[Greenbuilding] Bamboo flooring - a good material
Draper Steven @Consult
Draper.Steven at tpsconsult.co.uk
Thu Jun 14 03:18:00 CDT 2007
I installed about 400 square feet (40 sq. metres) in my living area and kitchen. This was the 'browned' variety, and the natural coloured variety; the former was horizontal lamination/glue-up, and the latter vertical lamination/glue-up. Both colours/types have done very well over 2 years. The firm in Brighton UK offered what they called a ceramic coating which we bought - cost about £19 british pounds a metre (about $38 per 10 sq. feet). I fixed it down with an air nailer using 25mm (1") brads into the tongue and underside of one edge - this is the normal method of fixing T & G flooring although it used to be with manually driven nails. So the whole experience was pretty good, cheaper by 50% than the normal hardwood floor and very good looking. I am doing a sunburst feature about 8' across in bits of the wood. No need to pre-drill the air naler hles, but screws to retain edges etc, plugged with bamboo plugs, had to be pre-drilled of course.
The downside was cutting inside the house: the smell of the wood was powerful, like urea my wife said. When the weather was good I took it out into the garden - but with a power saw and table saw going I had to respect neighbours at social times on the weekends and later evenings - all the time full-time working people (sniff) like me get. The air nailer suddenly charging up its tank used to scare everybody. You can rent air nailers but need to use it in a block of time to get value for money, or you can buy a good one with a small nailer working end - not too expensive - and use it for many other tasks. 'Theory' says the missus.
Edge details and movement jointing details are well advanced. See this website:
http://www.simplybamboo.co.uk/?gclid=CIaF0ZuT24wCFRAFEgodFnvIdA
where I bought the stuff. I have absolutely connection with or benefit from them, just a customer.
Green thinking would have to ask what is the glue, and the embodied energy in importing it from China/Far East, plus what good we may do by supporting a market that employs people who don't have any work. So glue plus transport miles plus social benefits. It comes well packaged and protected, with thin sheets of foam between layers, in thick cardboard cartons, trucked 50 miles to us from Brighton - also recycling issues.
Regards
Steven Draper
building designer specifier
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:47:57 -0500
From: "Lawrence Lile" <LLile at projsolco.com>
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] [BULK] Bamboo Flooring
To: <mebeddoe at rochester.rr.com>, "GB REPP"
<GREENBUILDING at listserv.repp.org>
Message-ID:
<C3BDACA3AD63A44F8D2BF6788D766B905A6008 at psc-s1.ProjSolCo.local>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
I installed some bamboo flooring on some stairs, and just love it.
Bamboo is a very hard material, and should be long-wearing.
When installing it, I found it's hardness could also cause sharp edges -
a sawn 45 degree edge was razor sharp, and carried a few splinters
besides! An installer might take extra care to chamfer edges.
I had to predrill all nail holes, both due to nail bending and
splitting. These are both hazards of very hard wood, oak would be the
same.
It ended up being a beautiful floor, with pretty much conventional
installation compared to oak flooring.
Lawrence Lile, P.E., LEED AP
________________________________
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Sent: Thu 14/06/2007 06:02
To: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Subject: Greenbuilding Digest, Vol 12, Issue 20
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: [BULK] Re: Baxi Luna question (RONALD CASCIO)
2. passive solar homes-floors-thank you (Kat)
3. Bamboo Flooring (mebeddoe at rochester.rr.com)
4. Re: Algae eating critters (Sacie Lambertson)
5. Re: [BULK] Bamboo Flooring (Lawrence Lile)
6. roof venting (Anja S Kollmuss)
7. Re: roof venting (Chris Green)
8. Solar Gain from South facing windows (Keith Winston)
9. Re: Solar Gain from South facing windows (Kat)
10. Re: Solar Gain from South facing windows (Ted Inoue)
11. Re: Solar Gain from South facing windows (wmdorsett at sbcglobal.net)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 12:46:13 -0400
From: "RONALD CASCIO" <roncascio at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] [BULK] Re: Baxi Luna question
To: "Reuben Deumling" <9watts at gmail.com>, "Greenbuilder list"
<greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
Message-ID: <012001c7adda$5b1ea800$4001a8c0 at RonsVAIO>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1;
reply-type=original
----- Original Message -----
From: "Reuben Deumling" <9watts at gmail.com>
--but it isn't strictly or necessarily true that all that water is wasted.
Some people have even been known to get in the habit of collecting the
not-yet-hot water from the bathroom sink in a pitcher with which to then
flush the toilet.
Reuben Deumling
... Or for watering the houseplants, or for using it in the dog's water
bowl, or for boiling spagetti in..... the uses are endless. Pre-Metlund, I
kept a few gallon jugs on hand by hot water outlets to collect the water
until the hot stuff hit the tap.
