There many characteristics that define a Green Home; energy efficient appliances, solar panels, solar thermal panels, rainwater harvesting collection systems and of course architectural design features that promote passive energy efficiencies.
Another important aspect of Green Home Construction is often referred to as post consumer, repurposed, or recycled materials. This is different from sustainably forested, a term used for products that take little time to grow, such as bamboo. But the most common source for home construction is lumber that comes from trees that make up our forests, so anytime we can make more efficient use of building materials such as lumbered wood studs it is going to be beneficial to our environment!
For example, take Finger Jointed Studs! At Las Casas Verdes, our green home subdivision in South Austin on Longview Road, 78745,
we have used 2 X 6 wooden studs repurposed from the scrap lumber from other construction sites. Think of it as a renewable wood resource!
Companies such as Temple Inland and Georgia Pacific collect the scrap lumber, two by six boards mainly, and usually around two to three feet long. The ends of these boards are then machine cut on each end, using a finger joint type of cut. These short pieces are then glued, end to end until a new, longer board is formed. The board lengths can vary based upon contractor demand.
The boards that I saw appeared to me to be straight and strong. Although I am not an expert in this field, the boards are reportedly for vertical use only and although not necessarily stronger than traditional boards, typically any bad parts of the boards are cut out. The boards are expected to be straighter and since the finger joints are glued, the boards are more dimensionally stable, with less chance of warping or twisting! Cool huh?
A Las Casas Verdes home is custom designed to minimize the amount of scrap lumber anyway, but whatever scrap lumber that is left over from the construction activities is returned to the plant to be repurposed into useable lumber studs once again.
Maximizing the use of already cut lumber by repurposing scrap boards, helps to minimize the number of trees needed to construct our homes.
Give me a call, text or email if you would like to learn more about the Green Home features in our Las Casas Verdes home. Better yet, let us customize and then build a Las Casas Verdes home for you or someone you know.
Jeffrey Dochen, Broker
Shelton Properties
512-328-2500
Dochen@Texas.Net
