How Your Builder Can Make Your New Home More Eco-Friendly

Posted on

If you're working with a commercial builder to construct a new home for yourself and your family, no doubt you're concerned about the home's style and appearance, and with having space for everything you need. However, you might want to consider how eco-friendly that new home will be over the years. Note a few things you might discuss with your builder to incorporate these eco-friendly features in your home before construction begins.

Insulation choices

Blown foam insulation made from cellulose, a type of recycled paper and resin or adhesive mixture, is very eco-friendly. Not only does it keep old paper out of landfills, it's also easy to recycle if you should need to have the insulation replaced. Don't settle for standard fiberglass insulation, which is very difficult to recycle once it needs replacing, but ask about cellulose material instead.

Water recycling

Your home's water doesn't all need to go back to the city water processing plant but you can have your own water recycling equipment installed in a new home. This will collect water from the showers and sinks and then recycle it to toilet tanks, so you flush your toilet with grey water and not with fresh water.  You can also have this water from the shower and sinks filtered so that it becomes safe for bathing or washing dishes, which also means using less fresh water for these chores.

Another way to recycle water on your property is to install drainage systems under the downspouts of the home. These can either collect water in a tank so you can reuse it for watering the lawn, or the drainage system can include a set of pipes that snake around the property and direct that rainwater to a garden. The pipes might also just disperse water evenly on your property rather than allowing it to drain into the street. This can keep your property well-watered and, again, you don't need to waste fresh water for this.

Recycling bins

A new home means being able to install all the features you want in the kitchen or garage, and built-in recycling bins can make collecting materials for recycling easier on your family, without detracting from your home's overall look. Consider having cupboards installed with bins for sorting materials; these can also include a space to hold twine for bundling newspaper or bags you need for dropping off the items at a recycling center if they're not picked up with your everyday trash.