Showing posts with label green building materials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green building materials. Show all posts
Building Houses
The cottage renovation project had two primary goals: creating an open, efficient space that looks and feels larger than it really is and reusing as much as the original building material as possible.
The result is an efficient use of space, with a new cathedral ceiling and sleeping loft created when the original ceiling was removed. Apartment-sized appliances maximize space in the kitchen.
Creative storage space was addressed with shelves, cubbies, benches, and hooks.
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Building Houses
PRWEB.COM NewswireAndover, NH (PRWEB) June 24, 2011
Seeing the rush of volunteers, sponsors and donated materials show up, at 8am on Saturday June 25th at R.P. Johnson and Son in Andover, NH for the We Build it Forward Outreach event will be a powerful testament to the unity and giving nature of this NH community, but no more than the outpouring of support they have already seen from area businesses and citizens in the form of thousands in event sponsorships and material donations and dozens and dozens of volunteers. Notable team leaders include special support from Bonin Architects of New London. Sponsors who went well over the call of duty include: Marvin Windows and Doors, A.W. Hastings, Co, Inc., Old Hampshire Designs and The Lions Club of Sunapee. Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/346662#ixzz1QDYYluw9architect schools online
Interior Design
Here’s some great information we heard today from AW Hastings representative, Joe Orsino, about Marvin:
Design flexibility and custom options: Choose from seven interior wood species, nineteen clad colors, multiple glass and hardware options. They also have limitless divided lite patterns.
Performance: Marvin windows and doors resist the most extreme elements. Each window is crafted with real wood throughout, and the exteriors feature extruded aluminum cladding, which is stronger than roll-form aluminum.
Energy Efficiency: All Marvin products meet or exceed federal ENERGY STAR® guidelines and a variety of energy-efficient glass options to meet any need.
Delivery details: They pay attention to builders’ suggestions in packing and delivering their windows and doors. For instance, doors are delivered with handles on the side, making it easy for builders to unload. Another detail you will appreciate: window hardware mechanisms come attached to the windows so they don’t get lost on site!
Green homes start with green home design. Call Bonin Architects to see how we can help you design an energy efficient home that will reduce your heating and cooling costs!
Interior Design
Sustainable roofing products have come a long way. EcoStar is a leading manufacturer of eco-friendly roofing products, including synthetic slate and synthetic wood shakes. EcoStar’s products fit virtually any steep-slope roofing application, and provide protection against fire, hail, wind and rain.
EcoStar manufactures roofing tiles that are composed of up to 80% recycled post-industrial rubber and plastic. These post-industrial materials consist of waste that includes car bumpers and baby diaper production remnants, preventing these materials from ending up in landfills. Their recycled content creates incredible strength and flexibility, as well as provide long-lasting performance.
Photos courtesy of EcoStar.
Interior Design
Solar Energy is often incorporated into our residential architecture. Leading the pack in new solar technology is the Dow Chemical Company.
Dow has been developing Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) building materials that enable solar energy cells to be incorporated directly into the design of commercial and residential building materials such as roofing systems, exterior sidings, fascias and more. Dow’s BIPVs make solar power accessible and affordable for homeowners.
From solar product to an experienced solar support team, Dow offers an integrated, seamless solar solution that's intuitive to set up, install, use and maintain. Most importantly, it's backed by decades of innovation and on-the-ground R&D knowledge.
The Dow POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle delivers true building-integrated aesthetics by integrating PV functionality into an asphalt roof-shingle form factor. It utilizes high-efficiency, CIGS-based, PV cells manufactured on a flexible substrate. These cells are laminated and subsequently over-molded into the final shingle design using conventional materials and polymer processing methods. Dow's groundbreaking technology integrates low-cost thin-film photovoltaic cells into a roofing shingle design, which represents a multi-functional solar module. The innovative product design reduces installation costs because the conventional roofing shingles and solar generating shingles are installed simultaneously.The DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle was named one of the "50 Best Inventions of 2009" by Time magazine, and is expected to be available in 2011.interior decoratinghouse construction
Interior Design
Perhaps you’ve heard of the newest alternative to traditional gravel and bark mulch – glass. That’s right, recycled glass is now a popular landscaping choice with numerous benefits.Glass mulch looks like colorful gravel and comes in a variety of colors. The mulch is made from recycled glass debris which is tumbled to remove sharp edges, making it safe for children and animals, and beautiful for planters, gardens, and around trees.
Design options are endless, as the glass mulch can be coordinated to match your home’s architectural style and colors or create an outdoor living space with a specific theme (for instance, blue glass mulch is very popular for simulating water).In addition to using recycled material, glass much carries other environmental benefits: it lessens the impact on landfills, conserves water and withstands heavy drainage without washing out, requires very little maintenance, and does not need to be replaced every year like traditional mulch does.
Some popular applications in residential architecture? Landscaping, terrazzo flooring, counter top applications, water features, fire pits, and hundreds more!
Landscaping photos by EnviroGLAS
Interior Design
If you are interested in building an energy efficient home, insulation is your top consideration and probably the most important component of the home. The design of the home, and in particular the kind and amount of insulation specified, can have a dramatic effect on the energy efficiency of a home by reducing or eliminating the need for heating and cooling.For this reason, our architectural firm prefers to design homes with Structural Insulated Panels (SIP panels). SIPs, sometimes known as stress skin panels, are made of an insulating foam core with OSB (oriented strand board) bonded to either side. There are two popular types of foam cores – EPS (expanded polystyrene - photo, right), XPS (extruded polystyrene) -- ranging in R-Values from 13 to 40 (R-value refers to a materials ability to resist transferring heat), far above what conventional wall construction with fiberglass or cellulose insulation can deliver.
