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Green Alternative Building Materials For Homes by Jennie Kyle
The majority of homes today are built using wood frames, the traditional building material and the material of choice for many. However building a wood framed house requires a very carefully designed plan and a construction crew with much experience and skill.
Building a home with a wood frame will generally result in a reliable and secure structure, however it is also susceptible to premature failure when small details are left unchecked or is made with a poor quality wood product. Wood frames also have the ability to rot and attract infestation and construction costs associated with building such frames are also a detriment.
Today the home owner has the opportunity to choose from alternative green building materials and make a difference.
Insulated Concrete Forms: These preformed blocks are made with expanded polystyrene (EPS) and metal rebar which can be stacked to build your frame. They are then filled with concrete to create an insulated and exceptionally strong wall!
The Benefits of Building a Home with Insulated Concrete Forms
- Ease of Use - These building blocks are very easy to use. They require much less crew and take significantly less time to build than a traditional home.
- Energy Efficiency - The insulation properties of polystyrene and the high thermal mass of the concrete help to reduce the internal temperature fluctuations to create a more efficient and comfortable indoor environment.
- Noise Reduction - Insulated Concrete form walls make an enormous difference in the reduction of noise transmission.
- Fire-resistance - This product is highly rated for fire-resistance and has been proven in some products to have a four hour resistance rating!
- Strength - These walls are exceptionally strong and can be built to hurricane/seismic standards.
- Mildew/Rot - These walls will not support the growth of mildew and mold.
This alternative building material is an excellent home structural choice for those living in areas where their homes are exposed to severe weather such as hurricanes and tornadoes.
These blocks are made using concrete which does raise some environmental concerns. Concrete depends on cement and the production of cement is an enormous environmental hazard! However there is now in existence cement substitutes which are being implemented into green build design.
If you are interested in building a home using these blocks insist that your builder uses a concrete with a high concentration of fly-ash.
Structural Insulated Panels
SIP's are high performance building panels that are used to form and build walls, floors and roofs both for commercial and residential purposes.
They are made by sandwiching foam insulation between Oriented Strand Board (OSB). OSB is an engineered wood product that is formed with wax and resins and compressed.
This building material has all the same benefits of ICF's however they do not compete with insulated concrete forms for fire resistance although they do meet fire testing standards.
So if you are ready to take on the challenge of building your own home, try building green and consider your house framing options!
Jennie Kyle is the co-founder of TheSexyGreenHome.com a resource website for green living providing visitors with quality information regarding environmentally friendly materials and products for the home. To learn more about alternative green building materials visit her website. Turn your home into a Sexy Green Home!
If you are in the market for a bathroom renovation visit The SexyBathroom.com to see what's hot in bathroom design!
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