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On top of aesthetics and durability, another main factor that we should not overlook in building a new timber home is its energy efficiency. This won’t only be beneficial budget-wise, but this is also an environmentally friendly move. To help you enjoy an energy efficient timber home, consider the following tips. On Heating & Cooling A house’s heating and cooling system could consume the greatest expense. In fact, this is said to cover 56% of the energy use of an average American home. Given the rise of energy rates, it’s about time to choose the most energy-efficient alternatives. You can start with solar water heating and geothermal heat pumps. Solar Water Heating Heating water consumes a quarter on each penny spent for energy bills. Thus, it’s ideal to simply install a solar water-heating system. This includes collectors, plumbing systems, and storage tanks. It’s very simple. Even your grandparents know how it works. Instead of consuming electricity or gas, the constant energy of the sun powers the solar thermal systems to heat water for a home. Since electricity or gas consumption is cut down, huge savings can come your way. Not to mention the perk that there are some states offering […]

SIPs or structural insulated panels, also known as stress-skin panels are a great option as they’re reliable, cheap, and eco-friendly. The wall system of SIP can stand the test of time while keeping your budget intact. Professional companies who want the most efficient systems make use of structural insulated panels to surround their house projects since they are faster to install and can minimize thermal bridging. It’s a budget-friendly choice as well, given the increasing cost of the heating and cooling systems today. The use of SIPs can help homeowners save around 60% on their energy costs per year. Let’s talk about the facts The new building code requirements for residential construction has now been made stricter in terms of wall and ceiling energy efficiency. To meet this requirement well, SIPs is the best option. The best part is that SIPs fuse a strong wall, hearty installation, and exterior sheathing to a single step: fasten the panel to the home’s exterior. This enables a quick and simple installation. Though different products from different manufacturers may vary, SIPs today generally have a firm core of insulation packed in two good layers of OSB or oriented strand board. Other materials needed in […]

More than 90% of all houses in the US are built with wood-framed roofs and walls. A regular single family home (2,190 square feet) could have 14,200 board feet of lumber and a maximum of 14,000 square feet of different panel products. This covers wood products, from sheathing, paneling, and trim to floorings and structural beams. Home constructions, renovations, remodeling, and home enhancements have the biggest consumption of wood products, like timber and lumber. This is around two-thirds of the entire wood-product use in the United States. America’s Abundant Forests Environmentalists and eco-friendly users might wonder if this huge consumption of log and timber is already harming the country’s forest preservation and the ecology as a whole. The good news is that America’s forests are still far from danger. The US ensures the practice of reforestation. In fact, the forests in the country have grown in size for the past decades. A third of the US’ 747 million acres is wrapped with trees. As a matter of fact, there are more trees today than 70 years ago. On average, around 4 million trees are planted every day. In terms of the country’s commercial forests, the net yearly growth exceeds the […]