Posts Tagged ‘Building’

Sustainable Is The New Green

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Benjamin Obdyke Logo with Tagline (B&W)

Green has certainly gotten a bad taste in people’s mouths over the last few years.  Whether it is consumer packaging or the construction industry, an unpolished green-washing has lingered over many parts of many industries; however, it does not need to be that way.

The term Green literally comes with many definitions, but one stands out with particular precedence: “made with little environmental harm and produced in an environmentally and ecologically friendly way, e.g. by using renewable resources”.  In basic form, this definition is fundamentally positive; however, some recent transgressions, even up to the global level, have painted this color with impure clarity—tainting its complexion.  Fortunately for you, you don’t have to follow that path and can instead break freely into greener pastures (pun intended)!

In the building industry, one key component of Green that we embrace here at Benjamin Obdyke is Sustainability.  To homeowners, we offer a multitude of products that are designed to preserve and sustain your living environment—your home.   To the architects, builders or contractors (the real ABC’s of home design and development!), we offer products designed to enhance the durability of your creations outer structure—making it truly sustainable.  And if there is one thing about Green that everyone can agree upon, it is that a sustainable structure is by definition built to last; ergo, it consumes fewer resources.  Now that is Truly Green.

Green is all around us and can be found in places big and small—ever in your own backyard!  For instance, we at Benjamin Obdyke get an abundance of wooden pallets at our Pennsylvania-based facility from various shipments coming in and out.  Regardless of how many shipments come in and out, the surplus only continued to grow.  Coincidentally, around this time there occurred a need for more storage space and shelving within our back warehouse and application testing lab.  Stepping back and taking a holistic approach to this situation, we devised a satisfying solution by instead of putting all this useful lumber to waste—put this good wood to work!  These pallets were cut down and bound together to form a plethora of functional, heavy-duty storage space that would last for years to come; thus, forming a very Green resolution to this dilemma.  I have even heard of other individuals utilizing shipping pallets in resourceful ways: Christmas tree stands when selling Christmas trees (two pallets can support up to 4 trees in the upright position!).

You can pave your own unwritten path and I encourage you to define what Green means to you and to let us know about it!  Send us your definition of Green and maybe we will feature your creativity on our website or a future publication!

It is good to be the king, but there is always room to Build Better™.

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Let the Innovative Times Rolls—Somebody Let the Cat out of the Bag!

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Roofing Products

Following up from our recent talks about unique applications of Benjamin Obdyke products; check out these two high-profile applications in which the builders decided to Build Better® with products from Benjamin Obdyke in untraditional ways.

Cougar Vent® – Not Your Ordinary Ridge Vent!  The Journal of Light Construction recently featured a builder with a cutting edge mindset who was looking for unique was to improve his building design—so how did he achieve this when designing his rainscreen wall system?  Well, with Cougar® Ridge Vent, of course!  Check out this full article on JLC’s website or in their recent issue (Building a High Performance Shell – May 2010; www.jlconline.com).  This builder branched out with a unique rainscreen application with Cougar® Ridge Vent in which he applied this ¾” thick product at the base of the wall system to fit between the strapping on the wall and helped to pin the insect screen to the back of the siding1.

1Disclaimer: That was not a typo; sometimes with the right idea you can even Build Better® walls systems with products that are typically found for use in a roof or vice versa!  Same goes for foundation products as well or even landscaping products—there are ideas all around us!  Across many different industries we have seen products and technologies bridge the gap and serve multiple uses; clothing and building wraps are one great example.  Both had to breathe to create a better product and both ending up benefiting from the use of similar technologies.

Home Slicker® – Not your father’s rainscreen!  Exterior insulation is a growing trend in the building industry and for good reason too.  There are some great benefits to building a wall assembly with this type of construction including, but not limited to increased R-value and enhanced durability.  In many of these applications you may be wondering how to incorporate a rainscreen design in junction with your exterior insulation assembly.  Well have no fear, Home Slicker® is here!  Upon installing your exterior weather-resistive barrier (i.e. housewrap, building paper, etc.) and your exterior insulation, Home Slicker® rainscreen products can then be installed prior to the application of the cladding, but don’t forget to apply Home Slicker® with fasteners that are long enough to hold the product onto the wall before the application of the cladding (note: the same fasteners that would be used to install your siding are sufficient for the application of Home Slicker®, in most cases).  Also remember since the wall thickness is greatly increased with these assemblies, you need to use fasteners that are long enough to allow for the properly required penetration depths as per your local building requirements.  Benjamin Obdyke also has recently added a new detail to their website application library to better depict this type of application—and check back often as we are continually expanding this library to help you Build Better®.  Some builders are already employing this excellent defensive building strategy to help fight the battle against moisture-related building enclosure issues; the highly-acclaimed Journal of Light Construction recently featured a craftsman builder utilizing Home Slicker® with this methodology in mind (Built-Out Trim for Exterior Foam – April 2010; www.jlconline.com).

Bring out the craftsman in yourself today, immerse yourself in innovation, and lets Build Better® together.

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Going Green With Sustainable Building Materials

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

Green Building stock photo

What Is Green Building And How Can A Person Build A Green Home?

In essence, part of green building – or sustainable building – means using materials in such a way that people can live well without harm to the environment. Building a green home may include using reclaimed, rapidly renewable, and widely abundant building materials.

Using Reclaimed Materials
Go green by using reclaimed materials. Not only can decorative items and furniture be reclaimed, but there is a huge demand for reclaimed building materials. This includes old boards, windows, beams, tiles, and more. Using reclaimed materials is both good for the planet and gives a home warmth and character.

Using Renewable Materials
Many materials in today’s homes come from nonrenewable resources. “Nonrenewable” means it is produced at such a slow rate that it is considered to not be replenishable. Renewable resources, however, can be harvested repeatedly because they renew themselves in a short period of time.

Building with the Earth
Some nonrenewable resources (adobe, cob, clay, rammed earth) are so abundant that there is little fear of them running out. These earth products make wonderful, green building materials. However, many of these materials don’t currently meet building code requirements and are, for now, considered experimental.

Green living is a better lifestyle for both people and the environment. Green building means designing homes in such a way that a person can live well without damaging the environment. Three types of materials to look for when building a home include reclaimed, renewable, and abundant building products.

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