5 Sustainable Materials to Consider When Building Your Home

You finally saved up enough money to renovate your home or even build your dream house! Congratulations. Most people would love to build their houses with naturally occurring materials to get a comfortable house. Most structures nowadays look modern, but they are actually built with simple natural materials and renewable sources.

Choosing the right materials for your new house can have a positive impact on the environment. If you are looking to erect a green building, you should consider these five eco-friendly building materials:

1. Reclaimed Wood

Reclaimed or recycled wood is a very good option to use while building a house. This is because it is easier to use than new timber and it gives you a feeling of nature indoors. Apart from using it for home building, it can be used for exposed beams, window frames, fencing, doors, and natural-looking floors.

It can also be used for furnishings like tables, chairs, and cabinets. Recycled wood is better for the environment than newly harvested timber from the lumber yard or forest. It is one of the most used building materials because it is aesthetically pleasing and because of its nature, it significantly increases one’s well-being.

As it is known now reclaimed wood other than looking good is also environmentally friendly, a lot of venues have started using recycled wood as a material for their venues, and those venues now are known as places where you can host an outstanding eco-friendly event.

2. Cob

Cob is a mixture of subsoil, water, fibrous organic material, straw, and sometimes, lime. When used to build your house, be sure you are getting the best outcome because it is a proven building material that has been used for centuries in Europe. It is environmentally friendly, very easy to use and does not require framing. It also has a kind of texture that allows you to be able to mold it into any shape of your choice meaning you can create outstanding and unique structures using cob.

Cob houses require little-to-no heating because it is very efficient due to the natural insulation it creates. Therefore, you can save a lot on monthly electricity bills. If you want a clean-cut job and a beautiful outcome for that house you are building, it is essential to consult and work with a professional architectural company like Martinez Architect to do their magic.

They are a team of highly experienced individuals with expertise in conversions, repairs, and the building of new houses.

3. Cork

Ever wondered why wine is usually sealed with cork? Well, it is because the cork is resistant to moisture and any other liquid and therefore, wine cannot seep out from the bottle when the cork is used to seal it. Cork is obtained from cork oak trees.

It grows mainly along the Mediterranean Sea. Though largely cost-prohibitive, the durability and sustainability are worth the money.

It is highly renewable and can easily absorb noise or vibration. It is being used nowadays as the major material for flooring, ceiling panels, and acoustic walls. Cork is also one of the best materials to use for thermal insulation because of its air cushion design.

4. Ferrock.

Ferrock is a resilient building material derived from iron-rich ferrous rock. It is a much better option than recycled steel because it is made from a combination of recycled materials such as silica and waste steel dust. The major benefit of ferrock to the environment is it reduces pollution considerably due to the fact that it absorbs more carbon dioxide than it creates.

Recently, ferrock is being used as an alternative for cement because it is actually five times stronger than Portland cement and it is 10 to 25% less weight than a brick structure.

5. Mycelium.

Mycelium or mushroom roots is a natural resource because it is the vegetative part of a fungus fiber that runs below the ground. Mycelium bricks, which can be used for building houses, are made from a combination of the dried fungi with organic waste.

It is a very good building material because it is resistant to mold, water and fire. It can be used to replace plastic, foams and timber. It is used nowadays for flooring, door cores and insulation because it has been proven to be stronger than concrete.

Using organic materials to build your home can reduce energy costs because most of the materials conserve energy and can be very useful for you. Insurance companies can also reduce your insurance bill by 5 to 10%.

The next time you want to dispose of that plastic chair or wooden furniture, remember that it could be recycled and used for building purposes.