When I used to give water conservation workshops I'd suggest spending just
one day getting water for domestic uses from an outside hose bib only and
carrying it inside to use. It's amazing how many little water saving tricks
one can come up with when we take away all the modern conveniences.
Ron Cascio
Chestnut Creek
Design/Build/Consult/Develop
Maryland's Eastern Shore
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:58:25 -0700
From: Kat <molasses at speakeasy.net>
Subject: [Greenbuilding] passive solar homes-floors-thank you
To: Greenbuilding <GREENBUILDING at LISTSERV.REPP.ORG>
Message-ID: <46702231.9080903 at speakeasy.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Thank you so much to everyone who replied! I've obviously got a lot to
learn.
-Kathleen
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:03:44 -0400
From: <mebeddoe at rochester.rr.com>
Subject: [Greenbuilding] Bamboo Flooring
To: "Greenbuilding List" <greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
Message-ID: <009e01c7aded$9096ba00$6901a8c0 at rochester.rr.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hello all - would anyone care to offer opinions regarding bamboo flooring? It's touted as a greener alternative to wood, and I wonder if anyone who's experienced the material can speak to whether they found that to be likely. I know that's certainly a judgement call; still, if you have any info I'd love to hear from you, on list or off. Thanks much.
Martha Beddoe
mebeddoe at rochester.rr.com
Peace is every step - Thich Nhat Hanh
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:04:56 -0600
From: Sacie Lambertson <sacie.lambertson at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Algae eating critters
To: "Rob Tom" <ArchiLogic at yahoo.ca>, "GB REPP"
<GREENBUILDING at listserv.repp.org>
Cc: SB Yahoos <sb-r-us at yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <467041bb.1a01360a.1eb5.ffffe54f at mx.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed;
x-avg-checked=avg-ok-4F2F547A
We had a pond algae and grass problem from the get go. Taking the
seller's advice we gave five 10" grass carp a new home, and
eliminated the problem by the end of the first summer. A few years
later, maybe five, we also had a nearly 'dead' pond. We sought the
advice of the local State fish man who subsequently tried various
interesting methods to retrieve the now 20 pound carp. Once
successfully captured we ate them all. They were delicious. He did
not recommend we try carp again, but after three summers and many
many hours of pond wading to pull out algae and grasses, we put in
two carp. We once again have a beautiful pond and I'm kicking
myself for not dumping in just one. Before the second batch of carp
I did a lot of reading about alternatives, all of which are chemical
and not acceptable, nor is the hours and hours of handwork. What's one to do?
Mussels? I would think these critter would make swimming about
impossible. That and fishing is how we use our pond, mostly the
former. Sacie
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:47:57 -0500
From: "Lawrence Lile" <LLile at projsolco.com>
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] [BULK] Bamboo Flooring
To: <mebeddoe at rochester.rr.com>, "GB REPP"
<GREENBUILDING at listserv.repp.org>
Message-ID:
<C3BDACA3AD63A44F8D2BF6788D766B905A6008 at psc-s1.ProjSolCo.local>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
I installed some bamboo flooring on some stairs, and just love it.
Bamboo is a very hard material, and should be long-wearing.
When installing it, I found it's hardness could also cause sharp edges -
a sawn 45 degree edge was razor sharp, and carried a few splinters
besides! An installer might take extra care to chamfer edges.
I had to predrill all nail holes, both due to nail bending and
splitting. These are both hazards of very hard wood, oak would be the
same.
It ended up being a beautiful floor, with pretty much conventional
installation compared to oak flooring.
Lawrence Lile, P.E., LEED AP
-----Original Message-----
From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of
mebeddoe at rochester.rr.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 2:04 PM
To: Greenbuilding List
Subject: [BULK] [Greenbuilding] Bamboo Flooring
Importance: Low
Hello all - would anyone care to offer opinions regarding bamboo
flooring? It's touted as a greener alternative to wood, and I wonder if
anyone who's experienced the material can speak to whether they found
that to be likely. I know that's certainly a judgement call; still, if
you have any info I'd love to hear from you, on list or off. Thanks
much.
Martha Beddoe
mebeddoe at rochester.rr.com
Peace is every step - Thich Nhat Hanh
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------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:51:25 -0400
From: Anja S Kollmuss <anja.kollmuss at tufts.edu>
Subject: [Greenbuilding] roof venting
To: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Message-ID: <20070613155125.ea2f2cme0ws8goo0 at webmail.tufts.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format="flowed"
Hello,
I am regularly asked by people about roof venting (hot roof versus
vented roof) I have not been able to find much research on this. Could
you recommend some good resources on the topic?
(I am sure this has been discussed on this list before but I can't
quite make use of the archives, since global searches don't seem
possible. )
Thanks so much!
