HEALTHY BUILDING BASICS
HEALTHY BUILDING BASICS
P
lanning & Design:
Educate yourself about energy, designs, styles, building techniques,
financing. Consult with
people who have built "healthy" homes; try living in one for a while. Select
a building site, based on solar and wind factors, easements, drainage,
pollution sources, future development, etc. Choose a building type, size,
and plan, based on needs rather than "wants," material availability and
suitability, and solarization and wind. Open architecture maximizes air
flow. Choose a designer experienced with energy-efficient designs and
sustainable/healthy
materials, bearing in mind that "healthy" and "sustainable" considerations
may conflict.
Ignore protests about "resale value"; there will always be a market for
healthy housing. Keep your plan as simple as you can; strive for minimal
upkeep. Consider building a temporary shelter for another, future use; or
build only what you can afford now, and expand later.
Materials & Methods:
Choose a designer familiar with sustainable techniques & healthy materials.
Select sustainable products and materials whenever possible over high-energy
materials, but use safer materials when necessary. Select the systems you
need: water, air, power, wiring, ducting, waste, cooking, flooring, walls,
sheathing, roofing, sealers, etc. Test all possible materials for
reactions, then prepare a list of specific materials. For a good solar home,
you will need a collector, mass, and insulation. Building materials can be
as simple as earth from the site. Other simple designs include strawbales,
or a large garage kit. Insulate adequately. Open architecture maximizes air
flow. Berm the north wall for insulation. Eliminate or reduce northern
windows and doors. Place less-used rooms and closets along north walls.
Don't overdo southern glazing. Wall vents can guide air flow for cooling and
heating. Save or plant trees on the south side of the building, or put in a
trellis with deciduous plants. Place your garden on the south side to reduce
Summer reflection in arid areas. Consider solar, water, or wind power for
electricity. Eliminate termiticides in favor of
metal shielding.
Materials & Methods.
Forms should be metal, or wood painted with vegetable oil or aged
latex. Tint solar heat
storage floors and walls. Non-storage floors and earth walls can
be covered with rugs woven
of untreated plant materials. You may be able to use your roof as
a solar and water collector.
Grey- and black-water systems might be substituted for
conventional septic or municipal
sewage systems. A high-powered kitchen ventilator might take the
place of a fancy air
cleaning system. Use sun-powered vents and incidental lighting.
Use twisted-3 wiring to
eliminate or reduce Electromagnetic fields. Poplar is a
well-tolerated wood for EI's. Air out
vinyl and other synthetic products. Consider filtering windows.
Metal roofing will last longer
than shingles. Install unpainted or baked-finish metal goods, and
clean well before installing.
Scavenge for fixtures and furniture. Open windows when "baking
out" or applying volatiles
inside.
Construction.
Work with your designer, and contractor if you use one. Do you
want to build yourself or
hire a contractor or subcontractors? Can you safely and legally
do all the building yourself?
What will your lender allow? Select and hire any needed
contractors. You or they must
arrange all deliveries, inspections, etc. You must pay them for
their services. Keep yourself
available for consultations or problem solving. Try not to change
things after construction
starts: this adds to your costs.
Healthy Construction Site. (Make this a big sign for the
property entrance.)
Vehicles & petroleum-powered machinery to be located downwind of
property. Put tarps
under powered machinery, vehicles. No cleaning of tools or
vehicles on property. Spills to be
cleaned up.
Written by: Healthy Habitat News
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