Eco-friendly Building Materials

With the world slowly waking up to the effects of climate change and the importance of sustainable living, the enthusiasm for using ‘green’, eco-friendly living materials is on the rise. By opting for eco-friendly materials for building or remodeling your home, you are reducing the negative impact of human beings on their environment. These eco-friendly materials can be used at all levels of construction, right from the foundation, down to the flooring, wall finishing, and even countertop materials.

With diminishing fossil fuels, there is a great need to reduce energy consumption as a strategy essential to survival. That’s why it’s important to turn towards eco-friendly materials that increase energy efficiency and reduce their negative impact on the environment, as well as on human well-being. There are a lot of materials in the market that are labeled as being ‘green’, but their environment friendliness is sometimes questionable. By choosing products that are made up of natural and renewable materials, as well as those that have recycled content, you are contributing towards lower carbon emissions as well as saving on energy usage.

With rising cost of fossil fuels, you will actually be saving on money too as the usage of eco-friendly materials reduces living costs by reducing energy usage for cooling, heating and lighting. Here is a look at some ways to build sustainably by using eco-friendly construction materials:

Recycled or Reclaimed Wood

Recycled wood has a lower impact on the environment and forests as compared to using fresh timber. Reclaimed wood can be used to create attractive wooden flooring, wall cladding or for exposed beams – creating an elegant and antique look. Cork is another renewable material that is basically the bark stripped from the Mediterranean oak tree. The bark renews itself quickly again and makes an eco-friendly and economy-friendly material that can be used for flooring.

Bamboo

Bamboo is a sustainable material that grows very fast. It’s basically not wood, but a grass that regrows again within five years. Bamboo is a very pliable eco-friendly building material that can be used in multiple ways in construction. It has a higher compressive strength than concrete, brick or wood and a tensile strength that matches steel!

Recycled Steel

Interestingly, steel is one of the most recycled materials globally and of great demand for structural use in construction. The steel reclaimed from 6 junk cars provides enough reclaimed steel to construct a 2000 sq ft home. By opting for recycled steel, you end up saving 75% on energy costs.

Precast Concrete

Concrete is the most widely used building material and is made-up of natural elements that can be recycled, thus making it the natural choice of material for building eco-friendly homes. Precast concrete is more eco-friendly as compared to concrete poured on-site. To make precast concrete, the concrete mix is poured into molds with steel bars/wires and then cured. Once its hardened, it is sent off to the construction site where it is placed into position.

Recycled Glass

To create an artistic special finishing, old glass can be pulverized and recycled for use in home and office buildings. Beautiful floor tiles, kitchen countertop materials as well as translucent wall bricks can all be crafted out of this recycled glass for a classy end-result.

Roofing

There are a number of eco-friendly green alternative when it comes to roofing. You could go with cool clay tiles, which are all-natural and perfect for tropical climates where they keep the interiors cool (Clay tiles can be used for flooring too). Slate tiles are another natural option as they are chemical-free and use natural earth ore for its production. Fiber cement shingles or recycled metal roofing panels are some of the other natural elements that are entirely free of petrochemicals.

If you are looking for homes that are built responsibly and employ the use of eco-friendly materials, then go with villas and apartments built by Vishraam builders in key areas of Thrissur and its surroundings. Vishraam sets the benchmark in Kerala as far as conservation of natural resources, minimizing waste generation and pollution control are concerned. Every project lays emphasis on preventing adverse impacts on the environment as well as recycling, reusing and restoring nature and natural products in every possible way.

If you are on the lookout for ‘green’ and eco-friendly homes, then invest in a Vishraam home today!