Best 15 Sustainable Building Material Companies in Texas
Images courtesy of Modern Earth Construction, Furman and Keil Architects, De la Tierra Rammed Earth Structures on Pinterest, and Overland Architecture and Urban Design.
Sustainable building is reshaping the construction industry in Texas. As more people lean towards eco-friendly construction to mitigate the negative impacts of the built environment, sustainable building companies are sprouting up to meet the demand.
But knowing the best sustainable building material companies in Texas will help you to build an abode house that meets building code standards or a rammed earth masterpiece that will stand for centuries.
According to the UN Environmental Programme, the construction industry is responsible for more than 34 percent of energy consumption and 37 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. This is due to the use of unsustainable materials that play a significant role in climate change.
Consequently, embracing sustainable construction is an excellent way to mitigate these issues.
In the rest of this article, I’ll discuss the best 15 sustainable building material companies in Texas. I’ll help you make the right decision by discussing what makes each company’s offering unique and sustainable. Let’s get started!
Rammed Earth Construction Companies in Texas
Rammed earth construction entails ramming a mixture of clay, sand, gravel, silt, and water into formworks to build the walls of a house. It’s a sustainable building method because the material has a high thermal mass and low embodied carbon.
The following are the best rammed earth construction companies in Texas:
1. Modern Earth Construction
Modern Earth Construction specializes in sustainable building processes using rammed earth.
The company focuses on building durable and long-lasting rammed earth structures through soil stabilization.
Modern Earth Construction has a unique soil stabilization tactic that makes its rammed earth houses durable. It uses base seal, a flexible road base, to stabilize its rammed earth aggregates. This seal has excellent compressive and beam strength necessary for durable houses.
To add to its sustainable nature, the company uses ground screws instead of concrete foundations. Therefore, it ensures the structure is sustainable — from the foundation to the roof.
Modern Earth Construction builds low-cost, multi-family complexes for architects and homeowners looking for energy-efficient dwelling units.
Due to its turn-key operations, the company is perfect for individuals looking to build eco-friendly structures on a budget.
2. Furman and Keil Architects
This is a collaborative design firm in Texas that designs environmentally-friendly structures.
Rammed earth is one of the materials for which Furman and Keil Architects design houses.
The motivation to design for sustainable building materials is based on the company’s mission to help create homes that enhance the lives of people and their communities while conserving the environment.
Furman and Keil Architects have a unique approach to design that encompasses communication and teamwork. It uses these premises to unlock the full potential of every project.
By incorporating the values and opinions of clients, colleagues, co-workers, and consultants, the company creates high-end designs that meet the client’s needs while minimizing environmental footprints.
If you want to build an ecological home, then Furman and Keil Architects will help make it happen. They have various design options to suit different budgets and individual preferences.
The best part is that the company guides clients through the discovery process. This allows the design to unfold as a reflection of the project’s unique vision.
3. De la Tierra Rammed Earth Structures
De la Tierra is among the best sustainable building material companies in Texas. It’s a turn-key builder of beautiful rammed earth structures that handles everything from conceptualization to execution.
With decades of soil science, research, mix design, testing, and proprietary technology, the company has what it takes to build sturdy rammed earth homes. You don’t have to worry about the durability of their houses.
De la Tierra specializes in energy-efficient dwellings and commercial structures. It also designs multi-family units for cost-effective housing solutions.
The company’s primary services include the following:
- Design/consulting: It inspects your site to help design the most suitable house.
- Turnkey walling: It uses a unique forming system and fabrication method to build the foundation, doorways, windows, embeds, lintels, and anchorages.
- Construction detailing: Planning the project before execution. It considers embeds, volume displacement devices, anchorages, water stops, coatings, and fasteners.
- Soil sourcing and analyzing: It analyzes the soil to determine the best mixing design and materials.
4. Overland Architecture and Urban Design
Overland Architecture and Urban Design was founded in 1987 and has been at the forefront of sustainable human-centered architecture in Texas.
The company focuses on designs that care for the earth, promote well-being, and facilitate measurable human transformation.
The company’s unique approach to design encompasses sustainable materials, modern technology, and art and craft to create spaces that inspire and support the lives of the people inhabiting them.
Overland Architecture and Urban Design employs a human-centered approach to guide and measure holistic sustainability and positive human impact.
5. SGB Rammed Earth Specialists
Established in 1990 by Mike and Mary Sims, SGB Rammed Earth Specialists is based in Texas but works on projects all over the U.S.
As one of the pioneers in rammed earth construction, the company creates distinctive and enduring structures. It treats each rammed earth project as an opportunity to develop something unique through quality craftsmanship and a hands-on attitude.
