Top Ten Codes to Green Your Home
Building with straw bales is one way to build a green home. There are many others and several of them are not very obvious or well known. Using the code itself to build a simple structure can save you money and reduce your impact on the environment.
1. Space wall studs in conventional construction 2′ on center instead of 16″ on center. In just a 20′ long wall, you would save 5 studs by changing the layout.
2. Use a single top plate for load bearing walls. Also known as load stacking, this process is possible as long as your structural members are lined up directly on top of the studs below. Everything from roof trusses to foundation can be aligned atop single plates and structural members.
3. Build 2-stud corners. Eliminating the third stud is possible in most situations and it provides room for insulation which can reduce the thermal bridge at home exterior corners.
4. Do not build headers in non-load bearing walls. There is no need for them since no load is transferred through the wall. This will save material and labor.
5. Use finger jointed lumber where available. This uses smaller trees and waste wood to create longer sections of wood. Often used in exterior trim and fascia applications.
6. Increase the insulation package. The code requirements are minimum standards. Adding insulation, especially in the attic or ceiling, will increase the home’s overall efficiency.
7. Use engineered lumber like I-joists, gluelam beams, and LVL’s. These engineered products use smaller pieces of wood to span larger distances by laminating them together. Dimensional lumber in the same span scenarios would require the cutting of very large, often old growth trees.
8. Use recycled steel studs on interior walls. As long as the steel is recycled, it is not using any virgin materials and thus minimizing the larger impact on the planet. Do not use steel studs on the exterior frame as the thermal bridging will be too great.
9. Raise the size of the wood before you reduce the spacing. Often an increase from a 2×8 to a 2×10 will improve the structural integrity of a floor or ceiling as much as decreasing the spacing. The decreased spacing requires more trees and more wood, overall, than a simple size increase.
10. Use scrap from cut offs of longer framing material to incorporate blocking as required by code. Don’t use full length pieces for blocking. Plan your framing package well and use the scrap fully.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Morrison is the co-founder of Straw Bale Innovations, LLC, a company specializing in straw bale construction education and the proprietor of www.StrawBale.com. Andrew has a passion for straw bale construction that is matched only by his desire to teach his knowledge to others. For over 15 years, Andrew was a skilled, licensed general contractor with experience in designing and building both conventional and straw bale homes. In 2007 Andrew closed his contracting company to focus entirely on teaching workshops and consulting. You can learn more about his workshops at www.StrawBaleWorkshops.com and his consulting services at www.StrawBaleConsulting.com. Andrew received a BA degree from Hampshire College in 1995 for Glacial Geology. He also has a degree in construction technology form the College of the Redwoods.
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