People are becoming more and more aware of their impact on the environment. For this reason, we’re seeing massive growth in the interest of creating homes that are not just timeless and beautiful, but sustainable as well.

Nowadays, there are plenty of design and materials you can choose to achieve that goal. However, natural stones stand out from the rest as the best option. Not only does this landscaping material meet all your requirements, but it can also help improve your home’s sustainability.

Since natural stones are versatile, which means that both your home’s interior and exterior can achieve long term goals such as performance, aesthetic.

The main focus of designing a sustainable home is to increase the efficiency of your resources, while at the same time reducing your home’s impact on the environment and health throughout its life cycle. Careful planning is required when designing an eco-friendly home. But all the resources, time, and effort spent will be worth it.

What Makes Natural Stone The Perfect Choice For A Sustainable Home?

Knowing the reasons why stones are sustainable can help you make the right decisions in terms of their selection, installation, and maintenance. Opting to use these materials show that you’re taking responsibility for taking care of the environment. You’re also proactively trying to preserve and improve our natural environment.  

Here are the reasons that make natural sones sustainable:

1. Natural Material
2. Low Maintenance
3. Durable
4. Recyclable
5. Energy Efficient

1. Natural Material

As the name implies, these stones are Mother Nature’s natural products. Producing these green materials do not require chemicals or other resources. Their supply is abundant, varying from colors and textures to shapes, veining, and other characteristics which makes them perfect for a wide array of purposes. For more information and benefits on using natural materials for your project, read our blog from last week on Benefits of Natural Stone vs. Concrete.

Thanks to millions and millions of years of mineral composition and geologic shift, the appearance of natural stones are diverse. They also don’t have toxic chemicals, so you’ll have peace of mind that you’ll maintain the healthy atmosphere of your interior, which is an essential element of a sustainable system.

You can purchase these landscape materials both locally and regionally. The environmental impact of regional extraction and production is lesser since there will be a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions during transportation.

2. Low maintenance

One of the best features of natural stones is how they don’t show dirt and signs of wear and tear compared to wood, vinyl, and other materials. They don’t get scratches or stains easily, and they’re simple to clean as well.

The most popular options for bathrooms are marble and limestone due to their resistance to moisture. On the other hand, granites are the best option for your kitchen countertop since they are scratch proof and sturdy.

When it comes to your outdoor space, stones are perfect for your walkway, patio, landscape planter, retaining walls, and so much more. Investing in natural stones is a smart move since they are durable and can stand the test of time. Take care of them properly, and you won’t need to replace them. And more importantly, you’ll prevent synthetic, wasteful materials from getting dumped into the landfill.

3. Durable

As mentioned, stones can stand the test of time, so you don’t need to replace them, unlike other materials. Travertine, granite, limestone, and other natural stones also age beautifully, thus enhancing the value of your home.

One of the most vital factors you need to consider when deciding on sustainable materials for your home is durability. This is to prevent resources from being used in creating new materials frequently. The life cycle of stones can range from 50 to 100 years. You can use them in your patio, pathway, or foyer, and they will be able to handle high traffic with ease.

4. Recyclable

You can fully recycle stones. They also have the potential of serving a number of various purposes and uses throughout their lifetime. You have an option to reuse and recycle them. This is a sustainable approach to make sure that the material will be able to live their useful life cycle to their full potential.

In terms of the environment, recycling natural stones and using them can help eliminate resources, including water and energy, required in the process of producing new products. As a result, we can avoid or reduce the impacts on resource supplies and ecosystems.

5. Energy Efficient

Natural stones are not only attractive but long-lasting and resistant as well. They don’t need any type of treatment throughout their useful life in comparison to glass, metals, and other synthetic materials.

Using them on facades instead of all-glass can boost the energy efficiency of your home. The combination of glass and natural stone for your facade can lower down the heat transfer coefficient since the heat conductivity of stones is lower than glass. Moreover, the cost of maintaining natural facade is cheaper than the maintenance of those made in all-glass.

Sustainable Outdoor Space

Natural Stone is the perfect green material that can withstand various outdoor elements while gracefully aging. It has the ability to weather out severe changes in moisture conditions and temperature, making them the favorite choice of landscapers for designing planters, walkways, patios, and retaining walls.

These outdoor landscaping materials will deteriorate/ rot much slower over time. Termites, fungus, and beetles are also less likely to feast on them in comparison to other materials that are not natural stone. They’re less prone to erosion like soil, and less prone to cracks like concrete and bricks.

They have a timeless appeal that can provide your garden or yard with a beauty that you will not get with wooden or concrete decking. Also, they fit naturally in nature’s design, which is hard to achieve with manmade materials.