When workers remove lava rock from a construction site, they typically use it as fill for other projects.

But the 650 cubic yards of rock excavated from the Desert Rain homesite in Bend will remain on site, just in a different form.

The rock will be crushed and used in the concrete floors and other areas of the project, which is being built to meet the environmental requirements of the Living Building Challenge — requirements builders say are more strict than Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

The Living Building Challenge suggests using as much material as possible from the homesite in other areas of the project, said Kevin Lorda, project manager for Timberline Construction of Bend, to avoid introducing more material onto the site.

“If we got rid of it, we’d essentially be using twice the amount of the material,” he said.

Tom Elliott and Barbara Scott are striving to create one of the greenest homes in Central Oregon on Northwest Shasta Place. They named it the Desert Rain project.

To meet Living Building Challenge standards, their construction team and project planners must think and work differently from the way they would on a conventional project.

According to James Fagan, co-owner of Timberline Construction and project manager of Desert Rain, the interest and pressure to build in more sustainable ways has steadily increased in the construction industry. But Desert Rain is a leap forward.

“All our (subcontractors) and suppliers are much more aware of what is in the products they sell or install and how these affect the installers and the end user,” he said. “(The project is) a rigorous process, but also very educational and eye-opening.”

While Elliott and Scott are trying to watch the costs, Living Building Challenge standards require owners and builders to consider where materials come from, along with their quality, durability, aesthetic appeal, energy efficiency and heath benefits, they said.

The standards seek “to induce a successful materials economy that is nontoxic, transparent and socially acceptable,” according to information from the International Living Future Institute, which created the Living Building Challenge.

“We’re going to be paying now, or later environmentally,” Scott said.

Keeping track

All material used in the project, from the nails and stucco to the steel roofing and wood, is being tracked, Elliott said.

Scott said she and her husband are spending the time and money to lay the groundwork to make it easier for those who want to follow their path.

“The Living Building Challenge says we know you can do this, so figure it out,” she said.

ML Vidas, the sustainability consultant for the project, said one of the major challenges has been finding locally sourced materials that meet the Living Building requirements.

“The value in sourcing local is you’re supporting your local economy,” she said. “Things should be from where you are. I’m not saying we should all go back and live in log cabins, but it does seem like we should use what’s here as much as possible.”

The nails are from the U.S., instead of China; metal roofing is from Washington; the wood is coming from Oregon, and the concrete and stucco are local, she said.

Challenge guidelines prohibit the use of many materials found in conventional construction — such as polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. The alternative for Desert Rain will be crosslinked polyethylene tubing in the interior, Vidas said, and high-density polyethylene pipe on the exterior, if a local source and contractors who know how to work with it can be found.

The ‘red list’

The list of prohibited materials, called the “red list,” contains 14 materials and chemicals, she said. Instead of using those, builders and project planners have to find alternatives.

Bayard Fox, 42, owner of Integrity Industries LLC, which does business as Cement Elegance, said that while his company has worked on many LEED-certified homes, he had never worked on a Living Building Challenge home before.

“By the nature of the product that we make, we are often specified in projects that are requiring environmentally friendly status or LEED certification,” he said, “but those projects don’t have nearly the level of scrutiny of the Desert Rain project.”

All products he uses, or ingredients used in the manufacturing of those products, must pass the “red list” test, Bayard said.

Concrete floors

His company will polish the concrete floors in the home to give it aesthetic appeal, he said, as well as manufacture and install countertops, made with post-consumer recycled material.

“Concrete floors in general are more environmentally friendly,” Bayard said. “You are beautifying the subfloor that has to be there anyway instead of putting wood, tile or another finished floor down over the concrete.”

Lava rock extracted from the cistern, the hole dug on the property to store up to 35,000 gallons of rainwater, will be crushed and added to other ingredients to make the concrete floors, he said, and then he and his team will expose the rock as they polish it.

To beautify the concrete with a finish, Bayard said he plans to use a process called diamond polishing. Traditional finishes like seals or stains have chemicals, but diamond polishing simply grinds and polishes the concrete, he said.

The lumber

Unlike other construction projects he has supplied with wood, Parr Lumber salesman Nate Morgan said, with Desert Rain, he has to consider not only the energy efficiency of the wood, but also the labor practices the workers who cut, milled and transported it operated under.

While some of the wood for the project is reclaimed or salvaged from previous structures, new wood is also used.

“The biggest issue I have to deal with (when) supplying the lumber is, all the wood has to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests,” said Morgan, who has worked for Parr Lumber for 14 years.

Sourcing regulations require all lumber to come from within approximately 600 miles of the site, he said.

No packaging

Limitations are also put on waste, Morgan said, so no extra materials are used to wrap and protect the wood. He also tries to minimize the amount of excess lumber by working directly with the project’s framer. To date, 40 pounds of waste has been taken to the landfill, a small amount compared to more conventional projects of similar size.

“The best way to be efficient is by making sure the person (writing) the list is the person cutting the wood and driving the nails,” he said. “They have their head in the plan.”

A project like Desert Rain requires a different thought process than other construction projects, he said.

“I had to be educated on the Living Building Challenge project to reach a full understanding of what it entailed to make sure I provided the materials that they needed,” Morgan said.

To educate himself, he said he attended the Living Building Challenge presentation, read through the materials and learned from those around him.

“The biggest part of my education is being involved with the green builders every day and being mindful of the things they are asking for and the direction that they’re moving,” he said.

Morgan said what he’s learning from this project will help him in the future. The green building movement, which balances price, quality and environmental sustainability, is a growing trend in the homebuilding industry.

“It’s important to make money,” he said “but it is also important for us as a culture to concentrate on living as sustainable as possible.”

The Living Building Challenge

Like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, the Living Building Challenge provides guidelines and requirements for constructing an environmentally friendly building.

The challenge, created by the International Living Future Institute, “defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today,” according to the institute’s website. It rests on seven areas, or petals: site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty.

For more information, visit https://ilbi.org/.

Editor’s note: Tom Elliott and Barbara Scott invited The Bulletin to follow their efforts to build the ultimate green home in Bend, to document the project from start to finish. Framing is finished on two accessory buildings and 90 percent complete on the house. This installment focuses on the strict sourcing requirements for building materials outlined in the Living Building Challenge, the standards being followed by Elliott, Scott and the builders.