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Sustainable Building Materials
There is more to building a sustainable house than energy efficient design, solar power and
rainwater tanks. An enormous amount of energy goes into building a home, so selecting the
right materials can make a significant impact on saving our environment. As covered in The
Affordable Sustainable Housing Guide, the amount of energy used in the construction of
a ‘standard’ home is the equivalent to around 30 years use.
1. Sustainability
Recent years have seen changes in response to community pressure to preserve our rain
forests as well as a viable timber industry for future generations. Of Australia's public
forests, almost half are in designated conservation reserves and around 25% is available for
harvesting. About 1% of this area is harvested in a year. Timber available in Australia for
consumers however is not all Australian grown nor can it all be considered plantation or a
sustainable resource. It is always best to ask your supplier where the timber was grown and
is it from plantation timber. If they can't answer those questions then consider purchasing
your timber from someone who can guarantee the source of your timber.
Plantations for Australia: The 2020 Vision is a strategic partnership between the
Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments and the plantation timber industry. The
vision of the Plantations 2020 strategy is to treble the area of commercial tree crops by
2020. According to the National Forest Inventory 2005, Bureau of Rural Sciences,
Canberra, there are about 1.7 million hectares of plantation forests in Australia of which
around 715,000 hectares are hardwood plantation timber. It takes around 40 years for a
hardwood tree to be ready for harvesting into building materials. Depending upon the
species, this may be less. Therefore if 1% of the available resource is harvested every year,
in theory a well maintained timber industry is sustainable.
Oak has a mass of up to 800kg per cum. Therefore 785,000 tonnes of wood equals
approximately 980,000 cum of wood. This volume of wood will have removed around
245,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere - The equivalent embodied energy of 2500
standard homes 200m2 in size. Comparison of embodied energy in flooring covers:
Kiln dried sawn hardwood 2.0 MJ/KG (mega joules per kg) Plywood 10.4 MJ/KG
Synthetic rubber (carpet underlay) 110.0 MJ/KG As long as your hardwood timber floor is
from plantation forests, it is a sustainable and eco-friendly product - So you will feel great
knowing you are walking on a timber floor that is good for you and the planet!
Floor finishes
Many types of floor finishes are currently available in the market place. A little research and
preparation will get you the right product for your situation. The key to applying
commercially available products is awareness and ventilation. If the product’s odour is
offensive that in itself is a warning that care should be taken. Ventilation is required during
application of the product as well as afterwards, during high levels of off gassing.
The choice of floor finish will be determined by the appearance you require, your level of
sensitivity to toxins and the area the flooring will be located i.e. high traffic or the likely level
of changes in humidity. Timber is a natural product that responds to changes in weather
conditions. Unless Tongue & Groove flooring is placed in a permanently controlled constant
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environment, then expect it to move in response to changing environmental conditions.
Some movement usually occurs in timber floors after laying and although floor finishes may
slow this movement they will not prevent it. In applications where greater movement is
expected after finishing (e.g. from seasonal changes, use of wide boards, air-conditioning
installed after floor installation), a flexible finish is recommended that will allow boards to
move individually. If flexible finishes are not used, adjacent boards may become glued
together by the finish, penetrating into the joints. With subsequent shrinkage, wide gaps
between groups of four or five boards may occur or boards may split.
1. Oil-Based Finishes
Oil-based finishes are the more traditional types of finish manufactured by reacting a natural
oil (e.g. linseed and tung) with another chemical. Varnishes and the traditional tung oils fall
within this category and are associated with the polished and waxed timber floors of the
past. These types of finishes are still commonly available and require greater regular
maintenance than the other finishes. However, with the use of acrylic floor polishes, they
have become easier to maintain. These finishes will darken with time. They are flexible and
are very unlikely to edge bond boards.
Summary
The reality is that every new home or renovation in Australia won’t be built out of mud brick
or straw bales. And the good news is that you can still have a sustainable house built from
readily available materials. By having a look at what is available, and making better, more
informed choices for your home you will get a great deal of satisfaction and pride in leaving
a positive legacy for the generations to follow. And the home will be more comfortable for
you and your family to live in also!