The company incorporates a team-based approach by working with architects and contractors to ensure the client’s ideas are incorporated into the design.
SGB Rammed Earth Specialists is committed to creating structures with a low environmental impact. It ensures that all the materials used in construction processes are sourced sustainably and ethically.
Adobe Building Companies in Texas
Adobe is another sustainable building material gaining traction in Texas.
Adobe bricks are made by trampling sand, clay, straw, and water to create a homogenous mixture which is then formed into bricks.
Unlike conventional bricks, which are fired, adobe bricks are sun-dried.
The best adobe building companies in Texas are:
6. Sierra Homes
Sierra Homes combines high-performance construction with luxury to create beautiful adobe homes.
It uses low-impact building design that’s energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and incorporates locally-sourced materials.
The company’s unique approach combines sustainable building materials and practices with outstanding customer service. Its goal is to build durable and efficient homes for comfortable and healthy living.
Since the company is LEED-certified, you can rest assured your adobe house will meet the components of green building and remain energy-efficient.
7. El Pueblito Estates, Inc.
El Pueblito Estates, Inc. is the best company that manufactures high-quality sun-dried adobe bricks and compressed adobe blocks throughout Texas.
Besides making adobe bricks, the company specializes in building highly durable commercial and residential structures based on the Sante Fe architecture.
El Pueblito Estates, Inc. employs experienced professionals to ensure every project is built with the highest quality materials and craftsmanship.
The unique fact about this company is that it also manufactures Santa Fe-style furniture. Therefore, after building your adobe house, it can supply these pieces of furniture to complement the design. Consequently, it eliminates the hassle of searching for them in the market.
The furniture available includes:
- Custom-designed exterior and interior doors.
- Corbels.
- Vigas.
- Latillas.
- Post and canals for finished and rough lumber.
By incorporating technological advancements, the company is constantly experimenting with newer materials to help build innovative adobe homes for a comfortable living. Its primary focus is to build homes that are:
- Warm in the winter.
- Cool in the summer.
- Fire-resistant.
- Soundproof.
- Durable.
- Waterproof (stabilized).
Cob Building Companies in Texas
Cob is a mixture of clay, sand, straw, and water. The mixture is trampled into a thick mud-like consistency and then laid in courses to build walls.
Cob is an excellent sustainable material due to its biodegradable nature and high thermal mass for energy efficiency.
8. The Natural Building Organization
The Natural Building Organization aims to heal the community, veterans, and our planet through sustainable building. It’s a nonprofit organization that seeks to help veterans get decent dwelling units.
The organization offers classes, workshops, and service learning opportunities for veterans and students to learn about sustainable building and cob construction.
Founded in 2018 by Cat Taylor, the organization runs a “Cob for Vets” program that involves the following stages:
- First stage: Educating vets on how to build their own mortgage-free cob homes. The program is offered to vets at little or no cost, depending on their disability levels. The benefits of this stage include acquiring team-building skills, a high sense of community, increased self-worth, and relief from depression.
- Second stage: Enrolling the veterans into a lifetime learning program to give them the skills they need to build cob homes. Only veterans that attend at least a 10-day workshop are enrolled in this program.
- Third stage: Building a cob home for a qualified veteran. This stage is undertaken annually, whereby an eligible veteran who has completed the first two stages is selected to get a free cob home. To qualify, one must own land, be at least 90% disabled, and be honorably discharged. Volunteers and alumni from the organization’s other workshops participate in the construction.
Bamboo Building Companies in Texas
Bamboo is a sustainable and green building material because it has low embodied carbon, restricts soil erosion, and requires less energy to grow and process.
It’s also a renewable building material due to its fast maturity. Bamboo matures in approximately three years, unlike trees that take longer to mature.
The best bamboo building companies in Texas are:
9. Palmco
Palmco is the leading wholesale distributor of bamboo in Houston. It offers a variety of non-invasive bamboo species for construction.
Established in 1984 by Mark and Ronda Dean, Palmco was originally a palm-growing and distribution company. However, in 2011, it expanded its product line to include non-invasive bamboo species.
The company chose the best bamboo species that could perform well in the local climate. It fosters sustainability by incorporating irrigation and fertilization systems that work in harmony with the soil’s moisture.
Moreover, Palmco doesn’t apply restricted chemicals to the bamboo plants and has an efficient harvesting process that preserves bamboo’s natural life cycle.
This is your go-to company for wholesale supply of construction bamboo in Houston. You can expect quality bamboo that will last and perform as expected.
Earthbag Building Companies in Texas
Earthbag is a sustainable building technique that involves filling sandbags with damp soil and then stacking them to form structures.
Earthbag is an excellent option for building in remote locations since the material used (soil) is from the local environment and requires little processing.
