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| Credit: waffle-crete.com |
Constructing a new home can be stressful to both the owner
as well as the environment. It stresses out the owner because of the costs that
are involved in the construction phase that it can pile up if not attended to
properly. The costs can balloon up to
more than what is intended to be if the owner is not supervising it
attentively. Aside from the homeowner, building it does have an effect on the
environment especially when you use the traditional wood, steel and concrete as
the basic materials for building the house. Aside from the energy needed to
cool the house, it is the manufacturing of the construction materials also adds
up to the environmental costs.
The new method of building homes is utilizing natural
materials that are renewable and naturally occurring. It is also best to use locally available
materials so there is less cost, as there are no transportation costs involved.
Moreover, using local materials lessen the impact on the environment because of
the less pollution would be emitted as there is no need to transport it from
another location.
Another great thing about using natural construction
materials is that they emit fewer toxins and other volatile organic compounds,
which are said to be the cause of respiratory problems like allergies and
asthma. Also, because they are natural, they can either be recycled or won’t
have any problems when placed in landfills because they are biodegradable and
would decompose and go back to the earth.
One of the natural construction items that you can utilize
is rock. Of course, it would be easier
to use a perfectly formed slab but rocks are much better as they have very good
thermal mass. This means that they can absorb the heat from the outside
temperature, hold it and radiate it slowly warming your home. Diamond blade cutters can be used to cut the rock slabs to the
size and shape needed. This is much
better than using insulation, which prevents heat from flowing in and out of
the building.
For those in the tropics, bamboo is one of the commonly used
natural materials. This is also becoming
popular in other countries. It is
strong, sturdy and versatile at the same time.
To create same sizes, and cut the bamboo into slats with ease, diamond blade cutters can
be used to cut the processing time in half the time. Bamboo is a renewable
source because bamboo plants are relatively easy to grow unlike other
hardwoods, which takes lots of years to be able to use it. Aside from bamboo, another material that can
be used for walls of a home is cob, which is a mixture of earth and straw. This is a great material to use for creative
and free-form construction because waves and curves can be easily made on the
wall without having to use heavy duty construction tools.
For those planning to construct a home this time, it is best
to take a look at these renewable and environmentally friendly natural
construction materials. They do not do
much damage with the environment because they are naturally occurring and there
would be no need to worry about pollution unlike the types that comes with the
manufacturing of synthetic man-made materials.