-Anja Kollmuss
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:16:26 -0700
From: Chris Green <pojeros at telus.net>
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] roof venting
To: Greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Message-ID: <46706CBA.1040809 at telus.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Anja S Kollmuss wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am regularly asked by people about roof venting (hot roof versus
> vented roof) I have not been able to find much research on this. Could
> you recommend some good resources on the topic?
>
You can start off with this overview:
http://www.roofhelp.com/ventilation_main.htm
If you google for "roof ventilation guidelines" or some variation of
that, there's lots more links to be found, and other listmembers might
have other pages to recommend. There's tons of it out there since this
is one of the more important topics in building, right behind the need
to build things which won't fall down on peoples' heads.
As a basic rule of thumb, you need about 1 square inch of total net
ventilation per square foot of floor space. I believe that's the figure
in the new building code. The above site uses 1/150th as the figure.
Leaving the roof unvented and able to heat up is a bad idea and the
building inspectors will probably order the work redone. Even if they
don't, or if you build in some jurisdiction without inspectors, the heat
will radiate downwards into the living area at the hottest time of the
year. It will cost money and energy to remove that heat and moisture.
The house I live in had undersized vents and the attic would reach well
beyond 150F. The main floor required cooling with a swamp cooler for at
least a month during the hot season (and I live in Canada...). After the
new vents were installed, the swamp cooler only has to run for a few
days or a week at the worst of times. The new vents are power vents (my
landlady's son is an industrial electrician...) run off of a thermal
sensor. Vents powered by the wind would use less energy, but on the
other hand, some days there's no air flow to drive the turbine vents...
One of the lesser-known long term effects of subjecting rafters and
other wooden roof structures to such elevated heat is that in time the
wood loses strength. On a nano-scale, it is slowly carbonizing. Not
good, especially if the roof carries a heavy load, say clay or cement
tiles. If there's a lot of moisture present, the warmer conditions allow
for various decay mechanisms to work, and metal can corrode. Even more
Not Good.
Cheers,
Chris Green.
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:18:02 -0400
From: Keith Winston <keith at earthsunenergy.com>
Subject: [Greenbuilding] Solar Gain from South facing windows
To: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Message-ID: <4670893A.3080902 at earthsunenergy.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Well, I don't quite know how they'd "tune the window" with respect to
angle of incidence, especially when you really think about how windows
are installed and the angle of the sun throughout the day at different
times of day.... BUT they do make windows with the low-e coating on
either side 2 or side 3, which means they either reflect heat back into
the house, or reflect heat back outside (I may have gotten that
backwards). I think you're stuck with one or the other, though, based on
whether you're in a heating or cooling climate. I'm not sure that too
many designers/window companies actually adjust such things in
individual cases, though some custom window companies are willing to.
Keith
> Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 08:45:49 -0500
> From: "Tom Wiprud" <wipfamly at hutchtel.net>
> Subject: [Greenbuilding] Solar Gain from South facing windows
> To: <greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
> Message-ID: <001301c7adc1$27859df0$27234745 at basement>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Some other posts have mentioned that low E glass does not reflect the summer
> sun. Is this true? I just read in a Marvin window catalog, that Low E
> lets the sun in in the winter, but reflects it out in the summer. I am
> looking at using Marvin fiberglass Integrity windows, casement and awning
> types on my new house. Thanks Tom
>
>
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:24:35 -0700
From: Kat <molasses at speakeasy.net>
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Solar Gain from South facing windows
To: keith at earthsunenergy.com, Greenbuilding
<GREENBUILDING at LISTSERV.REPP.ORG>
Message-ID: <467098D3.7090101 at speakeasy.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
I think - don't know for sure of course, but I think - that Ted meant
the coating itself would have a sort of... nap... almost like
microscopic louvers or something. He said, "tune the coating," not
"tune the window."
On 6/13/2007 5:18:02 PM, Keith Winston (keith at earthsunenergy.com) wrote:
> Well, I don't quite know how they'd "tune the window" with respect to
> angle of incidence, especially when you really think about how windows
> are installed and the angle of the sun throughout the day at different
> times of day....
>
> Keith
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 23:33:51 -0400
From: "Ted Inoue" <tedinoue at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Solar Gain from South facing windows
To: Kat <molasses at speakeasy.net>
Cc: keith at earthsunenergy.com, Greenbuilding
<GREENBUILDING at listserv.repp.org>
Message-ID:
<50d688f80706132033u58ecad47kf5858c4cec55bf66 at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
On 6/13/07, Kat <molasses at speakeasy.net> wrote:
>
> I think - don't know for sure of course, but I think - that Ted meant
> the coating itself would have a sort of... nap... almost like
> microscopic louvers or something. He said, "tune the coating," not
> "tune the window."
thanks, that's correct. The way dielectric filters work is they have a
number of layers of material, spaced appropriately to cause constructive
/destructive interference of the light waves. If the light comes in
perpendicular to the window, the optical path length between the layers is
less than if it comes in at an angle. So the wavelength rejection /
transmission of the window varies depending on angle.
