"In an institutional setting, it is always our recommendation to design buildings to the demands of a “100 year life”. With this in mind, we feel that a material like Valders limestone is an appropriate selection. It is durable and has the longevity that an exterior cladding material should for institutional applications.”

---Perry Dean Rogers Partners, Architects

Green Building Conciousness
Across the nation and around the world construction owners, design firms and construction companies are embracing an environmental consciousness and stewardship in the construction industry. This recognition of the need to conserve energy, recycle, improve the built environment, and create sustainable low maintenance buildings and project developments has lead us to define “Green Building” materials and systems.

How do Valders limestone building materials rate as a Green Building material?

“Green Building” materials or systems are defined as those that:

• Are healthy for the interior environment – do not produce indoor air quality problems due to the release of VOCs or harmful fibers and do not cause health problems for the factory workers who manufacture the product.

Our process has zero VOC emissions and no fibers are released. Cutting and machining of stone is primarily a wet process which eliminates airbourne dust. The dry finishing processes utilize industrial systems that capture and filter the dust. Workers in the finishing process have all the proper filtration and breathing apparatus equipment and training. Valders dolomite limestone silica content is less than 5% by volume.

• Are healthy for the natural environment – do not cause environmental degradation, depletion of scarce resources, hazardous by-products, excessive processing waste, or health problems for the people who extract the resources used in the product.

Quarry management and restoration plans are active and in place. Limestone is one of the most abundant mineral resources in the world. Its production creates no hazardous by-products. Cut offs, trimmings and waste stone from dimensional cut stone applications are used for veneer production, riprap production or it is crushed into aggregate of various sizes for use in concrete, as road or parking lot base, in asphalt etc. All limestone material quarried is utilized for saleable products. Health issues have been mitigated through active MSHA, OSHA and company safe production practices. Water usage for the manufacturing process is a “zero discharge system” with minimal fresh water demand to replace the water lost to evaporation.

• Help minimize energy use – by preventing heat gain or loss, reducing electricity consumption, and simplifying maintenance.

Dimensional limestone cladding is impervious to the elements with the lighter color ranges of our stone reflecting versus absorbing heat gain from direct sun exposure. Maintenance costs are minimal as there is no finish to maintain, recoat or paint. Occasional cleaning of the surface would be required dependent upon the air-borne pollutants, contaminants and soiling present via the exposure to the specific exterior environment where the stone is installed.

• Have low embodied energy – avoid products that result from energy intensive manufacturing processes. Materials with a high amount of recycled content fit the bill as long as they don’t require energy intensive remanufacture.

The energy required to manufacture dimensional cut stone is very low compared to simulated or cast stone products. It is a natural product that simply requires cutting and shaping for its final use.

Are durable, reusable, recyclable and/or biodegradable – Consider how long the material will last before it needs replacing and what will happen to it after its useful life in or a part of the building. Avoid a material that will eventually become a hazardous waste problem.

The durability of limestone as a building material is well documented. Its reuse can be easily accommodated by virtue of the installation methods and anchorage used to install the product. Limestone is completely recyclable and the composition of the product is a natural mineral with inert properties creating no hazardous waste issues.

• Are locally obtained – do not require excessive transportation from resource collection and product manufacture to installation.

“Local” is a relative term to the alternative materials under consideration for use. Normal conveyance of our product is by truck but rail is available at our quarry for large shipments if that option is a feasible alternative.