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» make a list of the most environmentally clean materials for home. Here's what we got.
Environmental materials: 1. Bamboo
The use of wood harms our planet, as it takes centuries for a new forest to grow. Unlike forests, which are almost never regenerated, bamboo grows by leaps and bounds - its growth rate is eight times faster than that of hardwoods. This source of wood is quickly renewed also due to the fact that the plant does not die when it is cut down.
You can use bamboo, for example, as a floor covering: it is as strong and reliable as most hardwoods, but it does not leave dents on it, like parquet. However, floors are only one application for bamboo: it can be used in countertops, furniture, and even carpets.
2. Concrete
All over the world, concrete is used as a durable, inexpensive material that can easily withstand the onslaught of time and the elements. Now concrete has taken on a host of new colors and shapes that turn countertops and flooring into works of art.
The environmental friendliness of the material is a controversial topic. On the one hand, the production of concrete requires little energy, and therefore reduces electricity consumption. It is also practically waste-free, as it is made to order for each project. Not in concrete toxic substances which will evaporate at normal temperature. In addition, ash is used to produce concrete, a by-product of coal products that would otherwise have to be dumped in landfills.
On the other hand, during the production of concrete, a large number of carbon dioxide, which is about 7% of the world's CO 2 emissions. Some companies have already begun to use a different type of cement, which has helped to drastically reduce emissions, but such concrete is many times more expensive than regular concrete.
The industry as a whole is changing, production will become more environmentally friendly in the future. Therefore, concrete can become the material of the future.
3. Cork
You might think that this is a very strange material for the floor, because we usually meet it in the form of a soft spongy cork from a bottle or the soles of spring shoes. But this ultra-ecological material has already gained popularity among designers.
Many cork floors are made almost entirely from recycled materials. wine corks. Such floors to the touch do not differ from wood floors. Cork is impervious to water, making it an excellent flooring material. Speaking of sustainability: cork floors no PVC or formaldehyde. For production, the bark of a tree is harvested, after which the plant does not die and quickly recovers. In addition, the cork has antibacterial properties, so it is good to use it in the kitchen.
4. LED lighting
This type of lighting consumes negligible energy, especially when compared LED bulbs with incandescent lamps. Compared to other types of light bulbs, LEDs are more expensive, but they can last up to 20 years and you only need to change them a few times in your life.
5. Non-toxic paints
Volatile compounds that are part of the paint are harmful to both humans and the environment: these compounds destroy the ozone layer and pollute groundwater.
In the last decade, paints have changed a little, and they have decreased the level harmful substances. There were even paints without the content of organic volatile compounds. There are more and more such paints, and soon they will replace their predecessors.
6. Natural plaster
Most of drywall walls covered ordinary plaster, to which pigments are added to create a "Venetian" or "Moroccan" style. Many pigments contain volatile organic compounds harmful to humans, and the extraction of gypsum, which is part of the plaster, brings significant harm to nature.
A relatively new product - natural plaster - has solved these problems. Natural plaster does not contain gypsum, so it is produced at lower temperatures and releases less carbon dioxide during production. But such plaster has a natural color, so make sure that you or your contractor do not use toxic pigments.
7. Recycled wood
There are two types of ecological cleaner production wooden floors. In the first case, processing old wood such as old wooden floors or beams. These floors have an antique look. Also using this method create pieces of furniture or stairwells.
For the second type of floors, wood is used that was cut down not for construction purposes, but, for example, for clearing the territory.
However, some companies that use reclaimed or reclaimed wood use toxic substances in their processing. This issue needs to be clarified separately.
8. Recycled glass
We bet you didn't think that wine bottles could return to your kitchen in a recycled form? Glass does not decompose, but if you send broken glass items for recycling, they can find a second life. There, the glass is broken into small pieces and bonded to the concrete. From window glass it will turn out clear glass, and broken plates or bottles can make glass of any color.
