Building your Dream House with Eco-Friendly Sustainable Materials

Hello World!  Welcome Friends!  The use of sustainable materials for a building is not a new concept, but the call for sustainability has increased over the years.  Unfortunately, one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gases after coal-powered power plants is cement manufacturing which produces one ton of carbon dioxide gas for every ton of cement made. Cement, as we all know, is the most used building material in the world.

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While we cannot eliminate the use of concrete altogether, there have been efforts in the construction industry to offset the pollution caused by concrete to the environment. It has begun to streamline its construction process by using software like construction project management software, construction safety management software, scheduling software etc. But software alone while making the building process more efficient and more environmentally friendly is not enough to offset the damage caused by cement. That’s why in recent years, there has been considerable research done to find sustainable materials for construction that will not harm the environment.

What Does Sustainable Materials Mean?

What qualifies a material to be sustainable? Sustainable building materials are the ones that can be recycled at the end of its life, has low embodied energy (the measure of how much energy is used to produce, and transport the product), is durable, and is not toxic to humans, and other living creatures.

Basically, barring any long mathematical computation about a material’s embodied energy, sustainable materials are the ones that have been manufactured, transported, and used with the least amount of damage to the earth.

With this definition, what are the alternative building materials that people can use if they choose to use sustainable materials? Below are some examples that might get you started.

Eco-Sustainable Building Materials

Ferrock  

Ferrock was invented and patented by David Stone that aims to replace concrete in the near future. Ferrock is created from steel dust and silica from glass that has been ground up. The process of making Ferrock involves a chemical reaction between the steel dust, silica and carbon dioxide. The chemical reaction binds carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the Ferrock.

Ferrock has been proven to be more malleable and tougher than Portland cement. This means that in the future, Ferrock can be used in environments that are earthquake prone. And, because it is more or less chemically inactive it can be a better alternative to buildings that are in the vicinity of salt water, or in salt water because it won’t deteriorate. In fact, the salt will actually make it stronger.

At the time of this writing, Ferrock is still not commercially available so it might be a few years before we can start to see it as a construction building material.

            Ashcrete

Ashcrete is already available in the market as a substitute for concrete. It’s considered an eco-friendly sustainable building material because it is made from recycled materials -fly ash and has low embodiment energy compared to Portland cement which uses a lot of heat to produce. In addition to this, ashcrete requires less water than Portland cement and is easier to use when the weather is cold.

Currently, ashcrete is only made from 97% recycled materials  – fly ash, bottom ash, borate, and a chlorine chemical derivative. The inventor of ashcrete is currently trying to find a natural alternative to use in lieu of this chemical because it’s not very safe for humans and the environment.

            Timbercrete

Timbercrete is another commercially available sustainable material that is available in the market. This Australian invention is the brainchild of Peter Collier and is about two times lighter than concrete, and is more flexible, making it easier to put together.  It’s made from a combination of discarded timber, cement, sand, and a nonpoisonous deflocculating chemical. The timbercrete is then dried naturally using the sun and the wind. In addition to this, it has improved insulation, bulletproof, is more fireproof compared to concrete, clay, timber or steel, and is hypoallergenic.

            Carbon Concrete

Carbon concrete is composite which is a combination of concrete and carbon fibers and is currently the biggest construction research project that’s being undertaken in Germany. Dubbed as C3, this material is being made to replace concrete as an ecological alternative in the near future because of its flexibility, and higher durability.

For now, there are three ways to add carbon into the matrix. First is adding carbon fibers to the concrete, second is placing textile mats made of carbon fibers in between fine layers of concrete, and the third is spraying carbon fibers evenly into the concrete which produces materials with high tensile strength.

Although this is still in its research and experimental stage, the Technical University of Dresden will build the first experimental carbon house in Germany in its campus sometime early this year in 2019. This house is mainly built for research but at the same time can help change the way people build houses in the near future.

Sheep’s Wool

Most of us are familiar with sheep’s wool because we’ve worn it as a sweater, or maybe as a lining inside our winter boots. We like to wear wool during the cold season because of its ability to keep us warm, but did you know that you can use wool as an alternative insulator in your houses?

Sheep’s wool is an excellent alternative to the regular mineral wool that is usually used because from the ecological perspective it is renewable, has low embodied energy to produce, as well as recyclable. The advantages of using sheep wool as an insulator are not only good for the environment, it is actually a better insulator compared to the normal mineral wool. If you want to get technical about it sheep wool has a thermal conductivity of  between .035-.04 W/mK compared mineral wool is around .044W/mK ( a lower thermal conductivity means a better insulator)

In addition to this, sheep’s wool can help purify the air. This is because sheep’s wool is made of a natural protein which is made up of different amino chains which have a reactive side chain. This means that sheep wool is able to absorb substances like Formaldehydes, Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulphur Dioxide, and neutralize them through a process known as Chemisorption.

Sheep’s wool also regulates humidity, can provide sound insulation, and it doesn’t burn.  Sheep’s wool is one of the natural fibers that are flame retardant because of its high content of nitrogen which means that if there is fire, the fiber will smolder instead of burning. In fact, it takes the temperature to reach about 560 C before the wool will start to burn.

Finding sustainable materials can be a challenge at this point because we are so used to using the traditional materials of concrete and steel to build our houses and buildings. But the ever-pressing issue of climate change is becoming more and more urgent and cannot be ignored anymore.  Doing your part to help doesn’t mean that you have to use the most recent experimental building material that’s being developed to build your house or building. In fact, you can start very modest, like trying a simple, widely available material like sheep’s wool as an alternative insulator. Remember, that, as cheesy as it may sound, the power to save the earth is in your hands.

Click the links below for any posts you have missed!

What You Need to Consider When it Comes to Drawer Boxes

Modern Family Home

Enhancing the Beauty of your Home

9 Tips to Watch a Game During Rainfall

Things to Expect from a Lawn Care Service

Hiring the Right Mover for your Needs

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Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day/night depending on where you are in the world!  Go with God and remember to be kind to one another!

Toodles,