by Jemma Pearson Reduce the carbon footprint of your new build with environmentally friendly building products.

We’d all like to be greener at home, but if you are building or renovating, it’s hard to know where to start. A quick Google search will show you how many green alternatives are out there, with an abundance of building supplies that are leaner and greener than traditional materials available to consumers. MPP takes a tour of the home and discovers some great new environmentally friendly home building products.

Flooring

Whether you’re fitting out your home with carpet, tiles or timber, you can choose more sustainable flooring products. Carpet made with corn, locally produced tiles, and timber sourced from sustainable forests all add up to a greener build. Whatever the product or service, choosing local companies that produce materials from local sources is the best way to reduce the carbon footprint of the build. So, the closer to home the better.  

Carpet made with corn, locally produced tiles and timber sourced from sustainable forests all add to a greener build

Paints and stains

Many traditional paints contain solvents and chemicals that, once they become airborne or make contact with the skin, can cause allergies, illness and even serious disease. But now most of the big paint brands are addressing the issue with healthier paints that are low-toxic and produced with more environmentally friendly ingredients. And the formulations are getting better every day. For your outdoor decks, choose a natural wood oil or stain. Water-based paints and stains tend to be better for you and the environment. They release fewer fumes and are easier to clean up than oil-based types.

Timbers

There is a huge amount of timber that goes into many homes, and some of it you don’t even see – timber cladding, flooring, decks, posts and beams, rails and treads for stairs, joinery and benchtops. And it’s not too hard to find suppliers of timbers that have been cut from sustainable forests or have been recycled. If you are sourcing recycled timbers yourself, though, check that they have not been treated with anything toxic and are safe for use in the home.

There's probably not one home on the coast that doesn't have a piece of Laminex in it. And now the company has responded to the drive for more sustainable products with Greenfirst, which the group says is "an extensive range of environmentally-preferable surface solutions that meet or in many cases exceed industry standards"

Lighting

Changing your lightbulbs from incandescent to CFL and doing away with halogens is something any home owner can do, not just those building and renovating. If you are designing your lighting from scratch, though, go for LEDs – they don’t heat up like incandescents and halogens and are more efficient and last longer than both traditional bulbs and CFLs. The best thing you can do, though, is reduce your reliance on artificial lights. Designing your home to allow plenty of natural light to flow in through windows and skylights is a great idea and will have you regularly flicking off the switches.

Insulation

We all know that insulation is crucial when building to reduce energy consumption – keeping the home warm in winter and cool in summer – but products made from non-renewable resources also take a toll on the environment. Choosing sustainably manufactured insulation and having it professionally installed is a must. Look out for products made from recycled materials. There are many on the market, from glasswool insulation made from recycled waste glass to loose-fill cellulose made from recycled paper. Wool-based insulation – which is safe to handle, releases no VOCs and requires a lot less energy to manufacture than fibreglass insulation – is also safe for the home and good for the planet.

If you are renovating and need the brick colour matched to your existing abode, there are companies that can do that too

Outside

Recycling old house bricks is nothing new. Home handymen and DIYers have been reusing old bricks in the home for years for small projects such as barbecues and retaining walls. But have you thought of building your entire home with recycled bricks? Many home owners are doing just that, and if you are renovating and need the brick colour matched to your existing abode, there are companies that can do that too. Manufactured stone is also a popular alternative to the real thing for landscaping projects. It is lightweight and much cheaper than real stone, costs less to transport and install and the good thing is your friends won’t even be able to tell the difference.