“We absolutely love our firebowl. We have had zero problems with it. We have it on all the time and just love sitting beside it. We often have it on even when we are in our home as it is a stunning show piece on our terrace, especially in the rain ! We have had lots of compliments on it. We just sold our home and it was a big selling feature. We are now buying another one – can’t imagine being without.”
Bob Phillips – Vancouver, BC
“I just celebrated my 40th and from the minute we turned the firebowl on, it was the focal point of my party. We finally had to turn it off to send people home. It was awesome! The kick off to summer”
Micheal Jeff – North Vancouver
Sustainability
Sustainability is an ongoing pursuit at Solus Decor. It begins with our concrete, a mixture of abundant materials with recycled ingredients such as fly ash and silica fume.
In our production practices, we strive for a small footprint, recycling and reusing where possible, using certified lumber and recycled form materials, and drawing the bulk of our energy from human power.
We believe sustainability and longevity go hand-in-hand. This guides our mission to create enduring designs that will bring a lifetime of enjoyment and function.
For more information on how Solus concrete can contribute to a healthy home, please read more on Sustainability – What We Do, below.
As makers of luxury products, we believe it is essential to use all of the means at our disposal to do business in a way that is responsible to our community and the world we live in. This begins with the way we run our company and ends with the products that become part of your home.
Our Process:
Solus products are unique in that they are crafted almost entirely by hand. Throughout the process, we make a concerted effort to limit the energy intensity and waste.
Recycling:
- Wood is recycled into wood pellets for high-efficiency stoves
- Containers are recycled into various consumer products
- Paper and cardboard are recycled
- Rejected concrete is crushed and used as aggregate and fill
- Wash water is reused
Power:
Our manufacturing is largely human powered. Concrete is cured at ambient temperatures – no superheating
Office Materials:
Where possible we use recycled, reusable and refillable office products
Our Concrete and Our Products:
There is no such thing as a “sustainable” material. Rather, we can use materials in ways that provide for the best opportunity for sustainable use. We design our concrete and our products with this goal in mind.
Recycled Content:
Our mix designs incorporate the post-industrial waste products of fly ash and silica fume. Not only does this keep waste out of the land fill, but improves the performance qualities of the concrete.
Indoor Air Quality:
When cured, our concrete off-gases nothing more than trace amounts of water.
Thermal Mass:
Floor tiles will enhance radiant heat performance; fireplace mantels hold and radiate heat.
Local Materials:
We utilize largely locally sourced and manufactured materials.
Embodied Energy:
When initial and recurring embodied energy are considered together, (i.e. the overall energy to produce and maintain our products) our concrete performs better than most other materials in comparable use (ref. Canadian Architect – “Measures of Sustainability”)
Appropriate Design:
We create products that take full advantage of concrete’s natural characteristics of durability, colour fastness, mass, and heat retention We aim for timeless, trend-defying designs that will stand the test of home-resale
Our people:
We hire local people and support them within our company and in their lives. We believe that the only way to provide a high quality product is to foster pride, job satisfaction and an attitude of social responsibility.
