Recently in Weatherization Category
Natural building materials already surround us! Think wood, living platns, metal, bricks...
What's a home without plants? It's just a short hop to understand how remodeling and plants are intertwined for energy efficiency and beauty. What's a home without trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, even moss and weeds! They all can be designed "greener" to produce natural texture, cooling shade and a fresh supply of oxygen!
But there are other natural building materials that can be part of your efficiency remodeling projects to make your home or building energy efficient and environmentally sound.
ROCKS
Local, natural rocks can be used -- and have been used for eons -- as a natural building material. They can be walls, fences, stepping stones, patios, even furniture. When you use local rocks, you maintain your local charm and flavor.,..and you reduce the high cost of transporting these heavy materials.
Rocks used as a natural building material choice for indoor sun porch floor that can double as a heat reservoir in winter. Place these heat retaining natural building materials so they absorb sunshine that hits them during the heat of the day. Heavy curtains can seal in the warmth and release the heat into your living rooms at night.
Small rocks can also be used as gravel on a pathway or laid carefully into concrete for a textured surface. Really tiny rocks...called sand ... have many natural building material uses as filler, cover, and utilitarian uses.
The humble rock...so very important in our living infrastructure and such a great value as a natural building material!
DIRT
Don't forget the building properties of dirt! In early building techniques, dirt was made into adobe and cob and even mortar between stones. Then people learned that earthern berms against a wall can insulate the home from cold winter precipitation -- rain, snow, sleet and moist winds.
Today's concrete foundations can benefit from an earthern berm to reduce the infiltration of cold air into the crawl space.
LIVING PLANTS
Living roofs are an ancient technique that is being revived on commercial buildings, in particular. By growing a thin layer of plants on a well structured roof, low-water use plants can actually absorb rain and prevent it from turning into urban runoff that carries hardscape pollutants into our ground water.
WOOD
Not all wood has to be imported from exotic locations. Local wood can be used as both a natural building material...and a local material to weave into charming garden fences or used to construct grape arbors or display posts for cascading vines. Fence posts are a very common use of local limbs.
Cross cut rounds can be used as stepping stones and edgings and even rustic furniture.
Local sawmills also cut siding that provides local charm and lower transportation impact to our environment. It pays to get to know your local timber management resources such as local lumberyard owners, utility companies that have to trim trees regularly, and even tree farmers.
Wood is a renewable resource...you can even plant your own trees to harvest in the years to come!
What's a home without plants? It's just a short hop to understand how remodeling and plants are intertwined for energy efficiency and beauty. What's a home without trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, even moss and weeds! They all can be designed "greener" to produce natural texture, cooling shade and a fresh supply of oxygen!
But there are other natural building materials that can be part of your efficiency remodeling projects to make your home or building energy efficient and environmentally sound.
ROCKS
Local, natural rocks can be used -- and have been used for eons -- as a natural building material. They can be walls, fences, stepping stones, patios, even furniture. When you use local rocks, you maintain your local charm and flavor.,..and you reduce the high cost of transporting these heavy materials.
Rocks used as a natural building material choice for indoor sun porch floor that can double as a heat reservoir in winter. Place these heat retaining natural building materials so they absorb sunshine that hits them during the heat of the day. Heavy curtains can seal in the warmth and release the heat into your living rooms at night.
Small rocks can also be used as gravel on a pathway or laid carefully into concrete for a textured surface. Really tiny rocks...called sand ... have many natural building material uses as filler, cover, and utilitarian uses.
The humble rock...so very important in our living infrastructure and such a great value as a natural building material!
DIRT
Don't forget the building properties of dirt! In early building techniques, dirt was made into adobe and cob and even mortar between stones. Then people learned that earthern berms against a wall can insulate the home from cold winter precipitation -- rain, snow, sleet and moist winds.
Today's concrete foundations can benefit from an earthern berm to reduce the infiltration of cold air into the crawl space.
LIVING PLANTS
Living roofs are an ancient technique that is being revived on commercial buildings, in particular. By growing a thin layer of plants on a well structured roof, low-water use plants can actually absorb rain and prevent it from turning into urban runoff that carries hardscape pollutants into our ground water.
WOOD
Not all wood has to be imported from exotic locations. Local wood can be used as both a natural building material...and a local material to weave into charming garden fences or used to construct grape arbors or display posts for cascading vines. Fence posts are a very common use of local limbs.
Cross cut rounds can be used as stepping stones and edgings and even rustic furniture.
Local sawmills also cut siding that provides local charm and lower transportation impact to our environment. It pays to get to know your local timber management resources such as local lumberyard owners, utility companies that have to trim trees regularly, and even tree farmers.
Wood is a renewable resource...you can even plant your own trees to harvest in the years to come!
Watch for more emphasis on energy efficiency, retrofits and weatherization under the Obama administration. Obama's weatherization plan is part of a comprehensive energy plan that will create green jobs and rebuild the US infrastructure of roads and bridges, schools, and housing for energy efficiency. Weatherization of schools, homes and offices will reduce oil usage for heating and cooling. Obama's emphasis on youth jobs and green jobs will contribute to economic recovery. The Obama weatherization plan will not only reduce energy use, but improve the health and productivity of children and workers who benefit from better indoor air quality, natural light and less toxic emissions from petrochemical energy sources.
Obama Energy
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