Portal:E materiais de construção

The Construction and materials Portal

An alternative or natural building involves a range of building systems and materials that place major emphasis on sustainability. Ways of achieving sustainability through natural building focus on durability and the use of minimally processed, plentiful or renewable resources, as well as those that, while recycled or salvaged, produce healthy living environments and maintain indoor air quality. Natural building tends to rely on human labor, more than technology. As Michael G. Smith observes, it depends on "local ecology, geology and climate; on the character of the particular building site, and on the needs and personalities of the builders and users."

The basis of natural building is the need to lessen the environmental impact of buildings and other supporting systems, without sacrificing comfort, health or aesthetics. To be more sustainable, natural building uses primarily abundantly available, renewable, reused or recycled materials. The use of rapidly renewable materials is increasingly a focus. In addition to relying on natural building materials, the emphasis on the architectural design is heightened. The orientation of a building, the utilization of local climate and site conditions, the emphasis on natural ventilation through design, fundamentally lessen operational costs and positively impact the environmental. Building compactly and minimizing the ecological footprint is common, as are on-site handling of energy acquisition, on-site water capture, alternate sewage treatment and water reuse.

More about construction and materials...

Show new selections

edit watch

Selected page

This is what it looks like when finished.

Welding wood. This is a technique to join wood using scrap tin, such as that from a used can. Needed materials include:

1. Two sticks of wood to be joined.

Make sure the wood is in good condition where the connection is to be made. It should be clean, no bits of bark or loose paint, and no knots, as they are too hard for nails.

2. Two pieces of thin tin.

For the first bond, use a knife for cutting the tin from a small can for example.
Length and width equal to the stick diameter.

3. One piece of sheet metal.

For the final bond, use the tip of an axe or chisel for cutting the sheet metal from an oil drum for example.
Width 3x the stick diameter; Length 6x the stick diameter.

4. Some small, ~1 cm, nails for the first connection. 5. Some larger, ~2.5 cm, nails for the final connection.

...Archive/Nominations

Read more...

edit watch

Things you can do

Appropedia is a wiki, so you can edit and share information and collaborate with others to lighten our ecological footprint and live richly, in harmony with our environment. You can start contributing after you create an account or log in if you have an existing account.
	Stubs: Alternative building · Architecture · Cement · Insulating walls · Materials