Materials to Build a House
Bamboo for House Construction
Bamboo as a decorative element has been widely used in homes and bamboo flowers have become very popular in the United States. In Asia and South America, houses are built with wood. Bamboo is an extremely strong wood, and is used for roads and bridges in Asia. In Haiti it is widely used in homes. This strong wood is a renewable resource because it is one of the fastest growing silver. It has a shorter growth cycle than common woods and the bamboo harvest does not harm the roots of the plant. Bamboo must be treated with some chemicals to make it waterproof and repel insects and requires a few different construction methods, particularly to join different pieces of bamboo.
However, bamboo is an extremely flexible element for construction because it bends and is immensely durable and ideal as a suistainable building material.
Rock benefits for construction
It is possible to build beautiful houses with rock instead of cement and concrete. The rocks can be pulverized and mixed with clay or sand. The rock walls have good thermal mass means that absorb and distribute the temperature inside.
The insulation offered by the rock prevents heat from fluctuating indiscriminately from the outside to the inside.
Rock structures are extremely durable but very labor intensive.
The rock is used from a process to make rock wool and produce insulation panels from cold and sound.
Rock is a very solid and durable solution. To reduce costs, it is advisable to use rocks from the same location where the building will be built. It is one of the sustainable building materials most used in bioclimatic architecture.
Ramms in Construction
For many people, wood is not affordable or they want to implement other methods construction with natural materials , they decide to use what they have underfoot. Building a house made with mud, means putting together a mixture of earth poured into a structure to shape a wall. Ramming of earth can be done by hand or by machine, once the structures are completed they can be removed, leaving a wall of earth about 18 inches to 24 inches (46 cm to 61 cm) thick.
The mud walls require soils of different thickness, but a lot of mud can cause the wall to break. The walls can be covered with stucco or left bare but with an internal stabilizer with a little cement. When properly constructed, mud walls are very durable, withstanding bad weather as part of the Great Wall of China. It also saves energy due to its thermal mass.
Best Environmental Practices in Construction
The best environmental practices by construction companies are cause for celebration, awards and prizes in many countries. Energy efficiency is the most valued technique when it comes to best practices in construction related to the environment. Minimize energy use and whether solar energy can be used to operate machines, transport and work tools. The use of biofuels such as biodiesel instead of diesel or traditional gasoline is also a very relevant advance.
When awarding an award, it is about assessing the contribution to the environment of ecologically responsible companies. The philosophy of how much a construction company is responsible with the environment is something that evolves over the years.
The environmental impact of construction starts from the design of ecological products and materials to be used on a construction site. Ecodesign techniques, such as the choice or design of sustainable materials, is of vital importance. Among these, recycled ceramics, for example, are a good design practice for environmentally friendly products.
Types of Slabs
The slabs are constructive elements of reinforced concrete or precast materials with a rectangular cross-section filled or with holes, of little thickness and cover a significant surface area of the floor. They serve to form floors and ceilings in a building and are supported by beams or walls. They can have one or more continuous sections.
There are different types of slabs according to:
- Its placement in the construction, mezzanine or deck.
- Its supports, perimeter slabs, one continuous side, two continuous sides, three continuous sides
- their way of putting together, one way or two ways
- the construction process, solid, flat, ribbed, cross-linked, prefabricated