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Mountain Creations truly appreciates the continued support and recognition of our continued efforts to reduce the impact on the environment with new construction.
Norah Schneider,
President
Mountain Creations
"A special thanks to our friend, Larry Thomas, the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, who is generous enough in spite of his busy acting schedule, to donate his time to help us promote our family business, Mountain Creations Cedar Log & Timber Homes. We love him and he is truly one of our family.
Mountain Creations Log Homes was featured on Fox & Friends this morning, April 21, 2009 and also in the New york Post. This is all a result of a posting on Buzz Feed. Click here for the link to view our awesome video featuring the Soup Nazi.
Mountain Creations Log & Timber Homes
EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
&
Exclusive Log Home Showing
Celebrate Earth Day with the
Original Green Building Solutition
Dear Log Home Enthusiast,
Mountain Creations Log & Timber Homes would like to invite you to attend a celebration of Earth Day & a Log Home Showing on Sunday, April 26, 2009 from 1-4pm at one of our models in the North Hills of Pittsburgh.
All attendees will receive a Douglas Fir seedling from the Arbor Day Founation to help protect our environment!
Reservations are Limited!! Call today for Directions! 800.661.5647
www.MountainCreations.com
Log Homes and Timber Frame Homes may have the lowest carbon footprint of any other type of construction. A carbon footprint is the measurement of carbon dioxide released as a result of using a particular product or other human activity. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere and major contributor to global warming.
A report prepared by the Edinburgh Center for Carbon Management (ECCM) compared the carbon dioxide footprints of three structures and the benefits when more timber was introduced into the construction. The results were astounding. ECCM estimated that there could be up to an 88% reduction of greenhouse gases by using log or timber structural elements wherever possible rather than other conventional building materials. The reduction of greenhouse gases was achieved by replacing materials high energy, high CO2 production values, such as steel and concrete, with solid wood. The report states that the production of steel and concrete materials accounts for 10% of the total global emissions of greenhouse gases. These materials have a high CO2 output created during the extraction of raw materials, refining, processing and manufacturing of the finished product. As reported in a study published by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, the energy consumed to process a tree into a finished sawn timber is about one-tenth of steel production.
In another report prepared by The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) compared four different structure using different wall systems - two woods, one concrete and one steel. The report found that the steel wall system generated 33% more greenhouses gases than wood and the concrete wall generated 80% more greenhouse gases than wood. The study also reported that the wood structures out-performed the steel and concrete houses in energy use and the impact on air and water quality.
Wood walls are typically framed or solid. Conventionally framed walls use a combination a several materials including processed wood products such as plywood or other laminated wood products, fiberglass insulation, exterior siding, interior sheetrock and some type of wall covering. Solid wood walls using logs or timbers have basically one product - the log or timber. The energy consumed and the CO2 produced in the production of logs and timbers is a fraction compared to the production of all the various materials in a conventionally framed wall.
Consumers are much more aware the environmental impact of using different materials and are being increasing sensitive to the hazards of exposure to chemically processed materials. Logs and timbers are 100% natural. As a natural product, they do not emit VOCs or other pollutants into the outdoor or indoor space. Trees are produced from soil, water and air combined with the energy from the sun, in a miraculous process of photosynthesis. Ecologically and environmentally, solid wood is the only building product that is renewable, biodegradable, recyclable, energy efficient and extremely beautiful.
Sustained and plantation forest growth actually reduces greenhouse gases by consuming CO2 out of the atmosphere while the trees are growing. Political pressure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, such as the Kyoto Protocol, is sure to continue and it will become increasingly important to find solution. The use of solid wood construction such as log homes and timber homes can make a positive contribution.
Footnotes: 1Forestry Commission Scotland Greenhouse Gas Emissions Comparison - Carbon benefits of Timber in Construction. Aug 2006. 2Wood - another low carbon footprint solution. Feb-Mar 2006, ECOS 13. 3The environmental performance of renewable building materials in the context of residential construction Perez-Garcia, John, Bruce Lippke, David Briggs, James B. Wilson, James Boyer, and Jaime Meil. - http://www.corrim.org/
Get more information on log home construction or timber frame homes at www.mountaincreations.com
From planning to construction to residence, log homes are well known for their eco-friendliness. One of the main reasons for choosing log homes for being environmentally responsible is that they are constructed from naturally renewable resources. As the logs are cut down for the construction of these eco-friendly homes, they are quickly re-planted to have a steady reserve of trees and hence the environment is not damaged by any means. Starting from the eco-friendliness of the construction material (logs) of these log homes, there are countless numbers of other eco-friendly factors associated with these homes. We have explained a few of the eco-friendly features of a log homes here.
1. Energy Conservation while constructing
Unlike the conventional materials used in the construction of traditional homes, these eco-friendly homes make use of the naturally available logs for the construction. The manufacturing process of the construction materials is eliminated. This saves the energy consumed in the manufacture of conventional construction materials like steel, concrete etc. The transportation of the logs to the construction site is very easy too. Moreover, these log homes require very less maintenance, as they can protect themselves from insect infections and the natural disasters.
2. 40% less Co2 Emissions
Co2 emissions are the major problem associated with the construction of conventional homes. These Co2 emissions are the root causes of Global warming. The log homes are the seeds of the solution for this problem. According to various researches, log homes have 40% less Co2 emissions when compared to the conventional homes. The log home leaves only a negligible amount of carbon footprint.
3. Huge energy savings
Conservation of non-renewable energy sources is the main factor that has to be considered today. Various technologies like the use of solar panels are in practice today to save the Earth from ending up in energy crisis. A properly constructed log home will be much more energy efficient than the conventional homes. The log homes can adjust to the climatic conditions without the need of any air conditioning device. Various statistics indicate that this climate controlling property makes the log homes use 20-30% money to be spent on electricity bills.
The Constructing of log homes
Constructing a log home is a wise investment when considering the savings that one can make in a long run. There are not many resources in the Internet to check the pricing and different plans of the log homes. However, some of the log home builders provide the valuable resources about the log home plans, and cost analysis of constructing a log home. For example, the log home constructors of Pittsburgh, "Mountain Creations" provide some valuable information about log home plans, log home photo gallery, podcasts, mortgage calculator, cost analysis, guides to the entire construction process and downloadable plan book with over 40 designs for free. All you have to do is to fill out an online application form to receive all these information.