Green Building Block

Materials traditional thatched is probably the most beautiful, natural looking roof available. You may be surprised by the availability substitutes like that Use very innovative to create a specific aspect or be used in areas where this material might not be as readily available.

 • Mukut leaves as a substitute CHAUME

Makuti is a completely natural product and the environment. It is made of coconut leaves, knitted in the stem of the plant, which combine the positive comfortable with the natural environment, the color of the earth, natural fragrance and discreet.

Makuti leaves Africa and are used in construction with the techniques been used for centuries in many countries for the common roof.

This leaves as raw material is not considered a building material, but has always been tested with all weather conditions with high resistance to rain, snow, high winds and other weather phenomena. With the exception of the previous games ordinary buildings as roofing sheet makuti offer excellent insulation and sound absorption.

When applied especially in rural areas, creates leaves makuti a single result with these buildings as green roofs, umbrellas, pergolas, gazebos, etc.

Unfortunately, this leaves most of the time is just Lifetime 10 years compared to ordinary straw, which can easily last 25 years, but the main reason for its implementation would be "incomparable aesthetics in a rustic setting or others where it can be very innovative, integrated with the natural environment.

 • straw bales as a substitute for straw

In recent years, the words of the architects and designers have become much more environmentally conscious, and, recently, such as "sustainable" architecture "green" and "straw bale construction is used very often. It is very common to have blocks of straw bales as a roofing material but can be used very innovative as you can see in the photos above (see below for more details, website).

As wood, straw is produced by photosynthesis, a natural product, non-polluting process that is driven by solar energy. Unlike wood, straw is renewable annually. Being a non-nutritive byproduct of grain production, straw is often devastating and sometimes burned, causing air pollution.

The straw bale construction is much faster and less labor than traditional straw. The slats are further apart and therefore less wooden roof is also used. Unlike roofs straw, the straw bale construction techniques ceiling are simple and easy to learn from people not qualified and do not require expensive tools.

Straw bales also does not present a fire hazard that after being compressed, with insufficient oxygen for combustion.

With bundles of thatch roof construction could be an innovative alternative to the ordinary straw in places where aesthetics is not that great importance and where a smaller cheaper faster and may be temporary solution is needed.

Written by Jere Botes, architect & founder of http://www.dreamhouses.co.za a website dedicated to provide home builders, renovators, owners & developers with free professional advice on all aspects of home design, building & diy and http://www.cad-architect.net a source of over 2000 CAD Symbols, Details, Drawings and lots of other information for Architects & Building designers. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include a link pointing to either dreamhouses.co.za or cad-architect.net