Just how green is your dream home?
You have found the home of your dreams and you need to get it professionally inspected. Why not have your home inspector check out how green this home really is? After all, a green home uses less energy, water and all of our precious natural resources. If the home is not as green as you’d like, you have the option of requesting the current home owner update certain features when you get to the bargaining phase; and of course you can always green the home up later on your own.
Your goal is to live in a home that is healthier, more durable, and cost-effective; green living is all of this and more. Check into the local, state and utility company rebates, tax breaks and other incentives offered to people who go green in your new area; they can be considerable.
What materials have been used to build the home?
You should ask what the recycled content is of the products used to build the home. Was any salvaged wood used in the building of this home? On the interior of the house, has any recycled technology been used? Things like carpet and tile made from recycled tires and bottles is now popular.
Think non-toxic
Think non-toxic when you think of building materials. In wood products look for non-toxic strawboard. Strawboard is a very cool replacement for 2×4 stud and drywall construction. Strawboard panels have a solid core composed of wheat or rice straw; the panels can be used on either interior or exterior walls as well as in the subflooring of a home.
Look for low to zero VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and sealants; these paints don’t contain the compounds that make paint toxic. Indoor air is three times more polluted than outdoor air and one of the main causes is toxic paints and sealants which can release harmful substances into the air for years. Look for paints made from natural ingredients like plant oils and resins; most paint companies now produce low and zero VOC paints.
Become part of the rapidly renewable revolution
The rapidly renewable materials out there today include bamboo, hemp, agrifibers and soy bean products, wheat straw, sunflower hulls, even sorgum, and the list keeps growing. These are non-wood materials that have all the environmental advantages of wood without the huge carbon footprint. The resource getting the most attention today is bamboo. Bamboo is extremely fast growing and produces a very strong plant that can be used in any construction application. Its green quotient is off the charts since it needs no pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers to make it grow….just plant it and then get out of its way.
Wheat straw and sunflower hulls, farming byproducts, are now being used to make particleboard and specialty panels for homes and businesses. They are superstars on the list of environmentally friendly alternative building products, and very much in demand. Wheatboard was at first manufactured out of necessity but is now a popular choice for those who care about our environment.
I’ve given you information on just a few of the environmentally friendly substances to look for in your green dream home, but there’s a lot more to cover and things are changing even as we speak. My research is taking me into new fields and I’ll have a lot to share in part two of your green dream home.
Sources
- http://www.eco-structure.com/docs/archives%202006/eco_jan06/eco_jan06_eco-tech.pdf
- http://www.greenhomeguide.org/what_makes_a_green_home/green_home_checklist.html
- http://www.protech-inspection.com
