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Sustainable self build materials

Sustainable Self Build For those of you building your own homes, there are many ways you can ‘go green’ right from the beginning.

Even the choice of materials you use can make a difference on how energy efficient your home will be. Using sustainable materials is a good start to reducing carbon emissions in your self build project. Take a look at sustainability to find out how sustainable your self build materials are.

Sustainable materials

Using unsustainable products increases the amount of CO₂ you put into the atmosphere. When deciding on what materials to use for structure, insulation and finishing, you have a choice of green options for all:

Structure

Timber can be used for the frame and flooring of your build. An oak frame is thermally efficient and panel walls can fill in the gaps.

Insulation

There are many sustainable products you can use for insulating your house, such as recycled newspaper, sheep’s wool, or recycled plastic bottles.

Finishing

Many paints available now are 100% biodegradable, so can be easily disposed of on a compost heap.

The purpose of the building

When deciding the structure of your build, you will want to take into account how the building will be used. As well as being energy efficient, the self build materials should also be appropriate for your situation.

In or out?

One thing to consider is how much time you will spend in the home.

Masonry - If you’re in all day, masonry is an efficient self build material as it stores up heat energy. This heat is stored in the walls and evens out the temperature, stopping the boiler from coming on and off.

Conversely, masonry buildings take a long time to heat up and cool down, so if you’re only home for evenings and weekends, you will find the house colder than wanted.

Timber - Timber frames have less thermal mass and therefore heat up and cool down quickly. If you frequently come and go timber is a more efficient frame.

Solid floors and walls?

If you want to hang pictures on the walls, use block work and solid construction. Think about what you want from your home to help you choose the most appropriate self build materials.

The surrounding area

Your choice of self build materials also depends on the area around your land and what other buildings are like. If there are certain requirements in your planning permission, such as using similar materials to neighbouring properties, you will need to follow these.