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Sustainable Building Directory

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The Green Directory offers on of the most comprehensive sustainable building directories which includes hundreds of green businesses that are ready to assist you in your green building needs.

Sustainable building encompasses everything about the structure and materials used in that structure to create a low impact construction. Sustainable building also goes into the way to use certain products to increase energy efficiency and water efficiency in the home. The whole method of building sustainably really focuses around one thing, the comfort level of your home and maintaining that comfort level whilst using the most minimal resources.

The Green Directory's Sustainable Building Directory covers the following areas:

- 5 Star Retrofitting and Retrofit Products
- Eco Friendly Adhesives and Sealants
- Sustainable Acoustic Materials
- Air Purification and Air Ionisers
- Sustainable Architects and Designers
- Asbestos Removal Services
- BASIX Certification
- Eco Friendly Bricks and Building Supplies
- Building Biology and Indoor Environment Services
- Building Contractors and Trades people
- Building Industry Bodies
- Building Information Services
- Environmentally Friendly Carpet
- Sustainable Cement and Concrete Supplies
- Sustainable Building Consultants
- Energy Saving Door and Window Seals
- Sustainable and Eco Friendly Doors
- Draught Proofing Products and Services
- Earth Building
- Energy Efficient Cooling
- Energy Efficient Heating
- Energy Efficient Lighting
- Sustainable Flooring and Decking Products
- Sustainable Gutters and Guttering Supplies
- Water Quality Gutter Guards
- Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Insulation
- Sustainable Interior Design
- Sustainable Interior Lining
- Eco Friendly Kit and Modular Homes
- Sustainable Kitchen Specialists
- On Site Recycling
- Environmentally Friendly and Natural Paints and Finishes
- Sustainable Building Publications
- Sustainable Roofing Products and Supplies
- Salvage Yards and Recycling Depots
- Water Efficient Showerheads and Taps
- Energy Saving Skylights
- Solar Hot Water Systems
- Solar Panels and Solar Accessories
- Solar Pool Blankets
- Solar Pool Heating
- Straw Bale Building
- Environmentally Friendly Termite Control
- Sustainable Tiles and Tiling Products
- Sustainable Timber Products
- Energy Efficient Ventilation Systems
- Sustainable Wall Building Materials
- Water Saving Devices and Products
- Water Treatment and Waste Recycling Systems
- Water Tanks
- Waterless Urinal Systems
- Sustainable Windows and Window Products

Eco friendly homes are best for the planet and your health.

Having an eco-friendly house is about the way your home is designed, constructed and operates to reduce its impact on the overall environment while creating a healthy and enjoyable environment to live in. Key green building strategies include water and energy efficiency, sourcing sustainable products and materials and using renewable energy.

The buildings we live and work in have a profound impact on the natural environment, the economy and our health. The built environment accounts for:

- 40 per cent of our total carbon emissions;
- 33 per cent of all product and material resources consumed;
- 42 per cent of our total energy consumed;
- 12 per cent of water use.

In the past, the building industry has been inherently wasteful, lagging behind other industries when it comes to sustainability. The statistics should be impetus enough for everyone involved in the building industry to accept a greater responsibility in adopting more sustainable practices.

But, for green building to succeed, it has to be mutually beneficial: there has to be something in it for consumers as well as for the environment.

And there is. The win for consumers is a more modern, healthier home with lower energy and water bills. A well-designed home can, without any change in occupant behaviour, reduce energy use by about 60 per cent and water use by about 30 per cent.

Research indicates homes that incorporate environmental initiatives now sell more quickly and command higher prices than those that don’t. The objection that building green is too costly has been overstated for far too long. Achieving the energy and water savings cited above need add no more than 5 per cent to the cost of construction.

An eco friendly home is simply a better house to live in. Studies show that indoor air quality is usually about five times worse than outdoor air due to the pollutants given off by everyday household furnishings and products. By using eco-friendly materials you create a healthier indoor environment for you and your family.

Darryn Parkinson
www.yourabode.com.au

I can’t build green can I? I’m renovating, not building a new house.

Many of our clients, who are planning to renovate, are often confused as to what they can or can’t do or should or shouldn’t do when it comes to building green.

Because most of the media and general information available is focused on informing people about new houses, we are finding people who want to renovate are left feeling that there is nothing that they can do.

“We are only renovating, not building a new house. What can we do?” is a common comment we hear from people.

In response to this, we are regularly asking clients, “if you had the choice to renovate greener or not to, which would you choose”. They always choose to renovate greener.

So what can you do and how far should you go?

Both of those questions are tied in together. In short, the answer is as far as you feel comfortable.

By making your renovation more energy or water efficient or healthier than what is standard practice, you are building greener.

Using painting as an example, a greener building choice would be to choose a low VOC paint over a standard paint. By choosing a low VOC paint you are making a decision to create a healthier indoor environment for your family.

