Sustainable Materials

         Sustainability is a tendency of any element or material to exist constantly at a cost. The more sustainable the body will be, the more ability it will posses to survive. The sustainability of anything mostly revolves around three factors that are social, economic and environment. A sustainable material must fulfill all these factors.
         In a modern world we have numbers of artificial and natural materials present. But lately our modern industry is leaning towards sustainable materials and increasing the use of them in buildings, which is a good practice as some of the toxic artificial materials mainly plastic has been in practice for over a decade now. One cannot deny the wonders plastic can produce but on the other its non-degrading properties is harming our planet. That is one of the main reasons that industry is leaning towards natural sustainable materials.
         Sustainable materials are costly than the other cheap artificial materials, but their properties justify them in a longer run. Moreover, the finish, feel and texture are much better too which justifies its price.
         The most prominent features of sustainable materials are:

• Health
There is no doubt that all the sustainable materials are non-toxic and does not harm the people, there may be some exceptions such as allergies but in general they are barely harmful for the people.

• Environmental Impact
These materials have relatively low environmental impact compare to cheaper feasible alternatives. If been treated properly it can last decades.

• Economical
Sustainable materials are proven to be economical in a longer run because it needs low maintenance and are fairly durable than others.

• Efficient
If a sustainable material is well treated it can prove to be very efficient then as there will be no waste.

• Resilience
These materials are highly resilient to stresses.

• Renewable
Materials can be renewed quite easily  for example a wooden surface after a nice polish can be renewed .

• Reusable
The most distinctive and pleasing property of these materials are their reusability. In some cases like stones can be reused for million years in different forms and purposes.

• Bio-Degradable
Most ideal property of these materials are that they produce no waste which can’t be consumed and all these materials fully degradable.

There are number of sustainable materials, but keeping the efficiency and use in mind the most common ones are;

1. Cork                                 

2. Bamboo
                                 
3. Reclaimed Wood                       

4. Pre-Cast Concrete

                                 

Belmont House

FAÇADE      The Belmont house is a type of Georgian architecture with its most unique characteristic of having hipped roofs throughout the structure. Georgian era used to have a square symmetrical design which was carried forward from Classical era.

STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS

   

The Georgian architecture used to have two or three storeys in the structure and so does the Belmont house it has a basement, a ground floor and a first floor.

  Building was well built by bricks and the structure is quite strong even after several decades, that was the common practice in Georgian architecture, people started building big strong houses due to accumulation of wealth in the reign of King William.

 One of the most common and distinctive features of Georgian architecture was the main terraced door used to open on the road without being there any porch and same is the situation with the Belmont House as shown in the picture below.

  The common term and the feature used in that era was “dentil work” which is basically a hipped roof moving upward from every side of the building and finishing in a conical shape on the top with having embellished cornices.

WINDOWS

     Due to the reinforcement of the window tax during the Georgian period the designers were trying to reduce the number of windows in the structure, but Georgian buildings always tried to stand the point of accumulation of wealth. So, there were always hefty number of windows in any Georgian structure and so is the case with Belmont house.

    All the Georgian structures showcases a number of windows in the structure which are multi-paneled and allows significant sunlight to enter in the building plus create a nice living environment as well with different surrounding views.

    Similar to its structure the geometrical feature is carried towards the shape of windows as well. First floor windows are generally quite long and rectangular in shape and its gets shorter and squarer as it goes upward to higher levels.

                           

    Another most distinctive feature of Georgian architecture was fan light. A small window opening over the main door which allows the sunlight in the hallway. It was introduced in the late Georgian period and can be found in most of the buildings from

same era. They can be very elaborative or very simple and considered to be one of the status symbol as well. Belmont house have the same feature as well but less elaborative it is just a small rectangular paneled opening on the top of the main entrance.

Phases of Timber

Pre-Building Phase

Wood is mainly acquired from forests and is in raw form for example logs. The first and foremost step is grading and quality assurance. All the lumber is transported to the manufacturer for further processes.

Timber needs to go through certain certifications before it reaches the market the common ones FSC and PEFC (for Ireland).

PEFC was formed in 2008 for the control of deforestation and authority promotes sustainable forest management and the use of certified timber from the authorities.

Timber certification is basically a written statement that attests to the origin of wood, it may be used as validation for any type of claims and gives satisfaction to the consumer too. It covers from harvesting to the further related in which wood can be used for.

Certification can be useful for both consumers and manufacturers as it increases the worth of it and the customer gets a guarantee. Further, the wood is transported for testing and grading.

