Sustainable Materials for Eco-Friendly Building Construction
Sustainability has become a hot topic as of late, and for good reason. Our planet could definitely be in better shape, and everyone has a part to play, including the construction industry. One great way to boost your sustainability is to use more sustainable building materials. Read on to find out what makes a building material sustainable, and which materials best fit in this category.
Defining Sustainable Building Materials
The main thing that a building material needs to be considered sustainable is to have a smaller carbon footprint. This means that the building material contributes less to global warming, and generally has less of an impact on the planet. Though this can take many different forms, as long as the materials meet this standard, they can be considered sustainable to some extent.
The Importance of EcoFriendly Construction Practices
Of course, it’s clear why approaching construction practices with an eco-friendly lens is best for everyone. The less of an impact we have on our planet’s environment, the better. Using sustainable building materials at the very least will help us avoid filling more landfills with old materials.
Current Trends in Green Building
Right now there is more attention on green building than ever before. Public interest is at an all time high, meaning more money is being invested in this form of building currently. There has also been a renewed interest in our air quality since the pandemic, and the use of synthetic building may not promote as much air flow and ventilation as more sustainable materials might.
Renewable Materials for Construction
Through recent innovations, we have access to plenty of renewable materials that are very helpful when it comes to building.
Bamboo: The Fast Growing Alternative
One of these materials is bamboo. Bamboo is known for its growing speed, ensuring that there’s always a large supply of it ready to go. It’s also similar in strength to wood, and is super flexible, making it a helpful option for a variety of projects.
Reclaimed Wood: Giving New Life to Old Timber
Reclaimed wood is exactly what it sounds like, it’s essentially recycled wood. It comes with all of the usual benefits that wood does. It’s nice to look at, strong, and easy to build with. Using recycled wood instead of harvesting new timber is a great way to lessen the environmental impact of a project,
Laminated Timber: Strength and Sustainability Combined
Laminated timber is prefabricated timber, and it has a higher strength level and water resistance when compared to traditional timber. This allows them to compete with materials like steel and concrete, while having a much lower environmental impact.
Sustainable Use of Crushed Stone in Construction
Using crushed stone in your construction projects can also be sustainable when it’s done right.
With a combination of great properties, this material can be used in many different projects without having an environmental impact.
The Longevity and Durability of Crushed Stone
Crushed stone is typically made from recycled stone from other projects, which is not only a testament to its longevity and durability, but to its sustainability as well, allowing it to be used multiple times over, which makes it less necessary to mine more.
Sourcing Local Aggregates to Reduce Carbon Footprint
One of the best ways to ensure that your crushed stone has minimal impact on the environment is to source it from local places. This will eliminate the need for it to be transported from far off, making its carbon footprint much smaller.
Crushed Stone as a Sustainable Base Material
As mentioned before, crushed stone is usually made from recycled stone, making it a more sustainable resource than other building materials, since no more stone will need to be mined to produce it. It’s also strong and long lasting, so you likely won’t need to get more any time soon after getting your first batch.
Recycled and Recyclable Building Materials
As we’ve already touched on, recycled building materials are very sustainable. They can come in various forms and can be used in a variety of different building projects in different ways.
Recycled Steel: Strength and Sustainability
Recycled steel is steel that’s been made from old melted down steel. Recycled steel is still an extremely powerful building material and can be used in many projects. In terms of sustainability, if you use recycled steel, you will lower the need for more steel to be mined, thus reducing your overall carbon footprint.
Reclaimed Brick and Concrete: Reducing Waste
Reclaimed brick and concrete, are, like recycled steel, made from recycled materials. The reclaimed brick comes from old brick structures, and the concrete comes from old concrete projects. These materials tend to be durable in their own right, and it’s a far more sustainable building material to use when compared to using new materials.
Recycled Plastic: Innovative Uses in Construction
Recycled plastic has recently begun being used in various construction projects. Since it’s made of recycled goods, it has a much lower carbon footprint than other materials. It’s also proven to be rather versatile, as it’s being used in flooring, roof coverings, and many more projects.
Future Innovations in Sustainable Materials
The future is looking bright for sustainable materials and green building overall. As time goes on, more and more sustainable methods are being used in the industry to ensure that the carbon footprint left by large projects is smaller than ever.
Self Healing Concrete: Reducing Maintenance Needs
Self-healing concrete does exactly as its name implies: It can heal its own imperfections over time without the need for human help. Depending on the kind of self-healing concrete you’re working with, it does this in various ways, but to keep things simple, it can fill in its own cracks. This reduces the need for manual maintenance, which means fewer machines running and thus a more sustainable practice.
Mycelium: The Living Building Material
Mycelium is a very unique building material that is made from organic components. They are formed using organic waste, and the mycelium of fungus. In a fungus, the mycelium is the stronger, root-like fibers which run underground beneath it. These materials are relatively easy to cultivate, and do not involve any mining processes, making them a lot more sustainable to cultivate than many others. Mycelium is also very strong, and is biodegradable, so once they’re ready to be replaced they’ll break down naturally.
Transparent Wood: A Vision for Eco Friendly Windows
Transparent wood is harvested from the balsa tree, and, after a few different processes to make it lose its visibility, is then combined with a polyvinyl alcohol which ultimately leaves the wood nearly transparent. Along with being transparent, this wood also tends to be lighter than timber, making it the perfect candidate for use in windows. The balsa tree is also very easy to grow, meaning the cultivation of this material also leaves behind a very small carbon footprint. Of course, since its wood based, this material is also biodegradable, meaning it won’t sit in a landfill once it’s been replaced.
Conclusion
We have made leaps and bounds in terms of sustainability in the construction industry over the years. Gone are the days of heavy mining and constant cultivation. There is simply no need for the old ways when so many more sustainable practices are ready for use. We hope this blog has given you a better idea of the many different kinds of sustainable building materials available to you in the modern day.