By now, nearly everyone knows that we are depleting the natural resources of the only home that we have at a rate that is well past sustainable. To some extent, we have become inured to alarming reports and ominous warnings about our wasteful ways. Media outlets yammer away about Overpopulation, Global Warming and Deforestation and […]
Tag Archives | natural building materials
Guidelines for building green homes
You might think that there is a lot more hassle and expense involved in building a home that conforms to your eco-friendly standards, but in truth, it is very similar to standard types of building in that the price and the level of difficulty depend largely on what you choose to use. For example, the […]
How Green is Bamboo Floor Manufacturing?
The process of manufacturing bamboo flooring is comparable to any other flooring solution. Significant heat is required to kiln dry the bamboo during the process, as well the steaming of it, but most of this energy is derived from burning saw dust resulting from the bamboo cutting process itself. Certain glues and lacquer finishes are […]
How to Build a Bamboo and Earth House
Berkeley based Natural Builders worked with a local team to build this house in Costa Rica using bamboo joinery and the infill between the posts using the earth and bamboo “wattle & daub” technique. The wattle and daub technique is an ancient time tested method of building. A basket-like wall (wattle) is combined with an […]
Climate Sensitive Design for Buildings
A house or a building can be thought of as being an envelope, which shelters an indoor space from the weather outside. The objective of the envelope is to maintain a comfortable inside environment. One approach is to build the building and then force the inside temperature to be comfortable by using fans, heaters, air […]
LUMENHAUS – The Future Is Here
An 800 sq. ft. zero-energy house that is completely powered by the sun. A house that wakes you up, tells you how its doing and dresses for the weather. We think it is the future. Someone once said, innovation starts with a dream. Dreams can be in the form of solar-powered houses named after the […]
Use Eco-Friendly Roof Insulation
For most homes in the temperate parts of the world, roof insulation is very important in many ways. Your house will be warmer in cold weather and colder in warm weather. You can save on the costs of electricity necessary to run the heater or the air-conditioner. In the process, you are also doing your […]
Reducing Your Carbon Footprint One Month at a Time
With all the Earth Day reminders on reducing your carbon footprint you might feel a bit overwhelmed as to how to make a 360-degree turn in a matter of days. Many of you have worked diligently to make sustainable changes in your surrounding environment. Then again, there are your family and friends who have no […]
Natural Building Materials
The materials common to many types of natural building are clay and sand. When mixed with water and, usually, straw or other fibre, the mixture is known as cob or adobe. Other materials commonly used in natural building are: earth, wood, cordwood, timber frame, straw and rock. A wide variety of reused or recycled materials […]
