Green Building - Ideas for an affordable energy efficient home

Hey I'd like to gather some ideas about constructing an energy efficient home.

So far I'm thinking of an 800 sq. ft. ranch with full basement, and 2.5 car garage.

What recycled materials might I be able to get for free, or next to nothing?

What kinds of recycled materials have the highest R values?

What materials would make for a good roof?

Thanks for any suggestions

Straw bale and styrofoam concrete forms are two options. Recycled construction materials can be found on craigslist or freecycle sometimes, otherwise check with local second hand home improvment stores like Habitat for Humanity outlets. It also helps to be friends with contractors and beg them to pick up extra leftovers from construction sites - my husband brings home all sorts of interesting stuff from his electrician job sites.

Visit salvage yards and surplus building suppliers. If there are houses being demolished in the area, you may be able to find recyclable building materials. If clever, you can recycle many items. Windows, doors, bricks, etc.

Here's a list that shows some R values of building materials: http://www.coloradoenergy.org/procorner/stuff/r-values.htm

There are roofing materials available that are made from recycled plastic and rubber. EcoStar has an imitation slate product made from old tires and other recycled rubber. It's expensive.

I had read of "rammed earth" building methods that are energy conserving. I don;t know how well it would be accepted in your area though.
hard to get much cheaper than "dirt".

Hey thanks for the great ideas.

I have looked into earth bermed houses, and am still considering it.

if you are refferring to my post, I am not speaking of earth bermed homes.

Rammed earth is exactly what it sounds like. Earth is pounded in a form to form the walls. Very labor intensive but materials are...well...dirt cheap.:o

google it if you are interested.

Oh ok, I took them as being the same, I gotchya.

I'll look into rammed earth houses as well.

Rammed earth sounds nice, I'll google it. Do you know of any other resources to look at?

Go to www.amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) and type 'rammed earth homes' into their search engine. There are many books on rammed earth and adobe homes as well as on building energy efficient homes.

Have you considered any of the modern "modular" homes that have recently gained recognition? I believe a design by one company debuted their project at the West Coast Green event last year.

I want to say it was Michelle Kaufman, but I may be mistaken.

I also came across a contact who imports pre-fab bungalo homes from Indonesia which uses organically harvested wood.

Truly amazing the kind of stuff that you'll find out there these days.

There is no above ground home that is as efficient as an earth-bermed home. Soil on 3 sides with a good roof and windows with (summer overhang) facing south.

Just use caution when building a berm house. I'm living in a '70's -vintage berm house located on a slope; the open side faces south, as it should. The backfill on the berm side is the native limestone excavated from the site; here in the Ozarks, there's not really any soil, just this limestone! So now, anytime it rains good, the berm side of the house leaks water between the wall and slab and floods the floor. Also, after 30+ years of the top of the hill pushing on the north wall, the tops of the walls are leaning southward, the slab is cracking parallel to the berm wall and the whole house is headed downhill! The landlord could not run fast enough to GIVE me this house. My wife and I can't wait to move out. Just a little insight; if you build berm, choose location and materials wisely. Apart from these issues, the house seems pretty thermally stable. This past winter,with no heat on, I didn't see the indoor temp go below 50 (down to lower than 30 outside); in summer, without cooling, no more than about 85 (100-plus outside).

I've lived in an earth bermed house for over 20 years, and you should be aware of some of the drawbacks.

1) You can only have windows on one side (more or less) which limits natural lighting and ventilation.

2) Humidity CAN be a problem as well as water infiltration. Repairs are very expensive and messy.

3) Financing options are limited, and resale value is not as favorable as conventional homes.

4) It may be difficult or impossible to satisfy codes for fire egress openings if all bedrooms are not on the exposed side.

5) Just because a house is "under ground" doesn't mean that iit will be extremely energy efficient. That's only one part of the picture.

I've been involved in home construction my entire adult life, and I've been building energy efficient conventional construction for several years. You can build a very energy efficient, cost effective, comfortable healthy home with more or less conventional methods. You can find information about it here: http://factricity.com/category/energy-efficient-new-construction/

and here: http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11310

also try Googling for "air tight drywall"

If you do go with earth bermed construction my personal opinion is that permanant (styrofoam) form concrete is hands down the best way to go. It's a great system - for many reasons.

Good luck.

You May want to investigate Spray Foam as an insulation.

The extra cost of this product (vs. fiberglass) will usually pay itself off in 3-4 years due to the energy savings and then you can pocket the savings for the life of the home.

There are some soy based foams (search for bio based foam)

Kindly,

Brian

You may find many people advertising for this product.

The prescribed r-value may be decent, but you need to be concerned with this product for two reasons:

1) Compaction - much like celluose, this may eventually settle in your walls (leaving the uppermost portion uninsulated - this is where the rising heat will escape in the winter).

2) Moisture - a wall or ceiling leak can make this act like a sponge.

You may want to check out closed cell insulation.

Here's a great article on <a href="http://www.handyamerican.com/articles-green-home-building.asp">Green Home Building</a>. Good luck and stay green!