Go Green

One of the most important factors in constructing a new building is the environmental impact it has on its surroundings, being “green”. Therefore, a project designer’s priority in constructing a building should be designing a building with the least amount of energy consumption.

Canadian Stucco, a Canadian owned company is recognized by the public as a “green” company, because it significantly decreases the energy consumption of a building by adding a layer of insulation on the exterior of the wall, minimizing thermal breaks and improving the efficiency of the cavity insulation. This method significantly reduces air infiltration and minimizes the amount of moist air that enters through the walls, therefore improving the indoor air quality.

Canadian Stucco is also recognized as a “green” company due to the fact that it uses “green products” in their building techniques. These products are materials which minimize the environmental impacts and allows for the elimination of potent and hazardous materials into the environment.

Some “green” techniques that are constantly used by Canadian Stucco are the use of water based coatings and other types of adhesives in order to not have any harmful or toxic properties emitted into the environment, which can be carcinogenic in nature. One type of insulation that is used by Canadian Stucco and has no toxic properties is called The Expanded Polystyrene Insulation (EPS) which is naturally found in the Exterior Insulated and Finish System (EIFS).

A very important note to remember is that for durability and impact resistance on the buildings, Canadian Stucco utilizes a reinforcing mesh embedded in a base coat, which is applied over the existing face of the EPS.

The adaptability of EIFS with respect to the renovation of existing buildings is in many cases a cost effective and conserving practice. The most important restoration practice is maximizing energy efficiency and one of the easiest ways to achieve this to insulate the exterior of the building using EIFS. By installing EIFS the infrastructural reliability is maintained, while improving curbside appeal, indoor air quality and reinforcing the weather resistive barrier.

With landfills rapidly reaching capacity, a major environmental concern is the disposal of waste.

• Canadian Stucco carefully estimates the amount of materials that is needed for each project to minimize the need to dispose of excess materials.
• Leftover materials are never thrown into sewer systems.
• Finishes and coatings contained in the sand are allowed to harden to produce solid waste, for disposal by refuse haulers. If the pail is less than half full, the lid is removed and the water portion is allowed to evaporate in a secure area. If the pail is more than half full, Portland cement is added and allows the mixture to harden in the pail. The material is dried completely with the lid off, therefore when the refuse haulers come to retrieve the pail, they notice the solid waste.