Door - Eco Building

Mauritius Conference

Handbook Vol 1

Membership

Eco Build Guide

Door

The concept behind green buildings is not only important in larger applications and materials such as solar panels and cladding, but also in simple devices such as doors. Although an average house might only have about 10 doors, a commercial office block could have up to a 100.

There are three main factors in having a green door, the first being the type of material used, the second being the treatment or coating of the door and the third being acoustic well being to reduce the noise pollution level.

Depending on the type of building, will determine what the options are for the material of a door.

Wooden doors are generally the standard option, so be sure to check with the manufacturer if the timber comes from a sustainable forest or is certified as sustainable timber. There are various institutes that handle the certification of timber. In South Africa we have the SGS who are certified by the FSC which is a global organization.

The FSC work on a system whereby the timber is certified from the forest through to the saw-mill and then the factory. Another certification association is the PEFC which is recognized at European level.

The coating and treatment of the wood is the second consideration taken in looking at green doors. The wood must be treated with low emission vanishes, which keep formaldehyde emissions levels to a minimum, as formaldehyde is considered a highly harmful substance.

If the door is not being created from a solid piece of wood but chipboard, then the HDF should be used and vinyl glue rather than urea resin. Overall the Volatile Organic Substance (VOS) emission levels need to be kept at a minimum

Technology advanced varnishing lines are completely automated in order to maintain a constant level of quality in the finishing. These comply with European directives.

COCIF is a European based company that specializes in creating doors that follow green trends. In the last 15 years, COCIF has adapted its production facility to the strictest rules that govern environmental management of European industrial door production.

They created a three year program in the early 1990's to co-ordinate the demolition of the old lines and the realization of systems able to use high density vanishes and water based varnishes. By doing so they were able to reduce the amount of solvent employed and consequently over 80% of polluting substances.

Being green with your choice of doors does not mean sacrificing durability or quality. Although because being green means using types of wood that originate from the countries that are sensitive towards wood conservation issues, some exotic woods might not be available.

Contributed by:
The South African distributor of COCIF green doors:
Ital Doors
Cape Town:
Unit 7, M5 Maitland
Tel: 021 511 8738

Johannesburg
27 5th Street
Wynberg
Tel: 011 887 6232

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