Just in time for Earth Day, Home Channel News is reporting that although bricks seem red, they can actually be green when it comes to eco-friendly home construction material choices.
Boral Bricks White Paper
Georgia brick manufacturer Boral has released a white paper entitled "Building With Brick: Sustainable and Energy Efficient: A White Paper on Performance Benefits of One of Man's Oldest Building Materials." The paper cites a 4000-year old arch in the Middle East made of brick that still stands today.
"All too often, newly invented materials are not only disproportionately expensive, but also lack a time-tested track record that can provide reassurance about their expected performance,” the paper read.
Energy Efficiency of Brick
The insulating properties of brick were recognized by an independent study as using 2% to 7% less energy than fiber cement siding, and 1% to 2% less than vinyl siding in southwestern climates.
According to Home Channel News, brick’s durability -- it's not compromised by mold or termites -- contributes to its overall long life with little maintenance. “In fact, because of its durability, the National Institute for Standards and Technology has rated brick masonry as having a 100-year lifespan,” the report read.
Green Manufacturing Process
By all environmental impact standards, brick is one of the best choices for eco-friendly construction. Why? The efficiency of the manufacturing process, use of alternative energy sources, recycled content, minimized waste and efficiency of transportation because materials to make brick can be found throughout the United States. The clay and shale used to make brick can be found almost everywhere in the world.
“Because clay and shale ‘float’ to the Earth’s surface through weatherization, they are easily removed from the ground without the damaging effects that accompany the mining of more elusive resources,” the report stated.
Brick is Eco-Friendly
One of the notable qualities of brick is that very little waste is produced in the manufacturing and building process because the materials are inherently recyclable “A pound of clay material yields almost a pound of brick," states the report. "Any materials that are left over after one run of bricks has been fired can simply be re-mixed into the next run.”
Additionally, leftover brick material on the construction site can be recycled in a number of ways, be it crushed for landscaping, reused for other projects or added to concrete aggregate.
So is the home construction industry paying attention? We'll find out if we start to see more brick, and less vinyl siding.
Mary McCarthy - Mary T. McCarthy is the blogger at pajamasandcoffee.com and Editor of Chesapeake Family magazine.
