Echelon Custom Homes » Zero Energy

Smart Eco Friendly Alternatives to Standard Paint

Lance Manlove — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:22:50 +0000

It seems commonplace to just naturally paint the drywall in your new home. Some people might ask, “what else would you do with your walls if you didn’t paint them?” There are several eco friendly alternative to just normal painting. Standard paints and other adhesives in your home contain VOC’s or volatile organic compounds. These VOC’s will off gas over time and compromise the indoor air quality of your home and can lead to health issues if the house is not properly ventilated. Some paint manufactures such as Sherwin Williams (www.sherwinwilliams.com) , Benjamin Moore (www.benjaminmoore.com) , and Mythic Paints (www.mythicpaint.com) have developed Low VOC or No VOC paints to meet the demands of today’s green conscience consumer. This is a good step toward better indoor air quality and healthier homes, but can we do better? I think we can…

We have a home currently under construction in which we are using a combination of clay paints and American Clay to cover the drywall. You have to re-think your standard methodologies in terms of building sequencing, but it is well worth the effort when you witness the results. The first coat of the American Clay wall material was applied today and already the interior of this home seems to be transformed. What is American Clay and what are the advantages to using American Clay? American Clay Earth Plasters are a natural, environmentally friendly way to finish any interior. Non-toxic and made in the USA, these plasters are an alternative to cement, acrylic and lime plasters, offering superior color, richness, texture and depth not found with other finishes. All American Clay finishes contain no VOC’s and are have a wide range of finish treatments and color options. See the attached pictures of our craftsman applying the base coat for the Loma finish – in another week the final coats will be applied and the house will be ready for doors and trim. If the clay finish does not fit into your budget you can opt for clay paints instead – BioShield (www.bioshieldpaint.com) offers a line of clay paints that get applied just like paint but contain no VOC’s and look great. We are using both products in this home currently under construction and can’t wait to see the end results.

Green Roof

Lance Manlove — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:53:27 +0000

Green Roof

February 21, 2010 – 4:24 pm

We are really excited to install one of the first residential green roofs in Sussex County and maybe Delaware. Three separate green roofs on this one house will create a great natural space as well as save energy and conserve water. The integrated rain water collection system will recycle rain water and use it to irrigate the landscape and possibly be used to flush toilets in the residence.

Green roofs have been proven to bring about significant energy savings, particularly during the summer cooling season in which single story buildings can experience a reduction of greater than 25% energy use. Plants transform heat and soil moisture into humidity, to create natural evaporative cooling. Each gallon of water that is transpired by the plants or evaporated from the roof surface liberates 8000 BTU of thermal energy.

A Green Roof extends the lifetime of the roof; typical estimates are that a green roof extends the lifetime of a roof between 100 and 200 percent, by protecting the rooftop from ultraviolet radiation, large temperature fluctuations, drying winds, and punctures. Not only does the roof last longer, but there is reduced membrane maintenance. All this brings about significant cost savings over time.

One might ask can you walk on this Green Roof and the answer is yes. You can create pathways or a garden type layout or you can plant it in a way that there is no public access – the possibilites are endless.

Foam Foam Foam

Lance Manlove — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:03:47 +0000

What’s all the talk about foam insulation? Does it work and what types are there?

Yes, foam is good for residential and commercial construction practices. The two main types of spray foam are closed cell and open cell foam. The closed cell foam is a vapor barrier whereas the open cell foam will allow air to pass through. Closed cell has a better R-Value per inch of application but is more expensive to install. So where is the common ground? We have found that a hybrid approach works best for us and keeps the costs down. In the 2×6 cavity, we spray a 1/2″ of closed cell foam on the back side of the sheathing and then blow in fiberglass batt insulation for the rest of the 5″. The spray foam creates a great seal to repel any air infiltration and the blown in batts fills the gaps and delivers a great composite R-Value for a 2×6 stick framed wall. It’s a great idea to also spray foam your band board in a crawl or basement. The investment will pay dividends year after year and is well worth it.

To learn more about green products go to www.zeroenergybuilt.com.