LEED Certification – The Basics of This Green Building Initiative

The LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) was established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to provide the construction and building industries with a verifiable system to define exactly what a green building is. Using a point system, an eco-friendly building can achieve LEED certification.

The more points a green building accumulates, the more prestigious the LEED Certification. If you think all it takes to get LEED Certified is screwing in a couple of compact fluorescent light bulbs, think again.  The USGBC has put in place a set of strict policies and procedures that must be followed. The good news is that there are various ways that a building project can earn LEED certified.

Here are the various LEED Certification levels:

  • LEED Certified – 40-49 points
  • LEED Silver – 50-59 points
  • LEED Gold – 60-79 points
  • LEED Platinum – 80 points & over

The Materials Resource Credit 7 (MRc7) is a great LEED credit to plan for.

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What is Ipe?

Ipe (pronounced EE-pay) is an exotic hardwood that is used for decking, flooring, and a host of many other applications. Ipe has many names and is also known as Brazilian Walnut, Amapa, Cortez, Guayacan polvillo, and many others. Ipe also gets misspelled in various different ways such as epi, epay, and eepay. Regardless of the …

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FSC Wood Is Perfect for Building a Green Deck

AdvantageLumber.com is proud to offer customers worldwide a full selection of FSC wood that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other companies who would rather say that they are eco-friendly without actually backing it up. Not every direct importer of exotic hardwoods has this highly coveted designation. …

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Ipe Decking is Safer than Composite Decking

Many people settle for composite decking due to the fact that composite wood and materials are cheaper than more high-quality exotic hardwoods like ipe. However, while the cost may be appealing, the long term viability of the materials is suspect at best. If you do a simple Google search for “composite decking complaints” or “composite decking lawsuit” you will see that, while people and businesses may have saved some money initially, they took a great risk in choosing an inferior product.

Here’s a simple ipe decking versus composite decking comparison chart:

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Ipe Decking Is Eco-Friendly & Beautiful

Few things in life are as refreshing as stepping out onto your ipe wood deck to enjoy the company of friends, loved ones, or just to have a moment of solitude. Homeowners who are looking to upgrade or replace their existing patio and outdoor entertainment area are turning to ipe in droves for many reasons. …

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Largest Online Supplier Of Ipe Decking Has Been Granted FSC Certification For Producing Hardwood Products

Grover, NC June 11, 2009 Advantage Lumber, LLC today announced they will now manufacture a variety of FSC certified hardwood materials in their North Carolina location. The company has a long standing of importing, manufacturing, and distributing Ipe Decking (Brazilian Walnut), from managed forest. Obtaining the highly coveted FSC certification is just part of the …

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Advantage Lumber, LLC Warns Against The Use Of Composite Decking Materials

Buffalo, NY January 24, 2009 Advantage Lumber, LLC today announced that, due to recent inquiries from customers , composite decking supplies and materials will not be distributed or sold at any of our locations. While composite decking remains popular due to its low cost, we are of the opinion that using composite materials for decks …

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