Of course, as noted, the angle changes throughout the day, so the
transmission will vary as well.
All that being said, I don't know if the dielectric coatings used on windows
are actually working in that manner. One note I saw indicated that the
coating is a thin noble metal coating and the dielectric coating is used to
allow visible light transmission.
http://www.aip.org/pt/vol-53/iss-11/captions/p29box1.html
On 6/13/2007 5:18:02 PM, Keith Winston (keith at earthsunenergy.com) wrote:
> > Well, I don't quite know how they'd "tune the window" with respect to
> > angle of incidence, especially when you really think about how windows
> > are installed and the angle of the sun throughout the day at different
> > times of day....
> >
> > Keith
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
------------------------------
Message: 11
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 23:00:44 -0500
From: "wmdorsett at sbcglobal.net" <wmdorsett at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Solar Gain from South facing windows
To: Ted Inoue <tedinoue at gmail.com>
Cc: Tom Wiprud <wipfamly at hutchtel.net>,
greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Message-ID: <4670BD6C.2020100 at sbcglobal.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Tom, from the information I've been able to piece together, Marvin
Ultrex fiberglass windows sound like a fairly good bet. The frames of
fiberglass windows don't expand and contract at a greatly different rate
from the glazing so seals remain intact longer. And from experience,
awning and casement windows take more weather exposure than sashes that
stay fairly much in the same plain as the wall they are mounted in. So
dry-rot on the sashes and jambs becomes an issue of real concern. I
think for this reason the quality of the weatherstripping is very
important. I have some 25 year old Weathershield awning windows which
are rotting out because the weatherstripping has failed.
There are windows in the NFRC database that have U-values as low as .17
and .18 but all I've been able to find are triple glazed. These make the
sash heavy enough to wonder about the ability of wood frames to support
them. I think fiberglass has a better chance of doing so. Double
glazing starts at about a U-value of .30. Marvin also makes a "High-R"
glazing that is only listed in their supplemental pages and only with
wood sashes. Marvin Ultrex only comes double glazed. To my knowledge,
only Fibertek and Thermotech make triple glazed fiberglass casements.
Fibertech recently estimated about $6000 FOB for one medium sized fixed
over awning unit and six small awnings. It may be that in your location,
the added cost of triple glazing isn't warranted. I'm not sure it is in
mine so I'm checking all Ultrex also.
There is a wide variety of LowE films. Some are sun blocking but are
still designed for high visible light transmission, which works well on
East and West windows for most lower latitudes. But you would want
something more like the Optifloat with a high SHGC for South glazing.
Optifloat's ~.70 is compared to a more typical ~.50 of other double
glazed LowE films. Because of the differences in the angles of the Sun
between summer and winter, I think it is important to spec different
windows for different sides of a building.
Ted, what window manufacturers does Pilkington sell their Optifloat through?
Bill Dorsett
Sunwrights
Manhattan, KS
Ted Inoue wrote:
> Pilkington also has a glass, energy advantage, Optifloat, that has a single
> low-e coating on the inside.It has a SHGC of ~0.7 and a U of ~0.3. From the
> research I did, that's the best combination of high solar gain and low U.
>
> One thing to keep in mind is that dielectric filters are angle dependant. So
> they may be tuning the low-e coating to reject long wavelengths at high
> angles. At lower winter angles, the spectral characteristics will shift
> considerably. So it's quite possible to work for both applications.
>
> On 6/13/07, Tom Wiprud <wipfamly at hutchtel.net> wrote:
>
>> Some other posts have mentioned that low E glass does not reflect the
>> summer
>> sun. Is this true? I just read in a Marvin window catalog, that Low E
>> lets the sun in in the winter, but reflects it out in the summer. I am
>> looking at using Marvin fiberglass Integrity windows, casement and awning
>> types on my new house. Thanks Tom
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Greenbuilding email list
>> List info:
>> http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org
>> List email: Greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
>> Managed by BuildingGreen, Inc. http://www.buildinggreen.com
>> publisher of Environmental Building News and GreenSpec(r)
>> Hosted and archived by REPP / CREST http://www.crest.org
>>
>>
> _______________________________________________
> Greenbuilding email list
> List info: http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org
> List email: Greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
> Managed by BuildingGreen, Inc. http://www.buildinggreen.com
> publisher of Environmental Building News and GreenSpec(r)
> Hosted and archived by REPP / CREST http://www.crest.org
>
>
>
------------------------------
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End of Greenbuilding Digest, Vol 12, Issue 20
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