Magog Quebec

It is not uncommon for the demands of our industry that wood-frame structures and wall and roof panels are used to attach environmental and sustainable - but is this really true? I thought it would be interesting to look a little further into these issues to try to discover the facts.

The wood frame structure

A wooden frame is made from solid wood, which is durable ... right? Well, not all wood used for lumber are not necessarily sustainable. Sustainable Forestry in a simplistic way of speaking, means that the volume of wood in the forest does not go over time because of forestry practices, or a particular resource will not be harvested to extinction. It can rise or fall in the years to anyone, but over time the resource will be there in perpetuity.

When huge "free-of-center-center" Douglas fir wood are specified for a proposed wood-frame, as it is now popular, these woods come from the huge trees of ancient forests on Canada's west coast America. These trees are a finite resource - once they are full grown, they have disappeared forever. A more durable wood would a wood of fir younger, smaller, possibly plantation grown Douglas, who is "boxed heart" - which means a smaller, younger trees can be used.

Another factor to consider is the energy embodied in the woods, or the energy required for harvesting, processing and transporting timber to its final location. If a timber is harvested locally, squared pepper and serve on a "green" (not dried), it has very little intrinsic energy. One practice gaining popularity is to have the pieces of wood oven-dried in a special oven energy intensive. Add this drying energy costs of transporting the wood west coast throughout North America, and statements of energy is increasing rapidly. Not as much as steel or concrete, perhaps, but much more than local green wood. We always encourage our customers here in Quebec and Ontario for local use, green, heart-wood box for their projects wood frame.

insulated wall panels and roof

A product that has become synonymous with timber frame is the foam-based panel to stress the skin used to form the walls and roof envelope. Available in either EPS or urethane foam, the group did a great job of insulating the house, so it is often presented as being very green. While energy consumption reduction is part of a green house, the use of petroleum-based products is clearly not sustainable. When you look at the broader context and the energy used by the oil industry, including emissions of CO2, you have to question the green label ", he was given. foam panels are also completely unnecessary, because about 20% of the wall panels will be cut and placed in a landfill as a result of the window and door.

An insulation material is more durable cellulose, straw or even mineral wool. Cellulose is made from 85% recycled newsprint, and does a great job of sealing the walls and roofs against air infiltration. Straw is an agricultural by-product, and also has a high R-value. Even mineral or rock wool, which comes from minerals technically unsustainable, can be made from recycled iron slag, a byproduct of iron and steel manufacturing.

So if there is a message drawn from this story is this: do your homework. Do not always take the manufacturers' claims at face value, the products often have undesirable qualities which are not mentioned in teasers.