Metal Storage Buildings and More: Green Building Ideas That Save You Money

For years, when someone needed additional storage, retail, or shop space, they instantly turned to traditional industrial buildings construction. Not only does this method take a lot of time, but it also requires a large amount of resources and is expensive to move if you need to.

With modern metal storage buildings, this is all a thing of the past. These structures require very little in terms of resources and are completely portable. You can customize them to meet your needs, and construction is quite simple and quick. Metal storage buildings are also designed to be extremely energy efficient. You'll also find them to be an extremely affordable alternative.

Poured Earth Foundations

Similar to concrete foundations, poured earth uses a special balance of soil types together with cement stabilizer and water to create a mix similar to concrete. This is then poured into moulds and dried. It's just as hard as traditional concrete and is highly resistant against the natural elements.

That being said, you'll find it is often 10-20% more than traditional materials, but it's known for improving the general strength and thermal mass of the building. It's also low maintenance, which makes it a worthwhile investment. You might also consider alternatives such as rammed earth, cast earth, adobe, or one of the many other alternative materials.

Environmentally Friendly Roofing Products

Shingles and roofing materials are one of the most resource and money intensive products you'll need to purchase during the building process. However, you'll find environmentally-friendly versions of traditional shingles that last longer, require less maintenance, and look great. Some are made almost completely from recycled tires. These don't warp, rot, crack or blister, so they look just as good in 20 years as they did the day you installed them. Synthetic roofing products are made from a combination materials, usually 75% of which are recycled.

Yet another alternative is solar roof shingles. While they might look just like traditional asphalt shingles, they are coated with photovoltaic materials, which generate 17-50 watts of electricity each for your home. They're not always enough to power the entire industrial building when it's cloudy, but it can significantly reduce your monthly power bills.

If you'd really like to go green, you can get green roofing that is, well, literally green. Made of multiple layers of waterproof membrane, drainage, soil, and plants, these roofs look much more like a rooftop garden than a roof. These styles might look silly, but they can reduce heating, energy consumption, and cooling, filter pollutants out of the air and water, reduce storm water runoff, and create an urban habitat while giving you an agricultural space to grow fruits and vegetables. They look great and can even improve the resale value of the property. Install them on your home or even one of those new metal storage buildings you've been planning.

Eco-Friendly Flooring

Carpeting and other popular flooring choices can eat up a lot of resources and produce a large number of pollutants. Thankfully, however, there are a number of environmentally friendly options available that look just as great, if not better than traditional industrial buildings choices while lasting longer.

Bamboo and cork are great alternatives to laminate or hardwood floors. They resist moisture and can take a ton of traffic before they start showing wear. If you've really got your heart set on hardwood, consider reclaimed and sustainable wood varieties.

There are also numerous alternative choices that you may not see often, but can add visual interest to your home. Recycled glass tile, recycled metal tile, recycled glass pebbles, stone tiles, and mosaics are just a few of the examples.

Metal storage buildings, eco-friendly roofing, green flooring products, and many other resources are available to ensure you can save the environment while saving your money. Take time to check them out and see what's available. You'll love building (and living) green.

Green building ideas are not only better for the environment, but they can save you money too. Recent advancements in technology have also made this easier -- there's no need to sacrifice quality. In fact, some of these products are better than their traditional alternatives and include several benefits that can make maintenance and upkeep a rare occurrence.

Michiel Van Kets writes articles for Metal Storage Buildings, a company specializing in metal storage buildings which are affordable to keep everything protected. The company also offers the best industrial buildings and commercial steel buildings, which have fully customizable interiors.

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