http://www.infowars.com/where-to-find-natural-building-materials/

Whether you’re looking into building your dream home or simply want to renovate a specific area of your home or office, using green building materials can do wonders for supporting your health and the environment. Organic, natural, and eco-friendly building materials from reputable, trusted suppliers is a must for protecting your health from the endocrine disruptors found in conventional building supplies.

Thanks! I looked at both "organic" caulks listed Safecoat and Ecobond but did not find the "organic material" they are made out of? Anyone else?

I made one with lime, straw, clay...and through a mortar applicator. It worked ok but did not expand like spray toxic foam or would work in hard to reach places. I don't know how to get it to expand? I'd like to see some products like this and I'd like to know what is in them. Sorry, I just don't trust ASTM testing and CA.

Hi Terry, et al,

If I missed anything...let me know, but here are the basics. I am sure with your background, much of this will make more sense to you than me...

Eco Bond (as I understand it) has most (all?) its products based on a silanization process in which adhesion is achieved by covering a surface through self-assembly with organofunctional alkoxysilane molecules, which in this case the type is aminosilane. Silanes improve adhesion by chemically bonding to materials, forming a molecular bridge that presents as very strong, resistant to the negative effects of moisture and temperature, with very strong durability characteristics. They seem to offer improved, wetting, mechanical properties, filler dispersion, solvent resistance and weatherability. They also have superior wet and dry applications for adhesion, while aslo be heat and moisture resistant. Silanes are multifaceted with performance and quality as additives, primers, co-monomers within adhesives and sealants based on their molecular structure. The do not rely on mechanical adhesion, yet rather chemical bonding to a substrate which results in a more durable attachment modality.

I have only begun (past 10 years) to employ these products as alternatives to the more "mainstream" industrial adhesives spec'd on jobs. I would not call them "natural" by any means, yet better that what other companies are offering in the way of toxicity.

MSDS for EcoBond

Scholarly articles for amino silane adhesion...

SafeCoat products I am aware of, and have in my list of applicable materials for "chemical sensitive" clients. Yet...I can not get by the chemicals that are in the product. Many of their line does contain Aminosilane, yet also some other pretty heady inorganic chemicals as well such as poly-ether isomers. This later group is broadly considered low in toxicity.

For me, in most application around natural buildings, I have not had a need to employ this product line as I find more traditional materials just as functional and often less costly.

My challenge with foams (besides toxicity) is they just have become too much of a "quick fix" for putting stuff in cracks and crevices we think we are dealing with them. Back in the 80's I was using 50 gallon barrels of the stuff to do "bat exclusion work" from architecture. Over the years I noted that many of these locations could have be "caulked" with more traditional means (as with oakum) as to often I found that the foam trapped water and moisture in places that then began to decay. Each year I become more resistant to foams of any kind and find there claims not actually well founded over time...

Hope this helped Terry...

Regards,

j

Thanks Jay. I don't understand those chem terms either. I have been spoiled in corporate with Chemist.

What do I do about the client that wants carpet? Is there a bio-grade or natural carpet? Be great if I could find it locally. Seems like i have to ship the better products in. $$!

Hi Terry, et al,

We might need to start an entirely new topic for this one...

Floor treatments like carpeting is one of my favorites subjects, as I collect Native and Asian rugs as well as have weaved several different styles myself with my grandmother when she was with us still. I love rugs on floors and walls.

As for more contemporary projects with them, I tend to do a lot of "educating" of clients, and project managers over this subject. As a builder, I don't want to get into providing these elements unless contracted to do all the interior design work. Then again, I like traditional/natural carpet and textile treatments. When it comes to "fixing them" to a subfloor, whether wall to wall or large area carpets (my preference) then I tend to use mechanical fixing (i.e. tack bars, sewing down, etc) over any type of adhesive.

Hope that helps...

Regards,

j

Jay, I started the new thread here: http://www.permies.com/t/47193/natural-building/Carpet#376301

You're right this is a big subject since from what I read most of the toxins in homes come from carpets, and most mainstream homes have them in it....that I've been anyway.