Page 20 - Green Builder Homeowner's Handbook 2016
P. 20

The Homeowner’s Handbook SEVENTH EDITION

       Exteriors01

Think beyond initial cost. Maintenance matters.

When it comes to your home’s                                                          Why Pay More for Brick?
exterior, durability, maintenance
and fire resistance are just as                                                  Because they last
                                                                                 almost forever.
Simportant as aesthetics.IDING CHOICES ABOUND for today’s homes. Aesthetics      Bricks come in
               are important when choosing one option over another,              many colors,
               and when you take the environment into account,                   textures and
               some choices just look a whole lot better than others.            other variations.
               According to research from the Freedonia Group                    Approximately 3”
               (www.freedoniagroup.com), fiber cement, stucco and                thick, brick veneer
 brick siding will see rapid advances through 2017. Demand for fiber             (Boral Bricks are
 cement is predicted to grow 8.5 percent annually. Vinyl siding will             shown) creates an
 remain dominant, but will continue to lose its market share. Although           armored shell for
 long lasting, it’s a controversial material made with polyvinyl chloride        your home. The
 (PVC), a plastic that until recently has had a poor recycling record. At        durability of
 least one company (CertainTeed) has now begun to recycle vinyl, and the         brick is one of its
 industry is beginning to look more closely at vinyl’s life-cycle impacts.       greatest assets.
 We haven’t included it here as a “green” option, but we will continue to        Boral, for example,
 monitor the industry’s efforts to move in that direction.                       offers a “two
                                                                                 lifetimes” warranty.
 BRICK                                                                           More info: www.boralamerica.com/Bricks
 A Durability Leader
                                                                             between the brick and the interior housewrap. This provides
 Made of clay and shale, brick is very durable. It is a solid barrier        insulation against temperature transfer and the transfer of sound,
 against weather, and the installation of brick creates a 1” air space       and it also prevents moisture from seeping into the home. Because
                                                                             of its thickness, brick provides thermal mass, making it slow to heat
Virtues                     Caveats                                          in the summer and slow to cool in the winter, which helps regulate
                                                                             a home’s temperature.
¦¦ Recyclable               ¦¦ Resources must be mined
                                                                               Manufacturers such as Boral Bricks are making brick manufacturing
¦¦ Durable                  ¦¦ Not all brick manufacturers have              less environmentally caustic. The company recycles waste and uses
                              taken steps to reduce emissions                air scrubbers to make sure emissions from plants are clean and
¦¦ Resists termites, fire,    from their manufacturing plants                particulate-free. Manufacturer CalStar utilizes fly ash as a binder,
  mold and rot                                                               which eliminates the need for energy-intensive kiln firing.
                            ¦¦ Expensive
¦¦ Made from abundant
  natural materials         ¦¦ Heavy weight

¦¦ Low maintenance

                            THE ARC HOUSE SPONSOR                            VISION HOUSE® AT MARIPOSA MEADOWS SPONSOR

                            Dupont Tyvek HomeWrap                            James Hardie HardiePanels with
                                                                             ColorPlus Technology
                            HomeWrap is a breathable material that
                            allows moisture to pass through, promoting       James Hardie’s ColorPlus technology protects
                            drying and preventing mold and water             cladding products against peeling, cracking and
                            damage. It also can reduce home energy bills     chipping. Multiple coats of a proprietary finish are
                            by controlling airflow and water intrusion,      applied in the factory to every surface and edge,
                            which helps insulation work better and           and the finish is cured between coats. A 15-year
                            allows the HVAC system to work more              limited warranty covers both paint and labor.
                            efficiently. www.bit.ly/1o20Uqs                  www.jameshardie.com/Why-Hardie/ColorPlus-Technology

18	 GREEN BUILDER  The Homeowner’s Handbook 2016                            www.greenbuildermedia.com
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