The Making of a Sustainable Home in Chester County- 5th Update

    
  

Giving Our Trees a New Life

We have begun in earnest to mill the trees we were required to destroy and form them into lumber for the new home. Here, several hickory trees are milled on site for flooring in two of the upstairs bedrooms. In all, there were close to 80 trees that were harvested for the construction of our new home. For many of the trees, we will continue to enjoy them in a new form. After we are finished building, we will replant at least 50 new trees and rebuild and manage the forest for the long term.


This action at 60 Bragg Hill will complete a closed carbon loop and sequester or "bank" carbon for a long time. How? When trees absorb C02 (carbon dioxide) and release O2 (oxygen). The C or carbon portion of the CO2 gas is retained by the tree and stored in the form of wood. Yes, think of wood as a carbon bank. Carbon will be stored in the form of wood until it either rots or is burned. The building process at 60 Bragg Hill will require the removal of trees, but the wood will be used in the building process; thereby sequestering or "banking" carbon. The banked carbon will remain stored until the home is destroyed. Hopefully, this won't occur for hundreds of years! While older trees were cut down the stewards of 60 Bragg Hill will replant news trees and manage the forest. The young trees will grow, sequester more carbon and store it as wood; thus the system is complete and closed.

Additionally, the stewards of 60 Bragg Hill are using materials from that were grown right on site. There is no energy expended for transporting the wood. This helps reduced the embedded energy in the building materials. Also, since the wood is not being transported the opportunity for pests, diseases, invasive and noxious plants and animals to hitch a ride and spread over hundreds or thousands of miles is eliminated. The real costs of pests, diseases, invasive and noxious plants and animals are very high, but often overlooked. By milling the trees onsite and using that wood for their home the stewards of 60 Bragg Hill have reduced the likelihood of spreading these unwanted and damaging invaders.

Overview:

The making of a substainable home (Pa Eco-House) in Chester, County, PA is known as 60 Bragg Hill. The project is a co-operative effort of the entire design team - Barney and Nancy Leonard (homeowners), noted “green” architect Matthew Moger, contractor Mark W. Thompson, Superior Woodcraft, Inc. and others.

Related Posts:

Superior Woodcraft Joins Design Team for Pennsylvania Eco-House, 60 Bragg Hill
The Making of a Sustainable Home in Chester County - 2nd Update
The Making of a Sustainable Home in Chester County - 3rd Update
The Making of a Sustainable Home in Chester County - 4th Update

Sustainable Forestry for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gasses

Source:

Superior Woodcraft, Inc.
Superior Woodcraft Blog