is an organic building material that uses subsoil, wood, and even straw for structural building.
Cork is a renewable material that can create flooring, ceiling panels, and walls. Hempcrete is a mixture of sand, hemp fibers, and limestone that is more breathable than concrete and quite sturdy when it dries.
Even recycled plastic can be compressed into sturdy structural material that helps remove potential pollutants from the environment and turns them into useful building resources.
Sustainable Construction Preserves the Only Planet We Have
Unless NASA or Elon Musk have something insane to announce, we must learn to live sustainably on THIS planet. That means prioritizing eco-friendly practice to preserve the Earth’s natural resources as much as we can, including during construction.
Even if you are just crafting some furniture for your home, you can opt for sustainable materials that reduce the impact on the environment. Whether you focus on efficiency in material usage or choosing resources that are naturally renewable, the decisions you make while building will impact the natural world around you. Take that into consideration before starting your next construction project.
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