Are you building a new house or having someone build it for you ? If so have you considered building a “green home” ? The main premise of a green home is that it is environmentally friendly . This applies to how it uses energy but it also applies to it’s construction. By using sustainable building materials you can make a real difference to the environment and will increasingly be the industry standard for new homes as governments and home builders move forward. This article will give you some context on green construction and sustainable building materials.

The building industry to date has relied very heavily on using
energy-intensive materials that have huge environmental costs.  It can cost
quite a lot to extract, manufacture or produce a building material let alone
transport and install it. Sustainable building materials on the other hand
are those that have the lowest possible environmental cost, having lower
production costs with less impact on the environment over their lifetime.

You can gauge how sustainable a building material is by evaluating the
amount of energy it takes (and the impact on the environment) to produce it.
Other factors that effect how green it is include how efficient it is in the
long-term and what it costs to maintain.

It’s possible to make a material more sustainable by recycling or reusing
it, reducing transportation costs, choosing alternative renewable materials
instead of non-renewable ones or using resources that have low energy
requirements. Using sustainable building materials helps the planet simply
because every aspect, from their creation, to their maintenance and disposal
has been carefully evaluated to have the minimum possible impact on the
environment.

There’s a fantastic array of sustainable building materials available today
for the eco-conscious home builder. Fly-ash bases bricks, baked earth,
bamboo, clay, wood harvested from sustainable forests, calcium sand-stone
etc. are some examples of popular sustainable building materials.

When you opt for choosing these materials you help in reducing the
consumption of non-renewable resources worldwide. Authorities estimate that
around 3 billion tons of raw materials are being used every year by
construction activities worldwide which works out to 40 percent of total
global consumption. (Roodman and Lenssen, 1995).

Aside of the impact on the environment using sustainable building materials
will benefit you as a home owner in many ways. It will help you to:

* Conserve energy in the long run since you will be using energy-efficient
materials in the construction of your home.

* Experience low or reduced costs related to maintenance and replacement of
materials over the building’s lifetime.

* Experience low costs with remodelling or space configurations.

* Feel the benefits in terms of better health since you will be using
renewable non-toxic materials.

* Be more creative with the design of your home.

So what do you need to look at to gauge how green a particular building
material is? Here are a few questions to consider:

1) Are the materials recyclable, non-toxic and safe for the environment?

2) How does this material contribute to the maintenance of the home in the
long run?

3) Is it possible to source this material locally? Is it easily replenished?

If you are working with building suppliers make sure that you specify your
desire to use local sustainable building materials or communicate that fact
clearly to your building contractor. You can also get really creative in the
design of your home when you use sustainable building materials. For
instance, if you live near the ocean, you could use stones and driftwood in
your home’s construction to give it a totally unique touch.

Using sustainable building materials not only contributes to a healthier
environment but also helps you create an earth-friendly home that’s a true
haven to future generations to come.