Green Building

You hear  a lot about "green" or sustainable construction methods.  When you analyze all the factors from harvesting to milling to the end result of the building,  including energy consumption, local participation, etc., the most sustainable material is "wood".  I've had many clients who want to be responsible home owners in terms of the environment but inevitably they want materials that, while they may be long lasting and need little maintenance, these materials are not "green" at  all.  In the three houses I have built for myself, I have used as little metal and plastics as I can.  Cedar siding, wood soffits and facias, hardwood floors, wood windows, etc.  Staining the siding once every 10 years and sometimes not all of it, is hardly high maintenance.  Trees such as cedar replace themselves often with no effort on our part.  In terms of energy conservation, more wood rots in the forest than could be used to heat every house in the country several times over.    It is unsurpassed as a building material offering a natural expression in design and construction.   Because of our proximity to a vast supply, we should be using much more wood in our buildings.