9. Recycled aluminum
Aluminum is found in soda cans, light fixtures, and industrial scrap metal. At present, metal processing requires less energy than we imagine. Recycled aluminum is popular in functional design. It is used for countertops, bathroom and kitchen tiles, garden sculptures and tapestries.
10. Recycled paper
Even with the presence Email, PDF Documents and Text Messages Paper has an important place in our lives: newspapers, notebooks, magazines, mail, receipts and so on - trees give their lives every day so that we can keep writing.
Recycling paper helps save forests. After processing, the raw materials are used not only for the production of new paper, but also for the creation of decorative items. For example, this method can be used to create a kitchen countertop and decorative wall panels.
Photo: odiloncreations.be, surfingbird.ru, canadiancarpet.com, design-homes.ru, attan.info, parkerhousehouston.com, directcolors.com
A house made of eco-friendly materials is now like a panacea for raising heating tariffs, and living in it is much more pleasant than in a stone counterpart. It can be built with your own hands without certain building skills and other people's help. There are several options for the construction of such houses, they depend on the chosen material.
What materials can be used to build an eco-house?
On a private plot, you can build housing from improvised means, so some start building literally from the earth and other easily accessible materials. Consider the most common building materials that can be purchased "for a penny."logs
Houses made of wood again began to be in demand. For their construction, fallen trees, waste obtained from a sawmill are used. Outwardly, such houses look like stone, but upon closer inspection it immediately becomes clear that they are made of logs.Logs are stacked on top of each other, just as firewood is stored under a canopy to kindle a fireplace. They are held together with concrete or clay mortar. If the logs have a diameter in the range of 30-90 cm, then they can be used for the construction of frameless structures or using a frame. Recently, the cement mortar that binds the logs has been replaced with an adobe mixture.
rammed earth
This is ancient technology. The process of forming building materials from an earthen base is not much different from its ancient counterpart.To get the right earthen raw material, you need to mix clay, gravel, concrete and wet earth. All these components at the output give a compressed solid material, which perfectly regulates the temperature of the building. It is able to give warmth in cold weather, and coolness in warm weather. Such a structure is resistant to termites, durable and fireproof. It costs "penny", as the land in free access lies under your feet.
The construction of an earth building takes place without large columns of dust, as is the case with the use of stone materials and cement. Now rammed earth is not so popular, but still in some countries houses are built from it.
Straw
When first considered as a reliable building material, it seems that this is the worst option, but in practice it turns out that straw pressed into bags has excellent strength and high thermal insulation properties. It can be used to build bearing walls and be used in tying with vertical bars.
Pressed straw is laid on top of the stone foundation. Packages with the main building material are fastened together using bamboo flexible poles or wooden racks.
The outer part of the thatched building is treated with soil or lime plaster. Both of these coatings have good air conduction, thereby preventing the accumulation of moisture inside the building and preventing its dampness.
Hemp
It is used as a heat-insulating and basic building material. This plant is natural and non-toxic. For the construction of buildings, hemp concrete is used, which consists of hemp fires, cement (lime), water and sand. low density The resulting material makes it light, but at the same time gives it good thermal insulation properties, thanks to which you can significantly save on heating. The resulting hemp material allows air to pass through, but retains moisture, so mold and harmful bacteria do not appear on its surface.Soil bags
To build such a house, you need to stock up on numerous polypropylene bags, and to fill them, use the ground under your feet.The process of obtaining building material consists in filling the bags with moist earth and then tamping them. When stacking stuffed bags, the material is tied with two rows of wire. If under construction high building, then it is better to provide a platform on which the bags will be stuffed so as not to lift them up. Wet earth weighs lightly.
Soil bags are used for housing construction where the soil contains little clay. Of these, it is optimal to erect rounded building decoration elements, such as domes. From the outside, they can be covered with earth and planted with grass or flowers; this is an unusual and warm home.