The best Earthbag building companies in Texas include:
10. BE Structural
BE Structural is a team of structural engineers and designers who build sustainable and conventional houses.
Earthbag is the company’s primary sustainable building material. It builds earthbag homes and shelters in Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Colorado.
BE Structural has a unique approach to earthbag construction that sets it apart. It fills its earthbags with materials based on the expected condition for the home. The guiding conditions are insulation and thermal mass.
It’s worth mentioning that while thermal mass is essential for sunny and warmer climates, insulation is more important in colder regions.
If you live in a sunny and warmer climate, a house with high thermal mass walls comes in handy to absorb and store heat, which helps to even out large variations in temperature between day and night. When the temperature drops, the walls release the stored heat to warm the house.
On the other hand, you need high-insulating walls in colder regions to restrict heat flow and keep the house warm without relying on central heating.
So, how does BE Structural achieve these requirements with its earthbag homes?
The company fills the bags with soil to provide high thermal mass when building in warmer climates.
On the other hand, it fills the bags with lighter materials like perlite, crushed volcanic stone, rice hulls, or vermiculite for insulation in colder climates.
That said, the company assesses the climatic conditions of an area before deciding on the appropriate material. It also incorporates clients’ requirements into the design of a custom earthbag home.
Hempcrete Construction Companies in Texas
Hempcrete is a sustainable building material made from the inner woody core of the hemp plant. This material is mixed with a lime-based binder and water that hardens it into blocks and panels.
Although hempcrete is cast like concrete, it provides insulation, reduces CO2 emissions, and improves indoor air quality.
The best Hempcrete construction companies in Texas are:
11. Lone Star Hempcrete (LSH)
Lone Star Hempcrete is a company that believes buildings should exist in harmony with the environment and nature.
The company strives to be a leading sustainable builder in Texas.
Since its inception in 2019, LSH has been striving to give its customers the green dream home they long for. Its focus is to lower the carbon footprint of homes and help mitigate climate change.
The company designs its hempcrete to be as vapor-permeable as possible for wall infills.
Besides wall infills, LSH creates high-density hempcrete for roof and floor insulation.
On the other hand, low-density hempcrete is ideal for indoor and outdoor plasters.
LSH offers the following services:
- Design and construction: Designing and building hempcrete-based houses for optimal green living while reducing carbon footprints.
- Supplying hempcrete materials: The company supplies texblocks, hurd, and hemp-based plasters.
- Renewable construction: Since hemp fiber and seeds are usually ready to harvest after about four months, they are a great source of renewable construction materials. Lone Star Hempcrete relies on this fact to harvest and use hemp fibers and seeds in its building projects.
12. Texblock
Texblock is a company with a vision to provide sustainable building materials that facilitate sustainable construction.
Founded by Wesley Holley, the company specializes in Texblock, a hemp-based block that facilitates healthy, sustainable, and all-natural building.
Texblock offers high-quality, eco-friendly hemp blocks ideal for non-load-bearing walls and floors.
The company prides itself on providing products like low and high-density hemp blocks.
Moreover, Texblock’s products are ideal for interior and exterior wall systems. They are highly versatile for use in various applications like countertops, shelves, and furniture.
According to Texblock, sustainable material professionals have rated these products ideal for new construction and renovations.
13. Austin Hempcrete
Austin Hempcrete is made up of hempcrete suppliers and builders. It supplies quality hempcrete materials made by experienced masons.
Materials supplied by this company are suitable for sustainable biocomposite custom hempcrete homes. These materials are designed to be highly energy-efficient and durable.
Austin Hempcrete products are non-toxic, allergy-free, and designed to facilitate sufficient breathability throughout the home.
14. Houston Hempcrete
Houston Hempcrete is also a supplier of hempcrete and other hemp-based building products. The company’s products are designed to be non-toxic, fireproof, and sustainable.
Besides hempcrete and blocks, you can buy hemp hurd for insulation, hemp-based plasters, and other hemp building materials from this company.
15. Dallas Hempcrete
Dallas Hempcrete specializes in sustainable biocomposite hempcrete homes in Dallas.
The company employs dedicated hempcrete builders to build sustainable homes for clients in Dallas.
Besides building these homes, the company is experienced in manufacturing and supplying hemp-based building materials. Therefore, it’s the right place to start if you want to build using hempcrete in Dallas.
Final Thoughts On Sustainable Building Material Companies in Texas
Texas is home to several sustainable building material companies.
From rammed earth and cob to adobe and hempcrete, each company has a unique approach to providing eco-friendly construction solutions.
Before narrowing down to a specific company, it’s essential to consider your unique needs and budget.
Furthermore, do your due diligence when researching materials like hempcrete since companies have different production approaches.
