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Publication Review

Title: Sustainable Home Technical Manual - 3: Materials
Author: (Third Addition) Commonwealth of Australia, 2005
File: Free Technical Manual, PDF
3.0: Introduction: 65 KB, 2 pages
3.1: Embodied Energy: 229 KB, 4 pages
3.2: Waste Minimization: 280 KB, 4 pages
3.3: Indoor Air Quality: 130 KB, 1 page
3.4a: Construction Systems: 456 KB, 4 page
3.4b: Autoclaved Aerated Concrete: 134 KB, 3 page
3.4c: Rammed Earth (pise): 125 KB, 3 page
3.4d: Mud Brick: 131 KB, 3 page
3.4e: Straw Bale: 229 KB, 5 page
3.4f: Concrete Floor Slabs: 831 KB, 4 page
3.4g: Clay Brick: 290 KB, 4 page
3.4h: Lightweight Timber: 309 KB, 4 page
3.5: Boidiversity: 264 KB, 4 page

Audience: Written for architects, builders and homeowners interested in sustainable home design and construction.

Review
A technical guide developed by the Government of Australia "developed to show you how to design and build a more comfortable home that has less impact on the environment. The home will also be more economical to run and healthier to live in." Covers a wide variety of sustainable issues. Remember some Australian specific information may be backwards regarding North & South. Some climate information may also be specific to Australia. But much information is relevant to building anywhere.

Issues covered in Introduction include:

• 3.0: Introduction
  • key issues
  • overview of materials use fact sheets

• 3.1: Embodied Energy
  • life cycle assessment
  • the importance of embodied energy
  • assessing embodied energy
  • embodied energy of common materials
  • precautions when comparing embodied energy analysis results
  • guidelines for reducing embodied energy
  • reuse and recycling of materials to reduce embodied energy

• 3.2: Waste Minimization
  • the three R's of waste minimization: reduce, re-use, recycle
  • landfill
  • what is building waste
  • lifecycle thinking and waste
  • recycling
  • waste management plans

• 3.3: Indoor Air Quality
  • factors to consider
  • simple steps to better air quality
  • ventilation
  • separate
  • absorption

• 3.4a: Construction Systems
  • overview
  • selecting construction systems

• 3.4b: Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
  • performance summary
  • typical domestic construction

• 3.4c: Rammed Earth (Pise)
  • performance summary
  • typical domestic construction

• 3.4d: Mud Brick
  • performance summary
  • typical domestic construction

• 3.4e: Straw Bale
  • performance summary
  • typical domestic construction

• 3.4f: Concrete Slab Construction
  • benefits
  • structural issues
  • finishes
  • heating
  • recycled content in slabs

• 3.4g: Clay Brick
  • performance summary
  • typical domestic construction

• 3.4h: Lightweight Timber
  • performance summary
  • typical domestic construction

• 3.5: Boidiversity
  • threats to biodiversity
  • biodiversity friendly building
  • rules of thumb for design
  • rules of thumb for material selection
  • case study
  • building industry impact
  • guidelines for sourcing materials

Graphics typically include:

• general photos explaining concepts
• graphs and charts explaining concepts
• diagrams, sections and other drawings as needed to explain technical issues

Related Texts
Sustainable Home Technical Manual - 0: Introduction
Sustainable Home Technical Manual - 1: Passive Design
Sustainable Home Technical Manual - 2: Water Use
Sustainable Home Technical Manual - 3: Material Use
Sustainable Home Technical Manual - 4: Energy Use
Sustainable Home Technical Manual - 5: Site Impacts
Sustainable Home Technical Manual - 6: Other Impacts
Sustainable Home Technical Manual - 7: Case Studies

Related Links
www.Greenhouse.gov.au