Bohemian Stoneworks is committed to being green, not only in the production of our concrete, but also in the life cycle of our products. This begins with the conscientious selection and extraction of our raw materials.
Sand and aggregate comprise the bulk of our concrete mixture (67%). We obtain sand and aggregate through Bohan & Canelis whose quarry is on Austin Creek in Cazadero, California. This company has been recognized with several prestigious awards for its environmental stewardship and sustainable extraction processes. Two of the three different sand mixes we offer employ the aggregate from this source, while our River Sand mix is made up entirely of its sand and aggregate. In our Artisan Series, this sand and aggregate mix is replaced with post industrial recycled glass or crushed shells.
Cement is the most carbon-taxing of all the materials in concrete because it has to be heated to 2700 degrees Fahrenheit in order to make it reactive. Bohemian Stoneworks has converted all of our concrete formulas over to use a new much greener cement. CSA (calcium sulfoaluminate) cement requires only 80% of the energy to create and gives off 62% less CO2 emissions. Our testing has ensured a superior ultra dense and high strength finished product that is as environmentally sound as it is beautiful.
Finally, adding glass fiber reinforcing material to the mix not only makes it extremely strong and lightweight, but it also allows us to reduce the amount of cement and raw material needed to produce our concrete.
Transportation distance is a very important factor in our selection of materials. The Bohan & Canelis quarry is only 19 miles from our shop. The sand for our Oly mix is located in Santa Cruz, 133 miles away. The Dolomite mix utilizes sand and aggregate from Salinas, a distance of 162 miles. For darker colors, standard gray cement from Sunol, about 95 miles away, is used. Lighter colors use white cement, which our sources tell us is from further away in Mexico; we are actively looking for a closer location and will keep you updated on that search.
Our manufacturing facility is another way we work to reduce our impact on the environment. At least 90% of our production wastewater is reused through a closed-loop system. We recycle most of our scrap, and since the size of each batch of concrete is carefully and accurately calculated, extra landfill is minimized. We are currently undergoing audits to determine how much more of our shop’s energy usage can be reduced.
The concrete sealer we use is a water-based, reactive treatment based on lithium silicate technology. This sealer is not a coating that covers the surface, but instead a treatment that soaks into the pores, creating glass crystals and becoming part of the concrete. It is a very low VOC product and comes with a product assurance in compliance with USDA regulations. Leed Credits are possible in the following categories:
LEED VERSION 3.0, (NEW CONSTRUCTION), 2009
MR CREDIT 5: Regional Materials
ID CREDIT 1: Innovation in Design
ENVIRONMENTAL & GREEN BUILDING LINKS
Bohan & Canelis
Bohan & Canelis Aggregates has been a locally owned and operated business conducting gravel mining on Austin Creek as well as hillside quarry mining east of the Austin Creek for three generations. Bohan & Canelis has been a community leader in recognizing local environmental issues and understands how to take effective precautionary steps to be sensitive to these issues.
austincreek.com
U.S. Green Building Council
usgbc.org