Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: building material questions

[Joe Nolan (jnolan]

HeidiNYS [at] aol.com wrote:

> 1.  Porch material:  anyone know if the newer presure treated lumber is 
> safe?
I don't think evidence is in yet on ACQ treated.
In our area it is not too hard to get naturally rot-resistant species 
such as black locust & (somewhat resistant) larch.
A covered porch is pretty well protected, so something like larch 
decking should last many many years (this is what I have).
Well chosen natural woods, employed in ways that let them dry out, can 
last 50 years or more without maintenance.

> 2.  siding: after lots and lots of phone/reading, we may have fibre cement 
> options kind of sorted out.  write if interested! 
A good choice for fire resistance.
We went with unfinished local hemlock (ship-lap, rainscreen). Local wood 
is plentiful in our region.

> 3:  glass:  can insulated glass doors provide the insulation of a regular 
> door/regular door w inulated glass insert??  Seems to us, insulated gladd better 
> that regular, however not as warm as inulated metal/fiberglass.....??  gather 
> that beautiful wood is not a good insulator....
Leakiness (air infiltration) will probably be a bigger issue with a door 
than insulation value.
Wood looks nice, but insulates less well & may not remain straight.
We went with Thermotech brand, triple-pane full glass doors with 2 low-e 
films & argon - important to stay cozy in NY winters, as you know.

> oh... anyone have experience with an environmentally friendly paint??  
Try
<http://www.bioshieldpaint.com/>
<http://www.afmsafecoat.com/>
<http://www.environmentalhomecenter.com/>

You could also consider doing natural plasters over blueboard as a more 
interesting alternative -
(some pix of us having fun with mud 
<http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/nolan/duplex/>)

or using a pre-finished sheet product such as Homasote with cork or 
burlap facing.
<http://www.homasote.com/>




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