SIP panels address the efficiency of the home and can be used in any climate. The structural insulated panel enclosure system creates an energy efficient building envelope, keeping your home warm in the dead of winter and cool in the hot summer months. (SIPs were even supplied for the International Science Station at the South Pole, where summer temperatures average minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit!)
A SIP building envelope provides high levels of insulation and is extremely airtight, meaning the amount of energy used to heat and cool a home can be cut by up to 50 percent (visit the Structural Insulated Panel Association website at http://www.sips.org/). Do you have questions about using SIP panels in your project? Let us know!
For information on the importance of ventilation in a SIP panel home, check out these blogs:
Interior Decoration
Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) are helping homeowners cut their heating bills in half.
Panels are typically installed vertically on the home walls. Panel connections are fastened with splines or cams and then expanding foam insulation is sprayed directly into the remaining space, sealing the connection and creating a continuous thermal insulating wall for the home. (In a timber frame or post and beam home, the panels are wrapped around the exterior of the timber frame.)
Panel wall R-Values differ according to insulation type and thickness, but all are superior when compared to conventional construction. Walls made of 2x material with fiberglass or cellulose insulation have a reduction in R-Value at every stud, but panel walls form a continuous thermal envelope with no reduction in R-Values. This means increased energy efficiency, lower heating and cooling costs and a drastic reduction in drafts in the home.
SIP panels, sometimes known as stress skin panels, are made of an insulating foam core with OSB (oriented strand board) bonded to either side. There are three types of foam cores – EPS (expanded polystyrene), XPS (extruded polystyrene), and urethane (either polyisocyanurate or polyurethane), ranging in R-Values from 13 to 40 (R-value refers to a materials ability to resist transferring heat), far above conventional wall construction with fiberglass or cellulose insulation.
Panels are typically installed vertically on the home walls. Panel connections are fastened with splines or cams and then expanding foam insulation is sprayed directly into the remaining space, sealing the connection and creating a continuous thermal insulating wall for the home. (In a timber frame or post and beam home, the panels are wrapped around the exterior of the timber frame.) Panel wall R-Values differ according to insulation type and thickness, but all are superior when compared to conventional construction. Walls made of 2x material with fiberglass or cellulose insulation have a reduction in R-Value at every stud, but panel walls form a continuous thermal envelope with no reduction in R-Values. This means increased energy efficiency, lower heating and cooling costs and a drastic reduction in drafts in the home.
If reducing your energy costs by close to 50% isn’t enough, SIPs provide other benefits; a healthy living environment, reduced construction site waste, design flexibility, fast installation and reduced labor costs, a finish-ready exterior and superior strength to meet wind and snow loads.
For an estimate on building a green home with structural insulated panels, give us a call or send an email describing your project.
Interior Decoration
Because of the harmful side effects of solvent-based interior stains and finishes, manufacturers have dramatically reduced the amount of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) their products offgas over the past several years. As a result, there are now quite a few water-based solvents available, qualifying for LEED points in the EQ Credit 4.2: Low-Emitting Materials: Paints & Coatings category. If you are building a new home and are looking for a green interior floor finish, here are a couple of products available. These have low VOC levels, are made from natural materials, are biodegradable, and are exceptionally durable.
BioShield Paint has floor oils and sealants that are solvent-free and low-VOC, low odor.
High Solid Floor Oil: solvent-free finish
- Protective wood-enhancing finish, dries to a satin-matte sheen
- Resists staining from water, milk, juice, beer, and wine within a certain time frame
- Made with linseed oil, tung oil, linseed stand oil, silicic acid, beeswax, candelilla wax, lead-free dryer
Hard Oil #9: low-VOC, low-odor hard oil
- Breathable and elastic coating with superior water-resistant characteristics
- Deeply penetrating finish for high-moisture and high-traffic areas
- Suitable for hardwood and softwood floors
- Made with linseed oil, tung oil, colophonium resin, castor stand oil, isoaliphatics, lead-free dryers, and oximes
Source: http://timberframeblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/green-floor-finishes.html
Interior Decoration
There are certainly an abundance of green building materials on the market today. How do you determine which one is better than the other? One way is by considering its life cycle: where its raw materials come from, how it is manufactured and what happens during the manufacturing process, and where the product ends up. These are some things to consider when comparing green products:Do the raw materials come from:
- The earth;
- A forest;
- Chemicals mixed together
How are they harvested, and do they create waste or harmful material?
After being manufactured, how far does the product travel to get to distribution centers and you, the consumer?
After being manufactured, how far does the product travel to get to distribution centers and you, the consumer?
Does the material require sealants, urethane finishes, or adhesives for installation (these usually involve using chemicals)?
Is the material durable and can it be easily repaired if necessary?
Fifty years from now, will the material be:
- In the landfill in exactly the same form it was manufactured in;
- Recycled into another product or material;
- Biodegraded, having been broken down by microorganisms and bacteria
In the future, green building materials will come with labels listing the raw materials, contribution toward global warming, impact on carbon footprint, ozone depletion, health concerns, habitat impact, and other influences on our global environment. In the meantime, you can rely on your green architect to help you choose the building materials that are right for your project, the environment, and your immediate [and future] budget.
interior decoration
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