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Sustainable Materials at Home on the Range
The construction process of a new or renovated building is often the most carbon
and waste intensive part of a building’s life cycle. Here’s how Home on the Range
was able to ease the burden of construction related energy inputs. Recycled, Salvaged, and Sustainable Materials
Throughout the building we have used a variety of products that are either salvaged
or made from recycled and rapidly renewable materials. The use of these materials
was very important in the project from start to finish. Here is a list of some of the items:
- Salvaged cubicles
- Salvaged wood trim from this building’s previous life as a meat locker
- Salvaged solid oak doors from the old Stapleton Building (including the door to
room 419, Northern Plains’ original office!)
- Biofiber boards – used in place of particle board without the harmful chemicals
– includes Dakota Burl (made from waste sunflower seed hulls), and Wheat
Straw Board (made from waste wheat straw)
- Recycled content carpet tiles, material that is also designed to be recycled
- Salvaged wall tiles for bathrooms
- Fly-ash in the concrete replacing 25% of the Portland cement used
- Recycled content fabric for reupholstered chairs
- Salvaged bathroom sinks
- Bathroom stalls are 30% recycled plastic (milk jugs)
- Recycled tiles in the kitchen made from tile shards and dust.
Local Materials
We tried to purchase as many materials as possible within a 500-mile radius. This reduces the cost
of transportation and it supports local businesses. The following is a sample of what we’ve been
able to purchase within this radius:
- Gypsum board from Lovell, WY
- GravelPave2, permeable parking surface, Denver, CO
- Salvaged doors, Billings, MT
- Salvaged tile, Missoula, MT
- Structural Insulated Panels, Belgrade, MT
- Salvaged cubicles, Bozeman, MT
- Plant material for landscaping, Billings and Big Timber, MT
For a more complete list of local and sustainable material suppliers, click here
We recycled 11 tons of horsehair insulation, as well as all the metal, wood studs, and other recyclable
materials we could find. From that beginning, we have tried to find as many ways as we could to show
what’s possible in terms of conservation and green building. Of the 273 tons of waste generated in
construction, we managed to divert 254 tons, or 92% of it.
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