Question from Jordan
In your “about me” description you mentioned you have built a few homes using nontoxic/low emitting materials. My family and I are going to be building our first home and would like to do the same. I am interested to know how you did this and materials used. So more on this topic would be helpful and I would be willing to pay for a consult as well if that is something you do.
Looking forward to seeing/reading all your knowledge on non toxic living.
Lisa’s Answer
I will be doing paid consultations in the coming months but I am not right now. If you need to start right away I recommend hiring a BBNC, which is a Building Biology New-Build Consultant. They are trained specifically for this purpose. A great place to start is to get the book “Prescriptions for a Healthy House”, 3rd edition, by Paula Baker-Laporte. A 4th edition is in the works but I’m not sure when it will be out.
May I suggest ECOS paint for your interior? I have MCS fairly bad and I can tell you this paint was a God-send. We purchased many non toxic items such as grout for bathrooms, caulk, adhesives for sealing the duct tape in the AC installation, etc. at green buildingsupply.com. There’s also something to glue down your counter tops that I just inquired about the other day. It’s called Almighty Adhesive. We used pedestal sinks in our bathrooms to eliminate issues of mdf wood off gassing. Pedestal sinks are very popular now, even in very upscale homes. It’s difficult to find solid wood bathroom vanities. Of course, flooring is a big deal. We have Italian tile that looks like wood. It’s beautiful. If you do carpets, Earthweave sells wool ones that are non toxic. Textiles such as curtains and furniture fabrics can quickly make indoor air, toxic. So always go organic. My friend built one of the first eco homes in Florida many years ago. She bought a how to book and the builder promised to read it and agreed to use safe(r) materials. Well, he didn’t always follow the book, but she did have a beautiful home. I wish you well on this undertaking. My best advice is to know every product being used in this home. We moved into a beautiful new construction and I nearly died from exposure to chemicals. Changed our lives forever. A muriatic acid was used to clean dried grout off of the newly installed tiles. I was poisoned by that chemical, among many other VOCS. it’s been a long journey trying to achieve my health again. Know every product and check SDS (Safety Data Sheets of all materials used, if any are conventional.