Where do you start when you decide to build an Eco-friendly house? Of course there are the simple items like rainwater tanks and solar energy but delve a little deeper and you find there are decisions at every step regarding the ‘enviro’ products available and how to use them in the most environmentally sustainable way. Some are not what they may seem.

Home builders Jess and Ella, in conjunction with aboutthehouse.com.au have embarked on the challenge of building an Ecohouse in Katoomba, NSW. Ella, a fourth year Architecture student at UNSW has designed the house, while Jess gets to build it. Together they have researched a variety of products to come up with environmentally sustainable, low embodied energy, economical building products that work.

Timber is one of the world’s most environmentally friendly building products. It is natural, renewable and sustainable. Jess and Ella initially hoped to use recycled timber in their home for rafters, bearers and joists but found it almost impossible to get the right size and impossible to get the spans required without using LVL. Further research led them to hySPAN® LVL which in turn lead them to hyJOIST®. Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts manufacture timber and panel products from legally harvested, sustainable plantation pine forests and only source timber from non-genetically modified trees making them perfect for this project.

The manufacture of hySPAN and hyJOIST involves a peeling process of the logs, which are then trimmed and laminated together, resulting in less wastage. Sawmill waste is used in the production of panel products such as Structaflor and R-Flor, also used in the Ecohouse. The other environmental benefits of hySPAN and hyJOIST can be demonstrated on site. Because the products are straight and true, there is less wastage in building and being already termite treated to the core, do not require end-treating- resulting in fewer chemicals on site.

R-Flor® Radiant Barrier Particleboard Flooring is being used to deliver improvements in the thermal comfort and energy efficiency of the Ecohouse. Initially underfloor insulation was specified but was deemed unnecessary with R-Flor. R-Flor uniquely integrates a high reflectance (low emittance) metallised foil with particleboard flooring to significantly reduce radiative heat transfer and improve the ‘Total R-Value’ of the flooring system.

Ella was also delighted to know that Carter Holt Harvey is progressively securing independent certification to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Australian Forest Certification Schemes (AFCS) chain of custody standards to independently verify the forest and fibre origin. So maybe it is easy being green after all.