Adobe
It is made from clay, sand and straw. Cubic shapes are formed from the mixture. When solidified, these bricks are very strong and durable - any buildings can be made from them. The material is very warm and resistant to weather and even fire. A house built with it is inexpensive and environmentally friendly.
Glass bottles
They are durable and strong material, one might argue that they are easy to break, but they are not. Subject to the proportions of the cement mortar binding them and correct location bottles in a row can achieve a solid residential structure.When building a glass structure, there are several subtleties. The bottles are still hollow and there is air in them, so in cold regions, if the bottoms look outward, then they need to be insulated from the inside. Such buildings are rarely used for housing, more and more often they are used for household and household structures.
The building of multi-colored bottles will be a real decoration of the site, it looks like a three-dimensional mosaic.
Building an eco-house from logs with your own hands
It consists of several stages:Foundation devices
Log houses are often made round shape. A strip or point foundation is laid under them (). First, a shallow ditch is dug, then an air cushion is made of rubble. In the case of using a point base, pits are dug around the perimeter of the proposed building and filled with concrete.If the building is round, then there is no need for a frame, cement bonding perfectly recreates monolithic structure. In the case of the construction of a building with corners, it is necessary to provide for a frame of beams in them, between which the building material will be laid.
You need to stock up on logs in advance and prepare them: the harvested logs are freed from the bark and dried. This is necessary so that the walls of the building do not shrink. It is better if all the logs are from the same type of tree.
The solution can be made of cement or clay building mix. It is made from clay and sand, which are taken in equal proportions. Straw, sawdust or hay is added to them - they serve as reinforcement. To obtain a homogeneous mixture, it must be kneaded for a long time.
First, a part of the solution is laid out on the foundation, and then logs are laid on it (see also). A solution is poured between them and leveled. Instead, a clay mixture is sometimes used. The edges of the logs should protrude slightly from the edge of the wall being created. It is necessary to immediately consider the location of windows and doors and leave openings for them when erecting walls.
Sometimes, for better thermal insulation, only the outer and inner walls are cemented, and the space between them and the wooden chocks is filled with sawdust or straw. As soon as the walls are erected, they need to be covered with a roof so that moisture does not get inside the structure. If the material for it has not yet been purchased, then you can install its temporary version. The walls dry out completely after six months, so such a house is not suitable for a cold climate.
Roof for the house and decoration
To make the structure completely environmentally friendly, the roof can be made of reeds or tied straw.
Such a house does not need external decoration, but if its owner is not satisfied with protruding chocks, then he can crate the walls and level the walls, and then plaster them.
Energy-passive cheap eco-houses with your own hands (video)
From the video below, you can see how the new eco-friendly houses differ from their stone counterparts. The owner of the site talks about his original round house, built of straw, which endures natural disasters. The unusualness of the house also lies in the fact that it was erected in an unusual way: first, the foundation was poured, and then the roof was covered, and after it the walls were made. The roof was carried out first because of the need to cover the main building material, which does not tolerate moisture.The foundation of the house turns out to be inexpensive, since it is not made as wide and deep as for stone houses. You can save even more on it if you lay the usual glass bottles, they will fill a certain space with themselves and due to this, less cement mortar will go to the foundation. And the durability and thermal insulation of bottles is much greater than the same brick. Straw five times better than wood and brick keeps the heat in the room.
Ecology and economy are the main advantages of straw construction, which have been confirmed for several years. It is noteworthy that even high-rise buildings can be built from such a fragile material as straw. In the following video you can see an overview of the modern eco-house that the family built with their own efforts:
Eco housing is gaining momentum, and many people, having looked at their new projects, are now doubtful about building stone houses. After all, an eco-house can completely replace full-fledged housing, and besides, save money on construction and operation. All of the above options for eco-houses have good thermal conductivity and reliably protect from rain and wind. They are most often chosen by innovators who are a few steps ahead of others and are thinking about their environmentally friendly future.
Bamboo products
The key factor in which they prefer to use bamboo, of course, is environmental friendliness. It grows in countries high humidity and very clean air, so there are no harmful substances in its fibers.
