The American dream of a large, palatial home filled with possessions is dying. Simply put, this concept is no longer a sustainable option. Rethinking dreams and ideals is what environmental consciousness is all about, a spur to something brand-new and exciting.
Many of us really ‘live’ in only a portion of our spacious homes. Usually, those rooms will be the kitchen and living room area. Do we need all that extra space that we are paying to heat, cool and maintain? A small home constructed with eco-friendly living space has multiple advantages. First of all, small living quarters can give the illusion of light and space to rest the soul without large actual size. Manageability in heating and cooling will grant freedom from high monthly overhead, not to mention real estate taxes and maintenance.
The key to smallness is design. Proper design can give efficient kitchen, bathroom and storage space without the appearance of crowding.
A practical component to smaller living space is the need divest oneself of excessive possessions. Emancipation from the care and purchase of multiple wanted items can be revolutionary. Lifestyle simplification is a very positive benefit of smaller living spaces.
Location, location, location. This is the realtor’s rallying cry, an especially important issue when the goal is an eco-friendly lifestyle. The wrong location can put the kibosh on an environmentally efficient living plan.
For instance, will there be an area of routine sunlight for solar panels? Is the soil and location suitable to grow some food? Will there be proper air circulation and drainage to provide some natural cooling for the home? Is there a way to walk or take public transportation when leaving the home for school or work?
Choices of building materials for the ecologically-friendly house are so diverse and creative that they are mind-boggling. We will begin with some concepts to keep in mind. Builder-speak specifies the need for a ‘tight envelope’. Simply put, the better a building keeps out rain, wind, cold and heat, the better the envelope.
An unusual recommendation for tight insulating material is recycled steel. At least 65 tons of steel are scrapped and recycled every year, and it can be used economically in the place of forest products for beams and structural support.
Insulated concrete buildings reportedly saved 20 percent more energy than homes constructed with wood framing in cold climates. The secret is in pouring the concrete into walls with insulation material sandwiched between. Creativity with cement and its forms is practically limitless.
Straw is a by-product of the grain industry that is well-known for its isolative qualities. Animals are bedded with straw. Today, people take advantage of straw by building homes from square bales.At first, this concept may seem a lesson in disaster. What if it becomes wet, or filled with insects?
At first, this concept may seem a lesson in disaster. What if it becomes wet, or filled with insects?
Good questions.
According to the California Straw Building Association, straw will last for thousands of years if kept dry. Dryness is paramount. The key is bonding the straw with stucco and plaster for walls and the outside surface. When that is accomplished, straw bales provide structure and good isolative qualities.
Local building ordinances do not often account for straw construction, but, on a case-by-case basis, authorities can manage the situation positively.
Plastic bags seem the quintessential environmental plague. However, if you have recycled them, they may just turn up as a building resource. Brightly coloured bricks are made from plastic bags, which are very difficult to recycle in other ways. The bags are compressed and placed in a heat mould and forced into blocks of plastic. They are too lightweight to be used as outside or bearing walls for a home but are just right to use for room dividers or outside patios.
Bottles become bricks with just a little bit of attention to their design. The Heineken company originated this concept. The owner of the brewery, Alfred Henry Heineken, visited an island in the Caribbean in the 1960’s and was appalled at the lack of housing. Forthwith the company embarked upon a new, brick-shaped bottle that could be reused and built into housing walls.
Some people think that recycling already-used building products will result in derelict design or poor durability. Nothing could be farther than the truth! Though going through old construction waste and configuring it to meet new construction needs is difficult and time-consuming, it can result in a truly unique tribute to home artistry and design.
An internet service called freecycle.org is a site for people wanting to buy or trade construction materials. Habitat for Humanity retails outlets called ReStores that have used and surplus building supplies for sale. The money garnered from the sales is used to financially aid Habitat’s building endeavours for those in need.
Recycling is truly a momentous endeavour today. The technology to recycle just about everything has geared up and produces products from recycled carpet to reformed glass for windows. Agricultural by-products, cardboard, and paper are routinely shredded into home insulation and pressed into particle board. Recycled plastic foam and concrete are formed into Rasta building blocks, lightweight and extremely durable.
The sustainable home concept is thriving through new technologies and the creativity and innovation of builders everywhere.
Sources:
- Top 15 Green Home Building Techniques – Conserve Energy Future
- Creating Small, Environmentally Friendly Living Spaces – Psychology Today
- Steel Framed Kit Homes (the process) – Sheds n Homes
- 10 Cutting-edge, Energy-efficient Building Material – How Stuff Works
- 9 building materials made entirely from waste products –City Metrics
