Building Materials

With the cost of lumber at an all time high, and some suggesting it may hit +300%, we decided to look at how we can still build high performance yet affordable homes. The cost of lumber is at an all time high, and because of that fact, other wall assemblies are showing themselves to be more affordable in comparison…

What does 'FSC Certified' mean on Wood & Lumber Products? Choosing FSC Certified Lumber and Paper Products means it comes from sustainably managed forests and helps to protect old growth forests - which is good. What is "FSC Certified" lumber? The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international, not-for-profit…

Hemp fibreboard cabinetry materials as an alternative to standard wood boards for kitchen cabinets - why it makes Eco-friendly sense. Hemp is a very sustainable construction material that is no longer just a fringe product; rather, it is becoming a more accessible mainstream building product, most notably as…

A life cycle analysis of the three major materials used as structural support for buildings - wood v concrete v steel - embodied carbon. Wood, steel and concrete each have specific structural advantages, each with their own characteristics. The following is a life-cycle comparison conducted by the Athena Sustainable…

Two new types of mass timber panels similar to cross-laminated timber are hitting the North American construction market. The commercial construction sector has warmly embraced cross-laminated timber (CLT) in recent years, taking advantage of it as the base structure, but also as a design feature. The assembly of…

Both Plywood & OSB have benefits & drawbacks, with much misinformation about Permeability - EcoHOME investigates the latest Data for new Code to help make the best choice. OSB v Plywood - Which is Best? Odds are, that if you pass a housing development of wood-framed houses, it will have OSB (oriented strand board)…

The sight of a tree falling can easily trigger something even in the most unlikely environmentalist. Ignoring that visual, wood can be a much greener material choice than many others if you put some thought into selection. Finding sustainable wood: We live in a country with over 400 million hectares of forest, so…

Undeniably the most ecological framing material, wood is both a renewable resource and one that serves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when used in place of other materials. The environmental advantages of wood frame construction: As just about the only renewable building material, wood has many advantages over…

绿色材料的开始和结束并不在于它们是否可回收或是否包含可回收的内容。在寻找可持续材料时，有许多因素需要考虑。所有材料都有自己的历史，我们需要权衡其利弊。不幸的是，并不总是有一个明显的……

Solid wood & various wood-based products are used for framing, insulating & finishing homes. Here is how to choose different lumber products for framing & their proper construction applications when building houses. Framing lumber choices for building homes Framing lumber, also known as structural wood, is the grade…

Everywhere we look online we see cool & beautiful furniture like beds & headboards made from recycled wood from shipping pallets - but could they be slowly poisoning us? Here's how to keep pallet furniture safe. Pallet Beds - cool but potentially dangerous! We've all seen these rustic shabby-chic pallet wood beds &…

We dislike product "Greenwashing," so it's music to our ears that the CMA in the UK will investigate descriptions and labels used to promote products and services claiming to be ‘eco-friendly’ with Worldwide implications. So what is product Greenwashing? Greenwashing eh? Heard the one about the "Natural Insulation"…

When we think of Big-Box Stores & Retailers we don't generally think of sustainability - we think of a "pile it high & sell it cheap" disposable mentality - but we've been discovering that Ikea, the worlds largest furniture retailer, is at least trying. So here’s a new situation – We find that a certain corporation…

With the help of The Healthiest Home in Ottawa, a couple in Aylmer, Quebec are the first in the National Capital Region to build a home with an innovative wall panel system from a U.S. company called K-Tect. Brian Allemekinders and Deidre Yukich say that despite their new home being twice the size of their previous…

钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子钉子Most people, certainly those reading here on our site, would no doubt prefer to see old lumber re-employed than sent to a landfill, but staying on a construction budget can on occasion trump…