Initially, bamboo was used almost unchanged, just cutting its shoots to create elementary items. But day after day, designers perfected the processing technology of this plant, which made it possible to achieve its versatile use.
It's great natural material for creating floor coverings, furniture, items for interior design.
concrete structures
- Hero of our time. It is based on coal processing products (ash, slag, etc.), so it practically does not contain harmful and toxic impurities. Concrete, together with natural ventilation, is able to maintain a healthy indoor climate.
It is called an energy accumulator because it can long time keep warm. Concrete has been successfully used as finishing, as well as to create unusual interior items.
aesthetic appearance, highest strength and durability, as well as expressive colors create a positive image of this material.
Cork flooring
Natural cork is one of the most environmentally friendly raw materials. Coatings made from this material have many positive characteristics. They protect against heat loss and have good sound insulation. Cork does not accumulate foreign odors and static electricity. She is not afraid of chemicals, so it is very easy to care for her.
An unusual way to decorate the interior - decorating the wall with cork
Cork coatings are very wear-resistant and not subject to deformation. They do not distinguish environment harmful substances, because the basis of this material is cellulose, nitrogen and oxygen.
Another advantage of cork is hypoallergenicity. It does not develop pathogenic microflora and mold.
LED light bulbs
AT modern interiors practically no standard incandescent lamps are used. They have been replaced by LEDs. This is one of the most environmentally friendly and safe sources of lighting.
During the production of such lamps (if the company complies with environmental standards and requirements), the use of harmful substances, especially mercury, is excluded. They do not pose a threat in case of failure or damage to the housing.
LED lamps consume a minimum amount of energy and have a very long service life. This allows you to change light bulbs less often, and therefore less likely to dispose of them.
natural paint finish
The main difference between environmentally friendly paintwork materials from their counterparts (paints based on acrylic or alkyds) - their chemical composition. Basic raw materials for production synthetic materials- oil and refined products. Despite the fact that this is a natural mineral, it is very actively modified under the influence of chemical reagents, such as chlorine.
Unlike synthetic coatings, natural and environmentally friendly clean paints do not contain volatile compounds. Their basis is clay, natural pigments, vegetable oils and resin. Such paints are safe for both humans and the environment.
Safe plaster
The basic component for the production of standard plaster is gypsum. Its extraction causes irreparable harm to the environment. And to obtain various effects, gypsum is mixed with aggressive plasticizers and pigments that contain volatile compounds that are dangerous to humans.
An innovative product - environmentally friendly plaster - is the result of hard work of chemists and builders. Gypsum was excluded from its composition, and in order to obtain the necessary shade of the coating, natural dyes and natural pigments.
Recycled wood
Modern trends dictate fashion for environmental safety and environmental protection. Recycled wood was the first to hit the trend. For these purposes, they use everything that comes to hand - old fences, floors, doors and even wooden boats.
Recycled wood makes very interesting furniture and decor items. With it, you can create unusual design interior style or vintage. Recycled wood products look very authentic and antique.
This approach to materials makes it possible to preserve rapidly shrinking forests and give a second life to forgotten objects.
Mosaic of broken glass
Many unusual accessories are obtained from a once broken bottle or an old stained glass window. Glass is sent to be melted down and given a second life. From the fragments are obtained unusual in beauty garden paths, if each piece is pressed into the concrete that has not yet hardened.
Such a peculiar mosaic will decorate many interiors. Broken glass also used in the manufacture of kitchen countertops.
The fragments are mixed with plasticizers and porcelain stoneware, and work surfaces are created from the resulting mixture.
Recycling aluminum
Banal aluminum is found everywhere: in cans and soda cans, in unnecessary trash in the form of toothless forks and bent spoons. Modern representation on the remelting of recyclables has a good reason. Such production consumes less energy and causes less harm to the environment compared to casting metal from scratch.
The recycling of aluminum is very much in demand in the conceptual directions in interior design, and a whole picture is devoted to an ordinary soup can.
waste paper
Recycling paper is perhaps the only way to extend the life of trees and save the environment for a new album or notebook. Waste paper products are not only office supplies.
Recycled paper is used to make cardboard packaging, insulating materials, kraft packaging, personal care products, disposable tableware and even decor items.
Humanity intuitively tries to return to its roots and tries to use in its home natural materials. The modern trend of merging with nature is an opportunity to preserve health and the environment.
We try to take care of our health by exercising the body and choosing healthy foods nutrition, natural cosmetics, household chemicals. However, it often happens that we are the last to think about the environmental friendliness of our repair. And in vain, since this is one of the important components of our well-being.
The problem of choosing safe building materials for our housing in modern world- quite relevant, due to the release of many materials of toxic substances, often not visible and not felt, but accumulating in our body. Modern chemical industry offers a fairly wide range of materials for finishing houses and apartments, often prioritizing durability, beauty, but by no means safety for health. 
Therefore, when choosing materials for repairs, consumers have to take care of their health.
Let's try to figure out which materials are the safest for health, considering them from the point of view of application in a private house and apartment.
Let's begin to consider exterior finish , which is more relevant for private homes.
Ecological materials in home decoration
Let's start with the fact that the material from which the house is built must also be environmentally friendly and safe, of course. best qualities owns a house wooden beam, brick, stone.
Experimental materials - aerated concrete, cinder blocks, foam blocks, expanded clay concrete, polystyrene concrete, sandwich panels have not been fully studied, studies about their dangers periodically appear.
Therefore, many new or well-forgotten environmentally friendly materials are now appearing: geocar (peat bricks), adobe blocks(from clay and straw), kerpen (bricks made of ceramics), soil blocks (bricks from sawdust of needles, peat, clay). 
An important issue remains the problem of using insulation for the home, they usually use mineral wool, foam glass and other inorganic materials (polyurethane foam, polystyrene). Manufacturers make sure they are safe, but there are studies that over time, the smallest particles of glass begin to stand out along with the dust in our home, without benefiting our health.
Therefore, organic natural heaters are best suited - ecowool (cellulose, paper, wood fiber), a layer of flax processing waste, cork cloth. 
Ecological materials in the decoration of the apartment
Choose the material from which it is built apartment house most often it’s not necessary anymore, but it happens that tenants want to insulate the walls of their rooms, especially those living in corner apartments, so advice on choosing wall insulation will be relevant for them, as well as for homeowners.Ceiling.
Suspended and stretch ceiling, despite their beauty, are made entirely of non-natural materials, and are capable of releasing toxic volatile compounds into the air, this is especially true for the last floors and rooms where intense heating by sunlight occurs.
Therefore, most often it is better to give preference to painting the ceiling in water-dispersed paints or paints based on natural essential oils(polyester). And you can also glue the ceiling with ordinary paper wallpaper, or stretch natural cotton fabric, with which you can give the ceiling a variety of designs.
Walls.
Most often, people try to wallpaper them, but most use modern vinyl wallpaper made of PVC, which is not the safest material. However, they are being replaced by natural materials - babmuka wallpaper, fabric, glass wallpaper, wallpaper made from natural plant fibers (reed, reed, etc.) and, of course, the most reliable - paper. 
For lovers of natural aesthetics - still relevant wooden lining.
Do not forget that the glue for them must also be environmentally friendly (based on starch and casein).
Floor.
For flooring, the most environmentally friendly materials will be cork wood and parquet, inexpensive options from solid wood, natural carpet and natural linoleum, porcelain stoneware and ceramic tile, bamboo floor. 
But laminate and linoleum, synthetic carpet are safe only if they are produced in compliance with all standards and expensive and well-known brands are bought.
As we see modern market offers many natural and safe alternatives to traditional home furnishing materials, so these materials should be considered when planning a renovation. They, of course, will cost you more, but agree that health is priceless?
