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BUILDING GREEN - Step 4. Choose Green Materials.
Once you’ve selected a good site for your conditions and have a pretty clear idea what kind of design will work well on it, you can think about materials. Materials should not be divorced from site and design, however. If you have an extremely steep site, for example, a light structure out of wood or metal studs would probably work better than a heavy one made from an earth material. It’s great that there are so many green building materials readily available now. But that can make it a bit overwhelming when you have to choose one over another. Be sure to keep your building goals in mind, then use the following seven criteria to help you sort out the options. Seven criteria for choosing materials

1. Is the material effective in your conditions?
Most materials have a range of conditions in which they work best. There are good choices for every circumstance, so find out what works well where you are. For example, a material that functions well in the mild climate of Alabama may be unable to stand up to severe freeze/thaw conditions in Idaho. A material that works great on the cloudy northwest coast might deteriorate in the relentless sun of the desert southwest.

When you build in  an area where TERMITES are a threat, Steel may be a wiser choice for your structure than wood.

2. Is the material healthy and safe?
Materials and products need to be healthy and safe for the workers who extract, harvest, manufacture and install them, and for the inhabitants who are exposed to their fumes and particles in tight modern buildings. For example, both painters
and inhabitants will benefit from paints that don’t give off nasty toxic fumes. A ceramic tile floor is good for occupants because it won’t harbor allergy-causing dust mites and molds the way carpet sometimes can. Above all, materials, their production, use, and disposal, must be safe for the planet. We don’t want our homes to add to such problems as pollution, ozone depletion, global warming, loss of habitat, and depletion of irreplaceable resources. For example, when clay tile is disposed of, it biodegrades easily, whereas pressure-treated lumber must be handled as a hazardous waste. If wood
comes from a certified sustainably-managed forest, the forest remains viable for future tree harvesting, wildlife habitat, recreation, and other benefits. That’s not the case with a tree farm or clear-cut harvesting.

3. Is the material durable and easily maintained? 
Using materials that last a long time saves the resources needed to replace them and reduces disposal problems and costs. Using materials which require little or no maintenance saves time, work, and money. For example, if the exterior of your home is brick or stone, it won’t rot and termites won’t eat it. You’ll never have to paint or replace it.

4. Is the material used efficiently?
There’s a lot to consider in regard to efficiency: 
a. Is the material from your region and processed there? 
Transportation results in pollution, so the less transport needed, the better. Buying from your region has the added benefit of helping your local economy, too.
b. Can the material be used in a natural state, or with very little processing?
Processing resources into usable building products, such as carpeting or vinyl siding, tends to use a lot of resources, especially energy and water. But some materials, like stone and wood, can be used with little or no processing. 
c. Can the material serve more than one purpose, so other materials won’t be needed?
d. Does the material make efficient use of the resources it’s made of?

Here are some examples:
• Engineered materials, such as finger-jointed studs made with short pieces of lumber glued together,      or  roof trusses designed so small sized lumber can safely replace large sizes.
• Products made with recycled-content, such as steel framing materials made out of scrap steel, or carpet made of plastic bottles
• Products that are easily recyclable, such as glass blocks and concrete blocks (products made out of many different materials are hard to recycle because it’s difficult to separate them)
• Reused and reusable materials, such as salvaged beams or brick from a dismantled building

You probably won’t choose a material solely because it’s efficient, but because it has other qualities you like as well. For example, floor trusses made of 2x4’s allow duct work to pass through them, whereas solid-lumber floor joists don’t; finger-jointed studs are straighter than solid lumber studs; reused beams may be more beautiful than new ones. If a recycled product is equal to your alternative choice (e.g. carpet made of plastic bottles looks just likely carpet from virgin
material), why not choose the recycled one? That helps all of us.

e. Does the design and/or construction method use material efficiently?

All of these kinds of construction reduce waste:
• Factory-built construction
• Modular design or design based on standard-size materials
• Minimum amount of material used that can properly do the job.

5. Is the material available in your area, and can contractors work with it?
If so, you will save time and money and have fewer problems. This doesn’t mean that you should never special-order a material or try something new—just that you should be aware of the potential for delays and installation problems.

6. Is the material cost-effective?
If cost is your top consideration, be advised to look at all costs, now and in the
future, not just the purchase price. Real costs are based on all of the points
above. For example, what maintenance will be needed? How long will a
product last before it must be replaced? Which choice will give you the most
comfort? Which choice is more likely to keep you away from the doctor?

7. Is the material aesthetically satisfying to you?
No one expects you to choose a material that you don’t find appealing—that’s an important criterion, too.
Applying these criteria is a challenge because there is seldom a perfect material choice. You have to keep examining the trade-offs, until you find the greatest number of positive qualities and the smallest number of negative qualities that fit your
goals. But some criteria do matter more than others. What might seem like a bargain in the store might not really be one in the long run if the material doesn’t hold up well or provokes your allergies. Still, given all the choices available, there’s bound to be a good one for you. 

Consider this....
Applying your own priorities and the criteria listed above, which material choice would you make for yourself in your region? Since you don’t have a team to advise you, where might you get help? Remember—there isn’t a “right” answer—just the best one for you.

RESOURCES

Efficient Windows Collaborative
All about windows and how to select
the best windows for your location
www.efficientwindows.org

Green Building Resource Guide
John Hermansson
Available through
www.greenguide.com

Environmental Building News Product
Catalog
122 Birge Street Suite 30
Brattleboro, Vermont 05301
Available
www.catalog@ebuild.com

Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation
Publications and web site featuring
healthy materials and building methods
for homes
www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Prescriptions for a Healthy House
Baker, Elliott & Banta, 1998
Inwork Press
2530 Camino Entrada
Santa Fe, NM 87505-4835

The Healthy House

Healthy House Building
John Bower
The Healthy House Institute
7471 N. Shiloh Road
Unionville, IN 47468

The Natural House Book
The Natural House Catalog
David Pearson
Simon & Schuster/Fireside
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020