Southeast Building Conference

Just got back from the SEBC Conference in Orlando and found several impressive products and vendors. It was especially easy to find Green products because the Conference teamed with Green Trends to highlight venors that offered them. Here are a few I was impressed with:

Green Innovations offers a MODI Porous Paving Grid which allows you to park, drive, and walk on a grass surface. It creates a natural landscape without concrete or asphalt. It's a modular system, made out of 100% recycled and recyclable HDPE. Not only does it have applications for driveways, parking lots, pathways and walkways, they also offer products with vegetative roof applications. I met Walter at the show and he not only knows his stuff, he's a pleasure to chat with (and it's much nicer to buy from people you like than people you don't). :-)

After seeing an episode of Dirty Jobs in which Mike pulls antique wood from rivers to reuse, I've been fascinated with recovered wood. So, when I saw Goodwin Heart Pine Company at SEBC, I was very excited. The nice lady at the Goodwin booth was pleased that I was excited (and probably a little confused by my zeal) but the more we talked, the more she understood. She's just taken a spot on the board for Florida Green Building Coalition, so we spoke a great deal about FGBC and USGBC. Recovered wood is great for green building because the wood is not only super-strong heart pine, but because of the nature of its origin, doesn't require living trees to fall. It's the ultimate in recycle/reduce/reuse. And, you have the benefit of a breathtakingly beautiful antique wood in your space without the guilt. And, they're local. What more could you ask for?

The Zayas booth was one of my first stops and I had a great time chatting with the staff. Not only do they promote alternative energies of all sorts (PV, wind, etc.) but they also have a cool SIP product that offers solutions for energy costs, hurricane winds, moisture and mildew, and fire safety. Not a bad deal, really. And, the time in install is apparently far less than your average walls and trusses. Here's a pretty neat stat: the walls for an 1800 square foot commercial building were set in place and ready for the roof in 4.5 hours. Regarding energy costs, they've got another great stat: a 1200 square foot residence using these SIPs averaged $25 a month in heating andf cooling costs (and, yes... that's in Florida). And, as if it couldn't get any better, they had me construct a wall piece while I was standing there. In the true spirit of "if she can do it, anyone can...."

The guys at Catec had a huge water reclamation system set up, which definitely got my attention. Obviously, water reclamation is one of those "dream points" for LEED when you're working on smaller size projects, but according to these guys, there's a water reclamation system for almost anyone out there. When he started quoting dollar figures, I was surprised to say they weren't as huge as I expected. I would definitely recommend visiting their website to learn more about the options. It's exciting to see some of this technology avilable at a significantly lower cost premium than just a few years ago.

I really fell in love with this product. 90% recycled plastics (80% POST consumer, 10% pre-consumer) mainly polystyrene. Basically, it's your packing material with a bright, shiny new future as interior moldings. Timbron produces this interior molding out of old packing material and it works almost exactly like wood, but it withstands moisture a lot better than wood. You can saw it, nail it, glue it, sand it, putty it, paint it. Or, it's lovely enough to be left in its natural white. From a green point of view, I really think this product impressed me the most.

I'm really interested to see how the Sustainable Forestry Initiative integrates itself into USGBC. According to the representative, they're in communication with USGBC to promote their independent certification for wood as a LEED standard. According to their website, their mission is to protect forests while producing the wood and paper products our economy needs. They integrate the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil, water, and air quality. She also told me that it's one of the most rigorous standards in the world. The Nature Consevancy has praised their work, which should count for something. I like the fact that they implement a training program for the landowners and loggers. Check out their website and let me know wha t you think.

Those are some of the highlights. Let me know if you're interested in any of the other vendors at the show and I'm sure I can provide a little bit of insight.

Visit their website: SEBCShow.com