The grading of hardwood lumber is fairly complexed but general steps are:

·       Determining species.

·       Surface measurement for determining how many cuts can be carried out.

·       Determining poor face

·       Taking a piece of lumber for testing to make sure it meets the requirements.

·       Determining the surface area meets the grades.

·       Determining cutting yield

·       Checking the reverse side meets FAS (first and second) grade.

·       Checking the piece qualifies for other grades like the amount of wane, amount of pitch, etc.

The general grading categories of the hardwood lumber as follows:

There are in total of eight grades in the industry with FAS being the highest and No. 3A common being the lowest of them.

·       FAS

Shorthand for “First and Seconds”. FAS is the highest grade of hardwood lumber.

·       FAS 1-Face  

(abbreviation: F1F): A “Select” piece of lumber which is six inches and wider.

·       Select

A No. 1 Common piece of lumber (the poorer side of the wood piece is assigned as No. 1 Common grade) and the reverse side (the better side) grades FAS. The price of Selects and 1-Face is usually the same as FAS. Often, Select grade lumber is used in the Northern The U.S., while 1-Face is used in the South.

·       No.1 Common

is the standard furniture grade lumber and provides a good selection of long, medium and short cuttings at a reasonable price.

·       No. 2A Common

(also known as No. 2 Common) is the standard grade for cabinets, millwork, and other uses requiring medium to short cuttings.

·       No. 2B Common

is the same as No. 2A Common, except that stain and other sound defects, are admitted in the clear cuttings. It is an excellent grade for painting.

·       No. 3A Common

is often combined with No. 3B Common and the combination is sold as No. 3 Common, which is widely used for flooring and pallets.

Finally, the wood is processed through the moisture test and quality assurance of the hardwood lumber depends on it. Once the wood is passed through all these processes its good for its next phase.

Building Phase

During the building, the wood needs to go through multiple processes and the first one is its treatment. The wood needs to be properly treated according to the conditions it will be used in.

Most commonly in the UK and Ireland, the wood is used for flooring and partitions and both areas need to be moisture resistant, especially keeping in mind the weather here. Dampness and moisture can be very fatal for wood and for its prevention wood need to be treated.

Commonly there are two types of treated wood,

·       Preservative treated wood

·       Pressure preservative-treated wood

Wood treatment can delay the deterioration of wood for a longer period of time, it provides an invisible coating and makes the wood less appealing to the insects, which mainly with the common issues of dry and wet rotting of the wood.

The process of treating wood is rather thorough. Untreated wood is placed into treating cylinder and vacuum is applied which removes the air from wood cells and further the treatment chemicals are filled up in it.

The common practice is the coating of protective that is placed on the surface of the

Wood which keeps it protected but comparatively pressures treated woods are more

Long-lasting then preservative-treated wood.

Further during its building phase, the wood goes through another process of

Varnishing but it depends on the application if the wood will be used in someplace

not visible like partition walls then this process is not required but otherwise to bring

out its aesthetic appeal, the varnish is required.

The final stage is the packaging and for construction purposes making common

Building elements like window sills, door frames, stud partitions etc. Most of these

elements have general dimensions and are delivered pre-made from the companies

now, the same case is with the flooring, the floor planks are all treated and varnished for

the application.

Post Building Phase

Wood can last for ages if treated and used well and it can be easily recycled too. The recycling of wood is increasing and showing its drastic growth yearly as countries are worried about deforestation.

Recycled wood can have a number of uses the most generic ones are making paper and using it as a source of fuel.

In construction industry reclaimed or recycled wood is very useful as it can be reused as a building material.

The amount of wood that ends up in the landfill annually is 10 percent which is not much compared to concrete and steel which are 82 percent and 98 percent respectively.

According to a report published in the United Stated there was an alarming 70.6million of urban wood waste, which was most ever recorded and since then CMRA (Construction Materials Recycling Association) has taken strong measures in stopping the wastage of wood and recycling it.

The use of recycled wood is getting more common these days, as timber does not weather or age much so it's highly likely to be reused in the projects where aesthetics don’t play an important role.

In the final stage, wood can always be turned into wood chips and can be reused again the most important example is MDF (medium-density fiberboard) which is in great demand in modern construction. MDF is mainly made up of residuals of hardwood and softwood with combinations of resins and wax.

Another smart use of woodchips is building walkways, woodchips can be very helpful in evening out the ground and it suppresses the weed growth too. It can be laid out in places like a play area for the kid as it possesses non-slip properties and is comparatively cheaper than other options.