For Healthy Walls, Think Plaster

(This appeared in April '10, Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest)

Whether it’s new construction, remodeling or home improvement, the ultimate goal is to create a healthy, comfortable space for the occupants. It’s an art, of course, but there’s some real science behind understanding how various building components interact to maximize indoor air quality, while minimizing mold growth and energy demand. It turns out that wall “breathability” may be one of the most important components determining long-term indoor air quality and occupant comfort. This isn’t going to be a science lesson. But this kind of thinking is becoming more mainstream, creating new opportunities for dealers to begin supplying solutions.

Interesting thing about walls: they all get covered, coated or stained and almost every dealer in the supply chain sells one or the other or all three. Paint is the most common coating and every dealer who sells paint carries at least one line of “green” paint, or is considering adding a line right now. The number of “green” paint brands has exploded over the last year or two, with nearly all the major national and regional manufacturers marketing some pretty good to great products. The greenest paints, of course, are the ostensibly non-toxic, zero-VOC formulations, coupled with zero-VOC colorants. The demand is there and growing, and the products are easy find, so getting into a good green paint brand is a no-brainer at this point.

But there are limitations with paint and that, in part, is driving more interest in lower impact, healthier, and, surprisingly, more traditional alternatives. Manufacturing paints requires a fair amount of energy and requires lots of chemicals, even for the green brands. Paints have limited durability requiring touch ups and re-application every few years. Paints also seal, keeping moisture out, but also keeping moisture in. They’re not breathable, potentially creating the conditions for mold to grow within the walls, which is one of the main causes of “sick building syndrome.” These factors have contributed to a significant rise in the use of traditional plasters, or more up-to-date versions of traditional plasters, that have relatively low-embodied energy, are non/low emitting, breathable, durable, and have other interesting properties.

One of the best known examples is American Clay, (www.americanclay.com), an interior clay plaster line made in New Mexico. Because it’s breathable, it helps to moderate humidity in a room and allows for air exchanges that reduces or eliminates condensation within walls. According to a company announcement at GreenBuild last fall, the products also exhibit moderating effects on temperature that may lead to lower energy bills. In other words, versus paint, rooms with American Clay stay cooler in the heat and warmer in the cold.

Another modern-traditional innovation just coming into the US market from Japan is EcoDeVita, from Shikoku International, (www.ecodevita.com.) Two products in the line contain diatomaceous earth and have the very unique property of adsorbing formaldehyde and chemically breaking it down, rendering it harmless. Not only does it provide all the other benefits of a traditional wall plaster, but it also cleans the air, too.

Orit Yanai, (www.orityanai.com,) a LEED Accredited Professional and one of the industry’s top experts on plasters, thinks that demand for sustainably produced, multi-functional plaster products like these will continue to grow. “One of the biggest topics in the green building community right now is about breathable walls and the good news is that the solution has been around for thousands of years – plaster,” she tells me. “But having said that, it’s not always easy to source materials for a project.” A few minutes on Google indicates the current dealer mix includes those that specialize in plaster and related products, green-building boutiques, and a handful of more traditional LBM dealers. If there’s growing demand that’s under served, traditional LBM dealers could leverage natural advantages in scale and contractor relationships to make green plasters a healthy new line of business.

Time for a Green Event

(This article appeared in the October '08 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

Fall is here. And for do-it-yourselfers, their attention has turned to pre-holiday home projects, like painting a room or making the house a little more energy efficient. For green builders, this is the season of two of the most important green building industry events, West Coast Green, in San Jose, California and Greenbuild, in Boston. West Coast Green happened in late September, (see what you might have missed here: www.westcoastgreen.com,) and has firmly established itself as a leading showcase for building innovation and education for pros and homeowners. Of course, the US Green Building Council’s Greenbuild Conference and Expo, coming up in mid November, (visit their website, here: www.greenbuildexpo.org) is the big green building event. So, with home projects and green building topics top-of-mind for many of your customers, it might be time to host a green event at your store.

Hosting a little green event in your store can bring in some of your best customers, as well as new customers. It can also bring other less tangible benefits including creating positive word of mouth, strengthened relationships with community leaders, and staff enthusiasm. The best part is that it doesn’t have to cost very much, especially if you elicit support from your suppliers and local organizations. Let me share some examples of what some of the best green retailers are doing on the West Coast.

Creating a workshop around a cool product or new building technique can bring in motivated customers. American Clay (www.americanclay.com), a natural plaster product from New Mexico is being stocked by a growing number of green retailers throughout the country. It’s a beautiful alternative to paint, but it takes a little extra know-how to apply it correctly, so the manufacturer and their dealers host workshops in the store. These little events cost virtually nothing to produce and have proven to be a boon for the retailers. Customers pay for the workshop, buy the product, and come back with their friends. A more traditional home improvement dealer in Northern California, Central Valley Building Supply, added the line last year and has hosted several American Clay workshops, finding that sales of other products get a boost, too.

Having a sexy, niche product can be an effective draw, but that’s not the only way to attract motivated customers. Virgil’s Hardware Home Center in Southern California recently hosted an event promoting water conservation. With support from the local water authority and their suppliers, they set up product demos and distributed rebate information, connecting customers to the right products for their project and the right rebate information for their community. Given that rebate information can be confusing to some people, it provided a real community service, saved their customers money and boosted sales.

There are other simple themes one can create an event around – one retailer I know offered 15% off for all women on a Women’s Day promotion and set up tables with information from local non-profit organizations promoting awareness of common household chemicals. The main point is to create an event that will be compelling in some way. But that’s not enough – you need to get the word out to your customers and influential members of your community. Have your cashiers hand out small flyers with every purchase for a couple of weeks in advance – print double-sided on recycled paper, of course. But most importantly, make a few personal phone calls to local green building advocates and community leaders and let them know what you’re doing. It boosts your reputation and will boost your business. Oh yes, and remember to have fun.