Green Building Materials

One of the goals for the house is to be "green".  It means a lot of different things to different people.  We also like the term "resilient".

Here's some building material and construction choices that would be green to us:

• Super insulated: Walls, Attic, and Slab. Cellulose insulation is our most green option.
• High Mass Construction
• Slab floor w/exposed concrete: polished or Stained and Sealed Concrete floors - no tile or carpet.
• Thermal wall: Use specialized drywall where the sun will reach in the winter. 
• Windows and Doors: Fiberglass is the least conductive maintenance free material
• Roofing - Steel or long-lasting asphalt shingle
• Formaldehyde-free roof decking, sheathing, doors, Cabinets and Trim.   (Jodi is allergic to formaldehyde)
• Low/No VOC Paints & Stains
• Sheetrock: Recycled content, paperless drywall - eliminates mold (Joe is allergic to mold)
• Minimize materials and finishes:
• Minimal trim:  just baseboard and doors.  Wood ledge on all windows with drywall on top and sides.
• Minimize use of doors:  Craftsman style where used.  May need pocket doors due to space constraints.
• Single color on all interior walls - possibly a wheat (tan/yellow) color
• Natural stone for countertops 
• Local Materials:  Cut and mill trees from lot for trim (have some red and white oak)
• Look for recycled materials or re-used

Green needs to fit with our style. We want a craftsman style cottage. We love our quarter-sawn oak cabinets and furniture in our current home. We would like to use quarter-sawn oak again for the kitchen cabinets - but minimize the amount of wood that is used.

The exterior should be maintenance-free with a cottage feel. We like the uniformity of a trim board running at top of windows and doors. Shake-style shingles in the peaks lends itself to a cottage feel.

Here's a house in our Texas neighborhood with an interesting combination of colors and maintenance-free materials: