It’s no secret that the log home manufacture industry has been touted as the green living option, especially in comparison to other types of buildings, like brick or concrete. There may be many personal reasons why your customers are looking to go green with houses built with glulam and purchases from you. The goal could be to save money, fuel, the planet, maybe all of the above. The fact is, homeowners are increasingly going green and the trend is not stopping. The average household still spends about 1,500EUR a year on energy while living in classic homes. Yet log and timber home owners tend to report that they spend far less on heating, air conditioning, hot water and lighting.
Greener production chain
So, what gives? What makes glulam log homes and other types of log homes greener than their counterparts? The most obvious factor is their building material — solid timbers grown from trees. During the milling process, all portions of the log are utilised without leaving anything to waste: bark and other sources for mulch, scrap from cut-offs for raw material, sawdust used by farmers and other uses.
The other obvious place where log homes save energy and fuel is their delivery method. Our own log homes arrive flat packed and they fit into one trailer, which greatly reduces the fuel usage to get to the building lot. Our kits have everything they need to erect full glulam house frames and the packaging system saves space in the truck for other necessary materials.
Log homes overall require less energy and materials than conventional construction. This is especially true because they leave our production site already prepared to be assembled. They can be prepped for insulation, which usually takes a long time and requires more materials to create that thermal envelope. Lastly, it takes much less time and fewer people to put up one of Eurodita’s bespoke log homes than any conventional house. That translates to less man-hours spent on the project, less fuel consumed to get the building crew on site and fewer materials consumed during the process.
Builders and homeowners
Eurodita does everything to reduce the toll that production takes on the environment. However, while the producer bears the brunt of the effort, home builders and homeowners have to carry on that responsibility with their business practices and their actions.
Builders of bespoke timber houses should make sure the materials they do end up using to finish the log house are green in their own right. Choose the paint that has less effect on the environment. Use rooftop shingles that are made from renewable resources or are so long-lasting that the end customer would never need to buy more of them again. Contract interior designers that are mindful of the green movement and participate in it with the choices of materials they make.
Log homeowners also play a big role in going green too. These are the individuals who embrace nature and consider their homes permanent. They should be willing to invest in energy efficiency upfront, in order to reap savings over the years. Their design preferences, together with an interior designer, should lean toward open floor plans that let the warm air flow through the home instead of heating every individual room. In this case, a wood-burning stove would be the best choice for a heat source.
Final thoughts
From the manufacturer, to the builder to the end customer and the homeowner – log and timber homes are doing their part for a greener planet. Thankfully, the nature of log cabin construction is already a green endeavour at its core. With technologies improving, more and more options become available for all parties to be greener in their everyday lives and business ventures. At Eurodita, we are happy to do our part and will always look for ways to improve our production to keep our beautiful nature safe.