Green Building - Green Building Construction and Building Materials

This new forum topic has generated no responses. In discussion with a friend, his response was, "Who can afford them?" I asked him if he could tell me something about some of those products. He, of course, could not respond.

My questions is what are some of the green building products and green building construction techniques? Our goal here is to develop a resource for our members to learn about green building, its techniques, materials used, and sources for our readership.

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we do see more adoption in the commercial/govt areas than private, tho,,, just takes some time,,, as w/anything else, most bldrs're reluctant to enter into something who's profits're difficult to predict.

if i recall correctly, recycling took some time, too,,, when tax credits're more prevalent, more owners'll jump on it,,, already icf construction's growing well.

I think we are starting to see more and more products coming into the market that are green and that are affordable, functional and beautiful.

I'm in the process of building a new home and where it's economically feasible - I choose green products. What do I mean by economically feasible? If there is an up charge to go with a green product that will save energy - as long as the difference is recouped within five years or less, then it's worth it. For instance I have chosen a radiant heating system vs. a forced air system. The up charge is significant but the lower energy costs will be repaid in less than five years. At this point I'm not going with solar PV panels. The cost per kilowatt for PV generated power is much higher than what it costs from the local utility.

At this point going green, will cost you more green in most areas. When green companies can supply products to the masses that are priced comparably to the other non green products then we will see many more choices and a willingness for the general public to embrace these products.

Now to the original question:
One of the products that I will be using in my house is called "Paperstone". This is countertop material that is made out 100% recycled paper products. Per sqft. it is about half the cost of granite. It is very durable and low maintenance. It is also a beautiful product that looks very similar to honed granite.

I will also be using dimmable CFL's throughout the house with timers/motion sensors in the children's rooms.

Windows are all high efficiency.

Dishwasher will be Bosch. Bosch has a high energy star rating and is working very hard to become a green company. All the other appliances are high efficiency. The stove top will be induction as this is about 90 - 95% efficient versus 50% efficiency of most other cooking methods.

The house is oriented to and designed for passive solar with concrete floors that will be dyed a dark brown to achieve a high solar gain.

Products with low or no VOC's will be used.

Rain collectors for the outdoor sprinkler system will be used.

2 flush system toilets - one short flush for liquid, a double flush of 1.5 gals for solids.

All faucets and showerheads will be 1.5 GPM.

These are just some of the ways that I'm choosing to build my new house. Keep in mind that my decisions are largely influenced by the bottom line. I wish there were more more choices at lower cost that would allow me to implement far more green features.

I am going for a completely green second floor, the walls are going to be from straw bales, lighting will be supplied by a photovoltic solar panel, heating is from a solar water heater and the water from a the shower will go to the garden. I am not a profesional builder but have some experience but still I am hoping to do most of the work myself, I have lots to learn but have met people who have done this, also the internet is an excellent learning tool.............

Kayas brings up a great point.

During a greener gadgets blogcast put on by inhabitat.com, a blogger raised the issue of this "green" products production frenzy as a dichotomy of doing more damage to the environment than good. (Speaker was addressing a number of solar gadgets that may seem fun and cool, but would most likely end up filling one of the nation's overwhelmed landfills)

Thus he raised the issue of whether continuous innovation and production of "green' products may have an adverse effect just for the sake of trying to go green?

Kayas brings up a great point.
Thus he raised the issue of whether continuous innovation and production of "green' products may have an adverse effect just for the sake of trying to go green? John, continuous innovation is necessary because of some wrong turns. Some mistakes will be made and things thought to be green will be harmful to the environment, but once that is discovered, stop making that, and move on to something different. Green products are such a small percentage of the total market. Why stick with products that we know are bad for the environment? The more we learn about green or supposedly green products, the better.

Filled up landfills might be our best places to mine for raw materials in the future, anyway.

Lately I've been looking into OVE (Optimum Value Engineering) framing. It basically reduces the amount of lumber needed to frame a house. The way it works is every piece of lumber lines up vertically. The truss bears on a single top plate and lines up directly with the wall stud below it. In this way, you can eliminate some 2x's for the top plate because the trusses are bearing directly above the studs and do not need two top plates to support them. The wall studs get spaced out to 24" centers, saving more lumber. OVE framing is a good way to reduce lumber material and ultimately your carbon footprint.

This method can be costly though. There is a lack of laborers trained to perform this sort of framing, it is a bit more intensive.

What kind of snow load you you expect with this type of trussing to support?

From what I know OVE or stack framing is considered and equal and alternative method to conventional framing. Which, in the temperate zones I am used to designing for, the roof structure would be rated at 50 psf dead+live. However I am unfamiliar with areas of the country that experience a lot more snow, and consequently I am unsure if stack framing meets this demand.

Now that we mention colder climates, it worth noting that OVE framing offers higher wall R values. This is accomplished because there is more room in the walls for insulation since the studs are spaced on 24" centers.

Stack framing can also be implemented with 2x6's instead of 2x4's offering more space for isulation and an even higher R value. It is said that using 2x6's typically requires around the same amount of board-feet of lumber as using 2x4's in conventional framing. Board-feet is a number that quantifies the actual amount of lumber used, taking into account the cross-sectional area of the board in question, 2x6 in this case.

Just as a personal preference (and living in hurricane central), I wouldn't even build a shed with 24" OC framing.

As for the studs, your going to have to special order from the mill the studs, as they are now an odd length.

Pre-cut studs are made for 1 bottom and 2 top plates to make an 8' wall. You've just shortened the wall by 1.5", so now need a 1.5" longer stud. That means special milling, or taking a full 8' and cutting it down (more waste, labor and materials).

When I was builder shopping, not one builder I called would build using 2x6's unless and specifically at the request of the homeowner, and would be charged accordingly. The extra 2" in a wall just wasn't worth it. Might be in super cold climates, in hot climates, the attic and top quality windows are where you insulation is best served.

I've installed CFL's where possible and have a well insulated attic.

as a personal preference i would hesitate to build a wood frame structure along the coast period.

you are correct. stack framing is miles away from being able to be implemented efficiently and on a continuous basis. Our industry is tailored to the way we build, and why wouldn't it be? Lumber sizes seem to be one of the major setbacks for OVE framing. For this and other reasons we haven't actually built any homes like this.

This site has a lot of info:
http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/Whole-House-Systems/advance-framing-techniques

It's rare that the structure itself is the weak spot for wind, it's almost always the roof and roof> structure attachment that fails. Once the roof is gone, all bets are off, regardless of what was used to frame it. We'd need to built the roof out of concrete slabs are well.

I recall reading years ago about a framing system where the roof truss and wall elements and the floor joists were all one
piece truss.
These were raised as a single piece truss with a crane. Openings for windows and doors would have to be cut after the main units were raised.
I know most of these kind of ideas limit the width of many stuctures but for many of us paying the cooling and heating bills smaller is better then larger.
I think these were designed by the US forest service. Seemed pretty green to me as for not creating waste materials.