3 Eco-Friendly House Building Materials

You don’t have to be an avid environmentalist to know it makes sense to use eco-friendly house building materials for building projects like new home construction, additions and renovations. On top of being good for the earth, it saves money.

Different Levels of Environmentally-Friendly Building Materials

Any building material made from reused materials, like reclaimed wood, can be considered more environmentally friendly than materials made from scratch. But the reused materials may not be as environmentally friendly as a completely organic material.

A great resource to learn more about all types of environmentally-appropriate construction materials is the Forest Stewardship Council.

Materials can also be eco-friendly in different ways too. For example, recycled materials are green because they use a minimum of raw materials. Other materials may be more energy-efficient, which reduces our reliance on fossil fuels. Still, others have properties like pest resistance, which helps them last longer so they don’t have to be replaced as quickly with new materials.

Green Home Building Materials

The following materials are among the most ‘green’ building materials available.

1. Straw Bales – Straw bales have been used to build entire homes. Straw is a great insulator, which reduces your heating and cooling requirements. And, of course, straw is a very renewable resource.
   
2. Recycled Steel – Even a home made of straw bales need a solid frame. Recycled steel uses about 25% of the energy needed to make new steel. Just six old cars can produce enough recycled steel to build a 2,000 sq. ft. home.
   
3. Bamboo – Bamboo is a green building material superstar. It’s very fast growing, which makes is highly renewable. It’s very strong, which means it can be used to support walls and floors. And it is decorative, which means it can be used all around the home.

So the next time you’re working on a new build or renovation, in addition to the usual tasks like waste bin rentals, consider using green building materials, including recycled content and renewable resources.

If you liked this post, check out our recent article on four ways to get rid of renovation waste.