I do question repurposing old windows because they are very wasteful in energy. We have just started repurposing materials here in Harvey County KS. How grandpa fussed so on the change from 1 5/8 to the present 1 1/2 & why. Our lumber industry needs to be even more criticized for not replanting. Those folks are soo much more adaptive than we. I visited Germany, saw where my mom was born, went in to the bowels of the hotel, to really SEE that the foundation was 400 years old. What are the projected lifespans of the new green built homes and are they as solid as their ancestors? Reply My thought is, there are many homes over 100 years old around the country built in “a wasteful manner”. I do mostly commercial work where the structual components are steel and concrete. The amount of waste appalled me, but it went to my benefit because I was able to re-purpose the materials. In fact, I’ve built some beautiful furniture out of BRAND NEW oak and mahogany flooring that was left over from residential structures. I’ve seen piles of lumber and sheetrock at the dump. I agree wholeheartedly with the new rulings. With cut lists and careful planning, efficient framing just may become “the new normal.”Ĭomments/Discussion 54 Responses to “CAL Green – “The New Normal”” The savings could help overcome a homeowner’s potential concern that they’re getting less. The Department of Energy’s Office of Building Technology estimates material cost savings of about $500 for a 1,200 square foot house and labor cost savings between 3 and 5 percent. Once you’re comfortable with OVE, the labor and material savings can add up. In both cases, the header and plates are candidates for engineered lumber. Assuming they’re the same cost, the savings is 5 fewer studs and 1 less plate. The studs for the OVE wall are 1-1/2″ longer. The OVE wall could yield the rough sill but has virtually no waste. Here’s the same wall framed with OVE at 24-inch centers:Īssuming the cripples came from 92-5/8″ length studs (for 8′-1″ from top of subfloor to underside of ceiling joists) in the conventional wall, they could yield the rough sill and scrap for drywall backing in lieu of 3-stud corners. Here’s my shot at a cut list for a conventionally framed 20-foot long exterior bearing wall for a 1-story, raised floor house with one 3-foot square window in the center and 2-stud corners: Sometimes called Efficient Framing, Advanced Framing, or OVE, the goal is to reduce labor, material, and waste, and to increase energy efficiency by replacing lumber with insulation. Hopefully, it will encourage designers to consider efficient material use, which helps keep costs down and benefits the environment. Carpenters and lumber yards have traditionally done material lists, so, as an architect, I’m delighted to see the code asking for this type of forethought in the design phase. This could be used as an on-site or lumber yard cut list. The code recommends doing a material list on the plans for framing (floor, wall, ceiling, and roof) and sheathing (floor, wall, and roof). Headers on interior walls can also be omitted under the new code, and solid backing at interior partitions can be replaced with ladder backing. (Note: You can click any of the images below to enlarge hit your browser’s “back” button to return to this article.) After all, saving material-especially the lumber we put into walls-saves energy, helps improve the effectiveness of insulation, and just plain saves money. I think the voluntary measures are so reasonable and logical that they should be made mandatory, too. Formaldehyde limits for hardwood plywood, particleboard, and medium density fiberboard.Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) limits for paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants.Construction waste reduction, disposal, and recycling.The code includes mandatory and voluntary sustainability measures for residential and non-residential construction. I often hear complaints from people outside of California about our stringent environmental regulations, but the new CAL Green code sets a national standard for best practices. There’s a new code in California: CAL Green took effect this year.
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