Bob interviews Gwen Noyes about the Cambridge Cohousing development constructed with environmentally friendly materials.

Bob meets with Brian Eberle from Enviroshake of Chatham, Ontario, to discuss the environmentally friendly shake shingles which are being used on a portion of the modular home�s roof. The mold, mildew, and insect resistant man-made shakes are constructed of used tires, post industrial plastics, flax and hemp fibers. The composite shakes contain additional materials that protect them from UV degradation and provide coloring to replicate the look of cedar shakes. The shake starts out almost blackish brown but quickly weathers to the look of silvered cedar and stays that color for the life of the roof. The roof is installed with standard roofing nails and follows all the techniques of installation for a standard cedar roof. Unlike cedar shakes they have 50-year warranty and testing has shown they should last much longer. This maintenance-free roofing product is priced similar to premium grades of standard roofing.

John Picard, an environmental specialist, explains some of the features that make the Malibu house more environmentally friendly. Oriented strand board (OSB) used for structural wall sheathing is made from fast-growing aspen trees that reach harvest in only 12 years. The board is held together with resorcinol glue. Steel studs were used to give extra depth to some walls. Cold-rolled steel has a high-recycled content and can be recycled it self. Pre-punched holes allow wiring and plumbing to be installed quickly and easily. The extra wall thickness allows the walls to be super insulated. Nature Guard cellulose insulation, made from recycled newspapers, was used throughout the project. Material specialist Don Williams explains the advantages of Fiberbond wall board, which is used in place of drywall. Fiberbond is made from recycled newspaper. It's fire resistant, moisture resistant and provides good sound deadening. The joints don't need tape, just a special joint compound. Note, FiberBond was made by Louisiana-Pacific. That division has since been purchased by US Gypsum and the product's name has been changed to FiberRock.