So if you think you would like to renovate greener, here are our top ten tips to consider:

1.    Design your renovation to take best advantage of any Northern orientation, design in good cross ventilation and provide sun shading to the Eastern, Northern and Western elevations.
2.    Insulate your renovation well. Ensure you provide, as a minimum, the recommended insulation rating for your climate and location. For a natural insulation choice, why not consider wool?
3.    Install water efficient tap ware and toilets. Also, consider putting in a rainwater tank and connecting it to your toilets. Flushing of toilets uses around 10% of the water consumed in your house; this translates into around 9000-13,000 litres per year.
4.    If you have an electric hot water heater, why not replace it with a solar hot water system?
5.    Install compact fluorescent light fittings instead of standard light fittings. Compact fluorescent fittings are around 4 times more energy efficient than standard fittings.
6.    Install energy and water efficient appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines.
7.    Improve the insulating performance of your windows by installing an efficient glass such as a Low E glass. Standard glass provides absolutely no insulating value when it comes to preventing heat loss in winter or heat gain in summer. Anything you can do to improve this is a bonus.
8.    Use low VOC paints and floor finishes. Normal paints and floor finishes have high solvent content which has been proven to be bad for our health.
9.    Use low formaldehyde MDF and particle boards for your kitchen cupboards. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen that is released from standard MDF and particle boards over time.
10.    Use sustainably sourced timber. When using timber in your renovation, look for timber that comes from sustainably managed sources with the FSC mark, not from illegally logged rainforests.

All of the above items are very easy to include as part of the planning for your renovation. The minimal additional cost associated with them will repay itself, not just in lower running costs but you will also have a healthier and more enjoyable house to live in.

Darryn Parkinson
www.yourabode.com.au

Sustainable Pty Ltd

Specialising in the design and build of sustainable homes, waterwise gardens, landscaping and retrofit solutions.

Design
Sustainable are committed to creating living and work spaces that are at one with the natural environment. Each project has a clear objective in preserving the environment for future generations. This is achieved by a variety of interventions, firstly in the design stage; being responsible and accountable for our designs, designing houses and gardens that have sustainablilty as the fundamental design principle through to the construction phase by recycling as much construction waste as possible, reusing product from deconstructed buildings and minimising anything that goes to landfill from their projects.

Landscaping
Sustainable Landscaping's focus is on environmentally sustainable landscape design, creating Al Fresco areas that cope well with Queensland's harsh climatic environment.

Retrofit
Do you own an existing house that you want to renovate or 'retrofit' to be more sustainable? Small interventions can go a long way; for example, changing your old energy guzzling downlights and replacing them with compact flourescent and LED technology, changing your showerheads to AAA rated water saving devices and adding screens to minimise the solar impact on your house or installing water tanks are just some suggestions.

Construction
We've all heard the horror stories about architects presenting plans that builders claim are impossible to build, about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing ... but you won't hear that when you work with Sustainable. The reason we're able to deliver workable homes and buildings is because the members of our design team are heavily involved in and thoroughly understand the construction process. When designers and the construction team are actively interested in materials and the nature of building, it's the perfect storm needed to create a building of merit. It also enables us to deliver award winning homes even on difficult sites and steep slopes. It is the ability to understand the complete process, to design, manage and construct, that has won Sustainable so many highly acclaimed awards.

Water Solutions
Level 5 restrictions do not mean the end of a beautiful outdoor environment for your home. Sustainable can deliver a complete Water Solution for your home. We provide the tanks themselves, of many different shapes and sizes, the installation, the plumbing and electrics and most importantly the connection of the tank to an irrigation system for your garden.

Resource Recovery
Sustainable's approach to design, construction, landscaping, the environment and customers is holistic. We understand that, to get the best outcome for all parties, no one part can be viewed as independent of the other. That's why we've taken a particular interest in resource recovery.

Have you ever thought about all the resources lost when old buildings are torn down and replaced with new? Not only is there a severe environmental toll, but ever spiralling landfill and cartage costs means builders, and therefore consumers, are paying more and more in construction costs.

For years now, the team at Sustainable have been perfecting systems and processes to minimise such waste. The company has now teamed up with Force 5 (Qld & NSW) Pty Ltd to offer resource recovery, deconstruction and onsite recycling solutions for domestic and commercial building sites across Queensland and New South Wales

Sustainable Finance
Sustainable Finance provides finance solutions for your design and build, retrofit or landscaping project.

Remote Locations
Sustainable Remote Locations enable clients to build a sustainable home in the remotest of locations, on Islands and all kinds of difficult and sloping sites.

Recipe Housing
Sustainable's Recipe HousingT Homes have been developed in response to the escalating costs of traditionally built one-off designed homes. We developed RECIPE HOUSING TM as a response to the growing need we perceived in the market to fill the gap between 'project' homes and completely custom designed houses. Eventually RECIPE houses will be prefabricated off site and be delivered ready to be clipped together. At the moment, we are still in the development stages and the house will be traditionally built on site; however, we have streamlined the traditional architectural design and documentation process. The end result is a traditionally built architecturally designed house, unique to your site and your needs, without the traditionally associated costs

http://www.sustainablebuildings.com.au

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